Kajiura Family Media Appearances

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Interview by Tsuda University where Yuki Kajiura studied for four years, graduating in 1989:

https://twitter.com/Fion0806/status/1473539880815067136
私でいいのかな…と少し恐縮しつつこんなインタビューをしていただきました。4年間津田塾大学で学べて嬉しかったと今でも心から思っています。これからこの大学に通う皆様にも、充実した素晴らしい年月となりますよう！(^^)

https://twitter.com/YKajiura_staff/status/1473534570209624065
【Media】【Web】津田塾大学公式Webサイト掲載情報 津田塾大学公式Webサイトに梶浦由記のインタビューが掲載されました。 詳しくは、津田塾大学公式Webサイトをご確認ください。(スタッフKT )
https://t.co/y1sC5Ruxyy

https://www.tsuda.ac.jp/learning/interview/graduates/211222.html

物語の感動を、旋律に乗せて。​

作曲につながる津田塾での学び。​

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  3. 物語の感動を、旋律に乗せて。作曲につながる津田塾での学び。

梶浦 由記　Kajiura Yuki​

学芸学部英文学科*　1989年卒業​

*2019年度より英文学科は英語英文学科に改称しました。
在学中は、英米文学を中心に学ぶとともに、バンド活動やアルバイトに勤しむ。新卒で入社した大手通信会社に3年間勤めた後、バンド活動へ軸足を移し、See-Sawのメンバーとしてメジャーデビュー。その後、映画「東京兄妹」やゲーム「ダブルキャスト」のサウンドトラックの作曲を手がける。2000年代に入り、See-Sawのシングル楽曲「あんなに一緒だったのに」が、テレビアニメ「機動戦士ガンダムSEED」のエンディングテーマに採用されて大ヒットを記録。アニメ「魔法少女まどか☆マギカ」や「鬼滅の刃」、NHK連続テレビ小説「花子とアン」など、数々の話題作の劇伴音楽を担う。大学時代に出会った教員たちの姿勢を目にし「仕事は愛」だと気づいたという梶浦さん。津田塾大学での学びが、現在の作詞・作曲にどう活きているのかを伺いました。

好きなことだけに集中できる勉強は​

心の底から楽しい。​

はじめに、津田塾大学を志望した理由をお聞かせください。
英語に力を入れている津田塾大学でなら、卒業後の進路を見据えて、有意義な学生生活を送れるだろうと思ったからです。自宅から近く、通いやすいことも魅力でした。受験でキャンパスを訪れた際には、玉川上水沿いの自然豊かな周辺環境や美しい校舎にも目を奪われたものです。まるで森の中に入っていくような引力があり、4年間、愛することができる場所だと感じました。高校まではそれほど勉強が好きではありませんでしたが、本と英語には親しんできました。ここで大好きな読書と語学に明け暮れたい。そんな思いで入学を決めました。
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実際に入学して感じたことをお聞かせください。
廊下で英詩を朗読するような女学生に出会えるのではないか。入学前に抱いていたそんな期待は、早々に崩れ去りました（笑）。一方で、予想と違わず勉強量は非常に多かった。授業についていくために予習に時間をかけていたことをよく覚えています。帰宅すると、辞書を片手にアメリカ文学を２、３時間読みふけることが毎日のルーティーンでした。幼少期から読書が大好きだったので、次の授業を予想しながら読み進めるのは単純に楽しかった。小説についてディスカッションするセミナーは、きっと今もそうでしょうけれどすべてが英語です。言いたいことをうまく言えず、なんとか別の英語表現で伝えようと頭を絞るのも、もどかしいけれど楽しかったですね。義務感で詰め込むのではなく、自分の好きなことに向き合える勉強は楽しいものとわかりました。


