'hide' magazine article *warning long*

[Princess_Of_Roses]

Behind Closed Doors

The hide Museum
Written by Rita Chen


"Closing the hide musuem in its fifth year was something tha the museum staff had planned to do 3 years ago". - Emiko Omori, Public Relations Officer, hide Musuem

To most jrock fans, the hide museum's decision to close on September 25, 2005 had been abrupt and unexpected, with an official announcement posted on the musuem web site just five months earlier. But the museum's closure had been planned as early as 2002, only two years after the museum first opened.

Was it due to money or lan rent issues, as rumors had suggested? Emiko Omori, public relations officer for the hide Museum, was first suprsed that these rumors had even existed before replying that such was not the case. "Over the last five years, the museum has had around 400,000 people from all over the worl to come to visit," she said in a September 2005 interview. "This year, the hide Museum held a memorable event fr the seventh anniversary of hide's death, an event that 18,000 people attended. From that even on, the hide Museum wished to take a step in a new direction and as such, the museum has to come to an end."

Born Hideto Matsumoto on December 13, 1964, hide (spelled in all lower case) was nicknamed "Gibson" in prmiary school for carrying a Gibson guitar. In his late teens, he preformed with Saber Tiger, an indie band that saw fame in his hometown on Yokosuka but little everywhere else. Frustrated, hide was about to pursue a career as a hairstylist but in 1982 recieved a call from Yoshiki, drummer of a band called X [later known as X Japan to avoid being confused with a L.A.-based punk group X]. He accepted Yoshiki's invitation to join.

After X Japan disbanded in 1997, hide went on to release five albums, collaborating in an American band called Zilch and managing his own group, Spread Beaver, in addition to his own solo activities. While his albums enjoyed great success in Japan and some success internationally, it wasn't until after his death that hide was launched to super stardom. His mysterious death that on May 2, 1988, regarded by some as suicide and others as a horrible accident, was announced on CNN and other international television channels. His death shocked fans so much that it even inspired four copycat suicides in Japan, two of which unfortunately succeeded.

On July 20, 2000, the hide museum was constructed in Yokosuka. It was the first museum ever built for a Japanese rock musician.

On my first visit, I found the walk to the museum tricky and had to ask for directions twice. As I approached the museum, however, it was hard to miss as its outer gates were fully covered with hide-related advertisements. A brick road took me to the building, which was flanked by two others: the LEMONed SHOP, a gift shop featuring hide and museum-related goods, and Cafe' Le PSYENCE, a small outdoor cafe' also serving as a venue for a varous events and live concerts.

Banners and posters with the words "hide Museum THE FINAL" were displayed around the museum, accopmanied by what felt like a swan song that was blaring for all to hear. However, after paying the 1,500 Yen [about $13] entrance fee and entering the museum, I found the interior to be oddly still, a place seemingly unaffected by time. A security guard stood silently as I explored the first room, an open, circular space most notable for its display of four hide mannequins. Other items in the room included hide's guitar collection, the Cadillac he used while in L.A., and even a present, still sitting n its mail packaging, that hide sent to his father for Christmas.

What struck me as ironic was that even with the loud background music and other visitors in the room, the museum's atmosphere was so hushed and reverent that the room was actually quiet.

I opened the door to the second room of the museum, and the contrast was amazing. Unlike the first room, which was white and spacious, this room was dark and tiny. This part of the museum was more dense and by far the most powerful, displaying a slew of personal items on shelves that were sealed off behind glass cases. Items in the room ranged from old photographs to hide's beautician certificate and his handwritten lyrics. A metal staircase in the far end of the room spiraled downward.

The last room of the museum, which was reached by descending the metal staircase, was mostly a video room: a biography of hide's life, a photo chronology, a live concert, and a music video collection. Unlike the first two rooms, which had no partitions, the last room was divided into two other rooms. One room featured a reproduction of hide's dressing room from a concert in Yokosuka, and the other had a wax figure of hide towering over visitors as they listened to his radio interviews. The last room was a little less personal than the other two, featuring mostly media images and sound bites, but still very faithful in documenting hide's life to his fans.

"The feeling was kind of weird. It's like, That's the pencil case hide used when he was young. That's the bunch of CDs that hide listened to. Those are the arange sunglasses he wore..." says Zhengping Liow, 25, creator of an unofficial hide Musuem Web site. "It certainly [evoked] that feeling of nostalgia and sadness. You could almost feel his presence."

With the museum's success and earnestness in revealing hide to his fans, its was no wonder that the museum's plan to close was generally met with reactions of despair, bewilderment, and even anger. Most overseas fans tended to see the closure as a negative and were not willing to let the museum to go down without a fight. An online petition addressed to the hide Museum cried for for the museum's management to "save the hide Museum" and gathered around 18,000 signatures by the time of the museum's closure. Fans expressed disappointment and suprise in mediums ranging from We sites to online journals.

"I didn't, and don't, understand why they want to close a place that is, for many people, full of memories," says Heike Assmann, a hide fan who has visited the museum twice. "It makes me sad that a lot of my friends and other people will no longer have the chance to be there anymore."

But other fans saw the museum's closure as positive.

"I'm glad to see the museum close," Liow says. "i feel it isn't right to earn money off a dead person. Almost ninety percent of hide's personal items are exposed; [would he] really approve of such actions."

Domestically in Japan, while fans displayed sadness and regret overthe museum, the general attitude seemed to be one of resignation and understanding. "It's healthier for everyone," says hide fan Masami Aoki,29. " The Museum will not be able to support itself if it remains open. Keeping it open is not healthy to the museum and its upkeep."

Now, the museum is in the process of being officially dismantles. But according to OMori, hide-related activities are far from over. Though Cafe' Le PSYENCE will be shut down, the LEMONed store will continue to sell hide-related good online. Second, the LEMONed record label, which was founded by hide, has been re-launched with two new items- a single box from hide and a debut album from new artist Yukito- released on September 21, 2005. Third, touched vy Western fans upon recieving the "Save the hide Museum" petition, the museum staff has begun to work on an english version of the hide Museum Web site. Finally, the hide Museum still plans to hold film events and is even considering the possibility of having a traveling hide Museum- a show/display that would one day allow fans in places such as Kyushu, Hokkaido and even North America, if possible, to be able to visit.

While the physical structure of the museum will be gone, hide is far from being forgotten.

"I felt very shocked when I first heard the news and i feel very sorry that the museum is closing," Aoki says, "but it's not so bad, hide's such a great guitarist and his music is so lovely that he will forever live in people's hearts."

Taken from JROCK INK Magazine
It took me forever to type this..so if u post somewhere else give me and the mag credit