Talk:Miyavi

My Recent Changes

I think I made things more encyclopedic and more in line with Wikipedia's style guide. If anyone has any problems with the changes, please discuss them here first. --Berserk798 17:39, 30 April 2006 (UTC)

Koi Kei X

Just wanted to mention that "Koi Kei X" might better be removed. I never heard of it and didn't find any other information about it. Other people in different forums don't know this too... We are into this kind of music for a long time so I guess someone of us would have stumbled upon this term if it would really be used ^^°

Anyways, maybe someone can proof that it's an existing term, I'm always willing to learn ;)

I tried to look up something on it a little while ago, and I do believe I came across some information that indicated it was a relatively new term. I'm no expert, though... VZG 05:33, 14 September 2006 (UTC)

Korean?

Is there any actual confirmation that Miyavi is half-Korean? From what I'd heard, it's only been speculation, and I haven't found any confirmation from Miyavi himself or anyone representing Miyavi that he truly is. It seemed to be speculation based entirely on his appearance, too... VZG 22:17, 28 September 2006 (UTC)

- It is only speculation. I'm going to edit that out for now. Any further addition of it should be discussed here. Silvanos 14:37, 30 September 2006 (UTC)

Sources

He is actually ethnically half korean. There was a printed article about it. It was posted on soompi forums in an article from dec 2005 issue of a37: http://www.soompi.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=112&st=760 and actually translated http://www.soompi.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=112&st=820 here. Sadly I donnot speak or read Japanese but anyone who can could confirm for us that it does in fact say he is half korean. .--69.222.64.191 17:36, 4 October 2006 (UTC)

Is there any version of that page available to the public without registration required? If so, that should be cited as a source. VZG 08:16, 5 October 2006 (UTC)

Oh my bad, I thought soompi pages were public. Would it still count as a source if i upload scans of the article? --69.222.64.191 21:38, 7 October 2006 (UTC)

I believe so... VZG 23:58, 7 October 2006 (UTC)

Here's your proof: http://www.masakarasu.net/info/little.php. The actual mention of him being part Korean is from an interview that I believe this page once had at some point, however, it's now been removed. He also has a Korean name, Lee Ki Ah.

I'm familiar with the site, but I only remember speculation along the lines of "We believe he may be..." Is there no other source? VZG 05:08, 15 October 2006 (UTC)

Check the magazine interview mentioned on that page from Arena37. I'm not sure if that's the one where Miyavi actually states his is Korean or not, but it's worth a try.

Arena37 December 2005

I uploaded the Arena37 dec 2005 magazine scan. They were originally scanned by wing L @ soompi and translated there as well by another member.
part 1part 2part 3 I don't really know what exactly it says, but the translation on soompi says that he states that he is half korean from his father's side. Also, like mentioned above, I did hear his korean name is Lee Ki Ah but I can't find a source for that. Is it in the same arena article as well? --69.216.136.163 05:35, 19 October 2006 (UTC)

I have a link for the original translation of December 2005 issue of Arena37 (scans of the article are linked in the comment above) that was posted on soompi and translated by user Litha_Metallium Miyavi mentions how he recently discovered his Korean heritage I hope the link works for you! the translation goes as follows (Just a note; the person who translated appears to be a native Spanish speaker so the English is not perfect but the message still gets across):

"Miyavi says that recently he had discover that the parents of his father are (or were (?)) from Corea, and Yun says that his parents are from Corea too, but that he had born in japan, for this reason he (yun) had gone to Corea some years ago and he went to Germany for study, and he talk a bit more about his live."

Now there is more than 1 source citing that, Miyavi himself hasclaimed to be zainichi/have Korean heritage--Jbluex 00:40, 3 November 2006 (UTC)

M.net J-pop Wave August, 28, 2006

His Korean name is supposed to be Lee Kwi Ah (이귀아) and his grandparents on his dad's side are supposed to be from Jejudo, Korea. I'm looking for a source for it too, since apparently he not only revealed this info via magazine interviews going back as far as year ago, there's also a tv show of him with him revealing that much as well. If anyone here knows Japanese, they should do a search or confirm what those .jpg's read. Otherwise, till sources have been found I suggest all references to it stay removed.Hijklmnop224 10:14, 24 October 2006 (UTC)

