Saipan and China
Current mood: peaceful
Category: Music

9:36 AM - 73 Comments - 161 Kudos - Add Comment

Hello again, Korean friends!
Current mood: thankful
Category: Music

I will be performing at the 3rd POWER CONCERT, Busan MBC 49th Anniversary Of Foundation in Busan, Korea the day after tomorrow, May 5th.

This is a big event to celebrate the 49th anniversary of the foundation of MBC,major TV station in Busan. Every year popular artists of Korea get together for this concert, and I am invited as the 1st Japanese to perform there. The concert begins at 19:30. Please contact Busan MBC (Tel. 051-760-1000 -within Korea only-) for more information.

I look forward to meeting my Korean fans with their beautiful smiles!

Toshi

5:31 AM - 56 Comments - 116 Kudos - Add Comment

Hide’s Memorial Day
Current mood: energetic
Category: Friends

Today (May 2nd) is the anniversary of Hide's death.
I feel my dearest friend's death taught me how to live truly.

That is;
to pursue what I really want to do honestly and purely,
to live a life contributing to the bright future for our planet earth, Nature and its children and to the world peace,
to live positively with a smile in my heart even in the darkened world,
to jump in to find some treasures in adversity,
I vow to my dearest friend that I will live such a life till the very end of my life.

What kind of life do YOU vow to your beloved, precious friend(s)?

The concerts at Aji-no-moto Stadium will be open soon!
I wish to see you with your most beautiful smiles.

ヾ(＠＾(∞)＾＠)ノ

(translated from Toshi's official blog at http://ameblo.jp/blog-toshi/)

9:53 PM - 109 Comments - 227 Kudos - Add Comment

Shows are over, and my new song is released.

3 consecutive reunion shows of X JAPAN were over last night.
I feel so grateful for our fans of about 150,000 people who came over to Tokyo Dome and for those who joined us through satelite TV and internet broadcastings. Thank you very much!
Total numbers of approximately 5,000 people supported our concerts from behind. We could hold such wonderful concerts thanks to you the audiences and all the staffs.

I, as a solo artist, gave as many as 2,000 concerts all over Japan during my "Utatabi" tour for the last 10 years. I was able to survive thanks to those who reached their hands to me and supported me in adversity. I received much healing and energy from the eldery people and children, and those who try to survive in whatever circumstances they are in, while I was visiting various kinds of welfare facilities which numbered more than 8,000. I send all my gratitude to all those people. Thank you very much.

I heard from many people after X JAPAN’s concers that my voice got more and more striking during these 3 days. I feel I was run out of energy at the very end, however, during these 3 days, however hard I cried, my voice seemed to extend farther and father. I guess that is because I kept singing every single day during these 10 years
I am grateful that I was given chances to sing every day.

After I left X JAPAN in 1997, I lived as purely as possible, even though I was looked down on by heartless liars, or my beloveds were falsely accused because of me. I tried to live positively even during painfully harsh circumstances. That’s why I sent such messages as to live with pure and mighty heart without choosing to die even during any adversity, even you are bullied, and to win together, all of us, at a Tokyo Dome stage.
At Tokyo Dome shows just before the acoustic music corner, my new solo track of "EARTH IN THE DARK -Leaving for the Sky" was heard.
It is a new repertoire for me; a fushion of Rock and the healing music, and is such a cool tune.
I want all of you to take a listen!(http://www.toshi-official.com/music/)

Now is the true beginning of new-born XJAPAN and new-born Toshi!

MARCH 31, 2008
Toshi
(translated from Toshi official blog)

12:02 AM - 87 Comments - 165 Kudos - Add Comment

About my new song "EARTH IN THE DARK -Leaving for the Blue Sky"
Current mood: calm

A new song is now ready and will be available on my official website exclusively for my fans since April 1st. MASAYA composed and produced this song for me, which is a musical fusion of the rock music from my earlier 10 years music history and the healing music from my latter 10 years.
And I will be singing as XJAPAN for 3 consecutive concerts at Tokyo Dome tomorrow.
Well, I have seen so many things happening to me so far.

I had so many supports from my fans as a vocalist of the rock band 10 years ago.
To tell you the truth, however, I was so fed up with everything about myself. I felt so wild within.

I was naturally looking for something to heal my heart. I was inclined to listen to so-called healing music which was not so popular here in Japan at that time. However, I was not satisfied with any of those still.

Some day in ’96, while I was back in Japan, I came to be fascinated with a music CD which I happened to find in a record shop. My heart was filled with some warm feelings every time I listened to the songs. Tears kept falling. I felt at rest. I felt my energy flowing anew from deep within. It was such a life saving experience for me.　
it was for me a real encounter of the true healing music,
and the album was "Itoshiki Inochi no Uta" by MASAYA.

I gradually came to think I want to sing these songs now which saved me and started thinking seriously of a change of my musical direction toward such style of music.
That’s why I requested MASAYA to produce my music.

