Editing David Sylvian (section)

===1991–1994: Rain Tree Crow and Robert Fripp===
The members of Japan came together once more, as [[Rain Tree Crow]], after a nine-year hiatus. The majority of the material was written as a result of group improvisations, with no rehearsals. This approach to writing was an integral element to the whole project, and in many ways it was the reason for the collaboration. The Rain Tree Crow project had initially been conceived as a long term album deal, with Sylvian's insistence that the name Japan would not be used in conjunction with its promotion. But the recording went over budget and Virgin refused to put in any more money unless the name Japan could be used. The resulting deadlock was resolved by Sylvian's decision to personally finance the mixing of the album. However, the group was no longer interested in re-forming, and the album was released as a one-off.<ref>Article by Nigel Humberstone (SOUND ON SOUND magazine, June ’91)</ref>

Sylvian first thought of collaborating with guitarist Robert Fripp in 1986, but, characteristically, it took them a while to manage it. They only began to improvise and write as a duo at the end of 1991. That same year, Fripp had approached Sylvian to front a possible new version of the band [[King Crimson]], but Sylvian declined.<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.elephant-talk.com/faq/et-faq.txt |title=King Crimson FAQ|access-date=2007-08-29|publisher=Elephant Talk (archived page from elephant-talk.com) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050828134638/http://www.elephant-talk.com/faq/et-faq.txt |archive-date=2005-08-28}}</ref>

Fripp had encouraged Sylvian to return to the live-stage, a place he admitted he did not find comfortable ('Sylvian didn't like being the centre of attention'). The pair's concerts were, like Sylvian's work in the studio, largely improvised. On the few dates they undertook in Japan and Italy in 1992, they had no idea when they walked out into the lights what might happen, even what time they would finish their night's work. One evening Sylvian felt moved to play an acoustic version of "Ghosts", Japan's biggest hit. It was the first time he had played it since 1983; Sylvian stated 'It was quite nice because it somehow satisfied the expectation of the audience that I should play something from my songbook'.<ref>It can't be him (''The Independent'', June 1993) JIM WHITE</ref> Sylvian has commented that his improvised and 'unstable' trio work with Fripp and [[Trey Gunn]] in Europe was amongst the first times that he enjoyed performing live, and said that 'Up until that point it was all about reproducing the songs and presenting them in such-and-such way. But this was different, and it began to interest me, and it opened up my eyes to the pleasures of performing'.<ref>{{cite web |last=Dahlen |first=Chris |date=16 January 2006 |title=Interview with David Sylvian |url=http://www.savetherobot.com/articles/Interview_David_Sylvian.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210505220103/http://www.savetherobot.com/articles/Interview_David_Sylvian.html |archive-date=5 May 2021 |access-date=5 May 2021 |website=Pitchforkmedia.com}}</ref>

Fripp and Sylvian then recorded the album ''[[The First Day (David Sylvian and Robert Fripp album)|The First Day]]'' between December 1992 and March 1993 at studios in New York and New Orleans, and released the album in July 1993. Something of a departure for Sylvian, the album melded his own philosophical lyrics to funk workouts and aggressive rock stylings very much in the mould of Fripp's King Crimson.

To capitalise on the album's success, they went back out on the road on their "The Road to Graceland Tour" which began in Tokyo on 14 October 1993. The additional musicians on stage with Sylvian, Fripp and Gunn were [[Michael Brook]] and [[Pat Mastelotto]].<ref>{{cite web|date=1 April 2021|title=tour-programmes/the-road-to-graceland-1993|url=https://www.davidsylvian.net/printed-matter/tour-programmes/the-road-to-graceland-1993/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200927025840/https://www.davidsylvian.net/printed-matter/tour-programmes/the-road-to-graceland-1993/ |archive-date=27 September 2020}}</ref> A live recording, titled ''[[Damage: Live|Damage]]'', released in 1994, was culled from the final shows of the tour.<ref>{{cite web|date=1 April 2021|title=kcrimsonlive|url=https://kcrimsonlive.webs.com/19851993.htm|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210301072401/https://kcrimsonlive.webs.com/19851993.htm |archive-date=1 March 2021}}</ref>

Sylvian and Fripp's final collaboration was the installation ''Redemption – Approaching Silence''. The exhibition was held at the P3 Art and Environment centre in [[Shinjuku, Tokyo]], and ran from 30 August to 18 September 1994. The accompanying music was composed by Sylvian, with text written and recited by Fripp.