[A] Symbolism in Ayu's Career

EndOfTheWorld · #1 3rd September 2016, 12:51 AM

This thread is about symbolism within Ayu's career. It doesn't seem to be talked about too much on here and I saw that a few people were interested, so for those who are interested, here it is. This thread may not be for everyone since some topics may be dark but, I want things to be positive and intriguing overall. We don't want a negativity thread but don't hold back your thoughts.

Feel free to post your own thoughts and anything else relating to Ayu and symbolism or themes that are common in her. Post as many examples as you want. I encourage you too, it is always interesting to discuss Ayu and analyze her creativity.

MK Ultra Theory

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One Eye

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Duality

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Butterflies

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Clowns

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Leopard Print

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Puppets

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Christianity

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Flowers

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AyuGAME · #2 3rd September 2016, 02:09 AM

Interesting...I'm watching video 3 now..not yet watched number 1 and 2..

I got headache watching this..haha

tokyoxjapanxfan · #3 3rd September 2016, 03:42 AM

ourselves→Because of You

The ayumix covers were related to hear, see, speak no evil, yes? Which is a Japanese proverb based on the three wise monkeys. At least I believe it's Japanese. The box set cover, where she's doing all three, I believe is the representation of the sometimes included 4th monkey, for "do no evil"--but who knows haha.

While she has in the past included hand gestures associated with the illuminati--I can't think of instances where she's used other aspects. Devil horns, triangles, etc. And the Visee cm with horns doesn't count lol that was an obvious depiction of a demon but not -the- demon.

Im not sure how deep into this topic we can get. Let's try not to get too personal with it.

Other images that are reoccurring: bondage, clowns, Christianity, seasons, wings/feathers, flowers, birds

Andrenekoi · #4 3rd September 2016, 07:26 PM

So... The illuminati conspiracy theorists finally got in here...

EndOfTheWorld · #5 3rd September 2016, 07:49 PM

Well not exactly.

It's about any and all symbolism. Up for anyone's interpretation. Confirming the illuminati is not the purpose.
Symbolism is used very often by her for sure. Whether it's because of the illuminati or her own artistic creativity or simply directors/producers, it's anybody's guess. Just like a previous thread that was discussing the leopard print on Duty. Some people said it was mind control symbolism, maybe, but there were a lot of other interesting theories that made a lot of sense as well. Link to thread: http://www.ahsforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=116575.

xLuna&1LOVE · #6 3rd September 2016, 09:44 PM

Oh-oh where to begin? First of all, thank for making this thread. I watched two out of the three videos. There are some theories which were super interesting, others which were digged too deep.

When I watched the video's, I suddenly thought of Terminal. I don't think it has much to do with it or it confirms any satanic cult (I also don't think Ayu is part of one), but maybe it is worth to mention:

Quote:

Terminal

Ah, if only you would smile for me
I would give you everything

If it’s what you wish,
I could become a devil too

If it’s what you wish,
I would have no need of angels

(translated by chocopockymaster, source AHS

Seems like the perfect jam for this kind of topics, eh?

I totally believe the theory behind the butterflies, her dissociation of the real world (what is the real world?) and her having multiple personalities.
It makes sense for many of her video's. (I was not familair with this mind-controlling theory, and now cannot unsee when I watch the PVs which were explained. I don't believe everything, but some things were really good.)

Even though it would make sense that Ayu is part of some satanic cult, I don't think she and all of her producers are. I think it goes back to the time when Ayu herself claimed that 'Ayumi Hamasaki' is a product, instead of a real person. I don't think she ever accepted that. She might have become more 'human' nowadays, which could be the reason her video's are less haunting or "deep."

I would say, that she, or her producers, could be heavily inspired by these kind of topics. If she is truely inspired by the Monarch Mind Control and MK-Ultra, I think she uses as a metaphor as how she sees the entertainment industry, if not Japan.

