A Real Yoko Kanno

Author: Zuo Xuan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: She is a rare "pioneer" on the journey of life: before others even set off, she has already "arrived"; before others finish putting on makeup, she has already finished the entire play; before others are about to climb a mountain, she has already returned from the summit; when she feels that there is someone else worth cherishing beyond herself; when she resolves not to be a wife with no substance and turns "home" into a "refuge" where the beloved feels comfortable; when she takes the image of a "calm elderly couple" seen in the scenery of Europe as her ideal for family life; when she firmly locks in her "life's destination," she is only twenty-one. What fascinates people about her, what evokes pity, is the "maturity" and "wisdom" she achieves after enduring hardships. She has an angelic smile, a melancholic demeanor, a sweet face, and a pure and innocent temperament. She is the "girl" in Blood, dressed in a short skirt and half-length stockings, pale but pure and beautiful, amidst snowflakes; she is the "young lady" in Ancient Capital, wearing elegant and plain kimonos, with a proud, dazzling, and melancholic glance; she is the "blind girl" in Chronicles of Spring and Music, losing her flowing eyes, cold yet captivating, disconnected from the light; she is the "maid Xiao Xue" in The Last Song, evading the master's pursuit, speaking incoherently about how unattractive she is, and appearing panicked. …She is the "woman with an ancient hairstyle" on the winding mountain path, gradually approaching under the changing weather; she is the "gentle eyes" in the yellowed photographs; she is the "brief glimpse" in Dancing Girl in. Petite in stature, clear in eyes, gentle in singing, distinctive in personality, she has a natural ability to delve deep into the "soul" of characters. She has "a temperament and elegance that ordinary Japanese lack," even a hint of melancholy. She often remains silent, but her expressive eyes always convey the sorrow in her heart; her status as an illegitimate child once placed her in a very awkward position, not only failing to receive her father's love but also being treated as a money-making tree, ultimately having to sever ties with her father financially, refusing to see him even until the end of her life. She with her mother. In a wooden apartment in Uraga, outside Yokohama, she lived crammed with three other families; to make a living, she had to work as a newspaper boy; growing up in a single-parent family, her personality was repressed, and she was often called a "disappointing child." At the age of just twenty-one, she had already become a "tree shedding leaves in a foreign land, a lonely person under a cold lamp," starting to write her "life before the age of twenty-one" in her small attic, illuminated by the dim light of a lamp. The Time of Misty Hour reveals the vastness of her life: not considering herself an "idol girl superstar," not considering herself a "superstar of the music industry," no arrogance of sudden wealth, no arrogance of early success, just bowing her head, being humble, one lamp, one person, turning the pages one by one of her scarred past.