Rafu Wire Service Reports
Japanese musician and film director Yoshiki was honored at a special ceremony in Hollywood to unveil a cement tablet displaying his hand and footprints on Jan. 9 at the TCL Chinese Theatre’s forecourt, nearly four months after he became the first Japanese artist to put them in cement.
“Sometimes, my hands feel very fragile. Sometimes, my hands feel very strong. So does my heart. I’ve been going upheaval, but my fans bring me back to a positive place,” Yoshiki said at the 11 a.m. ceremony.
He was chosen for “his achievements in music, fashion and film, as well as his charitable efforts around the globe,” a theater official said.
Clad in a black suit, Yoshiki posed and smiled in front of his newly unveiled prints for photographers before greeting his many fans who gathered in attendance.
During his speech, he touched on the ups and downs of his career, including the recent completion of his world tour that he dedicated to his parents and fellow band members, and the death October of Heath, his bandmate from X Japan.
Speaking on his upcoming film “Yoshiki: Under the Sky”, he said, “The title of the film means even though the people closest to my heart went up to the sky, I’m still here. We are still here. Still living here under the sky. I will tell you myself, we should live as much as we can. We should live for them.”
He also said he would be donating his crystal piano to an auction and giving all the proceeds to victims of the magnitude-7.6 earthquake that struck central Japan on Jan. 1.
Masa Endo, 51, who was one of many fans present, said that he has been a follower of Yoshiki’s work since his youth and that it was an honor to be in attendance.
Born Yoshiki Hayashi on Nov. 20, 1965, in Tateyama, Yoshiki is a rock drummer, composer and classically trained pianist.
In 1982, Yoshiki and lead vocalist Toshi, a friend since their childhoods, formed the rock band X , which has sold more than 30 million albums, singles and videos and sold out the 55,000-seat Tokyo Dome 18 times, according to its website.
The group changed its name to X Japan in 1992, broke up in 1997, reunited in 2007 and performed at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in 2018. X Japan released its first single in eight years in July, “Angel.”
Yoshiki formed the supergroup The Last Rockstars in 2022 with X Japan lead guitarist Sugizo, Hyde, the lead vocalist of the rock band L’Arc-en-Ciel and duo Vamps, and the guitarist Miyavi. The group is scheduled to perform at YouTube Theater at SoFi Stadium on Aug. 29.
Yoshiki’s projects have included a song dedicated to the 10th anniversary of former Japanese Emperor Akihito’s reign in 1999 and the official theme song for Expo 2005, which was in Nagoya.
Yoshiki performed with an orchestra at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood in October, the same month he also performed at the Garden Theater in Tokyo, Royal Albert Hall in London and Carnegie Hall in New York City.
Yoshiki is the designer of the high-fashion kimono brand Yoshikimono. He joined Napa Valley-based winemaker Michael Mondavi in launching the Y by Yoshiki wine brand in 2009.
“Yoshiki: Under the Sky,” which premiered Sept. 5 in Tokyo, features live performances by The Chainsmokers, St. Vincent, Sarah Brightman, Scorpions, Hyde, Sugizo, the Japanese boy band SixTones, Jane Zhang, Lindsey Stirling and Nicole Scherzinger. It will be streamed on Prime Video beginning in May.