In 1999, at the request of the Japanese royal family, he composed and performed a classical song at a celebration in honor of the tenth anniversary of
Emperor Akihito's enthronement. Yoshiki also composed the theme for the
69th Golden Globe Awards[9][10] as well as for several anime and film soundtracks including Attack on Titan and Saw IV. In 2023, he made his directorial debut with the feature documentary film Yoshiki: Under the Sky.
In 2023, Yoshiki was selected as the first Japanese artist to be honored with a hand and footprint ceremony at the
Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood in nearly 100 years.[11] In 2024, Variety selected Yoshiki as the International Achievement in Music honoree.[12]
Life and career
1965–1982: early years and Dynamite/Noise
Yoshiki was born on November 20, 1965, in
Tateyama,
Chiba Prefecture, as the elder of two brothers in a musically oriented family. His father was a tap dancer and jazz pianist, his mother played the
shamisen, while his aunt played the
koto.[13] He began taking piano lessons and music theory at age four.[14] He then became interested in classical works by
Ludwig van Beethoven and
Franz Schubert.[14] In
elementary school, he played the
trumpet in the brass band, and around age ten started composing songs for piano.[14] This period was a decisive point in his life. He was 10 years old when his father committed suicide; he found relief in
rock music.[15][16] After discovering the music of American hard rock band
Kiss, he started learning to play drums and guitar. Yoshiki was also influenced by works from
Led Zeppelin,
Iron Maiden,
Sex Pistols,
David Bowie,
Queen,
the Beatles,
Charged GBH and
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky.[17] Yoshiki formed the band Dynamite with his childhood friend
Toshi in 1977. Dynamite changed its name to Noise a year later.
When Noise disbanded in 1982, Yoshiki and Toshi formed a new band, which they named X while they tried to think of another name, but the name stuck. In 1986, Yoshiki founded his own
independent record label,
Extasy Records, in order to distribute the band's music.[18] On December 26, 1987, the band participated in an
audition held by
CBS/Sony which led to a recording contract in August of the following year. The band's breakthrough came in 1989 with the release of their second, and major debut, album Blue Blood, which reached number six on the
Oricon chart and charted for more than 100 weeks.[19][20] In 1990, the band received the "Grand Prix New Artist of the Year" award at the 4th
Japan Gold Disc Awards.[21] In 1991 they released their hit million-selling album Jealousy, and were the first Japanese metal band to perform in Japan's largest indoor concert venue, the
Tokyo Dome. The following year they announced the renaming of the band to X Japan in order to launch an international career with an American album release, however, this ultimately did not happen.
1991–1999: solo work and Eternal Melody
That same year he began his first solo activities outside X. Collaborating with
Tetsuya Komuro for the rock unit V2, with a concert on December 5 at the
Tokyo Bay NK Hall[22][23] and the single "Haitoku no Hitomi ~Eyes of Venus~/Virginity" (背徳の瞳〜Eyes of Venus〜) in January 1992, which reached number two on the chart.[24] On December 12, Yoshiki released his first album, the classical compilation Yoshiki Selection,[25] which includes classical works, and its sequel followed six years later.
