The following interview is taken from the March edition of the free promotional flyer given out at Tower Records.

I just wanted to express how there is an Armor which exists between all of us.

      Even as her single, "Ryuuseigun" remains a hit, Onitsuka Chihiro's second album has been completed. And she wants you to open your arms and accept all of the prayers, pain, hesitation, grief, determination, thoughts, and wishes that even now seem to spill from these ten songs.

--First, I feel as if ever since "infection," your songs have grown a level in their scale and depth.

Oh really?

--Yes. So I feel very strongly as if this album belongs to the you that came out after "infection." Not literally, but emotionally.

Hmmmm... I'm not really sure of that myself.

--The first time I heard the single, "infection," I thought that it sounded like a bringing together of everything you've done until that point. But after hearing this album, I feel as if conversely, something was just starting with "infection."

Ah, that might be so. First of all, I think that without "infection," I would not have made "Ryuuseigun." Though the melodies are completely different, they're connected. It's fate. And so it might just be that this entire album is a bringing together of all that."

--Yes.

And I know I say this a lot, but I think of this current album as "Insomnia 2." What I'm doing is the same, but I wanted to increase my precision. I think I was able to do that.

--Have you had the feeling of wanting to do that from the very start?

I didn't actually think of the word "Insomnia 2," but I've always said that I'd like to do the same thing, just more powerful. And when I finished it, I thought "Oh, this is 'Insomnia 2.'"

--I see. The other thing I thought was that if this is a new journey started from "infection," then for the time being, the goal of that journey could be seen as the song, "Crow" from the album. That was my hypothesis.

Aaah... Yes, yes. I mean, I haven't thought that deeply about it, but "Crow" is the nucleus of this album.

--Yes, I'm certain of it.

That's right. I thought that this song was the nucleus of the album after I finished it. The words in the album title, "Kono yoroi" ("This Armor"), are naturally in the song. This is a song I finished very recently. I feel as if I brought it out specifically for this album.

--Was the title for this album, "This Armor," named after this song?

No, not at all. I decided it from the time of "Insomnia."

--Is that right?!

Yes. And the title "Insomnia" was decided when I debuted. So I'm thinking that the title for my third album should be coming to me any time now. (laughs)

--Ha ha. So you picked this based on the sound of the word?

Yes. I started with intuition. After, the word "Armor" really caught my attention.

--How so?

This gets pretty heavy, but I feel that human beings, in their everyday lives, wear all different types of armor. For example, lies are one type, and forced smiles, and fake tears... there's really all sorts. Even when they don't realize it themselves. If you were to speak more broadly, then make-up and clothes are also that. But, I'm nottrying to say that it's either good or bad. I'm not forcing anyone to either put them on or take them off. In "Crow," I say "Please remove it quickly," but as a title, it's completely different. I just wanted to express how there is an Armor which exists between all of us

--Do you yourself think that you would want to have such an armor on all the time?

Hmmmmm.... There are times when I feel as if it would be easier to just take it off. But I also feel as if I wouldn't be myself without it. Though there might be a lot of people who feel as if it would be easier without it, there are also times when they drift towards preferring to have it on. I have a really deep interest in that aspect. After all, it's probably something that humans put on themselves originally, rather than something they put on as they grew up. But rather than which side is better, I just want to say that we have such a thing. By just knowing that we do, maybe things will get easier.

--Ah, but compared to when you first debuted, it feels as if you've taken off quite a heavy armor yourself.

Oh really? Hmmm, I wonder about that. But basically, I'm the type that seems open without really being open...

--Do you still feel like you're trying to walk across a "Sea of Thorns" wearing a heavy armor?

Ah, but life itself is a briar patch (laughs), and the sea is endless, isn't it? I could see if it were a just thorny path, but an ocean means that everything around you is thorns. Wouldn't it be painful? Yes, I still feel as such. Very much.