情熱的な先生たちを目にして​

私もあんな大人になりたいと思った。​

印象に残っている授業について教えてください。
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小説に登場するある女性の人物像について、セミナーでディスカッションした授業です。同じ作中の人物なのにみんなで解釈が大きく異なり、教授から今度は女性の肖像画を描いてくるよう宿題を出され驚きました。言葉だけで思い描いていたイメージを絵にするつもりで物語と向き合うと「あれっ？この女性は美人だとは思っていたけど口元は卑しい感じかも……」などと新たな発見がありました。こんな物語の読み解き方もあるのだなあととても興味深かったのを覚えています。多角的に物語を読み取ろうとする試みは現在の仕事にも活きています。サウンドトラックを制作する際、さまざまな角度から原作に触れると、見方が変わって曲の説得力も高まりますから。主観的になりがちな作曲時、視点を変えることで冷静になり客観視できる利点もありますね。
教員たちとの関わりの中で、どのような気づきがありましたか？
どの先生も、研究対象である文学作品を心から愛している。そこに何よりも感銘を受けました。いかにその描写が素晴らしいかについて、目をキラキラさせながら語られるのです。例えば、作中の女性のセリフを引用して「あなたたちも、こういう英語を話す女性になりなさい」と、その艶やかさについて熱弁を振るったり。これほどに情熱的な大人がたくさんいることを先生たちの存在を通して知り、私も好きなことに情熱を注ぐ大人になりたいと思いました。本当に素敵な先生方ばかりで、将来のロールモデルが身近にいる環境でした。


物語の魅力に浸り、感想文を書くように作曲する。​

それが私のスタイルです。​

音楽でキャリアを築くまでの経緯を教えてください。
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大学時代は寝る間を惜しんでバンド活動にも励んでいましたが、卒業して就職したのは福利厚生の充実した大手通信企業です。仕事の合間を縫って続けていた音楽はあくまで趣味のつもりでした。ですが入社3年目にはその域を超え単純に時間が足りなくなってしまいます。19歳の頃に音楽好きだった父が他界していたこともキャリアチェンジの後押しになりました。父を亡くしたことから、安定した生活を送るためには大企業に籍を置こう！と思ってはいたのですが、同時に「人はいつ死ぬかわからない。いつ死んでも後悔しないように生きたい」という思いも募っていたんです。悩んだ末に本格的な音楽活動へと舵を切りました。数年はヒットに恵まれない中、少しずつ作詞・作曲の仕事を続け、See-Saw名義で手がけた楽曲が「機動戦士ガンダムSEED」のエンディングテーマとなり大ヒットしたのを契機に、作曲家として世間に認知されるようになりました。
物語のサウンドトラックをつくるプロセスとはどういうものでしょうか。
作中のシーンを想像して、まるで感想文を書くように曲を書いています。物語の魅力に全身で浸かって、自分の心の震えを音楽にぶつけるような感覚です。実のところサウンドトラックの制作を引き受けた当初は、戸惑うことばかりでした。娯楽といえばもっぱら読書で、映画もドラマもアニメもほとんど見ずに育った私が、果たしてこの仕事を全うできるのだろうか、と。しかし、思い返してみれば子どもの頃から小説に勝手にテーマソングをつけたり、好きな曲に映像を想像したりして遊んでいましたし、大好きな物語世界と関わるのにこれ以上楽しい仕事はないとすぐに気がつきました。物語から得たインスピレーションを音楽にして、みなさんに聴いてもらえるのですから最高です。最も感動したシーンの純度を高めるような音楽で、オーディエンスのみなさんにもワクワクしてほしい。魅力的なシーンが、もっと魅力的になるように。そんな思いで作曲に全力を注いでいます。
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英詩を学んだことが、​

言語の持ち味を踏まえた作詞・作曲に活きている。​

ほかにも作曲にあたって、津田塾での学びが活かされる部分はありますか。
時々、英語歌詞の曲を書くこともあるのですが、授業の中でたくさんの英詩に触れ、韻の踏み方をはじめとした表現技法を学んだことが、大きな助けになっています。当時「この比喩表現や、この文字列のリズムが好きだな」と感じた感覚が、今も自分の中の英詞の理想形になっているのです。言葉のリズムを意識すると、言葉の発音の高低はもうそこにメロディーを内包していますから、それだけで自然に歌が生まれて来たりもしますね。
今後どのように活動していきたいですか。
物語にのせる音楽を作り続けたいです。色も、匂いも、心も、季節も、自由に生み出せる架空の世界に「音楽を付けていいですよ」と指名していただける。これほど幸福なことはありません。物語から得られるインスピレーションを形にする喜びが、私の原動力です。同時に、ジャンルを問わず幅広い作品に携わりたい。自分のほうから作風や活躍の場などを限定したくはありません。そもそもサウンドトラックの仕事だって、自分から手を伸ばした仕事ではなく、人とのつながりを通じて運良く巡り会ったものです。それが私の現在を作っています。関心のなかった分野にも向き合って、笑ったり泣いたり喧嘩したりしながら作曲を続けていけたら幸せです。