On April 21, 1993, he released his first original solo album, the
classical studio album Eternal Melody, which was performed by the
London Philharmonic Orchestra and produced by
the Beatles producer
George Martin.[28] Besides including orchestral arrangements of X Japan songs, it contained two new songs as well. The album reached number 6 on the charts.[29] On November 3, the singles "Amethyst" and "Ima wo Dakishimete" (今を抱きしめて) were released and reached number five and three respectively on the charts.[30] The later single was a karaoke adaptation of the second orchestral song from the first single, but name credit went to
TBS as it was the theme song to one of their dramas, recorded by the lead actors under the group name NOA.[31][32] In 1994, it was the 35th annual best-selling single and won the "Excellence award" at the 36th
Japan Record Awards.[33]
In 1994, Yoshiki worked with
Queen drummer
Roger Taylor on a song he composed, "Foreign Sand", for which Roger wrote the lyrics. They performed the song at
The Great Music Experience event in May,[34][self-published source?] partly backed by
Unesco, which featured many other Japanese and Western musicians. The single was released in June, and reached the top fifteen in Japan, and 26th in the
UK.[35] That same month, the
Kiss tribute album Kiss My Ass was released, for which Yoshiki contributed an orchestral arrangement of "
Black Diamond" played by the
American Symphony Orchestra.[36][37]
With X Japan's popularity increasing, Yoshiki and the band collaborated with
Mugen Motorsports and sponsored racer Katsumi Yamamoto, who drove for team "X Japan Racing" in the
1995 season of
Formula Nippon.[38] In the
1996 season, they sponsored
Ralf Schumacher with both him and the team winning the championship.[39] In 1997, Toshi decided to leave the band, claiming the success-oriented life of a rock star failed to satisfy him emotionally. The band's dissolution was officially announced in September 1997.[40] X Japan performed their farewell show at the Tokyo Dome on December 31, 1997, making it the last of five consecutive
New Year's Eve shows in that stadium.[40] Soon afterwards, in May 1998, the band's lead guitarist
Hide died, and Yoshiki withdrew from the public scene, as he was battling suicidal thoughts and eventually sought the help of a psychiatrist.[41]
Yoshiki remained active as a producer for bands such as
Dir En Grey,[27] and contributed a cover song for the 1999 Hide tribute album, Tribute Spirits. On November 12, 1999, a celebration in honor of the tenth anniversary of Emperor
Akihito's enthronement was held at the
Tokyo Imperial Palace, for which Yoshiki composed and performed the song "Anniversary" at the request of the royal family.[42][43]
2000–2009: Eternal Melody II, Violet UK and S.K.I.N.
In the beginning of the 21st century, he expanded his record label with sub-divisions, Extasy Japan and Extasy International in collaboration with
Warner Music,[44] and produced several artists. In 2000, he collaborated with
7-Eleven on a series of TV commercials, for which he provided the songs "Blind Dance" and "The Other Side" by his solo musical project Violet UK.[45] Two years prior, he contributed the song "Sane" for the 1998 film In God's Hands.[46][47] The project idea was born in 1991,[48] when Yoshiki was recording in his studio, initially doing sessions with
Mick Karn and
Jane Child, but it was postponed. The music involves a fusion of
trip rock,
breakbeat, and classical piano strings.
In September 2002, he joined the dance-oriented pop group led by Tetsuya Komuro,
Globe.[49] Though his only contribution was the single "Seize the Light" and, after recording an album, they went on hiatus with Yoshiki not rejoining them afterwards. On December 3 and 4, he held
symphonic concerts with the
Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, at
Tokyo International Forum.[50] Featuring female singers Daughter and
Nicole Scherzinger, they performed older orchestral arrangements and songs created for Violet UK, such as "Unnamed Song", which was composed to mourn the victims of the
September 11 attacks,[51] and "I'll Be Your Love", which was released the following year as the debut single for American-Japanese singer Dahlia and later used as the official theme song of the
world's fair,
Expo 2005.[52][53]
In 2003 and 2004, he provided the theme songs "Kimi Dake Dakara" and "Sekai no Owari no Yoru ni" for
NHK's 50th anniversary commemorative broadcast and the 90th anniversary of
Takarazuka Revue.[54][55] In 2004, he helped produce the
South Korean rock band
the TRAX,[56][57] and his composition "
