Style Resume. Nobuhiko Kitamura #1

2025.2.3

Text： Kenichi Aono

Edit： Suzuki Yusuke

Be it fashion, music or sports, there is a style that only each person can bring out in any genre. “Style is Everything.” That’s right, someone once said that style is everything. “Style Resume” is a series of interviews with adults who, as the name suggests, have style. Updated every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, the sixth installment is the story of Nobuhiko Kitamura, designer for HYSTERIC GLAMOUR, who lives his life with music.

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01. A childhood like that of "20th Century Boys."

I was born in Sangenjaya 2-chome, Setagaya, and my house was in the middle of the area surrounded by the Kan-nana, 246 and Setagaya-dori, right in front of Sangenjaya Elementary School. It was a long row house, like the house of Hikaru Hoshi from "Star of the Giants" or Hiroshi from "Dokonjo Gaeru". It was a single-story house, but there was a ladder-like staircase from the kitchen, and when you went up there was a clothes drying rack on the roof - it really was like a house that came out of a Showa-era manga. I lived there with my parents, grandparents, and younger sister, the six of us.

Every day, I would hang out with not only kids my age, but also with friends from the neighborhood who were a year or two younger than me. Whenever I found a vacant lot, I would set up a base there, or explore along the Jakuri River, which was still a sewer. It was just like the world of "20th Century Boys."

When I was in the first grade of elementary school, marbles were popular. We made sand dunes in the sandbox at Maruyama Park, which was nearby, and created courses with various gimmicks on them. We ran marbles along the dunes, and the winner got a marble. The older students made the sand dunes, but I would say things like, "How about this one?" They found it interesting, and before I knew it, I was helping out. When it rained, I would go to a friend's house, who lived in a slightly larger house, and connect pieces of construction paper together to make a bigger one, and draw a picture of an aquarium on it. Many of us couldn't keep pets or have an aquarium, so we made our own imaginary aquariums like that.

1962 was the year Kitamura was born, when The Beatles and Bob Dylan made their record debuts, the first section of the Metropolitan Expressway in Japan was opened between Kyobashi and Shibaura, and Masaichi Kaneda set a new world record with 3,509 strikeouts.
Kitamura is in his mother's arms while on a family trip somewhere.
Kitamura and his father having fun at an amusement park.

Profile

Nobuhiko Kitamura (Hysteric Glamour designer)

Born in Sangenjaya, Tokyo in 1962. Joined apparel manufacturer Ozone Community in 1984, and launched HYSTERIC GLAMOUR at the age of 21. Having been involved with music for over 40 years, he has many fans not only in Japan but all over the world, and is known for having close friendships with many musicians and artists.

Instagram @nobuhikokitamura , @hystericglamour_tokyo