Explanation time.
Yuki's comment about the live went up over the weekend, and I decided to translate both it and Hiro's (because I kind of said I would when I originally posted it^^;). Be warned that the reason for Yuki's absence, as far as I can tell, was some sort of an inner crisis, so his comment ain't exactly sweetness and light.Disclaimer: I suck at Japanese. Some parts of this may be hilariously mistranslated; I did it to the best of my abilities, but I'm far from fluent. I've put the original Japanese under the translations, so everyone feel free to compare and contrast. Bracketed text is my own commentary.ETA: These translations were revised February 18th, 2007. Just because.Hiro:First off, I want to offer my apologies to the fans cheering us on all over the country for the trouble and worry caused by the way this live turned out. I'm really sorry, everyone.Considering how sudden this was, and how close to opening, the fact that so many of you still came to the show fills me with gratitude.Just before the live, unable to guess how it was going to turn out, I couldn't even think straight; but going out in front of everyone and hearing the cheers of support truly gave me courage.Between the support members and the staff, I got the sense of being warmly supported by friends onstage, and because of that, I think I was able to make it a good performance. Thank you all.This is all just a matter of course, but I still don't think my words have made things all that clear, and I'm hoping that we'll be able to provide a better explanation for all of you soon. [Note: This sentence is still a pretty rough translation, because it's rather vague context-wise. It's closer than the previous version was, though. ^^;] - Kazuhiro Murataposted 6/24/04Yuki:I haven't felt this ashamed in years.As far back as I can remember, singing has been life itself for me, and I've always told everyone as such.Of course, not one thing has changed in the way that I feel, and I don't intend to give up now. Since the day I was first enchanted by singing, I've spent so much time, energy and money on making music that I loved. I've devoted my life to singing with as much strength, as much grace, and as much truth as possible.And so, I really did want to perform on June 22nd. It was far too long a day.I couldn't understand why I wasn't there, and even now part of me still can't grasp it.We started preparing for this live right after the one at Omotesando. "It's two months away!" people would say, laughing, but we wanted to hurry and see everyone. In writing new lyrics and music I began to see again the relationship between myself and my music, and because of that it was a valuable period of time. But I was so caught up in my impatience that I didn't do some things that I should have, even with so much time to take care of them. And as a result, I ended up deciding to either push away or ruin everything that I was with my own two hands...I was looking frantically for the value in being what I was supposed to be, both as a musician and as a person. I can't repaint the truth of what I did and make it look better, and I think that it may be almost impossible for me to regain everyone's trust after this.Over the last several days I've received many words of encouragement, as well as many of rebuke. I should be ashamed, I should make amends, I should give thanks; and as time has passed like this I've gradually been able to think more clearly about it.I can't even begin to think of how to make up for the amount of damage I did in only one day, which makes me feel my own cowardice that much more.Thinking about what I can do, the first thing would be to hurry and perform as I was supposed to. It may sound rash, but please rest assured that what happened will not affect my singing in any way.The absolute necessity of a good friend like Hiro is something that I've come to realize again because of all of this. I want to remember that as I go on singing, keeping it as a vow in my heart once more.Life in this world requires a will to keep going, and that one's duties be carried out.Finally, I deeply apologize to the fans who've cheered us on, and all those involved, for the massive worry and trouble that I've caused.-Yuki Sakuraiposted 7/2/04rice rice