Photo/Illutration Kansai Yamamoto and David Bowie in Tokyo in 1973 (The Asahi Shimbun file photo)

When Kansai Yamamoto was a young, up-and-coming fashion designer, the media invariably identified him with hyped-up sobriquets such as "kisai" (genius), "fuun-ji" (trailblazer), "kiso-zoku no ganso" (founder of weirdly dressed gang), among others.

Clad in his flamboyant creations, he would strike a pose like a showbiz star.

"Being recognized as 'No. 1 in Japan' isn't what I want," Yamamoto noted of the resounding success of his show in London, in which he employed the traditional Kabuki technique of instantaneous costume change.

He made a name for himself at age 27, and snagged costume design contracts with David Bowie and other megastars.   

Surprisingly, his childhood years were dismal. After his parents divorced when he was around 7, he traveled, with his two younger brothers in tow, to his father's hometown in Kochi Prefecture.

But there was no welcoming party when they arrived, and the youngsters ended up in a children's home.

One moonlit night, unable to bear his gnawing hunger, the young Yamamoto stole into a sweet potato field, dug up a tuber and devoured it raw. 

Known as a showboat, which he freely admitted, he became aware during his junior and senior high school years in Gifu Prefecture that he got the biggest kick out of being the center of attention in a large crowd.

As his school's cheerleader at baseball and rugby matches, he experienced the intoxicating rush of directing all 1,500 students into cheering as one. 

Yamamoto died on July 21. He was 76.

Hearing of his demise, I opened his autobiographical book titled "Ue wo Muite" (Looking up).

In his no-frills writing style, he recalled that he faced bankruptcy at age 30, when a show he staged in Paris was ruthlessly panned.

"As I am much more temperamental than the average person, the mountains feel extremely high and rugged to me, and the valleys exceptionally deep," Yamamoto analyzed himself with cool objectivity.

His life was full of ups and downs. But wherever he went, he shared festive spirits with anyone, even with those whom he could not communicate verbally.

He brought dazzling colors to people, places and every era throughout his 76-year life.

--The Asahi Shimbun, July 28

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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