学ぶことは楽しい。​

津田塾での経験はそこに集約されます。​

改めて、津田塾での学生生活はどのようなものでしたか？
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一生懸命に打ち込む習慣がついたこと。これに尽きます。何かに集中して取り組む習慣は、訓練なしには身につきません。その訓練を津田塾でさせてもらえたのは幸運でした。何かを習得するのには相当な時間がかかることも身にしみてわかりました。自分の「好き」に没頭し、遊ぶように夢中で学んだ贅沢な時間が、私にとっての津田塾です。このときほど勉強したことはそれまではありませんでしたし、津田塾の学生さんは皆そうじゃないかと思います。「学ぶこと」に対する覚悟と興味、そして基本的に学ぶことは楽しい、ということを教えて貰いました。
最後に、津田塾を目指す高校生にメッセージをお願いします。
進路を決めるために「早く自分の『好き』を見つけなければ」と思っている方がいたら、焦る必要はないとお伝えしたいです。俗に言う「本当の好き」は多分ちょっとした興味から始めたことが、いつの間にかこんなに長く続いてしまった、どれほど困難な状況でも続けずにはいられなかった、そんな後からわかる気持ちじゃないかと思うんです。２、３日で簡単に見つかるはずがありませんし、60歳くらいになってようやく気づくものかもしれません。逆説的ですが「一生見つからなくても大丈夫」と、楽に構えているほうが、多くのチャンスに巡り会えそうな気もします。肩の力を抜き、フットワーク良く、心が動かされるものに飛び込んでみてください。

津田塾大学は、私が学生だった80年代当時からずっと時代に合わせて柔軟に進化し続けています。あの当時にいち早くパソコンを扱う授業を取り入れるなど、目の付けどころが面白かったなと今になって感じます。現在はジェンダーに関連する講義が充実しているそうですね。女性の生き方に敏感なこの大学なら卒業後もしなやかに生き抜いていくための力を、きっと授けてくれるはずです。

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Click to expand...
https://www.tsuda.ac.jp/learning/interview/graduates/211222.html
 
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Thanks! Thats really cool ^_^ I fixed your link at the end as it was for an other person's interview.

Automated translation:
Yuki Kajiura
Department of English Literature*, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, graduated in 1989
*The Department of English Literature has been renamed the Department of English Language and Literature from the 2019 academic year.

Yuki Kajiura studied English and American literature, played in a band, and worked part-time during her studies. After working for a major telecommunications company for three years, she shifted her focus to band activities and made her major debut as a member of See-Saw. In the 2000s, See-Saw's single "We were together so much" was adopted as the ending theme song for the TV anime "Mobile Suit Gundam SEED" and became a big hit. He has also been involved in theatrical accompaniment music for a number of high-profile works, including the anime "Puella Magi Madoka Magica," "Blade of the Demise," and the NHK TV series "Hanako to An. Mr. Kajiura says that he realized that "work is love" when he saw the attitude of the teachers he met during his university days. We asked him how his studies at Tsuda College have been applied to his current work in lyric and composition.

Studying in a way that allows me to focus only on what I like is
I enjoy it from the bottom of my heart.
First of all, please tell us why you applied to Tsuda College.
I thought that Tsuda College, with its emphasis on English, would allow me to have a meaningful student life with a view to my future career after graduation. I was also attracted by the fact that it was close to my home and easy to commute. When I visited the campus to take the entrance exam, I was impressed by the beautiful school building and the natural surroundings along the Tamagawa josui. It was as if I was walking into a forest, and I felt that it was a place that I would love for four years. I didn't like to study much until high school, but I have always been familiar with books and English. I wanted to spend all my time here reading and learning languages, which I love. That is why I decided to enter the school.