In her earlier video's she really wanted to make visable how much she struggled with Ayu - the popstar/product. alterna is obviously the best example, but ourselves is probably the most haunting and scary example. Only that one really screams 'mind-control' and 'trauma' to me, if we are taking the MK-Ultra references very literal. I mean, you can get really creative with such dark topics as inspiration.

Also, I cannot help but mention that Ayu is often singing about 'waking up', 'dreaming', 'remember the dream we once had' or 'flying - even with one wing' or in other words; when she comes 'down to earth' she realises how sad she is. The dreams often seem to be pleasant, which is very Alice in Wonderland-ish, - I would say. I often relate to such lyrics, because I have a dreamy personality as well (I prefer to say I am rather.. creatively looking for answers) I think it is again a reference to her own stardom or how she feels being a celebrity, but I am not really sure.

Even though I throw random ideas in this topic, I don't think it helps a lot. I hope I don't look like a fool now. But I really enjoyed reading this. As for the images you posted, I did not understand the Duality section. The butterflies... I don't know, I think the Mirrorcle World covers are just glamorous. But the butterfly in the BALLAD concert video, might mean something?

EndOfTheWorld · #7 3rd September 2016, 10:18 PM

I don't think she is part of any cults either. I also don't believe she is an MK Ultra victim. Mostly because if she was, she would show more signs. She would have erratic behavior and just overall strangeness. Just look at Britney Spears breakdown she had. Butterflies are prevalent in her career as well.
I would agree with your theory. Regardless, Ayu seems to struggle with facing reality. There are a lot of lyrics about suddenly waking up and seeing the big picture and being hurt by it. Then other lyrics about turning the pain into strength and learning from it. Her videos aren't quite haunting anymore because I think she is more emotionally stable now. More grounded and in control. Which makes me glad to see.

The duality section is examples of two opposites. As in Song 4 U, it is light Ayu versus dark Ayu. In Angel, Ayu was kind of the dark angel, surrounded by white angels. In Sexy Little Things, almost everything is black and white. Black and white can mean many things. Pure versus tainted, good versus evil, darkness versus light.

Chibi-Chan · #8 3rd September 2016, 11:04 PM

I think this kind of symbolism is just very liked by a lot of people in the industry - simply because they know it's "mystic" and "dark". Also a lot of people like to make illuminati refrences just because they think it's cool.
The MK Ultra thing doesn't even make sense. The program ended in the 70's. Unless Ayu was a newborn back then - but I don't think the US experimented with her when she was a week old after her parents let the US military take care of her at Okinawa.
The videos were fun to watch, but a little bit too much Dan Brown style.

orbitalaspect · #9 4th September 2016, 03:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EndOfTheWorld

Just look at Britney Spears breakdown she had. Butterflies are prevalent in her career as well.

This could also explain why Mariah Carey got so mental after releasing Butterfly in 1998.

rikku1994 · #10 4th September 2016, 05:22 AM

MK Ultra? Darn... And to think I'll only hear them conspiracy theories in the Britney Spears fandom

EndOfTheWorld · #11 4th September 2016, 07:22 AM

Actually, if you use the search feature on this site and click show posts and type illuminati, over 100 results come up. It is mentioned all over this forum in a variety of threads.
Lots of people seem to be interested in this MK Ultra..
Mk Ultra or Monarch mind control is a real documented thing. It originated in the U.S during the 1950s and was by the CIA. Here is detailed information for those who are interested: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_MKUltra
The conspiracy theory going on in modern day comes from the idea that although the MK Ultra program was shut down long ago, it is still used to this day. Mostly used on people in the American entertainment industry such as, singers, actors, etc. Famous examples are Britney Spears, Nicki Minaj, Amanda Bynes, and others. We do not know if this is true but we can't say it is impossible. A famous Hollywood insider, Roseanne Barr, as come forward and said that Mk Ultra/mind control is in fact real. Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tB2lUe7fRY
As for Ayu, there does seem to be some evidence that she could be a victim, but there is also evidence that she is not. Usually victims have issues, they have some kind of breakdown, or will commit some kind of strange behavior in public, and just overall have turmoil in their life. Ayu has never really shown any behavior like this. I like to hope that she is not a victim of such a sick and twisted thing.

