Muro Tsuyoshi was ready to go just as he had declared on “Asaichi”! He made a secret appearance at Skapara’s Kawaguchiko concert!

Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra held a special performance to commemorate their 35th debut anniversary, “Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra x Billboard Classics,” at Kawaguchiko Stella Theater on Saturday, May 25th.
This performance will be Skapara’s first full orchestra concert, with conductor and musical supervision by Hattori Takayuki, the orchestral music by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra, and guest appearances by close friends Hanaregumi and Nakano Yoshie (EGO-WRAPPIN’), making this a concert with a luxurious lineup truly worthy of the 35th anniversary of Skapara’s debut.
In this live report, we will focus only on the question “Why Muro Tsuyoshi?” and the part where Muro Tsuyoshi appeared as a secret guest.

If you’re wondering “Why Tsuyoshi Muro?” for the special performance “Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra x Billboard Classics,” the story goes back to the NHK program “Asaichi” that aired on Friday, April 19th, about a month and a half ago.
During the show “Asaichi,” where all the members of Skapara appeared, interview footage of people with a connection to Skapara was aired, and in it Muro Tsuyoshi made the following comment:
“Congratulations on your 35th anniversary. Muro is on standby for your 35th anniversary. We’ve heard a lot about it. Lake Kawaguchi, Koshien, and more. We’re receiving information. We’re free on all days. Especially Lake Kawaguchi. We’ve been staying at Lake Kawaguchi the day before. We’ve booked a hotel.”
The members of Skapara were laughing throughout Muro Tsuyoshi’s comments, but when Yanaka Atsushi (baritone sax) said, “This is the first time I’ve heard that, is it true?”, MC Hakata Daikichi replied, “I’m sure, but I really think there are, when it comes to Muro-san,” and this conversation unfolded during the live broadcast.
In fact, the members of Skapara thought that it was just lip service from Muro Tsuyoshi for TV, but then the situation suddenly changed. They caught wind of the information that Muro Tsuyoshi had actually been staying at Lake Kawaguchi the day before the performance. It was exactly as Hakata Daikichi, the MC of “Asaichi”, predicted.

Let’s briefly review the relationship between Skapara and Muro Tsuyoshi.
NARGO (trumpet) and Omori Hajime (percussion) were originally big fans of Muro Tsuyoshi, and it all started in 2012 when they made a guest appearance on a radio program hosted by Muro Tsuyoshi, with the sole desire to “meet Mr. Muro!”
In November 2013, Muro Tsuyoshi came to a Skapara concert and revealed his dream in front of all the members, saying, “It’s my dream that one day Skapara will write the theme song for my play!”
Seven years later, in 2020, the members of Skapara heard Tsuyoshi Muro suddenly announce that he would be holding a truck concert during an interview on a news program. In response to the “dream” that Tsuyoshi Muro had mentioned seven years ago, the members counter-proposed, “When you came to our live show, you said, ‘It’s my dream to have you write a theme song for a play someday!’ But if Skapara is okay with it, we’ll write it for you!”
Thus, a seven-year-old “dream” came true, and Skapara was chosen to compose the theme song for the stage production “muro-shiki. Gakugeikai,” directed by Muro Tsuyoshi, which was held in April 2021. The theme song for the stage production was completed as an instrumental song without vocals and was delivered without any problems.
However, because they had so much fun creating the song with Muro Tsuyoshi, the desire to include Muro Tsuyoshi’s singing and dialogue-like elements in the song began to grow among the members of Skapara, and they asked Muro Tsuyoshi to record vocals, even though they knew that it would not be used on stage as it would not be ready in time for the opening night of the play. Seven years ago, Muro Tsuyoshi said, “It’s my dream to have Skapara create the theme song for my play someday!” but he never said a word about wanting to sing it. However, he ended up recording vocals, and “Medetashi Song feat. Muro Tsuyoshi” was completed as a guest vocal for Skapara.

