here<\/a>.)<\/p>\nInterviewer:<\/em><\/span> I think Yamato<\/em> is a work you\u2019ve been closely involved with. Can I ask what made you work on Yamato 2199<\/em> in 2012?<\/p>\nMiyagawa:<\/em><\/span> I am exactly in the \u201cYamato<\/em> Generation.\u201d When \u201cFirst Yamato<\/em>\u201d was broadcast, I was in the eighth grade. We were the first customers, and we trembled with the impression that \u201chistory is being made!\u201d The feeling was very real. But after that, I felt there was \u201ctoo much Yamato<\/em>.\u201d (Laughs)<\/p>\nEveryone laughs when I say that, don\u2019t they? It\u2019s different in everyone\u2019s mind. Something like, \u201cWhy did they call it Farewell<\/em> when now we have Be Forever<\/em>?\u201d or \u201cIt\u2019s called Be Forever<\/em>, but don\u2019t do it again.\u201d It seemed to be half-joking and to be honest it wore me out. But I was in the first generation and I was proud of my father\u2019s music. I\u2019m really proud of the staff on Space Battleship Yamato<\/em> from the design to the story.<\/p>\nSo with 2199<\/em> I was like, \u201cYou\u2019re doing it again? Come on, now\u2026\u201d I went to the meeting intending to preach. Before that there was the live-action movie and the one by Producer Nishizaki.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/dec17\/277a04.JPG\")
\nNaoto Otomo, conductor of the music for<\/em> Yamato Resurrection<\/p>\nInterviewer:<\/em><\/span> Resurrection<\/em>.<\/p>\nMiyagawa:<\/em><\/span> Yes, Resurrection<\/em>. At that time, the conductor Naoto Otomo called me up and said, \u201cLet\u2019s do it together,\u201d but I said frankly, \u201cIt\u2019s not a matter of principle, but I don\u2019t intend to work on it\u201d and declined. It was a bit awkward, and I haven\u2019t worked with Mr. Otomo since. (Laughs)<\/p>\nTherefore, I intended to decline again. They said General Director Yutaka Izubuchi wanted to meet with me by all means, so I was going to clearly tell him, \u201cI don\u2019t want to do it for this reason.\u201d When we met I got through about half of it (laughs) and then Mr. Izubuchi said, \u201cAkira-san, I feel the same way. What I\u2019m trying to do is remake the first 26 episodes.\u201d And I had to admit, \u201cExactly what I would do. The first 26 episodes are really creative.\u201d And he asked, \u201cWhat do you think of doing a remake?\u201d Well\u2026how could I turn that down? (Laughs) If it came out saying \u201cMusic by Takayuki Hattori\u201d I\u2019d be in shock. I\u2019m joking. (Laughs)<\/p>\n
Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> But it seems like if you didn\u2019t do it, that would be sufficient.<\/p>\nMiyagawa:<\/em><\/span> I once saw Takayuki Hattori ask my father to sign his copy of the Symphonic Suite Yamato<\/em> LP, so at least the Miyagawa family had an impact on the Hattori family. (Laughs)<\/p>\nTherefore, my immediate answer on that day was, \u201cI would suffer if I don\u2019t do this myself, so I definitely want to do it.\u201d That was good. It was good that there was such a general director who wanted to do it that way.<\/p>\n
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\nDirector Yutaka Izubuchi<\/em><\/span><\/p>\nInterviewer:<\/em><\/span> Did you strongly feel his enthusiasm?<\/p>\nMiyagawa:<\/em><\/span> Both his enthusiasm and what I call his \u201cunique perspective.