Tears" was used as the theme song for the film Windstruck, becoming the first Japanese song to be featured in a Korean film after
World War II.[58][59] In 2005, a second classical solo album titled Eternal Melody II was released on March 23.[60][61] The next day, Yoshiki conducted the Super World Orchestra in the opening ceremony of the World's Fair in the performance of a classical version of "I'll Be Your Love."[62] At the end of the same month, a DVD recording of his previous symphonic concert was released.[61] In December, the Violet UK song "Sex and Religion" was released via the
iTunes Store,[63] and soon afterwards "Mary Mona Lisa" unofficially via
Myspace.[64]
In 2006, Yoshiki appeared at the
Otakon convention on August 6, where it was publicly announced that he would be forming a band named
S.K.I.N. with rock singer
Gackt, soon afterwards they were joined by
Sugizo.[65] At the JRock Revolution Festival on May 25, 2007, which was organized by Yoshiki, it was announced that
Miyavi was joining.[66] There were high expectations for the band, like to be the first Asian band to conquer the world charts, beginning with America,[67] and to lead a rock revolution and starting a new era of rock and roll, by opening the market for Japanese in the Western music industry.[68] But after their debut performance on June 29, 2007, at the
Anime Expo in
Long Beach, all activities were stopped.[69][70][71]
That same year he co-produced the soundtrack for the 2007 film Catacombs, which included the Violet UK song "Blue Butterfly" and was released by his Extasy Records International.[72][73] On October 22, 2007, X Japan's living members reunited and appeared together for the first time in over 10 years at a public filming of the promotion video for their new single "
I.V.", which was created for the American horror movie Saw IV and played during the end credits but was not included on the soundtrack album.[74][75][76] On September 20, 2007, at a Catacombs preview in Japan, it was announced that Yoshiki would be producing the 2008 rock
musicalRepo! The Genetic Opera and
its soundtrack, along with composing one extra track for it.[77][78] In 2009, he contributed the theme song "Blue Sky Heaven" for the 30th anniversary of a
Nippon Television program,[79] and for the Japanese historical fantasy film Goemon he wrote the Violet UK song "Rosa", which was released on April 29 via iTunes.[80] That year he again collaborated with Mugen Motorsports and racing car constructor
Dome for the
Super GT series
championship.[81] In July 2009, he had to undergo surgery for a slipped disc in his neck, and was told by doctors to refrain from heavy drumming.[82] His neck is so severely damaged that Yoshiki's management has said that it, "would force a professional rugby player to retire."[83]
2010–2017: solo career and Yoshiki Classical
In 2010, Yoshiki with Toshi appeared and performed at
Japan Expo in Paris on July 4.[84] In October, he fainted in his hotel room on X Japan's tour, and was subsequently diagnosed with
hyperthyroidism.[85][86] He teamed up with Toshi again on January 24–25, 2011, at the first expensive high-end dinner show for their project ToshI feat Yoshiki, where an orchestra was utilized and later a live album released of the show.[87][88] On March 6, Yoshiki co-organized with fashion producer Jay FR (from the fashion festival "
Tokyo Girls Collection") a fashion and music event "Asia Girls Explosion" at
Yoyogi National Stadium.[89][90] At the event many special guest models walked the runway, Yoshiki's own
kimono line that he designed, and both X Japan and Violet UK performed.[91][92] On May 27, "Yoshiki Radio" was launched on
Sirius XM's
Boneyard station. The hour-long program hosted by Yoshiki, aired the first Sunday of every month.[93] On July 21, at
San Diego Comic-Con International, Yoshiki unveiled the comic book series Blood Red Dragon, which was created in collaboration with American comic book legends
Stan Lee and
Todd McFarlane and stars a
superhero version of himself.[94]
In 2012, Yoshiki composed the theme song for the
69th Golden Globe Awards,[62] and on January 15, 2013, the theme was officially released through iTunes in 111 countries, with all proceeds being donated to charities chosen by the
Hollywood Foreign Press Association.[95] A wax figure of Yoshiki was unveiled at
Madame Tussauds Hong Kong wax museum in May 2012. In 2013, Yoshiki's figure was moved to the Tokyo location.[96][97][98] On August 27, 2013, the third classical studio album Yoshiki Classical was released.[99][100] It debuted at No. 1 on the iTunes Classical Musica Chart in 10 different countries.[101] In celebration of its release, a special live performance was held at
the Grammy Museum.[102][103][104]
On March 14, 2014, at the
South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, Yoshiki performed a duet piano piece during his concert at the Qui Restaurant; one part played by him, and the other played by a hologram of himself.[105] On April 25, Yoshiki started his first classical world tour in
Costa Mesa, California, and continued throughout the world, visiting
San Francisco,
Mexico City,
Moscow,
Berlin,
Paris,
London,
Shanghai,
Beijing,
Bangkok,
Taipei,
Tokyo and
Osaka.[106][107][108] The tour setup featured Yoshiki on piano, several strings as cellos and viola, and vocalist Katie Fitzgerald from Violet UK.[109] Performances included classical versions of songs he composed, as well depending on the venue, some famous composers like
Tchaikovsky.[109] For an upcoming Japanese 3D CG animated film Saint Seiya: Legend of Sanctuary, Yoshiki contributed theme song "Hero" and it was unveiled on the tour.[110] In October 2014, Yoshiki performed a concert at
Madison Square Garden with X Japan. It was the group's largest U.S. headlining performance.[111][112][113] In November 2014, Yoshiki debuted the official
Hello Kitty theme song, "Hello Hello", at the first Hello Kitty Con.[114] He was the guest of honor at
Stan Lee's
Comikaze Expo.[115]
In April 2015, Yoshiki was a guest speaker and performer at the New Economy Summit (NES).[116] In July, he performed at the Hyper Japan Festival in
London, together with Toshi.[117] Yoshiki performed with a string quartet at the
2016 Sundance Film Festival. The We Are X film, a documentary on X Japan and Yoshiki, premiered at Sundance[118] and was selected for the World Cinema Documentary Competition.[119] In November 2016, he won the Asian Icon Award at the
Classic Rock Roll of Honour Awards in Tokyo.[120][121] In 2016, he embarked on another classical world tour, with performances in Tokyo and Osaka,[122] and a
Hong Kong show that had to be cancelled due to the promoter's mistake and rescheduled as a free concert on December 30.[123]
Yoshiki's second solo classical tour commenced in
Osaka Castle Hall on December 5, 2016, with three days at the
Tokyo International Forum on December 6, 7 and 8, a performance at Hong Kong's
AsiaWorld-Expo scheduled for December 29 and
Carnegie Hall, New York on Jan 12 and 13. The Carnegie Hall performances included the
Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra. The Tokyo concerts in December were an acclaimed success[124] but the Hong Kong Concert on December 29 had to be canceled two hours before the show.[125] The cancellation was due to an oversight by the promoter in applying for the entertainment license necessary to perform the show.[126] However the date was fulfilled on the following day, December 30, by Yoshiki performing for free with ticket holders being refunded, the first time for a major music artist to do such a thing in Hong Kong.[127] The concerts in Carnegie Hall on January 12 and 13 were successful sellout shows. Yoshiki also included in the show a surprise performance of "
The Star-Spangled Banner" after a heartfelt speech about his personal pursuit of the
American Dream.[128]
2017–2022: "Red Swan", "Miracle", and the Last Rockstars
In January 2017, Yoshiki performed two sold-out concerts at Carnegie Hall in
New York.[129] In March 2017, Yoshiki performed with a 4-piece string quartet at Hong Kong's Asia Film Awards. In April 2017, Yoshiki debuted a special collaboration T-shirt with rock group
Kiss titled "YoshiKiss".[130] During these performances, he lost sensation in his left hand and was rediagnosed with cervical foraminal stenosis. In May 2017, it was announced that Yoshiki would undergo emergency cervical artificial disc replacement surgery in Los Angeles on May 16, resulting in the cancelling of his schedule for May, and future events being possibly cancelled or rescheduled based on discussions after his surgery.[83][131][132] The surgery was successful, with his surgical wound expected to take six weeks to heal, and for him to make a 90% recovery in six months. However, the recovery period for the pain in his hand is unknown.[133]
In July 2017, Yoshiki performed six concerts with X Japan. He also performed a series of seven Evening with Yoshiki dinner shows in Osaka, Nagoya, and Tokyo.[134] In October 2017, Yoshiki completed a 10-country tour of Europe promoting the X Japan documentary We Are X.[135]
On July 28, 2018, Yoshiki collaborated with
Skrillex for performances of "Endless Rain" and "
Scary Monsters And Nice Sprites" at
Fuji Rock Festival in
Niigata, Japan.[136][137] On October 3, Yoshiki released the song "