The first part of “Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra x Billboard Classics at Kawaguchiko Stella Theater” was a performance by Skapara members only, and the second part was a performance by Skapara and the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra under the direction of Hattori Takayuki, with Hanaregumi and Nakano Yoshie (EGO-WRAPPIN’) appearing. “Happy Birthday Song feat. Muro Tsuyoshi” was the final number in the first part.
Before Muro Tsuyoshi appeared, they performed “The Last Ninja,” the theme song for the movie “Migari Chushingura,” which was released in February this year, starring Muro Tsuyoshi. Looking back, it was probably a big prelude to Muro Tsuyoshi’s appearance. NARGO (Trumpet), Masahiko Kitahara (Trombone), GAMO (Tenor sax), Atsushi Yanaka (Baritone sax), Takashi Kato (Guitar), and Tsuyoshi Kawakami (Bass) formed a formation in the center of the stage and concluded the performance of “The Last Ninja,” and the audience applauded. The members of Skapara enjoyed the afterglow of the performance on stage and the excitement of what was to come, and the audience was unable to predict what would happen next, and 30 seconds after the performance of “The Last Ninja” ended, the sound of a horn rang out in the hall.
When Yanaka announced, “Secret special guest, Muro Tsuyoshi!!!!”, Muro Tsuyoshi made a dashing entrance from the left side of the stage, eliciting the biggest cheers of the first part. He moved nimbly around the stage, even performing comical moves, drawing smiles from all the audience in the venue, and even though it was just a one-song performance, the entire venue was transformed into a Muro Tsuyoshi theater.
During the interlude, he greeted the audience and paid tribute to Skapara, saying, “Hello everyone, it’s been a while! Nice to meet you all! Nice to meet you again! I’m Muro Tsuyoshi! I’m very honored to be able to perform with you all under this sky. Let me say it, you’ve been so cool for 35 years! Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra!” After that, he continued to sing and dance happily while encouraging the audience.
Having performed together on numerous music programs, as well as at Skapara’s solo concerts and festivals, Muro Tsuyoshi’s performance is in no way inferior to the Skapara members who share the same stage with him.
In his final words during the postlude, “First of all, this is the first part, and we’ll all live happily ever after!”, he encouraged the Skapara members to stir up the performance, and concluded the performance of “Happy Ending Song” with one of the coolest jumps that Muro Tsuyoshi has ever performed from the stage on Skapara’s stage. As the audience’s applause rang out throughout the venue, as if piercing the sky, Yanaka also praised Muro Tsuyoshi, saying, “Amazing! Your final jump has become even better!”, to which Muro Tsuyoshi blushed and asked, “What am I doing at Lake Kawaguchi!?”
The details from the aforementioned NHK program “Asaichi” were revealed. Having caught wind of the information that Muro Tsuyoshi had indeed been staying at Lake Kawaguchi the day before the concert, Yanaka sent him a LINE message asking, “Are you going to watch or perform?” Muro Tsuyoshi responded, “Hmm, I’ll perform!”, causing the audience to erupt in laughter.
From these episodes, we can get a sense of the wonderful relationship between Skapara and Muro Tsuyoshi.
Muro Tsuyoshi left the stage to thunderous applause from the Skapara members and the audience, and then he uttered the most powerful words of the day, “Let me say one last thing everyone! This was Muro Tsuyoshi!” before leaving the stage.

The special performance commemorating the 35th anniversary of Skapara’s debut, “Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra x Billboard Classics at Kawaguchiko Stella Theater,” created an atmosphere filled with nothing but an incredible sense of celebration and joy in just the first part, and that atmosphere continued straight into the second part.

Finally, I would like to make one important point.
Muro Tsuyoshi also made the following comment on NHK’s “Asaichi.”
“I’d like to ask Skapara a big question. I’ve never worn in-ear monitors. Skapara collaborates with all kinds of people, right? Everyone wears in-ear monitors, but why doesn’t Muro have them? Is it some kind of resignation, or will something troublesome happen if Muro wears in-ear monitors? I’d like to try wearing in-ear monitors. It’s so cool to take them off after singing!”
On this day, even at Kawaguchiko Stella Theater, Muro Tsuyoshi did not have in-ear monitors…
I wonder if one day Tsuyoshi Muro will be able to wear ear monitors on the Skapara stage!? Let’s look forward to that time.


Photo by Hiroshi Nirei