Please tell us about your impressions of the school.
I was expecting to meet female students who recite English poetry in the hallways. (laughs) My expectations were quickly dashed. (laughs) On the other hand, the amount of study was very high, just as I had expected. I remember well that I had to spend a lot of time preparing for classes in order to keep up with them. When I came home, my daily routine was to read American literature for a couple of hours with a dictionary in hand. I had loved reading since I was a child, so it was simply fun to read while anticipating the next class. In the seminars where we discussed novels, everything was in English, as I am sure it still is. It was frustrating, but fun, to not be able to say what you wanted to say properly and to wrack your brains to find another way to express yourself in English. I realized that it is fun to study what you like, not what you feel obligated to cram in.


Seeing the passionate teachers.
I wished I could become an adult like them.
Could you tell us about a class that left a deep impression on you?

It was a class where we had a seminar discussion about the character of a certain woman in a novel. Everyone had very different interpretations of the same character in the novel, and I was surprised when the professor gave us homework to draw a portrait of the woman. When I faced the story with the intention of drawing a picture of the image I had imagined only with words, I was surprised to find myself thinking, "What? I thought this woman was beautiful, but her mouth might be mean. ......" I made a new discovery. I remember how interesting it was to know that there was such a way to read a story. The attempt to read a story from multiple angles is also utilized in my current work. When I create soundtracks, I find that touching the original story from different angles changes the way I look at it and makes the music more compelling. When composing music, which tends to be subjective, changing the point of view also has the advantage of allowing me to be calm and objective.

What did you notice in your interactions with the teachers?
All the professors have a deep love for the literary works they study. I was most impressed by that. They would talk about how wonderful the descriptions were with a twinkle in their eyes. For example, he quoted a line from a woman in the book and said, "You should become a woman who speaks this kind of English," and spoke passionately about the glamour of it. Knowing through the teachers that there are so many passionate adults out there made me want to become an adult who is passionate about the things I love. The teachers were truly wonderful, and I was in an environment where my future role models were close at hand.


I would immerse myself in the charm of a story and compose it as if I were writing a book report.
That's my style.
Please tell us about how you built your career in music.

When I was in college, I was also involved in band activities, sparing no time to sleep, but after graduation, I got a job at a major telecommunication company with excellent benefits. The music I continued to play in between jobs was just a hobby. The fact that my father, who was a music lover, passed away when I was 19 years old also encouraged me to change my career. Since my father had passed away, I thought that I should join a big company in order to lead a stable life. But at the same time, I thought, "You never know when you will die. But at the same time, I was also thinking, "I don't know when I'm going to die, and I want to live my life so that I don't regret it when I die. After much deliberation, I decided to take the plunge into a full-fledged musical career. While I was not blessed with any hits for a few years, I gradually continued to write lyrics and compose music, and when a song I worked on under the name See-Saw became a big hit as the ending theme of "Mobile Suit Gundam SEED," I began to be recognized as a composer.

What is the process of creating a soundtrack for a story?
I imagine the scenes in the story and write the music as if I were writing a book report. It's as if I'm immersing myself in the charm of the story and letting my heart tremble in the music. To tell the truth, when I first took on the task of creating a soundtrack, I was at a loss. I grew up reading for entertainment and watching very few movies, dramas, or anime, so I wondered if I would be able to fulfill this job. However, looking back, I had been playing with novels since I was a child, adding theme songs to them and imagining images to my favorite songs, and I soon realized that there was no job more enjoyable than being involved in the world of stories that I loved. It's great to be able to take inspiration from a story and put it to music for everyone to hear. I want the audience to be thrilled by music that enhances the purity of the most moving scenes. I want the audience to be thrilled by music that enhances the purity of the most moving scenes, and makes the most fascinating scenes even more fascinating. With this in mind, I put all my energy into composing.

Having studied English poetry.
I have studied English poetry, and it has helped me to write lyrics and compose music based on the characteristics of each language.
Are there any other aspects of composing that make use of what you learned at Tsuda College?

Sometimes I write songs with English lyrics, and being exposed to a lot of English poetry in class and learning about rhyming and other expressive techniques has been a big help. The feeling I had back then, "I like this metaphorical expression and the rhythm of this string of letters," is still the ideal form of English lyrics in my mind. When I'm aware of the rhythm of the words, the highs and lows of the pronunciation of the words already encompass the melody, and so the song is born naturally.
What kind of activities do you want to do in the future?
I would like to continue making music that tells stories. I'd like to be able to create colors, smells, hearts, and seasons in my imaginary world and have people ask me if they can add music to it. Nothing makes me happier than that. The joy of giving form to the inspiration I get from a story is my driving force. At the same time, I want to be involved in a wide range of works regardless of genre. I don't want to limit myself in terms of style or where I can work. I didn't get the soundtrack job by myself, but by luck through my relationships with people. That's how I got where I am today. I would be happy if I could continue to compose music while laughing, crying, and fighting with people in fields I had no interest in.

