Guitarist Hotaka Yamashita announced that he will be leaving the three-member group Ikimonogakari this summer. The group’s last three-person live will be held at the Kanagawa’s Yokohama Arena June 10 and 11. After that, Yamashita will be leaving the group and proceeding on a new path including creative activities such as composition and writing. Ikimonogakari will still continue activities with Yoshiki Mizuno and Kiyoe Yoshioka as a duo.

The three of them came to this decision after many discussions, saying that they had changed their thoughts on several occasions throughout the year, "grazing hiatus or splitting up and becoming independent artist.” Yamashita commented, “As I continued my journey through the twists and turns, I felt that the feelings toward music and the group became slightly different between me and the other two.” To Mizuno and Yoshioka, he said, “I would appreciate it if you could watch over what will be born in the future, with warm eyes on my future project. I’m also looking forward to the progress of the new Ikimonogakari.”

We at OTY would like to thank Yamashita for all the hard work he did with Ikimonogakari and look forward to the new era of the group. We wish them the best on all future endeavors.