Do you know on which tv shows he discussed this subject?--69.216.143.218 05:47, 29 October 2006 (UTC)

Miyavi came on as the vj host for M-net's Jpop Wave special (Mnet is a Korean channel or something) that came on August of this year. Supposedly, at some point, someone asks him directly whether it's true his grandparents are Korean, and supposedly he confirmed. If you have an mnet account, you can watch the full episode; otherwise, you can watch one minute of it here: http://player.mnet.com/VODPlayer2/WebVodPlayer.asp?strMediaID=9803&strType=PRG&onair=&Target=MNET

LOL, that video will be the death of me I swear! Took me over 2 hours to view in it's entirety, but still I can't figure out how to save it to my computer and can't find it anywhere else, mmm. Is it the first question? I can make caps of the video since the whole thing is subtitled in Hangul and it can be used as a source. --Jbluex 16:52, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

That's great! Please take caps of questions and answers. I can read Korean. Or let me know how you were able to view the vid passed the 1 min mark .... I'd be willing to watch the show myself and take caps of everything and post them here...Hijklmnop224 01:02, 11 November 2006 (UTC)

You can watch the whole show by refreshing the video once it takes you to the login page and fast fowarding the video to where you left off. It takes forever and is really frustrating. Having an Mnet account doesn't work either because I created one and I need to buy points to watch the video I guess. When I watch the video now, it no longer buffers so I know its stored somewhere on my computer but I can't find it!
Anyway, I made caps of the part where he talks about his grandparent being fron Jejudo. As far as I can tell it's the only part he mentions it. But I can't read Korean so I am transcribing the whole show. I think it'll take me a few days because I type Hangul ridiculously slow. screen cap

Q. 할아버님, 할머님이 한국 태생이라고 들었는데...

M. 할아버지, 할머니가 한국 출신이세요 저는 제주도에 가 본 적은 없는데요
기회가 된다면 꼭 가보고 싶습니다

I don't know what he says but he mention his grandparents and Jejudo so hopefully you can translate. --Jbluex 19:35, 11 November 2006 (UTC)

The screencap is definitive confirmation, as far as I'm concerned.

The question: Q. 할아버님, 할머님이 한국 태생이라고 들었는데...(I've heard that your grandfather and grandmother are from Korea...)

Miyavi: 할아버지, 할머니가 한국 출신이세요 저는 제주도에 가 본 적은 없는데요
기회가 된다면 꼭 가보고 싶습니다 (Grandfather and grandmother are of Korean stock. I've never been to Jeju before but if I get the chance I'd like to...)

So it's unreasonable to doubt it now. If he mentions this on a videotaped show personally, then all the other things that were mentioned (about Rock Read and Arena magazine) are likely true. Thanks for the cap and investegative work...If anyone still doesn't believe it they can always take the Korean text here and copy-paste into a freetranslator here...http://www.google.com/language_tools?hl=en Hijklmnop224 20:29, 11 November 2006 (UTC)

I agree, there's actually more sources cited here to support that he's half Korean than anything else on his wiki page. I uploaded the video to youtube with subtitles and credited you for the translation, Thank you. Now everyone can watch from Miyavi's own mouth that his grandparents are from Korea. Youtube: Miyavi hosting Mnet's Jpop Wave confirming that he has Korean ancestry--Jbluex 01:57, 12 November 2006 (UTC)

Rock and Read: Vol.004

As far as his Korean surname being "Lee" and his paternal grandparents hailing from Jejudo, Korea, from what I have googled he revealed this in a Rock and Read Vol.004 interview. I have not found any direct translations of this interview. I have found scans of this magazine but none of the scans I have managed to find contain an interview. I just want to confirm that this is the issue where he discusses his Korean heritage. I am willing to buy it and scan it I just don't want to buy the wrong magazine. --Jbluex 22:08, 30 October 2006 (UTC)

Eventhough I did not find a scan of the actual article I found a translation of this article posted on xanga by user bobdasqrl723 Translated from Rock and Read Magazine Vol.004: Miyavi half Japanese and Korean also cited on Asia's finest forums by user MinaNY and jref forums by user hontonidesu goes as follows:

