#risewithhenoko: Tinsagu Nu Hana (てぃんさぐぬ花 )

Beautiful, multi-generational Hawai'ian Uchinanchu (Okinawan) performance of "Tinsagu Nu Hana" (Balsam Flowers), one of Okinawa's most beloved folk songs.

Lyrics:

Tinsagu nu hana ya chimi sachi ni sumiti
Uyanu yushi gutu ya chimu ni sumiri

Tin nuburi bushi ya yumiba yuma rishiga
Uyanu yushi gutu ya yumin naran

Yuruha rasu funi ya ninu fua bushi miati
Wan na cheru uyaya wandu miati

Takaradama yatin migaka niba sabisu
Asayu chimu migachi uchiyu watara

Makutu suru hitu ya atuya ichi madin
Umuku tun kanati chiyunu sakai

Nashiba nani gutun nairu gutu yashiga
Nasan yui karadu naran sadami
Nasan yui karadu naran sadami

English translation:

Just as my fingernails are stained with the pigment from balsam flowers,
my heart is painted with the teachings of my parents.
Although the stars in the sky are countable,
the teachings of my parents are not.
Just as ships that run in the night are guided to safety by the North star,
I am guided by my parents who gave birth to me and watch over me.

There’s no point in possessing magnificent jewelry if you don’t maintain it;
people who maintain their bodies will live life wonderfully.
The desires of the person who lives sincerely will always run true
and as a result she will prosper.
You can do anything if you try,
but you can’t if you don’t.

With many thanks to the Hawaii Okinawa Artists Collaboration 2017

Featured Artists: Reverend Shindo Nishiyama, Derek Fujio Sensei, Derek "Ichiro" Shiroma Sensei, Eric Wada Sensei, Norman Kaneshiro Sensei, Keith Nakaganeku Sensei, Allison Yanagi Sensei, Jon Itomura (HOCA), Cyrus Tamashiro, Kathy Oshiro, Yukiko Pierce, Janine Kiyosaki, Nathan Nishida, Kymberlie and Katelynn Arakaki, Brandon Ing, Carolina Higa, Chantel Ikehara, Shelby Oshiro, Travis Oshiro.

With Special Thanks to:
President Doris Oshiro (Jikoen Hongwanji), Honolulu Community College Mele Program, Moanalua Mene-Tv Broadcast Journalism, and Blue Planet Recording Studio

Alicia Bay Laurel and Takuji - "Imagine" and "Give Peace a Chance" at Hiroshima Nagarekawa Church, which stands on what was ground zero

Our friends, Alicia Bay Laurel and Takuji, performing "Imagine" and "Give Peace a Chance" in Hiroshima 08/08/2015. Author/artist/vocalist/songwriter Alicia Bay Laurel and jazz multi-instrumentalist Takuji perform John Lennon's anti-war classics "Imagine" and "Give Peace a Chance" at a peace concert that was part of the 70th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, August 8, 2015, at Hiroshima Nagarekawa Church, which stands on what was ground zero in Hiroshima.

10,000 sing Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" — Japan's Beloved Anthem of Peace

This is a video of the Osaka "Number Nine Chorus"—10,000 singers who perform "Ode to Joy" (originally named "Ode to Freedom") every December. The soloists and orchestra are professionals; however the rest are singers from the community.

The Japanese love of "Ode to Joy," the final movement of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, began during the First World War, when German prisoners of war performed the Ninth Symphony for the first time in Japan in 1918.

The Japanese nickname for the uplifting movement — "Daiku" ("Number 9") — alludes to Article 9, the Japanese Constitution's Peace Clause which outlaws war as a means of conflict resolution.  Beethoven's  lyrics are from a poem celebrating human unity by Frederick Schiller.  The 19th-century century German philosopher was preoccupied by the quest for freedom and human rights. Like many of his era (which spanned the American Revolution), he championed political ideals based not on coercion and tyrannical brute force, but instead by reason, goodwill, dialogue, and democratic process.

Worldwide, "Ode to Joy" has long been considered a peace anthem, a song of resistance to not just war, but also state repression. Chilean democracy demonstrators sang the song during PInochet's dictatorship. Chinese protesters sang it during the march on Tiananmen Square. This year, the music and lyrics are even more meaningful to the Japanese and Okinawan supporters of democracy and Article 9, the Japanese Constitution's Peace Clause.