It is only theory after all.

Uknow! · #12 4th September 2016, 10:12 AM

Ayu uses a lot of symbolism but usually she gives the meaning, she makes it hers. For example, cat print hadn't meaning during Duty era but when she reutilized it for Guilty she gave a meaning to it.

There are elements that can have differents meanings too, butterflies being an example, they have a different meaning in Japanese culture. Although, I like this thread, is useful and interesting.

tokyoxjapanxfan · #13 4th September 2016, 11:06 AM

Japan is also known for being kind of copy and paste. Meaning they use ideas and images from the U.S., for example, because they're popular and/or seen in media a lot.

So the meanings behind the images are lost.

Chibi-Chan · #14 4th September 2016, 01:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tokyoxjapanxfan

Japan is also known for being kind of copy and paste. Meaning they use ideas and images from the U.S., for example, because they're popular and/or seen in media a lot.

So the meanings behind the images are lost.

This. Furthermore, all of the symptomes people mention for MK Ultra are simply symptomes everyone with depression and/or other mental health issues will show. Since every second person has episodes of depression during their life, it's not surprising popstars also have depressions and burn out symptomes.

EndOfTheWorld · #15 4th September 2016, 10:34 PM

When Ayu uses butterflies, it seems that she uses them for dreams and reality. Like in Why..., Ayu's eyes are covered in butterflies and is sent to another world or a dream world. Then the butterflies become part of her, making up her entire clothing. I thought the most interesting thing was at the end where the dead tree is shown. Then the swarm of butterflies come over to fill it's branches, making it look colorful and alive but there are not enough of them to cover it. Kind of like no matter how much you dream or pretend that things are well and okay, it is never enough to make that true. In the end the tree was still dead underneath the illusion.
The butterflies first appeared in Depend on you I believe, then as a ring in the appears video, then inside the artwork in Loveppears. But it felt more like they were used to make things pretty than as something meaningful.

Andrenekoi · #16 6th September 2016, 08:12 AM

Deserts, televisions, masks, crosses, roads, wings, dolls, flowers, leopard prints, black ink, clowns are some stuff she used her whole career, always with a similar context. As any good artist she created her own symbols and her own meaning to them over the years. Comparing how she uses the elements on her own work is far more useful on understanding her symbolism than looking for universal meaning (something that doesn't even exist).

**DonkeyKongRemix** · #17 6th September 2016, 07:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EndOfTheWorld

Actually, if you use the search feature on this site and click show posts and type illuminati, over 100 results come up. It is mentioned all over this forum in a variety of threads.
Lots of people seem to be interested in this MK Ultra..
Mk Ultra or Monarch mind control is a real documented thing. It originated in the U.S during the 1950s and was by the CIA. Here is detailed information for those who are interested: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_MKUltra
The conspiracy theory going on in modern day comes from the idea that although the MK Ultra program was shut down long ago, it is still used to this day. Mostly used on people in the American entertainment industry such as, singers, actors, etc. Famous examples are Britney Spears, Nicki Minaj, Amanda Bynes, and others. We do not know if this is true but we can't say it is impossible. A famous Hollywood insider, Roseanne Barr, as come forward and said that Mk Ultra/mind control is in fact real. Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tB2lUe7fRY
As for Ayu, there does seem to be some evidence that she could be a victim, but there is also evidence that she is not. Usually victims have issues, they have some kind of breakdown, or will commit some kind of strange behavior in public, and just overall have turmoil in their life. Ayu has never really shown any behavior like this. I like to hope that she is not a victim of such a sick and twisted thing.

It is only theory after all.

I think this post is a nice contribution to the thread because it's open-ended to a certain extent.

Yeah, I fully believe MK Ultra is still in practice. I just don't think the government would fully shut down a program they put so much time and resources into just because the public found out. Being a full-fledged conspiracy theorist myself, I think they find ways to hide their actions in plains sight.