I was faced with much difficulty as my close relatives were against this change of direction. Now such healing music has been remarkably popular these days to surprise those who were against it then. My change of musical direction was sensationally taken up as something "cultic" or "brainwashing" by those who never tried to understand me or had no heart at all. I was so sad.
Since then, whatever I said, they seemed to fabricate false, religious, cultic images of mine and talked ill about me a lot.

Neither I nor MASAYA is not such kind of person, and both of us hate to be one.
I had no one to tell my truth, I had no words to express myself, since they wouldn’t listen to me. They seemed to be interested in their own understanding of my image.
That was such heart-breaking experiences I had in those days.

Media repeatedly reported MASAYA as if he had tricked me or brainwashed me.
I feel totally sorry for him just because I loved his music.
I was totally filled with disgust and frustrations.

In spite of any adversity, one can still go beyond.
However hard a life can be, one can still live positively and sincerely.
I was inspired and encouraged by MASAYA, who was always trying to live like he advised me.
I had come this way with much support from hearty and considerate people who dared to help me in whatever misunderstandings or slanders they had to encounter because of me.

I also had various exchanges by visiting various welfare facilities and giving voluntary performances and talking with the people there.
I learned a lot from the tears of elderly people, children and those who were pondering on their lives and dying at hospices.

Thanks to the people who lived various lives, which I never knew before,
As they heard me singing and felt healed, I also felt healed and energized myself.
I learned the music of truth reaches the heart of all people beyond time and space, in spite of any differences or boundaries, and overwhelms any kind of fashions or trends.
I really feel happy that I have been able to meet such people and to sing the true healing songs for them.

With such heart-warming experiences as "Heart Center" of mine, I will present you this new song "EARTH IN THE SKY -Leaving for the Blue Sky-" to continue further to realize my new visions.
I hope you will like it.

27 March, 2008

Toshi

10:09 AM - 51 Comments - 89 Kudos - Add Comment

Toshi official site renewed!!
Current mood: adventurous
Category: Music

I believe so many supports of you have enabled me to move on, and it is a great, deep and precious experience for me to have you in my life, and it continues to be a great force for me. I send my deepest gratitude to all of my supporting people. Thank you!

This year will be a challenging one for my healing artist career and also for a reunited X JAPAN.

We have renewed Toshi official site (http://www.toshi-official.com/), and also opened a membership net community; "Toshi NET".

I think I will send you information about "Healing Concert" and of course further information about X JAPAN soon.

I wish all of you a happy new year with me and us!

P.S. English page is under construction at the moment on my renewed website. Please check it later again! Thanks.

                                                                                      Toshi

6:37 AM - 53 Comments - 90 Kudos - Add Comment

Happy New Year!

I'd like to send all of you a wish for a beautiful and fruitful new year of 2008.

I think I can post some other good news soon.

Thank you always for your support!

                                                   Toshi

11:34 PM - 29 Comments - 49 Kudos - Add Comment

Happy New Year!

Hello, everyone!
I'd like to wish you a beautiful and fruitful new year of 2008.

I think I can post some other news soon.

Thank you always for your support.

                                                        Toshi

9:04 PM - 24 Comments - 40 Kudos - Add Comment

NEW PROJECT

I had a chance to visit Los Angeles, U.S. for several days recently.
I met an old friend of mine at his recording studio during my stay.

I visited the studio after 10 years, it was much bigger than before,
and to my suprise, its facilities and recording machineries were much more gorgeous.
Maybe one of the top quality recording studios ever!
I was glad it was just like him.

I heard a song created by my friend at the world best studio.
We had a common friend who died almost 10 years ago, and the song came out of the sorrow, heartache and despair from the experience.
He said he made it at one sitting a few days after the friend's death.

It was such an authentic ballad of his favorite style, with sad and ephemeral introduction by the piano overlapped with some beautiful melodies of the strings and furthermore temporarily recorded male vocal.
I could not stop crying to hear the song, and I wished from the bottom of my heart that it will reach the whole world.

I sang the song along the piano by my friend. He said he really wanted me to sing it. He showed me its melody playing every single note elaborately and I sang like tracing it.
Words became a song with such a unique melody and rhythm of him.

He chose the right key for me, saying "It will be just right for you to sing somewhat a tough key rather than a safe and comfortable one."

I tried to sing it all through, and tears welled up again.

"One song tells much more than million words."
That is what my old friend said with a strained voice.
He also seemed crying through his glasses.

It was a moment when both of us deeply touched. 
Without many words, one song connected us again.
Maybe, our dear and lost friend did it for us.
Brought up together since childhood for 37 years,
we kept on running together anyway.
I got tired of dashing for the world market and told him that I would leave 10 years ago. I wanted to sing songs to heal desolate hearts of mine and other people.
And I traved all though Japan for these 10 years, directly meeting thousands of children, the old, truly a large number of people and singing for them.
It had been such a decate with heartfelt events, tears and learnings for myself.
Rooted on this precious experience, I would like to sing and send this song of life generated from a sadness for a lost friend for our age.

Our new project is about to start soon,
with this "One Song telling more than Million Words".

TOSHI
March 21, 2007

10:28 AM - 66 Comments - 87 Kudos - Add Comment