...Brother love binds man to man

Ever singing march we onward

Victors in the midst of strife

Joyful music lifts us onward

In the triumph song of life...

Human rights attorney Scott Horton tells us that Beethoven was drawn to Schiller's writings because the composer longed for liberty, however omitted the "deeper, more political charge" of the final stanzas of "Ode to Joy" to veil his challenge to the repressive Hapsburg regime from which he received patronage.

...the work is radical and blatantly political in its orientation...It imagines a world whose nations live in peace with one another, embracing the dignity of their species as a fundamental principle, and democracy as the central chord of their organization. Its long appeal to Beethoven lay in just this intensely subversive, revolutionary core. To start with, as Leonard Bernstein reminded his audiences, the poem was originally an “Ode to Freedom” and the word “Joy” (Freude instead of Freiheit, added to the third pillar, Freundschaft [Friendship] came as a substitute for the more overtly political theme...

Beethoven reckoned, of course, that his audience knew the whole text, just as he knew it, by heart. He was by then a crotchety old man, Beethoven, but he knew the power of a dream, and he inspired millions with it, to the chagrin of his Hapsburg sponsors.

Schiller’s words are perfectly fused with Beethoven’s music. It may indeed be the most successful marriage in the whole shared space of poetry and music. It is a message of striking universality which transcends the boundaries of time and culture. It is well measured in fact to certain turningpoints in the human experience.

Some of the lines from Schiller's poem omitted from "Ode to Joy":

...Persist with courage, millions!

Stand firm for a better world!

...Deliver us from tyrants’ chains...

(-JD, originally posted Dec. 25, 2014, reposted because the themes are even more important for Japan, Okinawa, and the entire world given heightened popular activism for freedom, liberty, human rights, democracy, and peace, in the face of growing global state authoritarianism and militarized repression of nonviolent citizen movements.) 

"Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream" performed by Alicia Bay Laurel • Upcoming concerts in Tokyo on Aug. 4 & Hiroshima on Aug. 8

Via our friend—artist, writer, and musician Alicia Bay Laurel—who has 2 more concerts upcoming (in Tokyo and Hiroshima) in this year's tour of Okinawa and Japan:

What it looks and sounds like when we all sing the great peace visionary song, "Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream," together in English and Nihongo. Thank you Hikaru Hamada for making this video last July 11th at Art Cafe Nafsha in Awajishima! Akiko Itagaki is translating for me.

Alicia on video:

This song was written at the end of World War II by an American peace activist. His name was Ed McCurty. He wrote this song as he was reacting in horror to the bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Even though I was very active against the war in Vietnam, I only became aware this year that there was  a huge antiwar movement in the US during World War II. The people who were for peace had a hard time getting heard because the government and corporations were all wanting the war.

So they started a whole group of radio stations across the United States: Peace Radio. All of those radio stations are still broadcasting now...They're called Pacifica Radio...When I was growing up in the 1950s, that was the radio being played by my parents. That's where I heard this song the first time...

When I came to Japan, I realized I needed to sing this song, not just play it. I needed to sing it in Nihon-go and I needed to sing it in Nihon-go at Hiroshima because Hiroshima's tragedy is what inspired this song...Please join us in HIroshima if you can."

"Last Night I Had The Strangest Dream" by Ed McCurty

Last night I had the strangest dream
I ever dreamed before
I dreamed the world had all agreed
To put an end to war
I dreamed I saw a mighty room
The room was filled with men
And the paper they were signing said
They'd never fight again
And when the papers all were signed
And a million copies made
They all joined hands end bowed their heeds
And grateful prayers were prayed
And the people in the streets below
Were dancing round and round
And guns and swords and uniforms
Were scattered on the ground
Last night I had the strangest dream
I ever dreamed before
I dreamed the world had all agreed
To put an end to war

This coming Sunday, August 8,  Alicia will perform at a Peace Concert that begins at 2:30 p.m. at Hiroshima Nagaregawa Church. (Reverend Kiyoshi Tanimoto, an alumni of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, and a central figure in John Hersey's book, Hiroshima, led the rebuilding of this historic church after it was completely destroyed by the August 6, 1945 nuclear bombing of Hiroshima.)

