INDEX
“Passing On What the Generations Before Us Built” (Sumino)
Another major thing you have in common is that both of you are now active on the global stage.
Ichika: For me, I was basically unknown in Japan to begin with, and the recognition came from overseas first. So in a way that became my normal. If anything, I feel more nervous performing in Japan — it feels more special. Of course, it’s not something to take for granted that I can just grab a guitar, get on a plane, and go play in different countries. But at this point, that’s just my style. How do you feel about it?
Sumino: For me it’s the opposite. I spent several years working mainly in Japan first, and then I moved to New York. Also, I’m fundamentally in the classical music world, so I think there’s a difference in the culture of the genre as well. When you’re in the classical scene in Japan, something like self-expression — which feels completely natural when artists talk to each other like we are today — can sometimes be interpreted negatively. There’s this aesthetic in classical music that the performer should remain transparent to the work itself, but I feel that idea is especially strong in East Asia.
But since I’ve also been influenced by music outside of classical, I’ve always wrestled with whether that approach is really right for someone who wants to express themselves as an artist. At first, I honestly had no confidence about how my style would be received in Europe or the U.S. But recently I’ve had the chance to perform in many different countries, and I’ve realized that self-expression — as long as you still take responsibility for the work itself — is often received positively. That’s been really encouraging.
Ichika: So that kind of mindset is something particular to East Asia?
Sumino: I think part of it comes from a cultural tendency to value staying within established norms. And since classical music itself was originally imported from Europe, there’s also a stronger sense that there must be a “correct” way to do things.
In some ways, that attitude is understandable, and I think it’s important to stay mindful of that balance. It’s not an easy line to walk. But at the end of the day, I still want to take responsibility for expressing music in my own way.
What kind of challenges have you felt as Japanese artists working internationally? Ichika, we once talked about your experiences with anti-Asian discrimination — how have you dealt with things like that?
Sumino: Well… compared to 50 or 60 years ago, when conductors like Seiji Ozawa first moved to Europe and began building their careers there, things are completely different now. Asian classical musicians have become much more common, so in that sense I think it’s genuinely much easier to work internationally today.
You’re currently based in New York. Have you encountered any difficulties there?
Sumino: There are a lot of Asian people in New York. Of course incidents of anti-Asian discrimination do happen, but personally I haven’t experienced it very directly. There are smaller things — like it being harder for people to remember Asian names and faces, or the language barrier. But whenever I perform concerts, audiences treat me and Japan with respect. And that’s really thanks to the generations before us who built that foundation. Because of that, I strongly feel that I want to pass on what they’ve built to the next generation.
Ichika: Passing that on is really important. I think of it like a cultural tower built by stacking stones — and we’re each just one of those stones. Something else I’ve been feeling recently is how huge the influence of anime has become. When we talked about anti-Asian discrimination before, that was quite a while ago, right?
That was when we interviewed you in 2021.
Ichika: Yeah, around that time it definitely existed. There were people saying things like, “The electric guitar is our instrument.” But over the past three or four years that kind of attitude has suddenly decreased, and lately I’ve been feeling a growing sense that Japanese culture is seen as cool.
Anime, games, manga — those kinds of things have had a huge impact, and because of that the amount of hate has really gone down. And that’s entirely thanks to the Japanese creators who built those cultural foundations. So while I don’t feel any strange pressure about it, I do have a sense that I’d like to follow in the footsteps of those people who came before us.