Red Swan" featuring
Hyde, as the opening theme of the
third season of the Attack on Titan anime, reaching #1 on the iTunes rock charts in 10 countries.[138][139][140] On November 16, Sarah Brightman's version of Yoshiki's composition "Miracle"[141] hit the top 10 on classical charts in 15 countries, and Yoshiki was announced as a guest performer on Sarah Brightman's Hymn World Tour in 2019 in selected cities in the US and Japan.[142] On New Year's Eve in 2018, he performed in the long-running TV show, Kouhaku Uta Gassen, where, for the first time in the show's history, he was a member of both the Red and the White teams, teaming up with Hyde for a performance of "Red Swan" and then joining Brightman for "Miracle".[143]
In January 2019, it was announced that Yoshiki would partner with the H Collective to compose the score and theme song for the fourth installment of
Vin Diesel's
xXx film series and create the theme for the animated feature film Spycies.[144][145] In March 2019, New York-area
PBS station
WNET Thirteen premiered a one-hour version of his 2017 Carnegie Hall concert.[146][147] On May 3, 2109, Yoshiki appeared as the featured pianist on
Hyde's single "Zipang".[148][149] The Yoshiki: Live at Carnegie Hall special began airing on PBS stations nationwide in November.[150]
In January 2020, Yoshiki wrote and produced the debut song "Imitation Rain" for male vocal group
SixTones, which launched at number one on the
Oricon chart and the
Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart, and sold 1.3 million physical copies in its first week.[156][157]
In March 2020, Yoshiki collaborated with
Bono,
Will.i.am, and
Jennifer Hudson to create "#SING4LIFE", a song written and compiled remotely by the four musicians to lift spirits during the
COVID-19 pandemic.[158] In August 2020,
St. Vincent and Yoshiki teamed to create a classical arrangement of her song "
New York".[159] In September 2020, "Disney - My Music Story: Yoshiki" premiered on the
Disney+ service, featuring Yoshiki's new arrangements of themes from Disney films The Lion King and Frozen.[160] In November 2020, Yoshiki's photobook XY with images by American photographer
Melanie Pullen, placed number one in the Oricon weekly book chart.[161][162]
In October 2022, Yoshiki and NTV premiered the talent competition show "Yoshiki Superstar Project X", which ranked number 1 in Hulu Japan's domestic variety show category.[168] On November 11, a new
supergroup project called
the Last Rockstars was announced, featuring Yoshiki, Hyde,
Miyavi, and
Sugizo.[169] The group released their first single, "The Last Rockstars (Paris Mix)", in December of the same year.[170] In January 2023, the group launched their first international tour with sold-out shows in Tokyo, New York, and Los Angeles.[171]
2023–present: classical world tour and directorial debut
On February 23, 2023, Yoshiki gave the keynote address at
Stanford University's conference on "The Future of
Social Tech".[172] On May 15, 2023, Yoshiki announced his classical world tour at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles, titled "Yoshiki Classical 10th Anniversary World Tour with Orchestra 2023 “Requiem".[173] The tour was held in October and included shows at Tokyo Garden Theater,
Royal Albert Hall,
Dolby Theatre, and Carnegie Hall.
Ellie Goulding and St. Vincent joined Yoshiki on stage at Royal Albert Hall as guest vocalists, and the concert was broadcast worldwide by On Air and exclusively in Japan by
Wowow.[174] He also announced the release of two singles: "Requiem", a classical single dedicated to his mother, and "Angel", X Japan's first single in eight years.[175]
On June 20, the debut single of boy band
XY, produced by Yoshiki, was announced on Yoshiki Channel. The song, titled "Crazy Love", written produced, and composed by Yoshiki, was released on June 30.[176] On July 2, Yoshiki appeared at Anime Expo to reveal the cover art for "Requiem" with artist
Yoshitaka Amano.[177] On July 15, Yoshiki performed at Japan Expo, joined by XY and French opera singer Séraphine Cotrez.[178]
In July 2023, following
Elon Musk's move to rebrand
Twitter as "X", it was reported that the Japanese branch of the company, currently called "Twitter Japan", would be rebranded as "X Japan". This led to Yoshiki commenting on Twitter that: "I think it's already trademarked." As a result of the band having the trademark for "X Japan", it is reported that "Twitter Japan" would instead be rebranded "X Nippon" instead.[179][180] Yoshiki said in an interview with Consequence that he respected Musk and he felt fans should decide the name of the platform.[181] "Angel" was released on July 28.
