Mariko Goto Announces Hiatus

On February 13, Mariko Goto announced that she will be taking a hiatus from the music industry effective immediately. There is speculation that this hiatus is really a retirement. Mariko made this announced on a TwitCasting livestream. She then deleted all of her recent tweets except for her last one, one that thanked fans for their support.

Thanks for everything
I love you
See you later

She’s also cancelled all of her upcoming shows. The reason for this very recent turn of events is unknown but some clues can be found in an emotional recent blog post of Mariko’s.

In January, Mariko wrote a lengthy post on her blog discussing her current career situation. It was full of frustration, sadness, and honesty. A partial translation of that blog post:

I’m knocked out cold
People who came after me are selling out shows at Zepp and Blitz, and I’m being left behind
While I do feel happy for them
And I enjoy the friendly competition, and root for them
I naturally also feel really jealous and frustrated
But I’ve tried my best to not let those negative feelings show
And to not feel them at all, or my heart would turn black
I’d feel pathetic for showing such emotions openly
I don’t want anyone to feel pity for me
Because that would mean I am a weak person, in my mind
(Black already, right?)

But I can’t hide my frustration any longer

The Blitz solo concert on Jan 23rd is a flop
And probably the Osaka show on the 9th too.

Rather than worrying about the size of the audience, how about just putting on a good show!? Well, that’s just pretty words
Of course I want to put on a good show

I thought I’d take whatever comes, no matter the result
As long as I keep my cool and keep laughing and believing, I’ll be fine, or so I thought

But it’s not fine at all

For the first time in a long while
I felt like dying

Thinking too much? I don’t think so

“It’s the same crowd every time, no fresh faces”
A person who often comes to my shows told me after a concert in December
(Maybe a different nuance to it, I was a bit too worked up…)

“Shut up, don’t fuck with me”, I thought
But they were right, in a way
Little by little, my audiences are getting bigger, but it’s just that, “little by little”
(I was worried)
(Even though I do so many shows… Why? Is something wrong with my shows? Ahh, why, I kept thinking… But that’s just arrogance, right? And impatience. But I AM impatient! And frustrated. Of course I’ll start thinking if I can’t see any noticeable results
The other day I was thinking, if only we had kept going with the band, then maybe now we’d be… But that’s too fucking stupid.
I wanted someone to praise me
There were times when I wanted praise, and I had no idea why, for what reason, I kept playing. Times when I became someone who didn’t need myself)

I’m of course always happy to meet my regulars at the goods stand after the shows
(Strangers telling me they love me, and those strangers gradually becoming familiar faces – it’s an interesting feeling, and I love the act of it)
But the flipside is “that won’t get the word out wide”
Seriously, don’t fuck with me
I thought, but I took those words to heart and had no idea what to do

Is it wrong to go meet everyone after a show?
(I want to talk to the fans who took the trouble to come, and hear their thoughts on my show, and even though I only meet them at my shows, is the border getting blurred?
What border am I even talking about? Distance? It’s fucking difficult)

I had no idea whatsoever what to do

Back in November, Mariko released her 3rd solo album “Kowareta Hako ni Rinakkusu.” She began her solo career in 2012 with the album “299792458.” This was followed in 2013 by the album “m@u .”

Mariko Goto first stepped onto the music scene with her first band Usagi. They released one mini-album, 2003’s “Akemi-San to Midori-san.” Mariko and Usagi’s bassist Yoshifumi Kuwano then formed the band Midori with a drummer friend from another band. Through its several lineup changes, Midori went on to release 5 albums. The band called it quits on Christmas Day 2010.

A mini-retrospective:

Usagi: