<Nashiki's Note 002>
Unless you are 100% self-sufficient in isolation, you are required to make a basic contribution to society. We are expected to be valuable to others in some way, by engaging in production, service, education, welfare, research, or providing entertainment. That's what doing a job means. In other words, if you don't serve someone’s needs, no one will pay you. So, no matter how much we wish to live freely, we are more or less forced to live within the framework of this society.
Painters, musicians, and other "artists" are no exception to this.
Creation is the emergence of universality that obtains a new individual form of each "artist." A work of art is a creative interweaving of each person's singularity derived from their one and only perspective with the foundational universality that holds their existence. That is where the work stands independently. However, if an "artist" tries to live a creative life only for the sake of their expression and not for the sake of society, and if it’s not a mere social pose, their action is no different from ignoring or refusing to exist in this society. As one's expression goes deeper, and as one becomes more creative, with a more singular output, drifting away from society's shared language occurs. Then, the art strays from the existent demands of society and, as a result, does not lead to any compensation for the "artist." The more sincere, honest, and unrestrained such an "artist" is, the more difficult his or her survival becomes, and thus, the greater his or her suffering, except for those blessed with great luck and eloquence to persuade the established society.
First of all, the "artist" is required to bear this ill-fated yet inevitable burden. Living like wild plants, putting down their roots in the earth, receiving the blessings of the sun and wind, standing tall, and continuing to live as such in silence; this life is not an option for human beings. That is why the "artist" suffers. Thus, in principle, free souls are bound to suffer.
Yoshinari Nashiki (Music Production Advisor)
