Thursday 24 February 2011

A Complete Collection of Poets By Masahiko Shimura (Translation of the post on 24th Feb)



Today falls on the monthly return of the date of Shimura kun's death. (He passed away on 24th December 2009.), and I am so glad to take this opportunity to introduce you a brand new book of "A Complete Collection of Poems By Masahiko Shimura".
Many of you might have a difficulty of buying an actual book, so I hope it will help you to imagine what this book is like.
Many thanks to you, kimamamama, one of a warm-hearted Fujifabric's fans, for the photos and detailed description of the book!

It is our pleasure to share things, Shimura kun has left for us, with all of you living abroad.



A beautiful book covered with blue silky cloth in a cardboard book box.
It follows the typical style of Japanese poetry books written by famous poets, like Hakushu Kitahara or Takuboku Ishikawa, and the lyrics are written vertically (read from top to bottom, right to left) unlike the booklet  accompanied with CDs.
Shimura's drawing of a cat called Yakuza-neko (literally meaning 'gangster cat', which is a fierce-look big male cat, I guess.) is embossed on the cover of the book.

A photo of Shimura kun on a page, and after the contents, it is only the lyrics.
Even no illustrations along poems, and simplicity of the design helps us to enjoy his lyrics fully, I feel.



A book designer who made this splendid book is Ms. Naoko Nakui (please find her website on here, Hasami To Nori. Sorry, only Japanese language available, but you can see photos of the other books that she has designed, if you click on the middle bottom on the top page).  She is one of the famous Japanese book designers, and she has also designed  many books of popular novelists in Japan, such as Kaori Ekuni and Ira Ishida.

Without Shimura kun's presence, it must have been very hard to publish the book, but it was proved that the character and personality of his was correctly understood by people who were involved in this project.

Fujifabric fans will never been released from deep grief for loss of Masahiko Shimura, but we are wish publishing such a wonderful poetry book will draw people's attention including those who have never been interested in rock'n roll music.  This book can prove that the lyrics of rock music written by a talented musician can be recognized as a part of literature.

Wish this book leads literary enthusiasts to Fujifabric's music, too!

Today's song is "Ginga".
This music is charmed with interesting mimetic and onomatopoeic words, and the lyrics of Ginga must be one of those attractive poems among all in the book.
The winter season of the beautiful stars is passing in Japan... In one month time, we are all celebrating the coming of spring with Cherry blossoms.


2 comments:

CosmicSpaceGal said...

Hi!

A fellow blogger pointed me towards this page and I am very glad she did. I have just started reading and listening to the you tube videos of this amazing music. Thank you for the site, otherwise i wouldn't know how he was or anything about the band. intal

杉山麻衣 Jack Russell Terrier in Bangkok said...

Dear CosmicSpaceGal,
Thank you for your comment!
I hardly get feedback from readers abroad, so I am so happy to know that there is someone like you out there.
It is also my pleasure to know that you are interested in the music of Fujifabric. Shimura kun has departed from this side of the world to the other side, but what he has left for us is something so extraordinary.

If there is any suggestion to this blog (pick up a particular topic, etc), please do not hesitate to leave a comment or send me an e-mail. This site is the place where fans all over the world join together to share the wonderful world of Fujifabric.

Thanks