Miyavi

“I've realised how important having family is.”

“The reason I put make-up on or wear the costume is to try and find my own style. It's like my guitar style - I'm just trying to be an original artist.”

“Sometimes I just rely on technique on stage, but it's not about technique. It's about how much you want to deliver the message to the audience. That's all.”

“There's nothing that everyone likes in the world. People have different opinions. It's just the way of living. I know that there will be differences.”

“I'm trying to talk to my kids in Japanese, because I'm not a pro English speaker. My wife speaks to them in English. That's her first language. I don't want my kids to feel the same as me when I was studying English. It was so frustrating.”

“I really wanted to speak English because I started touring the world, and I wanted to communicate with people directly.”

“I didn't want to represent any negative side of the country where I was born and raised.”

“It's really important to create something, like with my creations as a musician. Just let it flow. Focus on how to deliver message to audience. Don't get ego.”

“I feel responsible to make something original as a Japanese artist. There are lots of singers and guitarists, but I feel that on stage it's meaningless to copy something someone has done before.”

“Every country has a dark side of their history.”

“Usually I go to the studio to write lyrics and compose music. I try to be a dad as much as possible at home.”

“My philosophy is my learning process. Until you die, you must evolve and improve.”

“Michael Jackson had a stable vision. He had a strong message, not only pop. People just fainted at his concert.”

“I find a similarity between performing music onstage and acting - a reality of emotion.”