Anyway, I hope Ayu isn't mixed up in something like this. I always feel like she's a little on the outside but there are times when I've wondered if Avex wanted her in with the practically occult practices of the world of media.

Now, I have very little doubt in my mind that a lot of celebrities in America are pretty much owned and controlled by the government.

EndOfTheWorld · #18 8th September 2016, 01:27 AM

A big reason that I have even been listening to Ayu and other Japanese artists is because it has less of all that occult imagery. Asian celebrities don't have all that drama like American ones do. There is also more class by the female artists, so much sex in American female pop stars.

I like that Ayu is more true to herself and honest and doesn't seem to be part of all that occult business.
I love the themes and symbols that occur throughout Ayu's career. I feel like years from now her career will in a way, tell her life story. Like a memoir or diary. Sometimes I do feel like each Ayu album is a time capsule of that period in her life.
She does seem to attach her own meaning to symbols and uses them to convey her feelings. But i'm sure that sometimes it is the work of the person or group in charge, just for visual effect.
I would say the most recurrent thing is the leoprard print really. I almost expect it to come out again at some point. But I think that it was used the most strongly during the Duty era. It was used most effectively there. I really like what this user said about it:

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rae Noir

The ideas I've always thought of have been this (and I know I'm going far too into it, but what can I say, I'm a writer with too much imagination to throw around):

Once upon a time...

In the artwork for Duty, Ayumi Hamasaki is little more than a captured animal, but one that has been showered with gifts and riches. I saw this as representing her then-status as a still relatively new artist still finding her way in the music business and fame game, but already trapped by such institutions while at the same time overwhelmed by her success. She's also incredibly sultry and sexual, and this is how her captors have decided to present her as, an image for other people rather than for herself. On the cover the bars of the cage have been bent, but she's neither escaped nor decided to stay. She's on the edge of both worlds, not knowing whether to stay within the confines of her comfortable prison but ultimately stifled by her small surroundings, or go out into the big wide world and risk making her own mistakes that she'll have to take full responsibility for.

When we get to Guilty, we find she did choose to escape after all, but she has found herself lost in a desert-like wilderness, shading her eyes from the light on the cover and searching for a path to follow. Perhaps this could have represented how Ayumi may have felt at that time regarding her life and career. Taking this risk and escaping from her cage has led her to evolve; she's still in leopard / lynx / whatever print, but is now more like a human than an animal.

On Party Queen, the leopard / lynx / whatever print is still there, but has been stripped down (pardon the pun) quite dramatically. It's now limited to certain designs as well as her boots, suggesting she has now become almost entirely human, but one that is little better than her sex kitten stage, reduced to a sexy being in underwear while also looking skinny, gaunt, pale, and certainly the most vulnerable she's ever been, trapped in her new prison of a trashed but once luxurious hotel room. In trying to become her own person in the music industry and in her private relationships, she's simply become a different version of the product she's always been, but one that is more fragile and exposed than ever before.

I told you I have too big an imagination!

reixminako · #19 12th September 2016, 07:23 AM

What I find the most interesting is what seems to be Ayu's commentary about her time in the music industry, especially by means of her lyrics and music videos. And by doing so reveals a lot of the symbolism hidden in plain sight, which seems to be widely used in her industry.

YOU - The video gives the impression that she's lamenting the time that's passing her by while she's trapped in a beautiful prison. She touches upon this again in the song immature, although with a greater sense of desperation.

A Song for xx - This song is fascinatingly multi-layered. On the surface it seems to be a teenager's angst-ridden display of emotions to a parental figure or even the audience. But I also detect a sense of sorrow at the realization of her label's true purpose for her. She knows that she's nothing but a means to an end for them, and she knows she's trapped with them until the end. She knows she can't trust anyone anymore. This makes her defiance in 2000 and her insistence in re-recording this particular song so much more poignant.

