The relationship between David Bowie and Kyoto is a source of endless fascination. Less well known is the connection between the city and the mega rock band Queen. Like Bowie, who I wrote about in April, Freddie Mercury was particularly attracted to Kyoto. 

Queen has several links with Japan. For example, more than 1,000 fans flocked to Haneda Airport to glimpse the quartet during the 1975 Sheer Heart Attack Tour, their first tour of Japan. In addition, Japanese lyrics account for a part of “Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together),” a closing track on the 1976 album ‘A Day at the Races’.

Queen toured Japan five times between 1975 and 1985. While no concert was held in Kyoto, the band dropped into the city during their first tour. The visit occurred on April 24, 1975, just one day after they rocked the audience at the Kobe International House in Kobe. Their sojourn in Kyoto is no secret thanks to Koh Hasebe, who took pictures of the Beatles earlier than any other Japanese photographer. The professional lensman shot a photo of the Queen members within Heian Jingu with the Taiheikaku Bridge in the background ― so enthusiastic Queen fans never visit Kyoto without taking a stroll in the shrine’s precincts. Hasebe-san also photographed the quartet enjoying tea at a garden in Kyoto.

(Both of the photographs can be seen in this link. )

There remains much to be shared about the link between Freddie Mercury and Kyoto. Fortunately, the Sankei News interviewed Hisao Itami, the singer’s bodyguard in Japan. In this story, Itami recalls that Mercury never missed a chance to visit Kyoto in search of old curiosities after Queen performed live in Osaka. The singer was very pleased to buy a small figure of maneki-neko (a beckoning cat symbolic of happiness) at an antique shop in Kyoto, where he could enjoy visiting at ease. According to the retired bodyguard, it was really impressive when he saw the musician handling the figurine with care.

Other experiences that made Freddie Mercury inseparable from Kyoto are revealed by his partner Jim Hutton, who published“Mercury and Me” in 1994. The author and his charismatic lover arrived in Tokyo by plane in 1986, the year following Queen’s final tour of Japan. After the singer enjoyed shopping at a department store and boutique shops in Tokyo, they took a bullet train to Kyoto. Mercury bought a hibachi brazier and four candlesticks at small antique shops before visiting the Golden Pavilion of Rokuon-ji. 

The temple, as Hutton recalls, was not open to the public due to renovation work, but they were allowed to enter its precincts through arrangements made by Misa Watanabe, currently Chairperson emeritus of Watanabe Productions Co., Ltd. Mercury and Hutton walked around the grounds of the temple for hours, viewing the garden, trees and flowers. Mercury particularly liked rhododendrons, but they were not in bloom during their visit. As Hutton recalls, his partner was also fascinated by the splendor of the golden carp swimming in the pond as well as the beauty of the pruned trees and their outline.

While in Kyoto, Mercury and Hutton were taken to a geisha school, a visit organized by Watanabe. Meeting the traditional entertainers piqued Mercury’s curiosity about how they applied makeup and how long it took to complete it. The singer was so interested in their culture that he extolled their kimono. There are at least three photographs taken at that time, one which shows a maiko flanked by Mercury on her left and Hutton on her right. The former is all smiles whereas Hutton’s downcast eyes seem to be falling on his partner and the female performer.

Hutton and Mercury then spent time at an upscale nightclub in Kyoto, before leaving the city for Osaka. In his memoir, Hutton repeatedly describes Mercury’s unique behavior and experiences in Japan. As these reflections are unrelated to Kyoto they are omitted here. 

Unfortunately, because Mercury’s HIV/AIDS symptoms worsened he was unable to visit Japan again. He eventually died of the disease, and left this world on November 24, 1991.

Despite the death of the legendary vocalist, the bond between Queen and Kyoto continues. To cite a recent example, guitarist and astrophysicist Brian May paid a visit to Kwasan Observatory in Yamashina Ward, Kyoto in late January 2020 and wrote his name and a succinct message on the mount of the telescope.

I ardently expect that the close rapport between Queen members and Kyoto will be remembered just like the message of Brian May, the brilliant guitarist: “Forever.”

References:

• “Let Us Cling Together: Queen’s Special Ties with Japan” by Kaoruko Tōgō
• “Kyoto wo Aishita Freddie – Queen Hiwa” by Kazuo Hirose
• “Mercury and Me” (1994) by Jim Hutton. Published by Bloomsbury
• “Queen’s Brian May strums up support for aged observatory” by Daisuke Mukai
• Mainichi Shimbun’s Video footage of Brian May’s visit to Kwasan Observatory

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For an introduction to Yuki Yamauchi and to read more of his articles on this website, click here.