Photo: May S. Young from Metro NYC, United States / CC BY-SA 2.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
Born on October 3, 1969 in Hikone, Shiga Prefecture, Japan, Tetsuya is a bassist, singer and singer-songwriter. As of 2026, Tetsuya is 56 years old. Notable works include Snow Drop.
My Take
Tetsuya occupies a role that does not come up often in rock bands. He plays bass, which is usually the anonymous job, and he is also the founder and leader of L'Arc-en-Ciel, the band he put together in 1991. On top of that he writes, sings, and produces. Holding down the low end while steering the entire operation is a strange double duty, and he has done it for decades. The numbers are hard to argue with: the band has sold more than forty million records, placing it among the best-selling acts Japan has ever produced. He was born in Hikone, in Shiga Prefecture, in 1969, which I find quietly appealing. Not Tokyo, not Osaka, not Kyoto. He has kept a solo career running alongside the band rather than resting on its scale. If you only know L'Arc-en-Ciel from a distance, it is worth remembering that the person who assembled it and largely shaped its direction is the one standing off to the side with the bass.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Tetsuya
- Name (Japanese)
- tetsuya
- Reading
- てつや
- Born
- October 3, 1969 (age 56)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Libra / Rooster
- Origin
- Hikone, Shiga Prefecture, Japan
- Occupation
- bassist / singer / singer-songwriter
2. Works & records
| Category | Title | Role | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notable work | Snow Drop | — |
3. Links
- Official sitehttps://www.tetsuya.uk.com/
- Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/tetsuya_official/
- Xhttps://x.com/TETSUYA_STAFF
- Wikipedia (English)https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetsuya%20(musician)
- Wikipedia (Japanese)https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tetsuya
- Wikidatahttps://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q306277
4. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-08-07
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public or unconfirmed items are omitted. English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.
Frequently asked questions
When was Tetsuya born?
Born October 3, 1969 (age 56).
Where is Tetsuya from?
Tetsuya is from Hikone, Shiga Prefecture, Japan.
What does Tetsuya do?
Tetsuya works as bassist, singer, singer-songwriter.
What is Tetsuya known for?
Notable works include Snow Drop.
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