On August 2, Yoshiki announced the premiere of the feature documentary concert film Yoshiki: Under the Sky, which is the musician's debut as a film director.[182] Premieres in New York, London, and Los Angeles were also announced.[183] On August 4, 2023, the Last Rockstars released their second single, "Psycho Love" and announced a tour of the U.S. and Japan for November.[184]
On September 14, Yoshiki became the first Japanese artist to be honored with a
hand and footprint ceremony at the
Chinese Theatre in Hollywood since the tradition began in 1927.[185][186] He dedicated it to his parents and former X Japan band members Hide and Taiji.[187] On November 14, Yoshiki received the Icon Award at the Stars Asian International Film Festival in Los Angeles.[188] On November 28, Yoshiki received the
MAMA award for Favorite International Artist and performed "Endless Rain" with
K-Pop artists
Tomorrow x Together's Taehyun and Hueningkai,
Boynextdoor's Jaehyun,
Riize's Anton, and
Zerobaseone's Han Yujin.[189][190]
On January 8. 2024,
Sanrio announced that Yoshiki would compose the theme song for
Hello Kitty's 50th Anniversary.[191] On March 27, Variety selected Yoshiki as the 2024 International Achievement in Music honoree.[12] On April 16, Yoshiki performed the
U.S. National Anthem at
Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.[192]
Yoshiki composes his songs by hand, writing the score on paper before sharing with band members or collaborators.[204] In the 1990s, he experimented with various aliases on songwriting credits, including fictitious names such as Hitomi Shiratori (X Japan's "
Tears"), Rei Shiratori (L.O.X.'s "Shake Hand"), and Tomomi Tachibana (
Shizuka Kudō's "Shinku no Hana"), in order to separate his rock image from his "softer" works.[205]
He has composed lyrics and music for numerous artists including Glay ("Rain"), Dir en grey, and
Seiko Matsuda.[citation needed]
Philanthropy
Yoshiki started his charitable work as a result of losing his father to suicide at a young age, saying he wanted to support children who have had traumatic experiences like he did.[206][207]
In 1995, in response to the
Kobe earthquake, Yoshiki held an X Japan's
Christmas Eve charity concert in
Osaka, and presented the certifications of new pianos to students whose schools were damaged during the earthquake.[208]
In 2009, he invited 200 young orphans to attend two X Japan's concerts in January in
Hong Kong, and donated money to a charity organization for orphans.[209] On March 29 and 31, he visited a town in the province of
Sichuan, China, which was devastated by the
earthquake in 2008, and donated musical instruments to the schools in the area.[210] He again invited children from the local orphanages in
Taipei,
Taiwan, to be the special guests in the X Japan's concert on May 30.[211] In 2010, he founded Yoshiki Foundation America, a California non-profit, public benefit corporation with tax-exempt status as a section
501(c)3.[212] On July 1, the foundation hosted a free benefit fan event for charity at
Club Nokia,
Los Angeles. Beneficiaries included the
Grammy Foundation,
Make-A-Wish Foundation, and St. Vincent
Meals on Wheels.[212] In 2011, to provide aid to the victims of March 11's
Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, the Foundation in association with
Yahoo! Japan organized the Japan Relief Fundraising Auction, and all the benefits were sent to the
Japanese Red Cross.[212][213] Yoshiki auctioned one of his
Kawai Crystal Grand CR-40 pianos, and with restructuring verification system by
Yahoo! Auctions, because offers reached high as $20 million,[214][215] it got sold for $134,931.[216]
In 2014, Yoshiki Foundation America partnered with the
MusiCares Foundation in an auction for a private dinner with Yoshiki. The auction awarded the two highest bidders each with a dinner and raised $62,000 for the Grammy Foundation and MusiCares.[217][218] In 2017, Yoshiki Foundation America donated $100,000 to
Hurricane Harvey relief efforts through the MusiCares Foundation.[219] In 2018, the YFA organization donated 10 million yen to assist victims of flooding in Japan,[220][221] and an additional 10 million yen to assist recovery from the
2018 Hokkaido Eastern Iburi earthquake.[222][223]
In April 2019, Yoshiki donated $87,900 to Korea for a forest fire accident in Gangwon-do, Korea.[224] In June 2019, Yoshiki visited the
Frost School of Music at the
University of Miami where he made a $150,000 donation and held a masterclass for students, where he advised the future musicians to "play every concert as if it is your last."[225][226] Yoshiki's efforts were recognized by the renaming of the Frost School of Music Dean's office as "Yoshiki Dean's Suite".[227] In August 2019, Yoshiki donated 10 million yen to support victims of the
Kyoto Animation arson attack,[228][229] and $100,000 to the Earth Alliance Amazon Forest Fund to prevent destruction of the
