Ah yes

Come to that, a few days ago I was in a meeting at Toshiba EMI discussing this or that matter. Topics turned to things like, "how about getting my voice ringtones downloadable from the mobile site??" and we are getting ready for it!

It's like "how come I haven't thought of this before??" and now I'm getting all excited thinking what kind of words I'll use for it and how many patterns I'll make!!

Actually I'm a registered user of the site providing Evangelion characters' ringtones/animations and downloading stuffs like that paying monthly fee. You know, most of my friends don't appreciate this looking coldly at me, except for only a few! (lol)

I found various voice ringtones for call receipt, e-mail receipt, wake-up alarm and such at that site, so I'll make the best use of my experience and imagination if only there were ringtones like this and that!!

So I came to think of asking the people using my mobile site also about their requests and ideas. (I'd like to ask for them at my mobile site too as there would be many people who don't have a PC and could check the mobile version of this site only!)

Please send any suggestions for the words or uses you'd like to me!

Go Gorie !

I fell asleep while watching the TV program I was looking forward to, as I couldn't stand to stay up any longer-! I blew it~!

You know, my checking the on-air time in advance is almost as rare as seeing meteor showers in Tokyo. (I'm constantly checking that of "Project X" though. Huh? Did I tell you that I've got the "Project X" DVD box set and been watching it, sobbing?? Oh, did I not tell you such an important thing?? I'm ready to tell you about it anytime if you'll be kind enough to listen to me! (lol))

The TV program is . . . called "One Night R&R," it's a comedy show and the one I missed part of was its first on-air as a special version right after it was moved to prime time. (Did you watch it??) My friends and I've been so into it from when it was a live broadcast and since then I got to root for it so so much in my heart before I was aware, especially as I had some good times with Gori-san of Garage Sale and Miyasako-san of Ameagari Kessi Tai!! I got a huge task which had to be done by last Monday, and I was shouting at the TV like "I can see Gorie on Wednesday!! I'll make it, Gorie!!(sorry to those who haven't watched the program!)" while I was working on it on my PC at home-! I was struggling with the task, gathering myself up like "I heard Kuzu will soon release a new song so I'll write a song as good as theirs!"

In spite of that!

My life cycle got out of order as I stayed up all night last Sunday, and on this last night I was so sleepy that I fell asleep without knowing it although it was past ten. Oh my! We often hear people sob themselves to sleep, but laughing themselves to sleep . . . can that happen to me?! Yes, yes it can, indeed! It's like I fell unconscious around when Gorie's appearance was over.

Wish I had poured myself a cup of coffee or something to keep me awake! I usually have some but I didn't that time!

I really would like to ask the people who watched the whole show - what's Kuzu's new song like??


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(NOTES by Nuuk)
"Project X" ... (from NHK program guide) a Japanese documentary series designed to reveal the stories behind the histories of major projects that were never revealed to the public.
"Garage Sale / Ameagari Kessi Tai" ... comedy duos appearing One Night R&R.
"Gorie" ... a young girl acted by Mr. Gori of Garage Sale.
"Kuzu" ... a duo of "Hiro" (acted by Mr. Miyasako of Ameagari Kessi Tai) and "Aniki" (by Mr. Yamaguchi of Don Doko Don). One of their songs, "Kaze ga fuiteru," is featuring Hikki.

I've passed through one week so far...

I haven't divorced yet (laugh)

Oh! I'm really grateful to my friends and people who I didn't expect for giving me so many words of blessing. Thank you!! Some fans are having romantic concerns, like that I am too happy to make songs in the same way as before, and there are fans that want to congratulate me, but have mixed feelings like "somehow complicated" or "lonely"... Come on! I won't change at all! I face my job and my productions with a very strong sense of work, professional sense, artisan sense. Delivering a document to the ward office doesn't mean anything will change, everyone will naturally do the same, sooner or later.

I don't write lyrics based on my real life, so I think you won't see a clear change suddenly, even in my lyrics. So there's no point in looking for changes in my lyrics (laugh) Because lyrics are poems... So if we listen connecting them to the reality, the enjoyment reducts by half!

