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Billboard Japan’s Women in Music initiative launched this year in the same spirit of Billboard’s annual Women in Music issue that began in 2007, with a mission to produce interviews, live performances and panel discussions focusing on trailblazing women in the Japanese music industry.
ermhoi is the second featured artist in Billboard Japan’s Women in Music interview series. The trackmaker and singer with roots in Japan and Ireland began music at an early age and continues to release works with her own unique world view not bound by any genre or style. In 2018, she formed Black Boboi with Utena Kobayashi and Julia Shortreed. The multi-talented artist looks back on her career so far and shares how she currently feels after working in solidarity with other female solo artists in this comprehensive interview.

I understand you became a musician because you’ve always loved music since childhood. Did you have any role models, women you idolized or looked up to?

I’ve never really been conscious of female figures to look up to, but I think that a lot of fictional female characters I’ve liked have been strong, independent, and unique, like Mathilda in the movie Léon: The Professional and the title character in Amélie. But I never considered them as role models and just thought they were cool. Recently, though, I had the opportunity to spend some time with the musician Eiko Ishibashi [her most recent projects include the score for the Oscar-winning film Drive My Car] and for the first time, it felt like I found a woman I could look up to. I’ve never thought of anyone in terms of whether or not they’re a woman, but Ms. Ishibashi is a person whose works are fabulous and whose way of  communicating with people is lovely.

Do you ever feel empowered by the music of female artists?

There are many female artists whose works I’m simply drawn to. Joni Mitchell has always been a favorite of mine. Recently, I’ve also been into the Colombian artist Lido Pimienta. Her works and performances are fascinating, and I’m inspired by the way she openly speaks about a wide range of topics including being queer and her background and also about political issues.

Do your values in terms of what you consider cool change over time?

To me, values are something that changes every second it feels like, and it’s hard to maintain for a long time. I’m the type of person whose thoughts are always going around in circles, and I don’t have any motto that I live by. I think I’ve always chosen what I thought was good at each particular moment.

As a musician, does being a woman affect your activities in any way?

Not too many people do similar things in my category of music to begin with, and since I tend to also cross over genres, I’ve always been made aware of my position as an outsider more than the difference in gender. So I might not have had too many opportunities to be aware of being a woman. But there was this one time I was categorized as what’s called a “takuroku joshi” (bedroom producer girl), which made me feel uncomfortable because recording stuff at home is just a tool of expression and it’s not like my activities center around being “a girl who records stuff at home.”

There was a time when women in the minority in a male-dominated genre were mocked as being “so-and-so joshi” (girls) in Japan, perhaps to highlight their presence, but I didn’t feel comfortable with that. I also often hear about the difficulties of artists categorized as “female singer-songwriters” in Japan. Male fans would criticize them in a condescending way and give them advice they didn’t ask for. In other words, mansplaining is a thing that happens a lot.

Sexual harassment has become an issue in the dance music scene, in places like clubs and music festivals for example.

I sometimes feel uncomfortable when I attend events as a listener. I don’t deny the motives of people who come to clubs to meet people, but I’m there to listen to music, and there are people who approach me more than necessary. I’m not the type of person who goes out that much, so when I do go out and have a bad experience, I wish I hadn’t come at all. And although I’ve been lucky to have never experienced such a thing, I’ve heard stories of sexual abuse and it’s a shame that opportunities to enjoy music aren’t equal.

On the other hand, such problems have come to light lately and I’ve had more opportunities to sense the determination of organizers and performers to create safe parties. There’s also a movement to even out the ratio of male and female performers, so I hope things are moving in the right direction.

You formed Black Boboi in 2018 to create a place for musicians who are hard to categorize. How did this project get started?

I was used to being the only woman in a predominantly male environment, but when I met Utena Kobayashi and Julia Shortreed we started talking about a lot of things and I realized that there were times when I wasn’t really being myself (in such environments). Not that there were misogynistic people around me, but I was still in the minority, so I felt a difference in values and sometimes felt uncomfortable in the homosocial atmosphere. I started Black Boboi because I wanted to create a community with members who shared these feelings so we could support each other.

In Japan, it feels like whenever a woman speaks out when a problem arises, they tend to be described as being a “hysterical feminist” and are shut down. That may be why women can share the problem amongst each other, but there aren’t too many opportunities to share it with men. My partner is Australian, and when I ask him about his upbringing, I get a sense that gender equality is naturally prevalent in his environment and that’s one of the reasons why I feel comfortable sharing things with him. I also get the impression that many people in the younger generation have more of an unbiased perspective.

So there are those you feel comfortable talking about gender inequality and other issues and those you don’t.

Yes, I’ve become very careful about what I say on Twitter and elsewhere, not only about gender inequality but also about social issues. I worry so much that I get uptight and find myself choosing my words too carefully. I was actually a little apprehensive about doing this interview as well.

But I decided to do it because I figured there might be something I could convey, even if I’d acquired that perspective from someone else. When I refrained from speaking out, there was a period of time when I took a break from thinking about such topics at all. I needed that time to step away, but when I noticed something and wanted to talk to people about it, I started thinking again. Now that I’ve started thinking again, it’s occurred to me that the time I wasn’t thinking was such a waste.

