HOTEI (Tomoyasu Hotei)

Overview

Tomoyasu Hotei (布袋 寅泰, born February 1, 1962 in Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture) is a Japanese guitarist, singer-songwriter, composer, record producer and actor, now based in London. With a career spanning more than 40 years, he rose to prominence in the 1980s as guitarist of Boøwy, one of Japan's most popular rock bands, before building a solo career and a duo with Koji Kikkawa, Complex. His signature instrumental "Battle Without Honor or Humanity" became the main theme of Quentin Tarantino's film Kill Bill and has appeared in many films, commercials, video games and events. His motto is "The latest HOTEI is the best HOTEI."

Early Life

Hotei was born to a Korean father, a trader, and a Japanese mother of partly Russian descent; he revealed his father's background in his 2006 autobiography Himitsu (Secret). He started piano as a child. At fourteen, inspired by a poster of T. Rex's Marc Bolan, he bought a Stratocaster-type guitar with money taken from his mother's purse; the first thing he played was the riff of Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water." He gravitated toward Roxy Music, Sparks and David Bowie rather than mainstream hard rock. His band Blue Film competed in contests, and shortly before graduation he left high school after telling staff who criticized his long hair that Jesus had longer hair. He moved to Tokyo at the end of age seventeen. In 2017 his old school awarded him an honorary graduation.

Career

Boøwy (1981–1988)

In late 1980 Hotei formed the band Bōi (暴威) with Kyosuke Himuro and Tsunematsu Matsui, which was renamed Boøwy. They debuted with the album Moral in March 1982, then became a quartet and released six studio albums in six years, playing London's Marquee Club in 1985. Beat Emotion (1986) was their first million-seller, and in 1988, the year they disbanded, they became the first male artists with three number-one albums in a single year on the Oricon chart. From 1982 to 1984 Hotei and drummer Makoto Takahashi were also members of Auto-Mod.

Solo career and Complex (1988–2012)

Hotei released his debut solo album Guitarhythm in October 1988 via EMI Records; it remains his only album sung entirely in English. In 1989 he debuted Complex with Koji Kikkawa, active until autumn 1990, and both of their albums reached number one. In 1994 he appeared at the UNESCO-sponsored GME '94 AONIYOSHI at Todai-ji alongside Michael Kamen, Joni Mitchell, INXS, Roger Taylor and Ry Cooder, and toured jointly with Jesus Jones. In 1996 he performed at the Atlanta Olympics closing ceremony with Michael Kamen and played with David Bowie at the Nippon Budokan; he later recorded Guitar Concerto (1998) with Kamen. His 1998 album Supersonic Generation, recorded partly with Apollo 440 and Ofra Haza, was released in 14 European countries. He has released albums in the UK, Germany and Canada as HOTEI, recording mostly overseas in London, Berlin and Montreux, and has worked with Hugh Cornwell, Andy Mackay, Chris Spedding, Ray Cooper and Mike Edwards. He scored and starred in Samurai Fiction (1998), co-composed three tracks for Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, and appeared in the drama Room of King (2008). In 2003 "Battle Without Honor or Humanity" was used in Kill Bill, later also in Transformers and Dance Dance Revolution SuperNova. He also produced and wrote for artists including Kumiko Yamashita, Miki Imai, Nanase Aikawa, Fumiya Fujii and TOKIO. In 2006 he released the single "Stereocaster" with Char, and in 2007 he, Char and Brian Setzer held the SUPER SOUL SESSIONS shows. On July 30 and 31, 2011, he reunited Complex at the Tokyo Dome for the Tohoku earthquake relief concert Nippon Isshin, drawing over 100,000 people over two days, with all proceeds donated. That year he also arranged the Mission: Impossible theme for the Japanese promotion of Ghost Protocol. On February 1, 2012 he celebrated his 50th birthday at Saitama Super Arena with Makoto Takahashi as guest, and in April made his directorial debut with the stage play Psychedelic Pain.

London and international focus (2012–present)

Hotei relocated with his family to London in summer 2012 to pursue an international career. In April 2015 he signed with the UK label Spinefarm Records and in October released the album Strangers simultaneously in the UK, Europe and Japan. In August 2021 he performed in the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics opening ceremony in the segment "The Story of the Little One-Winged Plane" and afterwards donated his G-pattern guitar to the International Paralympic Committee. On May 15 and 16, 2024, he reunited with Koji Kikkawa as Complex for the Noto Peninsula earthquake charity concerts Nippon Isshin at the Tokyo Dome.

Musical Style

Rooted in rock, Hotei is known for a distinctive guitar style and striking visual image, which he attributes to his dislike of doing what others do. Roxy Music, Sparks, 10cc, Kraftwerk, Marc Bolan and David Bowie shaped his tastes. He works as singer-songwriter, producer and film composer, and collaborates widely with international musicians.