Peyote, whose illustrations are featured in the glossary section of Kuhaku, met up with Craig Mod in late summer 2004 for a chat. The two met at the Cafe Apartment, a coffee shop near Koenji station that looks more like someone's apartment than a place of business. The cozy little shop is located above a hair salon. Guests take their shoes off upon entering and take a seat on the brown-carpeted floor. The seats are woven out of some sort of straw and are very comfortable.

Please introduce yourself.

People look at my drawings and often say, "A man did not draw this; a woman drew this." Because of this, I try not to reveal whether I am a man or a woman. This is super, super, super top secret. (Peyote makes an awkward and scary pointing motion towards my computer while saying this. He then lights a cigarette.)

So you can't introduce yourself?

Right, so I can't introduce myself.

But I know if you're a man or a woman.

I forbid you to tell anyone.

Ok, how long have you been drawing?

I've been drawing since the day I was born. I drew everywhere. On the walls. He waves his hand over the bare cement wall behind him.

What do you do for a living right now?

Illustration and cartoon. But I'm also working a part-time job right now. This is a secret. Don't tell anyone. (He leans over and tells me the job). You can't put that in the interview. I forbid you. The job, it's just for the money (He is hushed as he makes a money symbol with his hand).

What's a normal day like for Peyote?

Nothing is decided for me. Everyday I wake up with no clear aim in sight. It's just like, "Ooooooo" (makes signal with his hand, which I take to indicate relaxing). Sometimes I go book-hunting. Sometimes I just drink my coffee and smoke.

What sort of books do you "hunt" for?

Visual books. All those (points to books on the wall and on the bookcase) I found and brought here. Stuff from the sixties, seventies. Psychedelic stuff. I love old issues of Playboy. I also love old issues of Seventeen magazine.

Why Seventeen?

Yeah ... The visuals. It's great. The girls, they're so cute.

Why the old Playboys?

Hmmm. I love the old cartoons. The old drawings they have.

What about the old drawings makes them special?

Just a feeling. They feel nice. I look at them and think, "I wanna become Hugh Hefner."

If you don't watch out people might figure out your sex by your comments.

Oh shit, right. Say I like Glamour and Vogue and stuff like that too (laughs). Write that this guy "Peyote" is probably a lesbian (laughs).

When do you wake up?

Sometimes I wake up at six; sometimes I wake up at ten. It all depends on how I feel.

When's your favorite time to draw?

In the middle of the night. I put on Jon Spencer, start drawing. Jon Spencer and the Blues Explosion. I like to draw to instrumental music. So I can focus on the drawing. That or else I just like silence. A very serious sort of silence. Although, I also get a lot of my ideas while at coffee shops or around town.

Why the middle of the night?

The middle of the night ... Well ... No matter what, it's gotta be the middle of the night. There's no real reason. It's just that I like the night.

I tend to love mornings for getting work done, when I can get myself up.

I love it just before dawn, when the sky is a dark blue.

What have you been working on recently?

I've been working on this (shows me a postcard (upper-left-most image in above gallery)). These are for a shop in Daikanyama. They're putting on a small exhibition, and they arranged for a number of artists to display their work. This piece is actually a lot bigger. It's about this big (makes a gesture to indicate twice the size).

Do shops often contact you?

Yes, yes, yes. I get a lot of calls from shops. "DRAW THIS!" "Draw this," they command.

How do people find you?

They usually just contact me directly. I'm friends with this guy or that guy and he knows this guy who runs this shop. It's all direct.

How do you describe your work?

My work is, not something for me to describe. It's something for the people to look at and think, "Ahh, yes, this is sexy." Or for someone like you to look at and think, "This is erotic."

I find there seems to be a fundamental theme to your work -- angry women.

My work is something that I can't describe with words, which is why I feel compelled to draw.

Is there a reason you always feature women in your drawings?

Same as you -- I like girls (laughs).

But your women are always angry?

Angry? I don't mean for them to be angry. I'm just drawing what I feel embodies a sexy face. Don't you think they're sexy?

Of course (laughs). Have you always been drawing in your style of stop and go, dots and lines?

No.

When did you start that?

Uhmmm, around last year.

Why?

It seemed interesting.

Why the name Peyote?

I saw it in a porno mag. They always have "peyote, LCD, acid, ecstasy" written in porno mags. I saw peyote one day and thought, "That's a cute name."

Have you ever done peyote?

I've never done it. I want to do it. I hear it's really bitter. You have to chew it a lot. (Makes chewing face.) You have to keep chewing, and as you chew, the bitterness explodes in your mouth. And then things get psychedelic.

I've never actually done anything except marijuana.

REGARDING KUHAKU

How did you approach the drawings for the book?

I went to a library and looked up some of the images you asked me to draw to make sure I had a good idea of what I was supposed to be making. You know, go through some books and look up bento, see what an average bento looks like.

You didn't know what a bento looked like?

I wanted to be sure.

Which library?

Nakano.

How long did the set take?

Just about two days on and off.

Do you have a favorite?

Yamamba. Definitely yamamba.

(Then my yakisoba came and we took a break and talked about tonkatsuya -- restaurants that served deep-fried pork cutlets -- and old soba shops. Peyote says he always eats all his cabbage when he orders tonkatsu. There's a tonkatsuya down the street, he says, that gives you an incredible amount of cabbage. Do you eat it all, I ask? Of course he responds.)

What does the phrase "chin music" mean to you?

(He cups his hand around his penis, says "chin" and laughs.) You also call dogs "chin." There's a type of dog called the "chin."

What kind of dog?

It sort of looks like a Chihuahua ... no ... more like a Chinese Spitz. Also, when you use a microwave, mothers in Japan use the phrase "chin shite" to mean "warm this up in the microwave."

Why?

The range goes "ping," doesn't it? Anywhere in Japan, they'll understand that. Try to say it. Say, "chin shite." They'll understand. (He pulls a string out of his sock and then takes out a cigarette.)

Do you plan on having children at some point?

Ne...

Will you name them after drugs?

I won't name them after drugs.

(We sit there trying to think about more things to write about when he says, "Tell 'em I hate Michael Moore.")

Why?

Well ... There's something I hate about him. You like him?

Not really.

Did you see Bowling?

Yep.

I thought it was really interesting but ... I didn't feel anything.

But it doesn't mean you like Bush?

No no. I definitely don't like Bush (laughs).