Billy Corgan welcomes legendary musician, composer, and X Japan co-founder Yoshiki for a conversation about creativity, rebellion, and building something that refuses to follow the rules.
Yoshiki reflects on helping create the Visual Kei movement, pushing rock music to its limits with X Japan, and the personal losses that shaped him from losing his father at a young age to the heartbreaking deaths of his bandmates, survivor's guilt, and a struggle with depression that nearly consumed him. Along the way, he shares stories of working with legendary Beatles producer George Martin, composing a piano concerto for the Emperor of Japan, and turning a loan from his mother into the record label that helped change the course of Japanese rock.
Yoshiki was born in Tateyama, Chiba Prefecture, in 1965. He began piano as a child and later turned to drums, developing the dramatic contrast that became his trademark: aggressive, high-speed rock drumming paired with sentimental piano ballads. As a teenager, he formed the band that became X Japan with vocalist Toshi. The group emerged from Japan’s underground metal scene in the 1980s and became central to the rise of visual kei, a movement combining hard rock, glam-inspired fashion and theatrical performance.
X Japan broke through nationally with albums such as Blue Blood in 1989 and Jealousy in 1991. Yoshiki wrote many of the band’s best-known songs, including hard-driving tracks such as “Kurenai” and ballads such as “Endless Rain” and “Tears.” The band became one of Japan’s biggest rock acts, selling more than 30 million albums, singles and videos combined and selling out Tokyo Dome 18 times, according to X Japan’s official biography.
The 1990s brought both peak success and turmoil. X Japan shifted from major-label Japanese stardom toward international ambitions, while Yoshiki moved increasingly into production and global work. The band broke up in 1997. In 1998, guitarist Hide died, a shock that became one of the defining tragedies of Yoshiki’s career. Former bassist Taiji later died in 2011. Time has noted that Yoshiki’s public story has been shaped by personal loss, including the suicide of his father when Yoshiki was a child and the deaths of former bandmates Hide and Taiji.
After X Japan’s breakup, Yoshiki expanded his solo and classical work. He released orchestral and piano-centered projects, collaborated with international musicians and producers, and wrote music for film, television and special events. In 1999, he performed a classical composition for the 10th anniversary of Emperor Akihito’s enthronement, a symbolic moment that helped establish him not just as a rock star but as a national-level composer and pianist.
X Japan reunited in the late 2000s and resumed international activity. The band played Madison Square Garden in New York in 2014, Wembley Arena in London in 2017 and Coachella in 2018, milestones that positioned X Japan as one of the few Japanese rock bands to reach major Western stages. Yoshiki’s official biography also highlights the documentary We Are X, which examined the band’s dramatic history and screened widely at international film festivals.
Yoshiki has also built a career as a global cultural figure. He has worked with artists including George Martin, Queen members Roger Taylor and Brian May, Gene Simmons, Sarah Brightman, Nicole Scherzinger, the Chainsmokers and others. His activities have extended into fashion through Yoshikimono and Maison Yoshiki Paris, as well as branded projects, philanthropy and media appearances.
In 2022, Yoshiki formed The Last Rockstars with Hyde, Sugizo and Miyavi, creating a new supergroup built around Japanese rock veterans with international recognition. The group announced songs including “The Last Rockstars” and “Psycho Love,” and began live activity in 2023.
In the 2020s, Yoshiki has leaned further into international recognition. His music documentary Yoshiki: Under the Sky featured global artists and was released internationally on demand in 2023. In 2024, he became the first Japanese artist honored with a hand-and-footprint ceremony at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, according to his official biography. In 2025, he was named to the TIME100 list of the world’s most influential people.
Yoshiki’s career is unusual because it joins several identities that are usually separate: metal drummer, classical pianist, pop composer, visual kei pioneer, fashion figure and international celebrity. His legacy rests largely on X Japan’s role in reshaping Japanese rock, but his later career has been defined by an effort to turn that domestic fame into a broader global platform.
