Editing David Sylvian (section)

===1970s–early 1980s: Japan===
[[File:Japan band.jpg|thumb|220px|right|[[Japan (band)|Japan]] in Toronto, 24 November 1979]]
The band [[Japan (band)|Japan]], whose other members included [[Mick Karn]] on bass, guitarist [[Rob Dean]], keyboardist [[Richard Barbieri]] and Sylvian's brother Steve as drummer (under the name Steve Jansen), began as a group of friends. As youngsters they played music as a means of escape, playing Sylvian's two-chord numbers – sometimes with Karn as the frontman, sometimes with Sylvian at the fore.

They christened themselves Japan in 1974, signed a recording contract with [[Hansa Records]], and became an alternative [[glam rock]] outfit in the mould of [[David Bowie]], [[T. Rex (band)|T.&nbsp;Rex]], and the [[New York Dolls]]. A fan of the New York Dolls, Sylvian adopted his stage name from [[Sylvain Sylvain]], while his brother took Jansen from [[David Johansen]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Jansen|first=Steve|title=Answer to question regarding Jansen and Sylvian name origin|url=http://sleepyard.tumblr.com/post/139670955058/were-the-names-sylvian-and-jansen-really-based-on|website=Sleepyard|publisher=Tumblr|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161012181457/http://sleepyard.tumblr.com/post/139670955058/were-the-names-sylvian-and-jansen-really-based-on|archive-date=12 October 2016}}</ref> Over a period of a few years, their music became more sophisticated, drawing initially on the [[art rock]] stylings of [[Roxy Music]]. Their visual image also evolved and, although they had worn make-up since their creation in the mid-1970s, the band was tagged with the [[New Romantic]] label in the early 1980s. The band themselves disputed any connection with the New Romantic movement, and Sylvian stated: "I don't like to be associated with them. The attitudes are so very different." Of Japan's fashion sense, Sylvian said: "For them [New Romantics], fancy dress is a costume. But ours is a way of life. We look and dress this way every day."<ref>{{cite news |title=Rolling Stone Random Notes |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ricdAAAAIBAJ&pg=3175,3968351&dq=japan+sylvian&hl=en |newspaper=[[The Tuscaloosa News]] |location=Tuscaloosa, AL |date=17 July 1981 |page=6}}</ref> In an October 1981 interview, at the pinnacle of the New Romantic movement in mainstream pop music, Sylvian commented: "There's a period going past at the moment that may make us look as though we're in fashion."<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Rimmer |first=Dave |title=Japanese Boys (an interview with David Sylvian and Mick Karn) |magazine=Smash Hits |publisher=EMAP Metro |date=October 1981 |volume=3 |issue=22 |pages=42–43}}</ref>

Japan released five studio albums between March 1978 and November 1981. In 1980, the band signed with [[Virgin Records]], where Sylvian remained as a recording artist for the next twenty years. The band suffered from personal and creative clashes, particularly between Sylvian and Karn, with tensions springing from Sylvian's relationship with Yuka Fujii, a photographer, artist, and designer, and Karn's former girlfriend.<ref>{{cite web |title=YUKA FUJII Gallery |url=http://www.netcomuk.co.uk/~lenin/YUKA_FUJII.html |publisher=Netcomuk.co.uk |access-date=12 January 2015}}</ref> Fujii quickly became an influential figure in Sylvian's life. She was the first person to introduce Sylvian seriously to [[jazz]], which in turn inspired him to follow musical avenues not otherwise open to him.<ref name="The Last Romantic">{{cite book |last=Power |first=Martin |title=The Last Romantic |publisher=Omnibus Press |date=1998 |page=72}}</ref> She also encouraged Sylvian to incorporate spiritual discipline into his daily routine. Throughout his solo career, Fujii maintained a large role in the design of artwork for his albums.<ref name="The Last Romantic"/> Japan played their final concerts in December 1982 before dissolving, their ultimate show taking place in [[Nagoya]] on December, 16.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Power |first=Martin |url=https://www.google.pt/books/edition/David_Sylvian_The_Last_Romantic/BDkDAwAAQBAJ?hl=fr&gbpv=1&dq=japan+last+concert+1982+sylvian+nagoya&pg=RA1-PA1981&printsec=frontcover |title=David Sylvian: The Last Romantic |date=2012-04-10 |publisher=Omnibus Press |isbn=978-0-85712-820-1 |language=en}}</ref>