Hideto Matsumoto 松本 秀人 December 13, 1964 – May 2, 1998
Hide died on May 2, 1998. After a night out drinking, he was found hanged with a towel tied to a doorknob in his Tokyo apartment. Authorities officially deemed hide’s death a suicide, and this verdict was reported in the media. Within one week, three fans had died in copycat suicides, and of the 50,000 people who attended his funeral at Tsukiji Hongan-ji, nearly 60 were hospitalized and about 200 received medical treatment in first aid tents. Later that month, the single “Pink Spider” was released, entering the Oricon charts at number one. The song would also receive that year’s MTV Video Music Award in the category “Japan Viewers Choice.” R.I.P. my friend.
