Former Four Leaves leader Kita Koji passed away at a Tokyo hospital on Wednesday. He was 63 and had been suffering from liver cancer since May 2011. A day before he died he said farewell to his fans and supporters in his last blog entry:
ファンの皆様
お世話になった皆様へ
本当に本当にありがとうございました。
北公次としての人生を全う出来た僕は本当に幸せでした。
大好きなステージを沢山させて頂きました。
きった僕からのメッセージを読んで頂ける頃はもう僕は居ませんが
みんな悲しまないでね。
僕は空からみんなを見守るよ！
ありがとうを言うのもこれで最後です
今まで応援ありがとうございました。
そして最後にどうしても言わせて頂けるなら
ジャニーさん
メリーさん
ありがとうございました 感謝しています。
２０１２年２月２１日
北 公次
Translation:
To all my fans
and all the people who have supported me
Thank you very, very much.
I was very happy to be able to live my life as Kita Koji.
It was a privilege to spend so much time on that beloved stage.
Although by the time you get to read this message from me I will probably be no more, everybody please don’t be sad.
I’ll be watching over you from the heavens yo!
This is the final thank you
Thank you for supporting me thus far.
And finally, if I may, let me say unequivocally
Johnny-san
Mary-san
Thank you, I am grateful.
February 21, 2012
Kita Koji
That is quite a remarkable final statement from the person that I – like most of my generation of fans – have first and foremost come to know as the author of 光GENJIへ, the book that exposed Johnny Kitagawa as an alleged sexual predator.
This is probably neither the right time nor the right place to ask the obvious question why the very last public words of a victim of sexual abuse would be “thank you“, directed at the alleged abuser, so I shall not ask it. Not today. However, it reminds me, and should remind us all, that there will always be things that we will never know. As Victor Hugo so aptly put it, “There is one spectacle grander than the sea, that is the sky; there is one spectacle grander than the sky, that is the interior of the soul. ” But even knowing that there are things that can never be known will never stop me from wanting to know them anyway. One day. But that day is not today.
Today Kita Koji is dead, and it seems that – whatever may have happened in the past – before he died he has made his peace with Johnny.
Today that is good enough for me.
Rest in peace, Ko-chan.
I was so sad when I read the news yesterday. D:
Yeah. =[
i feel so sad, but there are many question in my head why person who became sexual abuse victim by johnny then finally he said thanks to him?but anyway johhny san still such a misterious oji san ne :*
I guess so.
Wow. That message really got to me. It was so sad. It makes me go through my own life. Rest in peace Kita Kouji!
That message really got to me.
Ikr?
thank you for writing this. (And quoting my favourite author, at that.)
KitaKoji was the first super idol to come out of Johnny’s, and I’m sure he and Johnny owe each other a lot. His death saddened me a great deal… but his final message is so touching and so straightforward. Thank you for posting it for people to read. (I doubt many of your readers have any idea who Four Leaves were and why they are so remarkable, but maybe this will have them investigate and learn more about the history of Johnny’s)..
This comment *had* a purpose but I kind of forgot what it was as I was writing. Anyway, thank you.
I doubt many of your readers have any idea who Four Leaves were and why they are so remarkable
Yeah, probably not.
but maybe this will have them investigate and learn more about the history of Johnny’s
I truly hope so.
This comment *had* a purpose but I kind of forgot what it was as I was writing.
That’s okay, I think I got it.
Anyway, thank you.
You’re welcome.
This is very sad. I think Ko-san was grateful to Mr. Johnny Kitagawa for giving him the opportunity to work in his company and have shared good times (regardless of the problems they have had). He wanted to leave this world without regrets so if his way to do it was thanking Mr. Johnny and his sister, I think he left in peace.
R.I.P
Yeah, you’re probably right.
Although I don’t really know Four Leaves that much, this news saddened me. I’m glad he already made peace with Johnny-san before he died.
Thanks for the post, kamichan-sama
Rest in Peace, Kita Kouji-san.
You’re welcome.
it’s obvious, even from his book, that he liked that glamorous life of being in the stages, he loved the attention. One thing out-shined the other, and in the end he had decided, he had a pretty damn good life with some bump along the way. well at least we know he rests in peace.
I guess that’s true.
im sad read this, i dunno him, but it make me deep sad…. i hope kita koji rests in peace.
I hope so too.
Perhaps it’s a Japanese custom – like declaring all food your host gives you is oishii, no matter how stomach-turning – that dictates you should “arigatou gozaimashita” your molester when departing this world.
In which case, Kitagawa will have quite the collection of thank you cards………….
He DID say “unequivocally”.
To be fair, this is my own translation, and my Japanese isn’t really that good. The word he used was どうしても which can mean several things like by all means, at any cost, no matter what, after all, in the long run, at any rate and surely. I translated it as unequivocally because it sounded better and I think that’s what he was trying to say, but I can’t be 100% sure about this. Then again many of my readers do speak Japanese much better than I do and they usually correct me if I get things wrong, so yeah.
I don’t know. If this really happened so many times you’d think that a couple more people would have come forward and talked about this.
Kou-chan ç___ç Say hi to Taabo when you see him, ne?
バイバイ公・ちゃん
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DB_vOzppV8s
^_^
wow~ i had no idea…i only know Koji-san from reading about the scandal. R.I.P. Koji-san~
This is probably neither the right time nor the right place to ask the obvious question why the very last public words of a victim of sexual abuse would be “thank you“, directed at the alleged abuser
maybe he just wanted to forgive and forget so that he can go away in peace?
Yeah, maybe.
So sad. Now 2 members of Four Leaves have passed away.
And 63 is too young to die. :( But if you have cancer, there’s only so much you can do to fight it.
And yes, it is quite amazing that he seems to have forgiven Johnny before his passing. Well, it’s always best to forgive those who have harmed you. Not for their sake, but for your own. So that you can be at peace.
And that Victor Hugo quote is just beautiful, Kamichan. Thank you for sharing.
Rest in peace, Koji-san.
Now 2 members of Four Leaves have passed away.
Yeah.
And 63 is too young to die.
My dad was 62.
Well, it’s always best to forgive those who have harmed you. Not for their sake, but for your own. So that you can be at peace.
Are you a Christian or something? >.o
And that Victor Hugo quote is just beautiful, Kamichan. Thank you for sharing.
You’re welcome.
sadddddddddddddd!
Koji-san, thanks for all things!
Kamichan, thanks for sharing this.
You’re welcome
This is the obituary you meant? Hmmm.
I’ve read about him when I did a little research on Johnny’s idols and saw the alleged accusations on old Grandpa, but… That is one of the moments that I chose to be an empty headed fangirl and just forget what I read.
This is the obituary you meant?
Yeah.
That is one of the moments that I chose to be an empty headed fangirl and just forget what I read.
Good call.