I'm often said that marriage is the "goal", but I think it's actually the real "start" (sorry about the lack of dream (laugh)) I feel like I've been finally qualified, and the real match will begin from now! This may seem like "getting married out of the blue" from your side and it may be the reason why some of you are worried about me, but actually I had this in my mind since long time and made a calm decision on it. Trust me a little more

It was written in a weekly magazine that I'm repeatedly entering and leaving hospital, but I'm not, so don't worry about my physical conditions. A tumor in the ovary (in my case, hereditary) isn't a serious illness and I'm not thinking about making a baby now. This will be on a distant future! When this time comes, I will make a baby-making declaration, as an apology for having surprised everyone with the sudden marriage announcement (laugh)

By the way, recently I got addicted to cappuccino, even more than coffee!! I'm drinking so much that people around me is saying I'm strange!! By all means, isn't the first impression really important? When I drank it for the first time, I thought it was the taste of clouds that I had imagined when I was a child! It seems to be the clouds itself by its appearance or taste, and I felt it would be bitter because of the pollution of the clouds in the city's sky. The bitterness of cappuccino was exactly, just like I had imagined! And now I like it so much that I drink it down in a single draft.

And, I saw a discussion about the lyrics during the fade out of the song ASAP that is recorded in the album, being developed in a fan site managed by a fan!
I think I haven't ever talked about parts of lyrics that aren't printed on the lyrics card, but let me tell you only this one!

The correct answer is...
Aitai toki ni kimi wa inai (When I want to see you, you aren't there)
Nakitai toki wa enryo shinai (When I want to cry, I won't hold back)

I love this part, so I wanted to tell it at any cost!

Well then... see you!


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credits to Samurai @ HikkiCentral who originally translated this message.

Important announcement

To whom it may concern:

Today I, Utada Hikaru, had my name entered in Kiriya Kazuaki's family register.

Since we got to know each other in the winter before last, we overcame various occurrences involving joys and sorrows, while publishing together many works of videos and CD jackets, and putting full confidence in each other we have gotten to this decision. I am deeply grateful to the people who gave us help to this realization.

I think that after resting for a while, this time when I am restarting the musical activities is very appropriate to the start of a new life, and I got married without even waiting for being blessed with a child.

I have obtained a new power, and hereafter I will fling myself into work throwing out my chest.


For all the fans:

Just now, I've sent the above letter by fax to the mass media.

I got married today.
Consulting Toshiba-EMI, my office and my parents, I've been preparing it carefully, faithfully, trying to materialize it with a good shape as much as I can, until I reached this day.

So, don't worry!
Maybe some people will wonder why did I get married so young without even getting pregnant.
But on this world where we don't know what will happen, I think that all conviction is desire, and desire is the biggest conviction.
It's a decision that comes from the natural feeling of wanting to live in a dignified manner with the person that I love.

Please expect the new Hikaru!!

September 6th 2002
Utada Hikaru


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credits to Samurai @ HikkiCentral who originally translated this message.

I'm still immature

In my last message posted a few minutes ago I wrote like "this made me grow so much, blah blah blah" and . . .

. . . I found a wrong letter right away !!!
Well it's like this is getting to be one of my specialties (lol)

I wrote like , but of course everybody has interests in themselves! - yes, it should be ! Sorry for my *mistake*


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(NOTE by Nuuk)
... means "interest" "concern"
... means "being impressed" "admiration"
Both words pronounced as "kan-shin."

Unconscious diary

I started to write diary when I was a child and since that time I've been leaving it without writing anything for about 3 days over and over...

I was wondering if there wasn't any update in the NEWS section or staff diary and then I was checking my own site just now. And casually I checked "message from hikki" (nobody would update that section when I don't know, but without losing my faint hope...(laugh)) and taking the opportunity I clicked "Back Number"... and then! There were texts from my youth's days, and I'm now fully loaded of good memories!! (doesn't it make remind of my old way of writing? (laugh))

Er... a chance to look back over my past is rare, and since these three years and a half have a dense content, I was soaked in the Hikaru of the past. First of all I read all 1999 year at a stroke!

Since I've debuted until nowadays, thinking that my job involves me in new experiences I've been trying to write the diary and giving up many times, but it's so great that this diary of three years and a half is left over here!

However, what is written here is not more than a little side of my life, so it's an enjoyment that can't be tasted by anyone but me... So, there are many things that I understand because it's me, like "Oh, at this season there are many cheerful expressions, but 'that thing' was like 'this' and 'that person' was like 'that' and it was a time in which it was hard to keep living every day... But I could manage it and overcame it.." or "At this time that person helped me so much!". Maybe you people who read my diary will feel a little disappointed because I said this.. However! I wrote a lot until here! (laugh) I was impressed with myself. It's natural, but at the beginning I was very inexperienced and unprepared and said things that hurt a lot of people, then I used to get worried and make corrections or supplements.. I was so cute when I was in trouble! (laugh) Now I understand very well that the act of keeping writing messages here made me grow so much! For people that I can't see, that I can only imagine, what can I do to be nice, to be watchful, how can I avoid expressions that can hurt, what words should I select for not being misunderstood, for transmiting sincerity...? People made me learn that the "nice person", the "big person", the "not indifferent person" that I want to become is in a brief "a person who has a large imagination"! Because a lot of people read my messages and retured various reactions by e-mail. Thanks a lot!

