Hisashi Imai

is a Japanese musician, singer and songwriter. He is best known as the lead guitarist of the rock band Buck-Tick since 1983. Following the October 2023 death of vocalist Atsushi Sakurai, Imai began sharing lead vocal duties in the band with fellow guitarist Hidehiko Hoshino. He has also performed in side-projects such as the duo Schaft with Soft Ballet member Maki Fujii, the supergroup Schwein, and the rock trio Lucy. Imai is known for his visual aesthetics,

Early life When Imai was in elementary school, his uncle gave him an acoustic guitar and tried to teach him how to play it. Despite being right-handed, Imai said it just felt natural for him to play the instrument left-handed. Regardless, he was not interested in guitar at the time and ended up ignoring it. But when he decided to start a band in high school, he was conscious that choosing the wrong handedness would cause problems, and ultimately went with left-handed.

In addition to his music, Imai is also known for his visual aesthetics. He has cited Akira Uno, Tadanori Yokoo, Salvador Dalí, Giorgio de Chirico, Hirohiko Araki and Tsutomu Nihei as artistic influences. He was also the main lyricist on their first two studio albums, Hurry Up Mode and Sexual XXXXX!, both released in 1987. The following year, their single "Just One More Kiss" marked their breakthrough when it reached number six on the Oricon Singles Chart. In January 1989, their fourth studio album Taboo reached number one. The guitarist was given a suspended sentence, and the band's agency was flooded with fan letters pleading for them not to disband. That autumn, they entered the studio to record their fifth studio album Aku no Hana. When released in February 1990, it reached number one and became their best-selling album to date. They released the album Switchblade in 1994 and were sporadically active until 1999. They reunited in 2015, and released their second album Ultra in 2016.

In 2001, Imai and Sakurai teamed up with English and German industrial musicians Raymond Watts and Sascha Konietzko to form the supergroup Schwein. They released one studio album, Schweinstein, one remix album, Son of Schweinstein, and held a Japanese tour, all before dissolving within the year.

In 2004, Imai formed the rock trio Lucy with guitarist and vocalist Kiyoshi (Spread Beaver, Machine) and drummer Katsushige Okazaki (Age of Punk). They derived their name from Lucy Monostone, a character in the manga series MPD Psycho. Both Imai and Kiyoshi provide guitar and vocals, and write music and lyrics for the group. They released two albums; Rockarollica and Rockarollica II, three DVDs; Lucy Show - Shout, Speed, Shake Your Rockarollica, Lucy Show 002 Live at Unit and Lucy Show 002 Live at Studio Coast, and one single; "Bullets -Shooting Super Star-". He announced the birth of his first child in August 2013.

Imai has also appeared on/composed for Mika Kaneko's Kick, Naoko Nozawa's Tonkichi Chinpei Kanta, Der Zibet's Shishunki II, Soft Ballet's Million Mirrors, The Stalin's Shinda Mono Hodo Aishite Yaru Sa, PIG's Sinsation and Wrecked, Yukinojo Mori's Tenshi no Ita Wakusei and Poetic Evolution ~With Eleven Guitarists~, Guniw Tools's Dazzle, Acid Android's Code, the compilation Tribute to The Star Club featuring Hikage, and Tomoyasu Hotei's All Time Super Guest. Together with Yukinojo Mori, Imai covered the song "Eyes Love You" for the 2013 Hide tribute album Tribute VII -Rock Spirits-. Imai composed the song "Koisuru Christine" for the 2017 album Manyoshu by Kishidan, who then had Sakurai write the lyrics. Imai also composed the music to "Flower Tambourine Dance" for Kishow's 2024 album Shin'ya Reiji.

Equipment Imai has used numerous guitars throughout his career, but the vast majority have been Fernandes, with whom he has many signature models. In Buck-Tick's indie years, after seeing fellow Gunma Prefecture-native Tomoyasu Hotei paint his guitars, Imai followed suit and painted a Fernandes TEJ black and red. During his time in the band Lucy (2004–2008), Imai and fellow guitarist Kiyoshi both used custom Fernandes guitars named Kanoke. As the Romanized Japanese name suggests, they are shaped like coffins. Largely similar to the BT-MM in appearance, albeit with a leopard paint job that lacks F-holes, it also takes elements from the Dazzler. Lucy Show - Shout, Speed, Shake Your Rockarollica (November 17, 2004) #35 "Bullets -Shooting Super Star-" (March 29, 2006) #28 Rockarollica II (April 26, 2006) #42 Lucy Show 002 Live at Unit (November 1, 2006) #52 Lucy Show 002 Live at Studio Coast (November 1, 2006) #46 Rockarollica III (April 23, 2026) #15 Lucy Show 003 ~Shout, Speed, Shake Your Rockarollica~ (September 30, 2026)