\u201d He wasn\u2019t someone who would just assemble the story by referencing other anime. He\u2019s the type who would drink the night away and stay up talking about space until morning. I worked on Yamato<\/em> with the same stance. Rather than starting from \u201cYamato<\/em> for Yamato<\/em> fans,\u201d it was about the wonder of space, the wonder of life, the miracle of meeting, and the twins of good and evil. His philosophy included many such things, and it was fun to have someone to discuss things like space philosophy with, since I\u2019m very interested in such things. <\/p>\nMusicians and artists usually talk about big things, don\u2019t they? \u201cA bureaucrat talks ten years on, politicians talk about 100 years on, and artists talk about 1,000 years on.\u201d That\u2019s what I think. Therefore, Mr. Izubuchi seemed to enjoy our understanding about the story. Honestly, that\u2019s what led to 2202<\/em>. (Laughs)<\/p>\nWith 2202<\/em> there was no ritual of \u201cI\u2019ll turn it down this time\u201d at all. No matter what, heaven can\u2019t consist of only good things. If you don\u2019t see both heaven and hell, you\u2019re not really getting it. For example, raising a child is both heaven and hell. For me, Yamato<\/em> is a heavy thing to feed a family. It\u2019s not just, \u201cThis is fun,\u201d it\u2019s \u201cI\u2019m able to discover myself anew\u201d and \u201cThis is a heavy thing to carry on my back.\u201d (Laughs) If you don’t confront that boldly, I don\u2019t think you can make Yamato<\/em>. But I might be overstating it.<\/p>\nInterviewer:<\/em><\/span> Did you taste \u201cheaven and hell\u201d from the time of 2199<\/em>?<\/p>\nMiyagawa:<\/em><\/span> 2199<\/em> seemed like heaven since I tasted all the sweet parts first, but then there was the feeling of, \u201cI got all the best parts,\u201d and hell came afterward. (Laughs)<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/dec17\/277a06.JPG\")
\nDirector Nobuyoshi Habara<\/em><\/span><\/p>\nInterviewer:<\/em><\/span> On 2202<\/em>, the director has been replaced by Mr. Nobuyoshi Habara. Do you have different exchanges, or impressions of the work?<\/p>\nMiyagawa:<\/em><\/span> It\u2019s completely different. Mr. Izubuchi entered into it from a philosophical point of view, but Mr. Habara didn\u2019t. I don\u2019t know if I\u2019ve had a chance to talk about that yet. My impression is that Mr. Habara has very good judgment. When it comes down to \u201cShould we go this way or that way?\u201d he seems to be good at choosing the one that is closer to the goal or where the future is brighter. <\/p>\nSince Mr. Izubuchi started with philosophy, he suffered from not reaching an understanding with what he said. (Laughs) I think there are places where Mr. Izubuchi got caught in his own traps. That\u2019s very bold for an artist, but Mr. Habara chooses paths to avoid falling into traps, so I\u2019m very relieved.<\/p>\n
Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> Is it your impression that it\u2019s easy to work together?<\/p>\nMiyagawa:<\/em><\/span> I can\u2019t say it\u2019s \u201ceasy to do,\u201d but when I look at what\u2019s been done, I have a strong sense of security. The flow of time feels smart and avoids waste, and the feeling is, \u201cThis is well made. The results are good. My younger brother is a clever guy, and doesn\u2019t get stuck in the same rut.\u201d I selfishly imagine that Mr. Habara is the second or third son and I\u2019m the oldest, the type that falls into the hole. I\u2019m the type that has all the hardships so you don\u2019t have to. (Laughs)<\/p>\nInterviewer:<\/em><\/span> The story goes that there was no sheet music from the past for 2199<\/em>, and that you had to start by making ear-copies.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/dec17\/277a07.JPG\")