POWDER SNOW - This song is like the aftermath of A Song for xx. She's accepted her fate, now let her cry about the loss of her freedom as much as she wants.

WHATEVER - This is truly where the occult symbolism seems to begin. She's like a bird trapped in a cage kept in a frozen wasteland. She doesn't have the freedom to fly, but she can sing. And that is her strength and the hope that lets her fight (for her sanity, perhaps?)

Trauma - This song makes me think that if Ayu really is a victim of the music industry's infamous humiliation and abuse of their artists, she was too strong-willed to be completely susceptible to it. Instead of getting a broken, obedient dog, they only exacerbated Ayu's cynicism and her grim views on human nature. This song seems to me to be a reaction to mental abuse.

SURREAL - This music video is one of the most symbolic in Ayu's career. The Duty sex kitten is seen here as an alternate persona (ayumi hamasaki, the product?) being discovered by Ayu's true self. It hints towards dissociation. The lyrics seem to indicate that she is locked in an endless struggle between staying true to herself and falling prey to her baser instincts (MK Ultra programming?).

I am... - She's come to terms with the fact that she's fallen into an inescapable trap into the music industry. She seems to be channeling her anger and sorrow into creating a stronger, more confident persona. This is around the time we start seeing less of the reserved Ayu of old and more of the diva we know today. She seems to have created this persona to cope with the unimaginable strain on her sanity that life in her industry may have. She touches upon this more in Naturally.

RAINBOW - Another video with occult symbolism. The split personality that is said to result from MK Ultra. Here we see Ayu's detection of another personality and her attempts to reconcile the two. Or perhaps we see the stronger personality snuff out the one it sees as weaker and less useful?

Free & Easy - This is another video that uses strong symbolism. The perfect white walls in an insane asylum that indicate brainwashing (something similar was seen in Voyage, along with dissociation). Using Joan of Ark as a metaphor was very interesting. Like Joan, Ayu is being sacrificed for standing up for her beliefs. She strives to show us that we are all prisoners in beautiful cages, which she was able to see when she broke out of her own cage (just like Neo from The Matrix, lol). She, however, knows that she won't get a happy ending and accepts her fate with dignity. As long as she's shown other people the truth her sacrifice won't be in vain. This theme is also present in the song Duty, although presented in a different way and mindset.

ourselves - Perhaps Ayu's greatest video filled with symbolism. There isn't really anything I could add to what's already been written about it in this thread

. This video really captures the torture and humiliation that a victim of the music industry endures (allegedly, lol).

There's so much more I could write about, but I feel like I've already written quite a lot. Surely anyone who's read this far is exhausted, haha. Although Ayu doesn't seem to have suffered under the music industry as much as people like Britney Spears and Whitney Houston, she's also a much stronger person mentally. She hasn't had any major mental breakdowns or been addicted to dangerous drugs like cocaine. She seems to have always had a good head on her shoulders throughout all these years. However, as her lyrics and videos seem to hint at, that's no indication that the industry's methods haven't had their effect on her. She simply acknowledges her experiences and chooses to live with them without succumbing to despair. "I only make the choices I am ready to accept."

Some of the best symbolism in other lyrics and videos: Fly high, And Then, P.S II, kanariya, End of the World, Dearest, Endless sorrow, Because of You, About You, Moments, STEP you, Ladies Night, (miss)understood, alterna, 1 LOVE, Secret, GUILTY, Together When..., Marionette, Microphone, sexy little things, Don't look back, MOON, Do it again, Why..., BRILLANTE, Party Queen, reminds me

stepYOU1234 · #20 12th September 2016, 12:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reixminako

RAINBOW - Another video with occult symbolism. The split personality that is said to result from MK Ultra. Here we see Ayu's detection of another personality and her attempts to reconcile the two. Or perhaps we see the stronger personality snuff out the one it sees as weaker and less useful?

I see the two people symbolism that comes up in Ayu's videos as a Japanese thing, not MK Ultra. Honne and tatemae is the idea of a public self and a private self in Japanese culture.