Tsuji Takehiro

Co-Founder & Editor, KAISHU VINYL

I'm a co-founder of KAISHU VINYL. I grew up in Kumamoto, played classical piano until I was fifteen, and spent my high school years playing in a band. Ever since, I've had a habit of taking music apart as I listen—not only the melody and arrangement, but also the culture, business, and circumstances that allowed it to exist. KAISHU VINYL began with a simple question: what happens if we choose Japanese records for the music itself, rather than starting with their rarity or market value? Maya brings the trained eye of someone who has handled records professionally. I approach them first as a listener, without checking the price, and think about what makes each one worth passing on. Here I write about Japanese music, both past and present: the records, live performances, and pop culture around them, as well as the industry that shapes what reaches listeners. I'm interested not only in why a song sounds the way it does, but in why it appeared when it did—and what it can still tell us now.