\nHiroshi Miyagawa\u2019s score for the original <\/em>Yamato theme<\/em><\/span><\/p>\nMiyagawa:<\/em><\/span> My father\u2019s library is still there, but I knew there wasn\u2019t much Yamato<\/em> music in it. Just some tattered leftovers or single-sided pages saying \u201cThis is part XX.\u201d It\u2019s nothing like having all of Yamato<\/em>\u2019s wonderful 73 pieces. And I don\u2019t remember seeing a musical score for Farewell to Yamato<\/em>. Columbia, who was in charge of the music at the time, told me \u201cThere is no sound source,\u201d but there is one. Everyone has the CD. (Laughs)<\/p>\nThere might be multiple recordings for those that were multi-recorded, but in any case it still became a story of rewriting everything. The information changes in the video picture and the designs, and the thing that changes most is the texture. The old anime had the tone of a flip-book. That was the taste back in those days. But a lot of it is done in CG now and the pacing is different in both picture and music. Because the music doesn\u2019t fit today\u2019s pacing, it\u2019s understandable that it would need to be re-recorded. And if you re-record it, you need a score. <\/p>\n
Mr. Izubuchi was amused to hear that. \u201c\u2026This is what you mean by ear-copy?\u201d And my feeling was just, \u201cWell, these things happen.\u201d (Laughs) At first I thought, \u201cAre you serious!?\u201d But on the other hand, I was very excited. (Laughs) \u201cI get to write out all that music?\u201d <\/p>\n
Several things came to mind. Writing the score would make it clear what kind of structure the music has, and I would come know how this score was realized. That was going to be fascinating. Any composer who graduates from music school can do an ear-copy, but I felt like I was getting classes. I got lessons from my father like, \u201cHow did he extend this thin 1-minute piece to 2 minutes?\u201d( Laughs) That kind of technique takes skill. (Laughs)<\/p>\n
When I began to write it, it was thinking \u201cThis song was written in 30 minutes.\u201d And then there were many, many points where I\u2019d realize \u201cOh! That\u2019s how it is, that\u2019s how he did it…\u201d The details are kind of a trade secret, though. (Laughs) <\/p>\n
Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> Is it different from just listening to the music and writing it out as sheet music?<\/p>\nMiyagawa:<\/em><\/span> It\u2019s entirely different. \u201cThere were only these elements, but simply modulating a semitone here brings the whole dream to life\u201d and \u201cAfter that, I can go back down a semitone!\u201d I\u2019m not really an editing man, but it was fun to understand all of it. And there were several pieces where you could say, \u201cGod dwells in there\u201d and I thought it was great. That was Hiroshi Miyagawa from those days.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/dec17\/277a03.JPG\")
<\/span><\/p>\nInterviewer:<\/em><\/span> For 2202<\/em>, you revived the music of Farewell to Yamato<\/em>.<\/p>\nMiyagawa:<\/em><\/span> We\u2019re calling it \u201csalvage\u201d in the sense that we\u2019re rescuing old music. If you try to ear-copy Farewell<\/em>, I understood that from the start it clearly differentiates itself from the first Yamato<\/em> in musical terms.<\/p>\nInterviewer:<\/em><\/span> What is it like?<\/p>\nMiyagawa:<\/em><\/span> The string parts are abnormally large. The first Yamato<\/em> was mainly based in rock. There are a lot of scenes where the rhythm section is active. However, the score for Farewell<\/em> is intentionally based on the string ensemble. In other words, there\u2019s a lot of music in this world that doesn\u2019t use a rhythm section. The strings are almost taking the place of the previous rhythm section.<\/p>\nI\u2019m sure there was a meeting when they said, \u201cSince that was how it used to be, let\u2019s do this way this time.\u201d After all, my father wasn\u2019t trying to make exactly the same thing. Change is necessary to maintain your motivation. I think it started from \u201cLet\u2019s not use this instrument for a while\u201d and the instruments were changed.<\/p>\n
Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> Is that why it has a classical impression?<\/p>\nMiyagawa:<\/em><\/span> That\u2019s right, it sounds classical as a result. Plus, there\u2019s the Bach pipe organ in there.<\/p>\nInterviewer:<\/em><\/span> When the pipe organ White Comet theme was used in 2199<\/em>, it was a rearrangement of the version on Immortal Space Battleship Yamato New Disco Arrange<\/em>, which made it seem like \u201crevenge was achieved.\u201d A story in a news flash has it that 2202<\/em> has a form closer to the original, which made me think, \u201cOh, the White Comet has come.\u201d The performers played in Triphony Hall this time. Did you take part in it yourself?<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/dec17\/277a08.JPG\")
\nRecording the pipe organ performance for <\/em>Yamato 2202<\/p>\nMiyagawa:<\/em><\/span> I remember playing White Comet<\/em> back then, and my impression was that the sheet music was very clear. I listened to my performance from high school many times and prepared a perfect score for the organist, Hiroko Yoneyama. I had the option of playing it myself, but that seemed like a joke. (Laughs)<\/p>\nOn the day of recording, as I stood to the side listening to her play, as she asked, \u201cIs this all right?\u201d and \u201cShould it sound like this?\u201d to confirm she was playing it right, I\u2019d answer, \u201cCould you do a retardando here?\u201d and \u201cYeah, do the phrasing this way at that point.\u201d When I asked, \u201cDid you study this?\u201d, she said \u201cI got a CD.\u201d Which means, \u201cWas she studying from the version I played in high school?!\u201d (Laughs) And so I thought \u201cRight, that\u2019s how I played back then.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, I was the one leading the battle to play the pipe organ. \u201cIt\u2019s slightly different there. I played it with a marcato, and there\u2019s a retardando here and strong beat here\u2026\u201d And suddenly I remembered, \u201cThat\u2019s how it was for me.\u201d Hiroshi Miyagawa was directing me strongly from the side, explaining music and inspiring me. <\/p>\n
I\u2019d forgotten all about that. At the time I was filled to bursting and I was playing with tears in my eyes all the while, just trying to play it without a mistake. Even if he said \u201cPlay this heavily\u201d or \u201cThis is more musical,\u201d I was in a state like, \u201cI get it, but that\u2019s not the problem, papa!\u201d (Laughs)<\/p>\n
I forgot about that for a long time, but surely Hiroshi Miyagawa was directing me from the side and coaching me. \u201cHere it is, here, and then like this, then take a rest and come at it this way!\u201d It\u2019s the passing of the baton from musician to musician and from composer to performer and from parent to child. <\/p>\n
It\u2019s a complex baton, isn\u2019t it? It reminded me that many things were included in there. I repented a bit after that and thought about my children. \u201cI won\u2019t just show them my back, I\u2019ll take the occasion to say things that should be said.\u201d Sometimes I get home and stir up the house a bit and then head off to Ginza, just like my father used to. (Laughs) I thought I was a better father than he was, but that\u2019s not enough. I began to think, \u201cI\u2019ll have to pass on a raw baton if I don\u2019t tell them what\u2019s important when it seems right.\u201d<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/aug08\/Miya4.JPG\")
Above left: The Miyagawa family in 1981; daughter Naoko and son Akira in the background.
