The initial inspiration for Jukai was The Aokigahara, or Kuroi Jukai forest in Japan, which translates to "Black Sea of Trees" or "Suicide Forest". "Kuroi Jukai" is also a Japanese novel written in 1960 about a young lover who travels to the forest to end his life. Since then, hundreds have traveled to the forest - which sits at the base of mount Fuji - to meet the same fate. It has since become one of the most popular places on Earth to commit suicide. Second only to the golden gate bridge.
At the time I wrote this song, I was living in Whitby, a quiet commuter suburb, in an isolated area by the lake, in a centurion mansion (where most of the album was recorded). It was actually the most affordable rental I could find, only because it was scheduled to be demolished at any time with little warning. My future at the time was uncertain for this and many other reasons and in hindsight, I can see why I was drawn to this kind of subject matter. I was also drawn to the life imitating art aspect of it and the ethical dilemma that it presents.
This was only the initial spark though, as I prefer to write what I know, so it's more about myself and people I know. It was written over a period of one week, where I would drive around the lake at night listening to the music in my car. When I'm working on a song I obsess over it and live with it everywhere I go, so for that reason, it was the most difficult song on the album to write and I'll probably never write another like it.
The video has little relation to the initial subject matter. I wanted it to be about something more positive. It's loosely based on events that happened to myself and others close to me, and by the work of Robert Monroe, who was famous for his methodical documentation of his out of body experiences. Physicists now know that there are dimensions beyond the 4 we can see, and these other dimensions where matter doesn't exist, time doesn't exist either. Robert Monroe in his last book, meets a guide on the other side. Eventually, he finds out the guide is actually himself in the future. The video poses a question about experiences I've had, and stories I've heard from others where we were warned against danger, or saved from certain death by something inexplicable. Sometimes it's as subtle as "intuition" and sometimes it's a force or intervention of some kind or a voice in your head. If the soul is capable is peeling off this mortal coil and existing free of temporal limitations, perhaps it's possible for it to go back and warn itself of impending danger. This only begs further questions of course. But true or not, it's an interesting thought experiment. I'm sure there was a bit of subconscious inspiration from "the egg" by Andy Weir as well.
