Style Resume. Nobuhiko Kitamura #2

2025.2.5

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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02. On the way to elementary school, I went from Sangenjaya to Kasukabe City.

When I was in the first or second grade of elementary school, it was popular for us to listen to the hit "Kuroneko no Tango" and its B-side "Nikki Nyakki", followed by The Folk Crusaders' "Yopparai Kaettekita". We didn't just listen to it, we closed the shutters, darkened the room, covered the room with mattresses and futons, and everyone lay face down on them, and then we played "Yopparai Kaettekita". There is a sutra at the end of that song, and looking back, that was my first psychedelic experience. At that time, ghosts and the occult were also popular, and I think I was interested in a world different from reality.

I spent my childhood in Sangenjaya, but halfway through elementary school, my family moved to a new residential area in Kasukabe, Saitama. I wondered why I had to move from a downtown area like Sangenjaya to such a rural area. At the time, there were still rice paddies and farmland, a sight I had never seen in Sangenjaya.

The junior high school was a new school the year we entered, and there was no school emblem or school song, and at first there were no uniforms. In addition to our generation, there were older students who had moved from the neighboring school district. When I saw the third graders with pompadour hair spray painting things like "CAROL FOREVER" on the walls, I thought, "That's lame." I was already into Western music by that time.

A scene from an elementary school sports day. The designs of the gym clothes and jerseys make you feel like you're in a different era.
During elementary school, he was playing Kamen Rider at his cousin's house. Kitamura is on the left, and the photo was probably taken by his father.
At the junior high school cultural festival, we had a roller skating cafe (Kitamura is on the right). A classmate was holding a poster for Sheena & The Rockets' "Vacuum Pack"!

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