Right: Miyagawa and his wife Reiko relax at home in early 2006.<\/em><\/p>\nInterviewer:<\/em><\/span> Hiroshi was busy and didn\u2019t come home very much, and even when he did it was midnight and you couldn\u2019t talk much. I heard that you didn\u2019t hear about the trouble of creating 73 pieces of music in one month for the first Yamato<\/em>, but in fact the baton was passed at the time of the pipe organ recording.<\/p>\nMiyagawa:<\/em><\/span> Right! When I copied all the music, I thought it was like receiving a lesson from out of this world. However, to reiterate, \u201cHis standing by my side, foaming at the mouth while giving me instructions, telling me to do it this way and that\u201d is incredibly nostalgic for me. It makes me think back and it feels as if he\u2019s watching me, even now. It\u2019s strange how memories are asleep all the while, but sometimes when you open a drawer, it comes floating out.<\/p>\nInterviewer:<\/em><\/span> There weren\u2019t just ear-copies, but I heard that you also composed a lot of parts yourself. Your musical background is different and you have your own individuality, but what were your thoughts on making your pieces compatible with those you transcribed from the original?<\/p>\nMiyagawa:<\/em><\/span> In order to answer that question, the correct response has to be, \u201cI didn\u2019t think about it at all.\u201d I was uncertain at the beginning, so I talked with the Sound Director Tomohiro Yoshida and finally got around to asking, \u201cIt\u2019s good, isn\u2019t it?\u201d But when it was all finally sorted out for the recording, there was no mismatch at all. <\/p>\nIt\u2019s a mysterious thing. Even though the style is completely different, I dared to write music that my father didn\u2019t write. I think this is because the seeding of 2199<\/em> was quite good. Mr. Izubuchi said, \u201cThere\u2019s no melody that says, \u2018ambitious youth,\u2019 so I want you to make one.\u201d And we prepared a Garmillas National Anthem. When I surged into 2202<\/em>, both myself and those around me said, \u201cThere\u2019s no mismatch\u201d and \u201cYou did well, Akira.\u201d I know it was good, because it was said at separate times.<\/p>\nInterviewer:<\/em><\/span> Yes, no mismatch at all.<\/p>\nMiyagawa:<\/em><\/span> Anybody can be influenced or not by the original author, but with the yearning in regard to the stylishness that we call harmony, the linear beauty that\u2019s like a huge dragon that we call melody, and the yearning for the coolness we call rhythm, whether due to DNA or experience, I can\u2019t say, but our intuition is definitely identical. And perhaps, in the end, it\u2019s born of a desire to \u201cexpress the age.\u201d Well, perhaps my father was a bit more eager\u2026 <\/p>\nNo, no, but the ending is Scarlet Scarf,<\/em> right? (Laughs) That one was lagging behind the times. When I was a junior high student, I couldn\u2019t accept it. \u201cDad! This is no longer the era of Hiroshi Wada and the Mahinastars!\u201d (Laughs) It\u2019s certainly a good song, and I could understand it after I became an adult. That\u2019s one bit of evidence that he wasn\u2019t thinking about being fashionable. The other is that he didn\u2019t use a computer, and I don\u2019t use a computer for music at all. That\u2019s how we\u2019re alike. Because it cannot be used.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/aug08\/Miya9.JPG\")
Hiroshi Miyagawa in his final years, still master of the baton<\/em><\/span><\/p>\nInterviewer:<\/em><\/span> You don\u2019t even record things separately.<\/p>\nMiyagawa:<\/em><\/span> I think music needs to be done in one shot. That\u2019s why it seems like \u201cMiyagawa music\u201d is conjoined by its own nature. Some writers have a lot of trouble if you tell them \u201cI want you to write pieces that don\u2019t match\u201d but I don\u2019t think my father had any problem with that. <\/p>\nThere were a lot of things that were really well done in the battle scenes, where you can say, \u201cThis piece feels different because the enemy is different this time, too.\u201d Does it accumulate to more than 900 pieces? He went through incredible hell, didn\u2019t he? And here I am thinking, \u201ccan I just use the same piece as before?\u201d (Laughs)<\/p>\n