"Here he shares his personal history. Starting with a surprising word: 3rd generation zainichi (Korean-Japanese)...
Interviewer: You were born in Hyogo (兵庫)?
Miyavi: Today I want to talk about my past before I was born.
I: Then about your parents?
M: Yes, this is the first time I am mentioning, I am 3rd generation zainichi (Korean-Japanese). Looking at the bloodline, I am mixed. My father's side, grandfather and grandmother are from Jejo island, which is famous for tourist site. They were living their until they came to Japan.
I: Did you know this truth when you were little?
M: No, at first the questions brought up, but I forgot. But you know when relatives get married. My father had 8 siblings. And he is the first son, so he always had to attend wedding ceremonies. I remember when I went with him to the wedding, at the front door the last names were written in big letters. When I saw it, one side was written "Lee"(李家) and the other side had "Kim"(金家). So even though I was little, (laughs) I knew those last names weren't much seen in Japan. And when I was little, I used to eat jijime(Korean food? I don't know) and see jogori (Korean traditional dress). Although I didn't know much when I was little, I knew I was alittle different.
I: So even though you were born and raised in Japan, you felt your surrounding wasn't quite Japan you are saying?
M: Yes, I felt it. I recently found out that my family's last name is Lee (李). There is Bruce Lee (different chinese/kanji character), so I thought it was okay to have Lee as last name (laughs). My grandfather and grandmother lived in Jurubashi(鶴橋). I was born in Nisikujo (西九条)."

--Jbluex 02:01, 12 November 2006 (UTC)

GMV Magazine: August 2004 Issue

It goes on further to say that he also mentioned in a 2004 issue of the Korean magazine GMV:

"I am mixed, but I don't think that's important. What's the point of thinking about it? When I am writing music, I think about what's important to me. I know history/background is important, but there are more important things. I want to show/express good sides from both Japan and Korea."

I hope those are good enough sources! I will also post some sources for the Arena Interview as I find them.--Jbluex 02:15, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

-Found more from this source. The whole article is transcribed here @ def0021's naver blog and the second to the last question is where they ask if the rumors are true, that he is Korean.

"한국에서는 일본연예인이 유명해지면 저 사람은 한국인의 피가 흐르고 있다는 소문이 많아요. 미야비씨도 한국에서 유명해져서 그런 소문이 들리는데 그런 소문을 들은 적은 있나요?

어느 쪽인지는 잘 모르겠지만 한국 쪽 혼혈이에요(웃음).
하지만 그건 중요한 게 아니라고 생각해요. 깊게 신경 써서 뭐하겠어요?
내가 음악을 쓰는 데 있어서 뭐가 중요할까 생각해요. 역사는 중요한 것이지만
다음을 위해 필요한 건 취하고 잊을 건 잊고, 나는 일본의 좋은 점과 한국의 좋은 점을
계속해서 표현하고 싶어요."

I had someone translate it for me and they translated as follows:

I:"When a Japanese entertainer becomes popular in Korea, there's a rumour that they have Korean blood. Miyavi, you have also become popular in Korea and so these rumours have been going round, have you heard of these rumours before?"

Miyavi: "I'm not sure which side I'm on, but I'm half Korean (laugh). However, I don't think that's important. What good is it to pay too much attention to that? When I write music I think about what is important. Although personal history is important, I take on what I need and forget what should be forgotten. I want to keep expressing Japan's good points and Korea's good points."

--Jbluex 01:57, 12 November 2006 (UTC)

A bit of inaccuracy

Toshiya from Dir en Grey is not a guitarist, he's a bassist. And the magazines mentioned are not magazines that have models, they are music magazines that feature interviews and live reports from bands and artists, such is the case with Miyavi. He has however modelled in the past for the Gothic & Lolita Bible for different designers. And the convention he was supposed to appear at was Pacific Media Expo in 2004. It is not an anime convention, it is a convention focused on Asian pop culture in general.Dix Princesse 14:26, 1 November 2006 (UTC)

Genre

I added Industrial Metal since his music sounds much harder and more...electronic than just normal J-Rock. If that's incorrect, take it out. 71.39.246.1 23:46, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Source for the Las Vegas performance

Would [[1]] be considered as a source? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Chibified (talk • contribs)

Blogs do not make good sources, no. Sorry. Nique talk 00:29, 22 February 2007 (UTC)

if you actually bothered to read the source you would see it is a good one! It's merely direct translations of Miyavi's own journal. It is indeed a good source!