Fujii Kaze and Sai Baba

Since the late part of 2022, there has been an ongoing debate concerning the popular Japanese musician, Kaze Fujii. It recently became clear that Fujii is a committed follower, or at least an admirer, of Sathya Sai Baba, a swami in India. Sai Baba’s reputation is split between India and other countries. Most people in India respect Sai Baba for his charitable work and his "miracles." In the '90s, Japanese TV stations broadcast some of his purported miracles (e.g., producing gold from his hand). Many people, upon watching these performances, claimed that Sai Baba was a con artist. In addition to skepticism about his alleged miracles, BBC and many other TV stations reported that the spiritual leader was suspected of sexual abuse and murder case.

Over time, Japanese people forgot about Sai Baba, so when Fujii titled his albums "HELP EVER HURT NEVER" and "LOVE ALL SERVE ALL" based on the words of Sai Baba, many people were taken aback. Fujii put these phrases on his official merchandises as well. Many fans wore T-shirts with these words printed on them without knowing anything about their source or significance. Some Japanese fans will tell you "What's the problem? If you do not like Sai Baba, you should not listen to Kaze's music." But others, like his fans in Korea--a very religious country--were shocked by the bold titles. From my point of view, we should value and respect musicians' beliefs. Also, we cannot deny the musician's desire to express his reverence for God. However, I think Fujii's management made a mistake. If you are selling a hand cream and it contains a certain essential oil which can benefit many people but harm some, I think the skin-care company selling this product should include a warning statement about this, even if only in small print. This weekend, I am going to go to his concert for the first time. I will follow his lead and his management's direction.

English Corrected by E. F.