But knowing that my father boldly said, \u201cI\u2019m still fighting even though I\u2019ve run out of bullets,\u201d I think he was really great. There\u2019s a lot of music in Farewell to Yamato<\/em>.<\/p>\nInterviewer:<\/em><\/span> From there, some would say, \u201cBring out something inside of me beyond even that.\u201d<\/p>\nMiyagawa:<\/em><\/span> This time I noticed that Yamato<\/em> is itself the act of struggling. Yamato<\/em> is a struggle. Why is it the Battleship Yamato<\/em> from World War II? Why not the Battleship Nagato<\/em>? Anyway, it would be no good if it wasn\u2019t Yamato<\/em>. (Laughs)<\/p>\nAnyway, if you have \u201cit must be Yamato<\/em>,\u201d then you also have, \u201cIt wouldn\u2019t be Yamato<\/em> without this.\u201d The first thing I wanted to do was find a basis for replacing the Pacific War with space. So this work carries a lot of things on its back. It\u2019s sociology and philosophy. It wouldn\u2019t be Yamato<\/em> if there was no struggle.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/dec17\/277a09.JPG\")
\nIJN Battleship<\/em> Yamato<\/span><\/p>\nInterviewer:<\/em><\/span> I see.<\/p>\nMiyagawa:<\/em><\/span> I don\u2019t know what kind of feeling viewers have when watching Yamato<\/em>, but I wonder if they think of struggling together. I hated the ending of Farewell to Yamato<\/em>. At that time, we were carefully studying the war in the school I attended. For summer vacation I was writing my impressions of Listen to the Voices from the Sea<\/em><\/a>, and when I saw Farewell<\/em> even a high school student could understand that \u201cThis is the same as the Kamikaze unit.\u201d But still, it was cool. (Laughs) <\/p>\nWhen Yamato<\/em> advances and \u201cGoodbye Earth\u201d flows in acapella from the male chorus, it goes right to your genes and you ask, \u201cWhat am I?\u201d (Laughs) Then you start to struggle. Weapons are cool. A battleship is a big weapon, and I had a lot of model guns, because they were cool. On the other hand, it\u2019s also a tool of murder. So then we ask, \u201cWhat am I? What is a human?\u201d You understand it in your head, but your senses tell you the opposite. So we struggle and think and debate, but there\u2019s no answer other than, \u201cEach person is a different case\u201d and knowing that is the truth behind undertaking Yamato<\/em>.<\/p>\nI wonder why I\u2019m so obsessed with something like this, but if I contracted the \u201cdisease\u201d back then, I\u2019m doomed to associate with it my entire life. It sounds a bit like Camus, though. (Laughs) Having shown both heaven and hell, I think the association of father and son turns it into true tradition.<\/p>\n
Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> The story goes that the information density in a picture is completely different now than it was back in those days. Do you have the feeling that music will sound dull if you make it with the same density as back then?<\/p>\nMiyagawa:<\/em><\/span> \u201cDullness,\u201d or rather, the feeling that it just doesn\u2019t fit. I don\u2019t know the right terminology, but it seems somewhat irrelevant. If you made music with the same density, my feeling would be, \u201cWhy not just leave the picture as it was long ago?\u201d When I think about this in regards to movie music and anime music of nowadays, I don\u2019t think there are many places where they use direct melodies.<\/p>\nInterviewer:<\/em><\/span> Is it difficult to maintain a melody because one musical instrument doesn\u2019t stand out, since many instruments are piled up in the same position?<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.ourstarblazers.com\/vault-images\/dec16\/135a19.JPG\")
\nThird day in the recording studio, November 29, 2016<\/em><\/p>\nMiyagawa:<\/em><\/span> Now we can freely pile up musical instruments using a synthesizer and the sound is similar, like we\u2019ve \u201cmixed all the colors.\u201d I think it has the aspect of making the melody difficult to understand. But I think when a bold melody is actually applied, they just say, \u201cI don\u2019t need that.\u201d<\/p>\nIn film music, much of it is mainly chiseled out with rhythm only, \u201cdun! dun! dun!\u201d, bass-heavy growls of \u201czoon,\u201d with the occasional different instrument thrown in. One of the reasons is that the visual information is clear, and I think that to a large extent visual information provides all the information in the movie.<\/p>\n
Interviewer:<\/em><\/span> Does it become noisy if you insist on sounds?<\/p>\nMiyagawa:<\/em><\/span> Yes, you don\u2019t need a melody, you just need a feeling of music in the air.<\/p>\nInterviewer:<\/em><\/span> Is it supposed to be \u201cabstract\u201d?<\/p>\n
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