Without 9/11, there would've been no musician named Hyadain

I started piano at age three. Sports were not my thing, but I had a talent for the piano. In elementary school, studying was my hobby, and after attending junior high and high school at a combined school, I enrolled in Kyoto University. A lot of people around me were going there, so I went there too, without a specific goal or objective.

After I got to the university, I wanted to come out of my shell. Through high school I was very introverted , but in university I changed my look, joined an intercollege acapella circle, and aimed to be active as an outgoing, cheerful character. But I didn't change who I really was.

From sophomore year on, I got caught up in all kinds of things, from part-time work to music composition software, and neglected my studies. When I got back to campus after a long absence, the students who'd entered with me were starting to look for jobs. Looking back, I realize my perspective was narrow, but I was convinced I'd never find a job.

I wanted to do at least something that was student-like, so I decided to take an extended overseas trip. Just before my return, in 2001, I was in Manhattan to see the Broadway musicals I loved. I planned to return on September 12, but the day before that, the terror attacks took place. I had often visited the World Trade Center to buy tickets. Now it was in ruins. The shock of this experience awakened a desire to make a name for myself doing something I loved to do. And after all, what I loved was music.

I finally learned to make music that creates bonds with fans

I decided to get a job in the music industry, so after I graduated I went to Tokyo. I wanted to write and produce for idol groups, which were big at the time. For a long time I didn't have any luck, so I experienced all kinds of part-time jobs while sharing a cheap, run-down apartment with a friend.

The turning point came when one of my fellow part-time workers said, "You talk like you're so superior to other people." I didn't mean to talk like that at all, and I was really surprised. But when I thought about it, when I was a student I was part of a community of very articulate, intelligent people. I didn't have to choose my words when I talked, and my outlook was narrow, so I was kind of stuck in a small world. It also occurred to me that maybe the music I was making wasn't designed to be approachable for listeners. I was writing it for my own small world. As a result, I changed my composing approach in a big way, and after uploading my videos to the internet, I gradually started getting recognition in the music industry.

My current strength as a music creator is that I make sure to put myself in the fans' shoes. I go to live performances of artists who I create songs for, and work to understand the needs of their fans and get insights into their psychology and their world. I think what I learned in my university sociology and psychology classes is relevant to a lot of what I'm trying to do. That's why I believe that what I experienced at Kyoto University is essential to my creation of the music creator named Hyadain.