, better known by his stage name Kami, was a

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

musician best known as drummer for the

visual kei is a movement among Japanese musicians that is characterized by the use of varying levels of make-up, elaborate hair styles and flamboyant costumes, often, but not always, coupled with androgynous aesthetics, similar to Western glam rock. Some ...

rock band

Malice Mizer Malice Mizer (stylized as MALICE MIZER) was a Japanese visual kei rock band active from August 1992 to December 2001. Formed by guitarists Mana and Közi, their earlier music and themes were characterized by their strong French and classical ...

. He died on June 21, 1999 in his sleep of a subarachnoid hemorrhage at the age of 27.

Biography

Early life

Kami was born in the city of Ibaraki, Japan on February 1, 1972. As a child in elementary school, he was very much interested in traditional Japanese brush writing and using a

soroban The is an abacus developed in Japan. It is derived from the ancient Chinese suanpan, imported to Japan in the 14th century. Like the suanpan, the soroban is still used today, despite the proliferation of practical and affordable pocket electr ...

(

abacus The abacus (''plural'' abaci or abacuses), also called a counting frame, is a calculating tool which has been used since ancient times. It was used in the ancient Near East, Europe, China, and Russia, centuries before the adoption of the Hi ...

), therefore studying these fondly. His first interest in playing his own tunes was in his fifth year at school when he began to practice on a

drum kit A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

. Kami left and didn't return to drumming until early

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

. Early influences of Kami included many of the British new wave bands, including Culture Club and Duran Duran. Between this time, Kami devoted his after-school hours to practicing his favorite hobby, tennis, as he was fond of exercise.

Music career

At the beginning of his high school years, Kami was invited into a friend's band. Initially, his interest was in being a guitarist; after practicing for a short time, he decided to return to the drums. At some point, Sakura became his drum mentor. Kami's fondness for drumming began to evolve, and a personal drum kit became a necessity. Thus, he took up a part-time job and subsequently saved up the necessary money. Realizing that he could not achieve a large amount of success in his current high school band after graduation, Kami decided to go to

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

. Upon leaving his previous group and moving, Kami spent a brief time in a punk band before taking a liking to the

style. As a result, he joined an up-and-coming musical group called Kneuklid Romance. Performing mainly live shows, Kami soon attracted the attention of Yu~ki, bassist from the visual kei rock band

. Due to Malice Mizer's previous drummer, Gaz, leaving (who would shortly thereafter join Kneuklid Romance), the band was very keen on introducing Kami to their style of music. He was reluctant at first although a phone call from one of their guitarists,

Mana According to Melanesian and Polynesian mythology, ''mana'' is a supernatural force that permeates the universe. Anyone or anything can have ''mana''. They believed it to be a cultivation or possession of energy and power, rather than being ...

, persuaded him. Therefore, Kami began to play unofficially for the band over six months as a support player. However, soon after, the other members of Malice Mizer agreed upon recruiting him as a full member of the group. Upon Kami's recruitment, Malice Mizer released their debut album, '' Memoire'', his first inclusion on a publicly released album.

Death

On June 21, 1999 a subarachnoid hemorrhage killed Kami in his sleep at the age of just 27 years old. His funeral was held the same day with only his band members,

Közi Közi is a Japanese musician, singer-songwriter and DJ. He is best known as one of the guitarists for the 1990s visual kei rock band Malice Mizer. After they went on indefinite hiatus in 2001, he formed the industrial rock duo Eve of Destiny a ...

, and Yu~ki attending as well as his parents and a few close friends. Gackt, who had just launched his solo career, was on tour at the time and did not hear about the death of his close friend until about a week later. In the months before his death Kami had taken to composing music, including "Unmei no Deai" and "Mori no Naka no Tenshi". These would later be released on the

EP, '' Shinwa'', which is dedicated to Kami. He also left the incomplete song, "Bara no Souretsu", which was released on their " Beast of Blood" single. Malice Mizer's "Saikai no Chi to Bara" was written by

for Kami after his death. As for the other members of Malice Mizer, Gackt wrote two songs in memory of Kami that were both released on his ''

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Roman god of war. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin at ...

'' album: "Emu ~For My Dear~" and "U+K".

and Yu~ki co-wrote Közi's solo single, "Memento," and dedicated it to Kami. Mana has also stated that one of the songs in his

Moi dix Mois Moi dix Mois (lit. "Me Ten Months" in French) is a Japanese visual kei gothic metal band, founded in 2002 by Mana after Malice Mizer paused activities. The guitarist and sole songwriter has been the only constant member in a series of lineup chan ...

album, '' Nocturnal Opera'', is dedicated to him.

Personal life

One of Kami's most popular trademarks was his hair, which had grown so long that he could actually sit on it. However, in 1998 he cut it off and changed his hairstyle. He constantly claimed that this was because his hair always got in the way while drumming. Kami had many hobbies and interests, such as tennis and buying lottery tickets. He was interested in

Takeda Shingen , of Kai Province, was a pre-eminent ''daimyō'' in feudal Japan. Known as the "Tiger of Kai", he was one of the most powerful daimyō with exceptional military prestige in the late stage of the Sengoku period. Shingen was a warlord of great ...

and attended the Takeda Shingen Festival every year. He had a fondness for butterflies which can be found in many pictures and the Au Revoir music video.

Band history

* 3PMayonnaise (3Pマヨネーズ) – 1989–1991 * Kneuklid Romance – September 1992 – March 1993 *

– March 17, 1993 – June 21, 1999

References

External links

Biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kami Visual kei musicians Malice Mizer members Japanese rock drummers Musicians from Ibaraki Prefecture 1972 births 1999 deaths 20th-century Japanese male musicians Deaths from subarachnoid hemorrhage Neurological disease deaths in Japan