Hitsujibungaku Talk New Single ‘Dogs,’ Finding Cool Beyond Gender: Billboard Japan Women In Music Interview

Hitsujibungaku sat down with Billboard Japan for the latest installment of its Women in Music interview series. The initiative launched in 2022 to celebrate artists, producers and executives who have made significant contributions to music and entertainment and inspired other women through their work, following the footsteps of Billboard’s annual Women in Music honors. This series featuring female players in the Japanese entertainment industry is one of the highlights of Japan‘s WIM project.

The latest interview by the duo marks the occasion of the one-night-only special live event Women in Music – EQUAL STAGE, presented by Billboard Japan and Spotify on June 9. The band’s lineup changed at the end of 2025, but Moeka Shiotsuka and Yurika Kasai haven’t slowed down: 2025 brought their first two-night concerts at the historic Nippon Budokan and a seven-city European tour, and 2026 has already seen them release “Dogs,” the theme song for the Netflix series Sins of Kujo. Making their second appearance in this interview series, the two spoke about the essence of their new single and how their mind-set has shifted over the past three years.

“Dogs,” the theme song for the Netflix series Sins of Kujo, has been generating a lot of buzz. It’s a hard-edged rock track that feels different from what you’ve done before. How did it come together?

SHIOTSUKA: I think Sins of Kujo had a lot to do with it. That roughness in “Dogs” is something we’ve always had in us, but it’s a sound we hadn’t had the chance to express in a while.

How did it feel to go there?

SHIOTSUKA: Really good. We’ve performed it live and on TV a number of times now, and it feels right for who we are at this moment. There’s no pretense in it. I never felt like I was being dishonest when we were doing more polished material, but there was a slight sense of disconnect between that and certain parts of my actual life and thinking. When you can put the darker parts of yourself out there too, the good parts come alive alongside them.

KASAI: Playing this kind of music is when I’ve always felt we can perform as our most unguarded selves.

As a theme song for a Netflix series, international reaction must be exciting to look forward to. The music video also marked your first collaboration with director Gakuryu Ishii.

SHIOTSUKA: At first I was imagining something rougher for the video too, but Mr. Ishii built the concept around us as these figures like “sorcerers from another universe.” He also said, “There’s prayer in this song,” which wasn’t something I’d consciously put there, but when he said it I thought that’s true. He was clearly having a blast on set, and the trust we had with his crew made it a really special team to be part of.

KASAI: The flexibility of his thinking didn’t just go beyond what I’d imagined, it went so far past it there was no comparison. Here’s this master filmmaker, and yet he has the heart of someone who just started creating. It was a learning experience for me, and I felt like I was seeing what it looks like to sustain a long career like that.

In our last interview you mentioned that switching to a pants-based stage look had made your expression as a band feel more like yourselves. Three years on, what else has changed?

SHIOTSUKA: The theme of our live shows has always been being our natural selves, and breathing deeply. That desire to feel relaxed has never gone away. This year we switched to denim as our stage wear, and that really freed something up too. I felt even more strongly that we don’t need to dress things up so much. It came partly from a suggestion by HUG, the creative team we worked with on our SPRING TOUR, and with their help we found a denim style I’d always wanted to try but couldn’t quite picture.

KASAI: It’s more comfortable, isn’t it? Rather than leaning on the costume to carry a strong message, we’re letting the clothes just be us. Instead of using what we wear to make a statement, I think we’ve found something simple that shows us most clearly. 

Does the return to a simpler style reflect a shift in how you feel internally?

SHIOTSUKA: The work we’ve been doing has been building up, and I’ve gotten older, so I think I’ve gained a more solid footing than before. The desperation has faded in a good way, and I guess I’ve gradually been able to enjoy each moment as it comes. My pilates instructor told me that being tense doesn’t do any good and to try relaxing because I was carrying a lot of tension in my shoulders. It was about Pilates, but I realized it applies to a lot in general.

So taking care of your body is feeding into your mental state as well. Ms. Kasai, what’s changed for you over these three years?

KASAI: When I encounter something for the first time now, I find myself focusing on the discovery. Instead of getting nervous, I can observe from a distance and think, “So this is how a stage like this comes together.” I probably wasn’t thinking that way at all three years ago. I’ve also been waking up early lately, and when the start of the day is stable, I can approach everything that follows in a relaxed way. I’ve come to feel that rhythm matters.