Amazon Rainforest.[230] In September 2019, Yoshiki donated 10 million yen to support disaster relief in his hometown of
Chiba after it was struck by
Typhoon Faxai,[231][232] and later volunteered for manual labor at the recovery site when he returned to Japan.[233][234] In October 2019, Yoshiki donated an additional 10 million yen to assist recovery in Japan from
Typhoon Hagibis.[235] In December 2019, Yoshiki was named as one of
Forbes Asia's 30 Heroes of Philanthropy for his contributions to "disaster relief, orphanages and treatment for children with bone-marrow disease."[236]
In January 2020, Yoshiki donated $50,000 to the
Australian Red Cross to aid
bushfire victims and $50,000 to the
Rainforest Trust's Conservation Action Fund.[237] In March 2020, in response to the
COVID-19 outbreak, he donated $100,000 to the
Recording Academy's
MusiCares Foundation COVID-19 relief fund,[238] and $24,000 to several
Meals on Wheels locations in Southern California.[239] That same month, the musician also donated 10 million yen to the
Japan Red Cross in commemoration of the ninth anniversary of the Great East Japan Earthquake.[240] In April 2020, Yoshiki donated 10 million yen to Japan's National Center for Global Health and Medicine.[241] In May 2020, Yoshiki explained his charitable activities to The Japan Times: "If you have a certain influence with people, I think it’s better for you to announce it. By doing so, you can provide awareness of the situation, as well as inform people about charitable organizations supporting the cause, and people may get inspired by your actions as well," said Yoshiki. "The goal is to do as much good as we can for others."[206][207]
In March 2021, the Japanese government awarded Yoshiki the
Medal with Dark Blue Ribbon for his charity work through Yoshiki Foundation America.[242] That same month, Yoshiki and MusiCares announced the formation of a $100,000 annual grant to help music creators and industry professionals with programs for depression, anxiety, suicide prevention and awareness, and other mental health concerns.[243] In March 2022, Yoshiki helped raise over US$9 million for humanitarian relief efforts in
Ukraine after announcing his own donation to the fundraiser initiated by
Hiroshi Mikitani, CEO of
Rakuten.[244][245] The same year, Yoshiki continued his support for the people of Ukraine with two donations totaling 20 million yen in November and December to the
United Nations agency
International Organization for Migration (IOM) for its emergency relief operations in Ukraine and neighboring countries.[246][247]
In January 2024, Yoshiki donated 10 million yen to the Japanese Red Cross to support areas affected by the
Noto Peninsula Earthquake.[248] At the unveiling ceremony for his handprints at the TCL Chinese Theatre on January 9, Yoshiki announced that he would auction his custom Kawai crystal piano to raise more funds for earthquake relief and reconstruction, raising an addition 40 million yen.[249][250] In April 2024, Yoshiki donated 10 million Yen to the Red Cross to support victims of the
Hualien earthquake in Taiwan.[251]
Fashion
Yoshikimono
In 2011, Yoshiki debuted
Yoshikimono, a line of rock-inspired
kimono, at the Asia Girls Explosion fashion event in collaboration with
Tokyo Girls Collection.[252][253] Yoshiki created the fashion brand to pay tribute to his parents who ran a kimono shop when he was growing up.[254] The collection debuted at
Tokyo Fashion Week with its first fashion show during the finale of the 2015 Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in Tokyo,[255] and was invited to open Amazon Fashion Week Tokyo 2017.[256][257] Yoshikimono opened Tokyo Fashion Week 2020 S/S with the brand's third collection, which featured kimono designed around characters from the anime series Attack on Titan and the comic book series Blood Red Dragon, co-created by
Stan Lee.[258][259]
On July 4, 2023, Yoshiki announced the establishment of his high-fashion brand
Maison Yoshiki Paris.[263][264] The brand will also produce wine and champagne glasses in collaboration with
Baccarat.[265] In February 2024, Maison Yoshiki Paris debuted at
Milan Fashion Week Fall/Winter 2024/25 at
Bocconi University as part of the official calendar.[266] The runway show featured an onstage musical performance by Yoshiki (including new songs and a collaboration with
Hiroshi Fujiwara)[267] and the production team included fashion stylist
Carlyne Cerf de Dudzeele, casting director Maida Gregori Boina, hair stylist
Odile Gilbert, and makeup artist Kabuki.[268]
Modeling
In August 2017, Yoshiki was chosen for the cover of Vogue Japan, as the first Japanese male to do so.[269]
In October 2018, Yoshiki was the featured model for the
Yves Saint Laurent YSL Beauty Hotel opening event in Tokyo, participating in a female makeup demonstration applied by Yves Saint Laurent's beauty director
