Akio Hasegawa's interview series "Don't work seriously!!" Vol.04 ZORN Part 2

長谷川昭雄の対談連載まじめに働いてんじゃねーよ!!(仮) Vol.04 ZORN 中編

2025.11.22

Photo： Seishi Shirakawa

Styling： Akio Hasegawa

Edit： Ryo Komuta

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This is a series of articles in which fashion director and stylist Akio Hasegawa has serious conversations with experts from various fields about their work. This time, his partner is rapper ZORN. In the summer of 2025, 80 years after the end of the war, ZORN will release his song "War and Girls," which gave him the opportunity to learn about and experience war once again. We headed to Hiroshima with ZORN. This article will be delivered in three parts: Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

PROFILE

Akio Hasegawa

Fashion director and stylist. He has been involved in the production of the British magazine "MONOCLE" since its launch and built the foundation for its fashion pages. In 2014, he became the magazine's fashion director. He served as the fashion director of the magazine "POPEYE" from 2012 to the fall of 2018. In 2019, he will launch the fashion web magazine "AH.H" in collaboration with Houyhnhnm, and in 2023, "CAHLUMN" and "andreM hoffwann".

ZORN

Born in 1989. A rapper from Shinkoiwa, Katsushika Ward, Tokyo.
Instagram: @ZORN
Twitter: @__ZORN__
Official Fanclub: Chii Out Club

*The first half of the interview is published on " AH.H. "

Hasegawa

Former Prime Minister Kishida is from Hiroshima. I've seen him appear on war-related or rather peace-related posters.

ZORN

It seems he was born in Shibuya Ward.

Hasegawa

That's right. The Kishi family is from Hiroshima, so that means they're city boys.

ZORN

Yes, I was born and raised there. But Hiroshima is my roots. We can't even imagine that the Tokyo air raids would have devastated our neighborhood. Asakusa, Kameido, Ueno, and the Koto Ward area were reduced to ashes. Japanese people are really determined to rebuild from there.

Hasegawa

That's amazing.

ZORN

I'm really grateful for that. I'm where I am today because of people like that.

Sans limite broad box wide collar shirt ¥26,400 (Sans limite), Separate Bath & Toilet pants (reference product)

Hasegawa

The energy is different. Of course, people back then hated war, but not many people went to war. There's not a single person in this day and age who wants to do that.

zorn

Yes, if I were to be called up, I would think about how I could back out.

Hasegawa

Even though we are experiencing a declining birthrate, if we lose young people to war, this country will be even less able to survive, so it really makes no sense.

ZORN

During the Great Tokyo Air Raid, most of the adults were drafted into the military, so it seems like there were only old people around. There were only a few members of the fire brigade, and most of the children were evacuated. It seems that one reason was that children were a burden, but also because they had to be kept for the sake of future soldiers.

Hasegawa

I see.

In front of the Atomic Bomb Dome, Mr. Shinobuoka, a radiation exposure survivor and a member of the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation, a public interest incorporated foundation, is passing on to future generations what happened at this location.

ZORN

My daughters go to school in Katsushika, and starting from a certain grade, they go to Niigata every year. I always wondered why they did that, but it turns out Niigata was one of the places people in the Katsushika area were evacuated to, and they still have contact with temples and schools there. The kids from Niigata come here, and it's like an exchange program. I thought it was just a school event, but it's not like that. I learned that there are many people trying to spread the word about the war in this way. The kids naturally become interested in nature, and as I myself come to terms with the war, I also become interested in these kinds of connections. By the way, I hear the kids from Niigata get really excited when they see things like the Skytree.

Hasegawa

lol

ZORN

Apparently, we'll start by going to Taishakuten temple, but that's sure to be boring (laughs).

Hasegawa

That's true. Even if you call me Tora-san (laughs).

ZORN

But the more you learn about war, the more it makes you think.

Hasegawa

Yeah. I think you should start an All My Homies party and run for office (laughs).

ZORN

I think I can do it.

Hasegawa

You can definitely do it. Katsushika Ward is definitely a big hit. Everyone will come to support you (laughs). I'll be there to support you with all my might, too.

Located very close to the Atomic Bomb Dome is the "Hibaku Jizo Statue," a valuable testament to the power of the atomic bomb's heat rays, as the stone itself records the force of the bomb's heat rays.

The discoloration of the stone differs between the areas that were directly exposed to the blast and heat rays of the atomic bomb and the areas that were in shadow.

Hasegawa

For Japan, war is 80 years ago, but wars are still being waged around the world. Attacking other countries like Israel and Gaza is the ultimate example of war, isn't it? But something like that wouldn't happen in Japan today.

ZORN

yes.

Hasegawa

If that were to happen, it would be a really dangerous story. So I don't think it's a fundamental possibility, but how people view the war at that time is completely different. Some say it was the Greater East Asia War, which was a war to liberate Asia from European colonization, but that's just a nice idea, and some people argue that it was ultimately a war of aggression in search of resources. Depending on a person's ideology, whether they lean right or left, their perspective will change, so in the end it comes down to what you can trust.

ZORN

That's right. That's why I was stuck in that situation too. To be honest, I had no interest in it at all up until now. But since most people aren't interested, it's better to start from the perspective that you weren't interested either, and then people will get involved. Then they'll think, "Me too."

Hasegawa

Things like the Great Tokyo Air Raid and the atomic bombings, I think people should know the reality of those events, and if they did, they wouldn't be considered so. They were inhumane. The basic premise seems to be that Japan was to blame, and that it was retaliation for Japan's attempts to colonize Asian countries.

Hasegawa

This time, a lot of young people approached me during filming.

ZORN

When you walk around town, people sometimes call out to you.

Hasegawa

Like, take a picture.

ZORN

I don't take photos with people who are just like, "I'll take a photo with anyone." But sometimes I get people who are super passionate, and I try to respond to those. There are a lot of people who come up to me crying and say, "I listen to your songs all the time," or "You really saved my life." I can tell when I see them that some of your words have really struck a chord with them and become a part of them. One time, a girl with an All My Homies tattoo called out to me. She said, "I'm a huge fan."

Hasegawa

Oh, really? Is that okay?

ZORN

He didn't mind at all. The kid was on the verge of tears. I was wearing an "Uchida" cap at the time, so I said, "I'll give this to you," like Shanks (from "One Piece") (laughs).

Hasegawa

Japanese rap has been gaining popularity recently.

ZORN

It's only men who talk to me though (laughs). But I hope that when people read this article, they remember me as someone who was filming at the time.

Hasegawa

I agree.

To be continued in the second part.