At the beginning, while feeling the pressure of the huge responsability of speaking to the public, I kept writing and learned how to cope and gradually got used to it. I thought I would apart beter private things and things that I write here, but I noticed that recently I'm writing things that I spontaneously think, without getting ready and more naturally than at the beginning.

It's a proof I became an adult!

However, I wonder how far this corner will go??? Isn't it getting to a spot that has nothing to do if I'm working or not? Will I keep writing even when I get old??? And then someday I will entrust it to a child as well as inheritances, and this child will succeed...?? Or if I'm pressed for money I will sell to someone! (laugh) No... nobody would have any profit owning this diary, except for me. It's undoubtedly a "valuable property." For me it is.

Well then, I'm gonna read the 2000 year over!


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credits to Samurai @ HikkiCentral who originally translated this message.

Hamigakikoohii

The title is not a mojibake (unintelligible sequence of japanese characters (laugh))
Well, this morning, I made one and a half cup of coffe with the coffe-maker as usual, and thinking about how good it was to be living one more day, I took my lips to the mug and at the moment that I loaded the fresh coffee into my mouth...

"What's this?! It tastes so bad!"

I thought to myself, thinking like spouting it.

"Huh? What unpleasant flavor is this? This cant't be called delicious by any standard"
I overhastly suspected Star Bucks (coffee company)... (yeah, because recently there were many troubles involving foodstuffs...)

... then I realized that I had just brushed my teeth! It seems that the combination of tooth flowder and coffee wasn't very good (laugh) Excuse me! After some time it became really delicious! -- to Star Backs

And didn't I say that I'm looking for my favorite coffee beans? The one I like more at the moment is the most popular one, called "House Brand"... It's a very normal (common) one! (laugh) Yeah, but I said the last time that "normal" is a good thing.


Yeah, maybe this story doesn't have a punch line.





Yeah,
as I thought,
I don't have any idea (laugh)! Well, see you!


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credits to Samurai @ HikkiCentral who originally translated this message.
(NOTE by Samurai)
"Hamigakikoohii" ... she made a pun using the words hamigakiko(tooth flowder) and koohii(coffee).

Emirisannnn

Don't you feel a little bit nervous when someone suddenly wave the hand for you on a live broadcasted show? (Thank you very much for lending me your brother last year for the live show Unplugged)

Well, all of you who came to my store! D-did you see the first half of Deep River?? (I'm really sorry that it hasn't been aired at some areas! Wouldn't it be great if they broadcasted that program in which those lots of cute girls appearing??) Oh, yeah! Maybe I've already received e-mails from those who watched it! Then it means I have to check them first, right?? (laugh) Hold on, I'm gonna read them now.

Er... Thanks! (What lack of presence! (laugh) But about 50 minutes have passed) It seems to be pleasing everyone! There is a lot of people that felt the keyword "Itonami (work, life)" even by watching only the first half. I think everyone of the staff who is involved in this production will be glad to hear this! However, the real match will not be over until you watch it to the end! Please, look forward!

A reporter said that there is some secret in UH3+, right?

W-w-what?? What secret???

Is it secret even for me, Utada? No, it's not, is it?

What could it be...? Oh, I heard something like that from the evening news and I received a lot of e-mails asking me "What is the secret"?...

(Pishi! (Sound of my spine being frozen over)) (N-n-n-n, no, no, it would never be that... This "secret" is not that "prose poem at the beginning" thing that I wrote about, the day before yesterday, right? Right? Hello, everyone of the promotion staff... I've never been told about such thing, right? Right?? We have been sweating blood together for long four years and you may say there was a tacit understanding, but it's not unfriendly of you, right? Right??)

... well, I will investigate (laugh) (I mean... (cry))



And to every reporter, among ordinary news, a headline like

"Utada tighted the mawashi (Sumo loincloth) again"

is not good.... (laugh) (I mean, this is also a little bit (cry))


********************
credits to Samurai @ HikkiCentral who originally translated this message.
(NOTE by Nuuk)
"Pishi!" ... sound something like "Snap!"

