As a musician, Gen Hoshino has produced one hit song after another, such as "Koi" (Love) and "Idea." He is widely successful across different genres including acting and writing. What is at the root of his exuberance and flexibility?
The multitalented artist is starring in the film "Hikkoshi Daimyo!" (Samurai Shifters), which is currently showing in cinemas across the country.
"I thought this film has a contemporary theme that working people would find alarming," Hoshino said.
Indeed, this is a period drama accompanied by the kind of sorrow modern-day corporate employees can relate to. Change the setting from the samurai society during the Edo period (1603-1867) to today, and the Tokugawa shogunate looks like a company with the daimyo feudal lords as its employees. Once a relocation order is given, they have no choice but move to another domain, just like company employees being transferred.
The film is directed by Isshin Inudo. The cast includes Issei Takahashi and Mitsuki Takahata.
Hoshino plays Katagiri Harunosuke, a reclusive, book-loving samurai librarian who spends most of his time inside his domain's library. A poor swordsman, he does not have a dignified attitude and looks somewhat scruffy.
"He's the odd one out. I tried to give him a contemporary feel," Hoshino said of how he intended to portray the character.
In a scene where Harunosuke proposes to a woman, he bows down first and puts himself down, an unlikely attitude for a samurai. But Hoshino makes it look very natural.
"It's not that he's groveling or trying to achieve something by taking such an attitude. He loves her, and his feeling shows naturally. I think that's the charm of Harunosuke," the actor said.
In the film, the daimyo of the Himeji domain in what is now Hyogo Prefecture receives an order from the shogunate to move to Hita in what is now Oita Prefecture. The daimyo appoints Harunosuke the librarian to head up the relocation project.
When a daimyo moves to another domain, all the domain's samurai members and their families accompany their lord. To reduce the relocation expenses as much as possible, Harunosuke demands his fellow samurai minimize the number of household items they are moving with. He also dares to dismiss some members of the domain.
"He's in a battle of words, so to speak. He fights to move people," Hoshino said.
His weapon is not a sword but his vast experience with books. He supports the domain with the knowledge he has acquired by reading, despite being told to get out of the library.
"I'm thinking that this film is about self-affirmation, that you don't have to deny what you like and that you can keep on loving what you love," he said.
The film has something in common with how Hoshino has been true to things he loves: music and acting. It is also likely to offer a positive message to troubled young people today.
Hoshino raised his profile as an actor with the TV show "Nigeru wa Haji daga Yaku ni Tatsu" (We married as a job!) in 2016. "Hikkoshi Daimyo!" is the second film in which he plays the lead, after "Hakoiri Musuko no Koi" (Blindly in Love) in 2013. He was under pressure because playing the lead character in a film is like being the head of a cast in the theater.
"When the head of the cast tries to lead other cast members, it makes them mindful of him and they think they must let him lead them. The kind of leader I like is someone who watches over the others but does nothing in particular."
Listening to him talk about Harunosuke, it is clear that Hoshino understands the essence of the role. Yet he said he hardly ever studies any character he plays in depth. Being natural is at the core of his acting. That's why Harunosuke's efforts and struggles feel very close to the heart of people today.
'The most extreme thing'
Hoshino is a rare kind of artist. Even before becoming famous, he dedicated himself to music and acting.
"I started acting and music in the first year of junior high school. Those were the only things I was into. I continued doing them even after graduating from high school. Then they became my jobs before I knew it," he said, looking back on that time.
That fundamental impetus is still driving him on.
"When I was in the first year of junior high school, I spoke my lines out loud for the first time, and I felt, 'Great, this will get me through.' What a great feeling it was to say out loud things that weren't in my mind. I started writing songs toward the end of my first year in junior high school. I thought I could go on living by putting what's in my mind to music and lyrics. That's because I couldn't express myself well to other people," he said.
As a musician, Hoshino is one of this country's leading artists today. "Pop Virus," the album he released toward the end of last year, is selling very well. His music achieves a fine balance between pop sounds that are easily accessible and the kind of manic elements manufactured with attention to detail.
Asked if what he has pursued throughout his career bore fruit on this album, he thought for more than a minute before answering: "Everyone says you must suppress or do away with what you like if you want to sell your work. But I was always skeptical of people who confidently said that. I was tempted to ask them if they worked hard enough, putting their own lives at stake."
He has been fighting for this for the past few years.
"It's not extreme to do something extreme if there is no one around. I thought the most extreme thing to do would be to make my own kind of music amid the music scene in Japan, where I live," he said.
That mind-set prevails in all his work.
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