Learning is fun.
That is what my experience at Tsuda College is all about.
Once again, what was your student life at Tsuda College like?

I developed the habit of working hard. That's all I can say. The habit of concentrating on something cannot be acquired without training. I was fortunate to be able to practice that at Tsuda College. I have also learned that it takes a lot of time to master something. For me, Tsuda Juku was a luxurious time where I could immerse myself in what I "liked" and learn as if I were playing. I had never studied as much as I did at Tsuda before, and I think all Tsuda students do the same. It taught me to be prepared and interested in learning, and basically that learning is fun.
Finally, do you have a message for high school students who are aiming to study at Tsuda College?
I would like to tell them that if they are thinking, "I need to find what I like as soon as possible" in order to decide on a career path, there is no need to rush. I think what is commonly referred to as "true love" is the feeling of knowing after the fact that you started something out of curiosity, but before you knew it, it lasted for such a long time that you couldn't help but continue it no matter how difficult the situation was. It's not easy to find something in a few days, and you may not realize it until you're about 60 years old. Paradoxically, if you take it easy and say, "It's okay if I never find anything," you will be able to encounter many opportunities. Relax your shoulders, use your footwork, and dive into whatever moves you.

Tsuda College has been evolving flexibly with the times since I was a student there in the 1980s. It was one of the first universities to introduce computer classes back then, and I feel now that it was interesting to see how they saw things. I heard that you are now offering a wide range of lectures related to gender issues. I am sure that this university, which is sensitive to women's way of life, will give us the power to live out our lives flexibly after graduation.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)
Click to expand...
 
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Very interesting interview. We're getting to know her past better :)
I'm wondering who did it. Could be a student whose task was to interview a famous person, or the staff to promote their own university.
 
Shared by Sony Music Soundtracks on March 8:

Happy #InternationalWomensDay! We're celebrating with a playlist highlighting some of our favorite tracks by the talented women working in the world of film, TV and video game music!
Listen here:
https://soundtracks.lnk.to/womencomposers
Featuring music by:
Aska Matsumiya
Drum & Lace
Uèle Lamore
Japanese Breakfast
Isobel Waller-Bridge
hania rani
Kathryn Bostic
Nainita Desai
Kajiura Yuki
Dascha Dauenhauer
Dara Taylor Music
Genevieve Vincent
Sonya Belousova
Fatima Al Qadiri
Hildur Gudnadóttir
Electric Youth
Tamar-kali
Chelsea Cullen
Laura Karpman
Herdís Stefánsdóttir
& more!
#IWD2022

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(Featuring "into the light" & "Sis puella magica!")
 
I tried getting the radio stream to work yesterday but I guess it's geolocked (but giving a generic server error message)?
 
So yeah it was all about SAO and was 50 min long

@grunty Sasha said in english "Hello listeners from all around the world!!!" so... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Asaka said some words in english too
(Their english is of course very good because Sasha was born in Germany and Asaka raised some years in America)

about Yuki Kajiura in the last 17 minutes, they played a part of "swordland" for her introduction
  • In the first seasons, she wrote middle age, rock and fantasy, magic music because SAO is a game
  • Asaka was impressed by the music
  • In Alicization, it's like a totally different work, kind of real world so she wrote the music differently, no more like a game
  • Kajiura says that "luminous sword" was written for Asuna but because she's mostly fighting with Kirito it always end up being "swordland" instead (many laughs here), and that's why she fixed it by playing it a lot in her lives
  • Sasha reported that the Progressive movie had some aincrad arrangements, and Yuki Kajiura said "yes" (wtf, those progressive mixes can't be defined as arrangements), then proudly said that she did filmscoring for the movie unlike with the tv series (T_T)
  • Kajiura's message for the fans: "10 years have passed with SAO but its world is still expanding so please look forward for us!" (T_T)
 
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