emily’s Reviews > Music Sets You Free > Status Update
emily
is on page 378 of 496
‘—the simplistic fantasy—when we die, we become stars in the night sky. I’m not sure there’s such a thing as the afterlife, but—it’s crossed my mind—The mountain forests only turn this colour 1 or 2 weeks out of the year. I happened to be there at the right time. I’m not too fond of the Yoshino cherry hybrids that you see planted in long rows in places like Ueno Park, specifically to lure people in—a cruel industry—’
— Oct 08, 2026 06:16PM
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emily’s Previous Updates
emily
is on page 399 of 496
‘It’s baffling—a city that feels like a twin to one you know—with language as the only difference. The experience was unforgettable—The oppressor tends to forget almost instantly, while the oppressed carry the pain for generations. These experiences fueled my curiosity about the history—a fascination that continues to this day—Born & raised in Tokyo, I’d lived through countless earthquakes—we’re no match for nature.’
— Oct 11, 2026 09:11AM
emily
is on page 390 of 496
‘—fuyu,—comes from the verb fuyu, an arcane way of saying fueru, ‘to amass’—a time for stockpiling the seeds of life, whereas haru (spring), denotes the time of year when these seeds take root & spread out haru, ‘to extend’—releasing energy. It occurred to me that we should really start with winter when we list off the four seasons. Though of course, the idea of discrete seasons is another of those human inventions.’
— Oct 08, 2026 06:35PM
emily
is on page 386 of 496
‘Shinichi Fukuoka, our bodies—largely fluid entities. Once tangled up in words,—bodies harden into solid forms. Now I can see this as the moment when I started yearning to break free from language-oriented ‘logos’, and move toward a natural ‘physis’—I keenly felt the limits of TV. In times like these, there’s barely room to breathe—we ignore the facts, preferring simplistic narrative—an archive in Aomori Prefecture—’
— Oct 08, 2026 06:27PM
emily
is on page 339 of 496
‘—farmers in the countryside,—may have been quite different—Naoya Shiga—Today, however, it seems as though all regions of Japan, both urban & rural, have lost touch with the systems that we used to have for making sense of life & death—Something that’s been on my mind since they first detected the cancer is the historical timing—Natsume Soseki—A part of me feels like—must have happened for a reason—that’s just life.’
— Oct 07, 2026 06:04PM
emily
is on page 309 of 496
‘—Beuys & Paik—formed a friendship despite living over eight thousand kilometers away from one another, at opposite ends of Eurasia—‘Time is tilting—I feel, I know I can—And grasp the plastic form of day.’—In a world where most music is obsessed with synchronicity, I wanted to voice an objection, challenging the very thought of time. This desire was almost certainly provoked by my evolving views on life and death.’
— Oct 06, 2026 07:48PM
emily
is on page 270 of 496
‘People want to understand what’s going on, right? When fear becomes all-encompassing—mental faculties give out—reach that tipping point, the human mind races for meaning—I felt thoroughly ashamed—& yet, this is the language I speak—& it’s the only one I have. Even the music of Debussy—harbours—crimes—I think this is something—we need to keep in mind. In 2004, I released Chasm—A painful rift had opened in the world.’
— Oct 05, 2026 05:47PM
emily
is on page 240 of 496
‘—of how Discord was born—I was aghast—I’m not sure what made me suddenly decide to engage these issues through music. All I know is that I was no longer able to stay silent. This was a major turning point for me—there’s a chance we can clean up our mess—That’s why I understand—the events of 9/11 as ‘the greatest work of art ever made.’ In an emergency, people will fixate on information they would ordinarily ignore.’
— Oct 04, 2026 08:49PM
emily
is on page 227 of 496
‘—my birthday, January 17—the war broke out—someone close to me was called to action, it—rattled me—You see this sort of thing in movies all the time, but I saw it happen with my own eyes—a new kind of hegemony, something that I found detestable. Barcelona really won me over—to the point where it started feeling like a second home for me. Because it has no heavy industry—they really focus on—value—life force—a gift.’
— Oct 03, 2026 08:18PM
emily
is on page 201 of 496
‘Lately,—I’ve been drawn to the idea of relocating—I don’t think I want to die in a place where I can’t get by with just my first language—Nam June Paik—said something once that stuck with me: ‘Koreans are hunters. They’ll travel wherever the prey is. If it moves, they’ll follow. But—Japanese are fishers. While they’ll gladly go on deep-sea fishing expeditions, they’ll always come back to port, to their hometown.’
— Oct 01, 2026 07:34PM
emily
is on page 182 of 496
‘The musicians in Bali—extremely talented—they don’t make music for a living—farmers,—carpenters—if Okinawan music were to survive, it couldn’t be locked in the past—it should be free—even if only slightly—Right after—Ryu Murakami visited—& you know what he said to me? ‘You smell like an immigrant.’ That wasn’t easy to forget—seems to think that I’d cut all ties with my homeland, like some kind of rootless wanderer—’
— Sep 30, 2026 08:01PM