TRANSLATION SANSPO: [Graduation Ceremony Panic! GACKT's "Intrusion Blitz", Principal's Direct Request Realised] - March 2nd 2015

Musician and actor GACKT (41), held a surprise live on 2 March at Kyoto’s Jonan Ryoso High School. To cheer on students who will be leaving the nest, it has been a part of his lifework since 2006. The retiring principal, Hiroyasu Kimura (60), who directly requested GACKT to “encourage the students at the end”, was the only one who knew of the emotional live, and of course, the 238 graduating students, teachers, and family members went into a frenzy.

With a charismatic “intrusion blitz”, he entered the certificate awards ceremony, farewells from current students, and the graduation ceremony which were proceeding quietly.
After the parents’ representative’s tearful acknowledgements came principal Kimura’s unplanned speech. His sudden movements caused the teachers to exchange glances. The principal suddenly said,

「Under normal circumstances this is where we send you off, but I have a modest gift. Someone from Tokyo, who for many years have brought encouragement to many youths, has been invited here to congratulate out graduating students」

In through the back doors came GACKT!! The gymnasium where the ceremony was held was filled with excitement and cheers like that of a concert hall.

「Here and there can hear some of you saying “he’s a fake” but… I’m the real thing」

A few minutes ago there were tears. But after GACKT’s “gripping” one-liners, graduates, parents, teachers and guests alike burst into laughter.

In 2005, with the arrival of a letter from a student of Hyogo’s Maiko High School, he went to that very school the follow year to perform during their graduation ceremony which started the Graduation Ceremony Lives, that became a part of his lifework. This year, it was the realisation of a discussion between GACKT, whose e-mail address is publicly known, and principal Kimura.

「The principal wanted to give a final encouragement to his students as the last piece of work he was going to carry out. I was just helping him out with that. Thank you for your efforts.」

GACKT, who thanked the principal, sang “No ni saku hana no you ni”, the theme song for all his Graduation Ceremony Lives since 2007. With cameras and smartphones which were prepared to capture their own children, the parents could not stop taking footage.

「Here’s a gift from the seniors who have gone forth a few steps before you. 『Dreams are not meant to only be seen. Dreams are meant to be realised. And to realise your dreams, you have to go through with a strong will』. I’ll look forward to your futures from here on.」
The graduates were filled with deep emotions, and the current students exclaimed excitedly “Amazing!”. The self-proclaimed “Surpriser” who says “to surprise and bring joy to people makes my life worthwhile”, smiled at the “great success of the surprise” and said “To me, it’s not about influencing every single person. Now, it’s just as long as I can encourage just once person in the graduation ceremony, and help them turn it into a new spark”.