Postscript

Thanks for waiting.

********************
credits to Samurai @ HikkiCentral who originally translated this message.

What makes you feel "Simple And Clean"?

Excuse me for the long time without writing! This is Utada Hikaru! I'm sorry for keeping silent and making you worried.

My body and my mind became steady and I'm normal now! Huh? Are you asking me why not "I'm fine" instead of "I'm normal"? No, no... I think it's more important to say "I'm normal" than anything else. Of course, I'm also fine!

I feel a little nervous to speak to everyone...

I'm really sorry for this interval, I didn't intend to do so! But I thought that if I faced you all, carrying the "normal Utada Hikaru signboard" before once returning to myself, I would repeat the same mistake again. And at this Bon (Lantern Festival) I returned to the prime Utada Hikaru. The future ahead is long! So I came with my mawashi (Sumo loincloth) firmly tighted again!

It's a little different from the mental state of a child that doesn't want to leave home saying that can't go to school one day after being totally humiliated in front of the whole school. Since I've informed everyone about a very, very personal matter of my body, the discernment of the pride as a professional that I've been keeping and of somethings that I wanted to guard as a 19-years-old girl so far has been vaguely crumbled and I took a while to recover myself mentally even after my body recovered.

I tried to do various things since I got time to watch my situation!
After finishing the album I said "I can't write any sentence anymore...", didn't I? So, without missing that opportunity, I decided to cram my head with teachings, without leaving that space empty and studied about how to write with "Bunsho Dokuhon", by Tanizaki Junichirou.
And out of character, I tried to write a prose poem. And, and, and! Following the recommendation of my superintendent, I narrated it at the beginning of the "Deep River" PV, that has been completed just recently. I will be really ashamed of myself because of that... According to the NEWS section, the video will be first presented to the public by "Wonderful" on the 26th, but probably the version that has been distributed to the media doesn't have this beginning, so you won't be able to watch it yet. (I always check "Wonderful", but I can't see it on this day, or I will be very embarassed if they air that part!)

Then, a little present that I gave you all, the english version of "Hikari", "Simple And Clean"! It was an
obstacle that caused me trouble at the very end. Only the first half is being streamed here, but did you already listen to it? Did you notice that the melody of the chorus part is different from "Hikari"? To tell the truth, the melody of "Simple And Clean" is the original one and I restored it because the english lyrics didn't match with the melody of "Hikari". (When I wrote the japanese lyrics of "Hikari" it didn't match with the melody and after no end of trouble I changed it to the present Hikari's melody and restored a line of the original melody, using it in the song "Uso mitai na I Love You" for my self-satisfaction. The management way of the composer Utada Hikaru came to light (laugh)). I wonder from where we will be able to listen to the full song... Will it stream at the ending of the overseas version of "Kingdom Hearts"? Will a soundtrack come out?? What will Disney do...? I think everyone will send the same kind of questions to "mail to staff" (laugh) So, I'll be waiting together with you all until Mr. Okita or someone else answers about it!

"Simple And Clean"... The literal translation would be "Kantan, Kirei!". It really sounds like a catch-copy of moping goods! (laugh) Well, aiming a little bit at this meaning also, I titled it intending the meaning "Soboku de Seiketsu". We work very hard everyday, busy one way or another, involved in many troubles, enduring various things and even when we suddenly become free isn't it difficult to feel the happiness because its image becomes gradually vague? I thought seriously and with realism about "What my happiness is?". And then I thought, isn't it "To be able to feel myself as a really simple being"? A thing or a person that makes me simple and clean again. That's what my happiness is! So, the theme is the same as "Hikari".

Why does human have the habit of posing as complex people??

Although I've been really fine lately, yesterday I had a headache and suffered from the intense heat of late summer. And it seems it was really good for me! For the first time in many days I stayed in bed for a whole day and I had a very refreshing morning in a calm frame of mind. I feel so refreshed!

Now I'm in the middle of a search for the ultimate Utada Hikaru... I think you already know what I'm talking about! Yeah! I'm looking for my favourite daily life, just like buying a great variety of Starbucks coffee beans and drinking pack by pack until I say "This one!" (Who understands this!)... If anyone else is doing this "self-search", please let me know about its process.
(laugh)

Well!
Oof! (putting my signboard on my back again)


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credits to Samurai @ HikkiCentral who originally translated this message.