I recently had the opportunity to get a hands-on look at what the Japanese non-profit Houboku does, and perform at a crowdfunding concert for this organization that supports those in need mainly in northern Kyushu. I’m not a protest musician, but it occurred to me that I could shed light on other issues through music. I feel that working independently allows me to choose whether or not I speak out and to take responsibility for it.

—This interview by Rio Hirai (SOW SWEET PUBLISHING) first appeared on Billboard Japan.

J-pop songstress JUJU spoke to Billboard Japan for its latest Women in Music interview featuring trailblazing women in the Japanese music industry. The initiative launched this year in the same spirit of Billboard’s annual Women in Music issue that began in 2007, with a mission to produce interviews, live performances and panel discussions focusing on women who continue to break new ground in Japan’s music business.

The 19-year veteran of Japanese showbiz continues to make great strides this year, including her new song “Hana” (Flowers) written as the theme for the movie Motherhood, which hit Japanese theaters in November. The pop star who has inspired legions of fans with her powerful vocals throughout her music career shared her thoughts on self-acceptance and celebrating individuality in this latest interview.

Have you ever felt that being a woman was an obstacle in your career?

At the moment, not at all. This year marks the 19th anniversary of my debut as a singer, but I don’t think I’ve experienced anything where I felt that it was difficult to accomplish because I’m a woman. When I look around me, however, I do feel the need to change the system. The way society works was mostly established more than 60 years ago during the period of economic growth in Japan, and is out of step with the times. Even the systems that were created specifically for women need to be updated by assessing what we really need. For example, a blanket rule for maternity leave isn’t enough, don’t you think? People have completely different potentials whether they’re a woman or a man, in terms of physical strength and family environment and such, but the disadvantages may be greater if everyone is bound by a set of rules that aren’t flexible.

Since you mentioned maternity leave… Your latest song “Hana” is the theme of Ryuichi Hiroki’s new movie Motherhood, which depicts the complicated relationships between mothers and daughters.

The movie is a story that revolves around women, but the title of the theme song “Hana” expresses the idea of respecting all individuals as we live our lives as people, including being women. We all grow up knowing that there are many different kinds of flowers, right? From the kinds we don’t know the names of that bloom on the roadside to the ones in a magnificent bouquet made at a florist, flowers bloom at different times and in different ways, but they’re all splendid. The spirit of the lyrics is, “Wouldn’t it be great if we each could bloom in the place of our choice, in the way we decided, and in the color we want to be?” I hope this song inspires listeners to reflect on whether they’re being true to themselves. I’d like people to remember that it’s OK for you to be who you are.

I get the impression that you firmly believe that people are diverse in their own ways. When did you start thinking this way?

Ever since I was a child, I think. There were a lot of weird adults around me growing up. My family and the other grown-ups around me didn’t care that there were children around and never hid anything from me. Even topics that people would normally be like, “Don’t let kids hear that!” would be openly discussed. Maybe they figured, “If she’s going to eventually hear about it elsewhere, she might as well hear it from us.” Like, “If she doesn’t understand something, she can ask an adult around her on the spot. That way, she won’t end up misunderstanding.” People would come to our parents’ gatherings crying and asking for advice about their problems. Because I grew up in such an environment, I was able to imagine that even those who normally seem happy can have such problems, and I came to think, as a kid, that being a grown-up can be hard.

I spent some time in New York later on, a place where people of different races and languages gather, but I realized that in the sense that people have various worries and problems even if they don’t show it on the outside, the world is no different from the one I’d seen growing up.

How have you dealt with your own worries and problems?

Whenever I’m in a difficult situation, I think back to a letter a friend sent me long ago. It said, “A day is a day, no matter how you spend it.” Things happen as you live your life and sometimes it can be hard. Still, the days go on, and no matter how you spend it, the same amount of time will pass. Then let’s try to not take it too seriously, so that we don’t spend all our time on the hard things. That’s the message I got from the letter. I mean, today is the youngest day of our lives. And tomorrow we’ll be a day older and maybe wiser. So I’m not afraid of getting older, and it’s never too late to start something. After all, a day is a day no matter how you spend it. That’s why I try to think that things will work out no matter how I do it. Though sometimes it’s not good enough even when I do try to think like that.

You know it, but sometimes it’s not good enough. Is there a way to cope when you can’t bring yourself to think, “A day is a day no matter how I spend it?”

I’m the type who doesn’t know when to give up, so I can’t give up on myself when I’m in a bad situation. What inspires me when I want to pull myself up again is a line from Whitney Houston’s “Greatest Love of All”: “I decided long ago / Never to walk in anyone’s shadows / If I fail, if I succeed / At least I’ll live as I believe / No matter what they take from me / They can’t take away my dignity.” I sing this verse out loud when I want to fire myself up.

I’m sure there are many people who are inspired by the way you motivate yourself to perform on stage and by hearing your voice.

I’d be happy if that were so. Even if we have to go through some painful experiences, it’d be nice if we could learn a lot from them. I’ve loved to sing since I was a child and always wanted to be a singer and was lucky enough to make that dream come true. Still, there are times when I feel bad or sad, but each time I think, “Oh, now I have one more thing I can sing about,” so I’m able to continue without breaking down. I think everyone has their own way of putting things into perspective like that, even if they’re not singers.

—This interview by Rio Hirai (SOW SWEET PUBLISHING) first appeared on Billboard Japan.