SHIOTSUKA: Before, when a new opportunity came along, my body would tighten up because I felt like I had to make it work. Now my stance is more like, “If this doesn’t go well, it’s not the end of the world,” and that looseness leads to better results. My approach to self-care hasn’t changed much, but I think I’ve found a way of living that doesn’t deplete me as much. My own time is really important to me. And looking after my body matters too.

In our last interview you spoke candidly about what it’s like to work as women in the music industry. Three years later, has your awareness of the gender gap shifted?

SHIOTSUKA: I used to think about it a lot, but now I feel like the only path forward is to just keep making music and performing every day, to be what people find cool beyond gender. If someone sees that and thinks, “I want to do that too,” that would make me the happiest. Maybe we’ve finally become the musicians we always pictured ourselves being. We’re older now, doing overseas tours, and are able to carry ourselves with confidence, as a result of what we’ve accumulated.

As your international presence grows, have there been any new discoveries?

SHIOTSUKA: When thinking about what to wear, in Japan there are all these things you have to think about like, “Will this look a certain way” and so on. But when I’m thinking about what to wear in other countries, the range of expression feels so much wider. There’s a feeling of being received simply as a person. Doing shows outside of Japan is a blank slate for us, so when drawing a new version of ourselves, I wanted to do it there. Beyond just the clothes, it freed us from feeling like we had to play up a certain cuteness or charm. Once we started stripping things back for overseas shows, it naturally carried over into Japan too, and it’s been a really positive influence on the band.

KASAI: Everything feels like a challenge when we’re in another country. We can just put out everything we want to do first. That might be part of how we gained that solid footing, too.

SHIOTSUKA: And the spaces there felt like they were welcoming what we were doing.

In our last interview you said, “I want to value being a human being before being a musician.” How do you relate to that now?

SHIOTSUKA: I’ve come to feel that it’s okay if the musician version of me and the personal version of me aren’t one hundred percent the same. I’m not putting on an act or being dishonest, but there was a time when I felt like I had to be a perfect version of myself that lived up to every ideal and expectation people placed on me. Now I’m able to draw clearer boundaries around my own time and feel like I’m becoming freer.

KASAI: My sense of it is that I create my own ideal self and believe that’s the best version.

What matters most to you at this point in sustaining a long career?

SHIOTSUKA: I’ve started thinking about the changes that come with different stages of life in a more concrete way. There are still things I want to do, and I want to age well. I want to reach a kind of expression that goes beyond just youth and energy, something with more depth. That’s not about being a woman specifically, it’s more thinking about growth as a musician and as an artist. The two of us talk about it a lot lately. What more can we do with music?

KASAI: Balance with daily life is still the most important thing. When that balance tips, everything falls apart fast. With experience and age, I think I’ve gotten better at managing that myself.

On June 9 at Women in Music – EQUAL STAGE, you’ll be sharing the stage with ATARASHII GAKKO!, Awich, and LANA. What are you most looking forward to?

SHIOTSUKA: First of all, getting to watch the other three acts perform. I listen to all of them, and they’re so powerful and cool. And as I was saying earlier, it’s a cool that goes beyond gender. At rock festivals the majority of musicians tend to be men, so an event where a lot of cool women come together is rare. And it’s genuinely cool in the right way — wholesome, even. I think that’s really something.

KASAI: I’m also excited to share a stage with artists from such different genres. They all have this quality, a life force almost, like they were destined to become the presences they are. I’m really looking forward to it.

SHIOTSUKA: Awich is raising a daughter while making music, and I’d love to hear about that side of things too.

Do you have any advice for someone who wants to start making music?

SHIOTSUKA: i’d like them to start a band. Looking out at festivals, there are more and more people doing incredible things, but bands made up of women are still rare. It’s not without its challenges, but there’s so much joy in it, and I’d love to share a rock festival stage with more of them.

KASAI: With a band you’re playing live sound, and when you lock in with your bandmates there’s this chemical reaction, and you receive sounds you never knew existed. That’s still the best part.

Does music empower you personally?

SHIOTSUKA: Sometimes when I’m walking and listening to music and it perfectly matches the scenery around me, I find it so beautiful. Those moments are healing for me. And when I go to a show and see someone doing something unexpected onstage, it reminds me of how much possibility there still is. Just seeing someone sing like they’re completely in their element makes me feel energized.

KASAI: When the atmosphere of a live venue and my own condition are completely in sync, it really feels like I’m receiving energy. Like something in me is being released.

—This interview by Rio Hirai first appeared on Billboard Japan