Tom Pecheux.[270][271]
In September 2020, Yoshiki was featured on the cover of fashion magazine Numero Tokyo,[272] and in October 2020,
Kodansha announced Yoshiki's fashion photo book XY, shot at the
Paramour Estate in Los Angeles.[273]
Other brands
In October 2021, French fine crystal manufacturer Baccarat debuted a 180th anniversary version of its Harcourt glass at Paris Fashion Week 2022 designed by Yoshiki.[274]
Business ventures
Yoshiki has launched several business ventures, including music recording, entertainment, wine, energy drinks, fashion, finance, and lifestyle products.[275]
In 1986 Yoshiki founded
Extasy Records in Japan with money he received from his mother when she sold her business,[276] later established Extasy Japan and Extasy Records International, around 2000.[277] He also founded Japanese record label Platinum Records in April 1992 as an affiliate of
PolyGram.[26]
In 1992, Yoshiki purchased One On One Recording, a recording studio complex in
North Hollywood from Jim David, renaming it
Extasy Recording Studios after his own record label in 1999.[26] He sold the studio in 2012, and it later became
17 Hertz Studio.[278] In April 1998, he bought Brooklyn Recording Studios, which housed the Los Angeles offices of
Maverick Records, from owners
Madonna and
Freddy DeMann. He renamed it One On One South[26] before using it as the headquarters of Extasy Records International.[279] In 2013, Yoshiki bought The Pass, a Los Angeles recording studio previously known as
Larrabee East.[280][281]
On May 15, 2000, Yoshiki invented a method for reproducing mp3 music and holds a patent for compressed music data playback technology.[282][283]
In 2009, with California winemaker Michael Mondavi, Yoshiki launched a wine brand titled "Y by Yoshiki", which consists of a
Chardonnay and a
Cabernet Sauvignon from a 2008 vintage.[284][285]
In 2015, the Yoshiki Channel was launched on
Niconico Video, a Japanese video platform. The channel streams exclusive live shows and distributes links for movies and magazines.[286]
Yoshiki has partnered with researchers to investigate music as therapy.[289] Yoshiki also has branded
MasterCard and
Visa credit cards,[290][291] and is an investor in Green Lord Motors.[292][293]
In May 2022, Yoshiki formed a business partnership with
Coca-Cola Japan to create the
energy drinks "Real Gold X" and "Real Gold Y", themed after Yoshiki's connection to rock music and classical music, respectively.[294][295]
In August 2022, French
Champagne house
Pommery announced a collaboration with Yoshiki as the brand's first co-release with a celebrity artist.[296][297] In July 2023, Pommery expanded the distribution to Germany after the Champagne set sales records in Japan.[298]
Equipment
Kawai CR-40A
Kawai Yoshiki Custom
Yoshiki said he considers himself a
groove drummer.[299] He normally wears a neck brace when playing the drums; as a result of his years of "
headbanging" while drumming, he injured his neck and had to undergo surgery.[299][300] In 2015, Yoshiki stated he is more of a songwriter than a drummer.[199]
Tama Drums created a custom-made
acrylic drum set for Yoshiki to use on stage, the ArtStar series. Yoshiki admitted that the clear acrylic shells are great for appearances, allowing the stage lights to color his drums with varying hues, but are not ideal sound-wise. He explained that the clear drums are difficult to play because they do not have the usual responsiveness of wooden shells and are not very durable; as they require much more physical pounding to deliver a good sound and that causes the heads to be essentially ruined after only a single concert.[199] Yoshiki's live kit uses two 24-inch (610 mm)
kick drums, and centers the 14"
snare drum directly in front of him. He usually works with five
tom drums: three rack toms with diameters of 12", 13", and 14", and two floor toms with diameters of 16" and 18".[301] However, in the studio he uses a limited made
titanium kit from Kitano drum called Tama Artstar II "Titan Body" with Evans coated heads.[199]
Yoshiki usually performs on a
Kawai Crystal II Grand Piano CR-40A. Kawai also makes a Yoshiki-model grand piano of traditional wooden design.
He has a constant numbness of two fingers on his left hand that he says makes it difficult to play piano.[299] He also suffers from chronic
tendonitis on his right hand, which may cause him to be unable to play musical instruments in the future.[302]
^Jonathan Clements, Motoko Tamamuro (2003).
"Complete Love". The Dorama Encyclopedia: A Guide to Japanese TV Drama Since 1953. Stone Bridge Press.
ISBN9781880656815.
^
ab第36回日本レコード大賞. jacompa.or.jp (in Japanese). Archived from
the original on October 19, 2013. Retrieved October 20, 2012.
^「ズームイン!!Super」30周年記念. ntv.co.jp (in Japanese). Nippon Television Network Corporation. Archived from
the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved January 9, 2012.