(Directions and details at Alicia's website: http://www.aliciabaylaurel.com/2015JapanTour)

"Peace Girl" by Alicia Bay Laurel

10,000 sing Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" — Japan's Beloved Anthem of Peace

This is a video of the Osaka "Number Nine Chorus" of 10,000 singers who perform "Ode to Joy" every December. The soloists and orchestra are professionals; however the rest are singers from the community.

The Japanese love of "Ode to Joy," the final movement of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, began during the First World War, when German prisoners of war performed the Ninth Symphony for the first time in Japan in 1918.

In Europe, exactly one hundred years ago, German, French, and British soldiers engaged in a spontaneous holiday ceasefire, emerging from the trenches to exchange food, drink, and even play soccer, sharing a brief moment of humanity during the brutality of war.

The Japanese nickname for the uplifting movement — "Daiku" ("Number 9") — alludes to Article 9, the Japanese Constitution's Peace Clause which outlaws war as a means of conflict resolution.  Beethoven's  lyrics are from a poem celebrating human unity by Frederick Schiller.  The 19th-century century German philosopher was preoccupied by the quest for freedom and human rights. Like many of his era (which spanned the American Revolution), he championed political ideals based not on coercion and tyrannical brute force, but instead by reason, goodwill, dialogue, and democratic process.

Worldwide, "Ode to Joy" has long been considered a peace anthem, a song of resistance to not just war, but also state repression. Chilean democracy demonstrators sang the song during PInochet's dictatorship. Chinese protesters sang it during the march on Tiananmen Square. This year, the music and lyrics are even more meaningful to the Japanese and Okinawan supporters of democracy and Article 9, the Japanese Constitution's Peace Clause.

...Brother love binds man to man

Ever singing march we onward

Victors in the midst of strife

Joyful music lifts us onward

In the triumph song of life...

Human rights attorney Scott Horton tells us that Beethoven was drawn to Schiller's writings because the composer longed for liberty, however omitted the "deeper, more political charge" of the final stanzas of "Ode to Joy" to veil his challenge to the repressive Hapsburg regime from which he received patronage.

...the work is radical and blatantly political in its orientation–it envisions a world without monarchs at a time when the distant colonies of North America alone offered the alternative. It imagines a world whose nations live in peace with one another, embracing the dignity of their species as a fundamental principle, and democracy as the central chord of their organization. Its long appeal to Beethoven lay in just this intensely subversive, revolutionary core. To start with, as Leonard Bernstein reminded his audiences, the poem was originally an “Ode to Freedom” and the word “Joy” (Freude instead of Freiheit, added to the third pillar, Freundschaft [Friendship] came as a substitute for the more overtly political theme...

Beethoven reckoned, of course, that his audience knew the whole text, just as he knew it, by heart. He was by then a crotchety old man, Beethoven, but he knew the power of a dream, and he inspired millions with it, to the chagrin of his Hapsburg sponsors.

Schiller’s words are perfectly fused with Beethoven’s music. It may indeed be the most successful marriage in the whole shared space of poetry and music. It is a message of striking universality which transcends the boundaries of time and culture. It is well measured in fact to certain turningpoints in the human experience.

Some of the lines from Schiller's poem omitted from "Ode to Joy":

...Persist with courage, millions!

Stand firm for a better world!
...Deliver us from tyrants’ chains...

-JD

Hawai'i-based Ukwanshin Kabudan perform at Governor Takeshi Onaga's All-Okinawa Victory Celebration

Via Save Henoko, an informal group of Okinawans and Overseas Okinawans who view the preservation of the dugong and coral habitat at Sea of Henoko as integral to the preservation of historic, traditional culture and the protection of human rights and dignity in Okinawa:

Members of Ukwanshin Kabudan (traditional performing artists) from Hawaiʻi were asked to play kachaashii at Onaga's headquarters to celebrate the victory right after the results were announced. But before kachaashii, they took it upon themselves to sing Kagiyadefu, to celebrate the auspicious day in true Uchinaa tradition.

Thanks to Brandon, we were able to share in this historical celebration of Onaga's landslide victory over Nakaima in the Okinawa governor's election which solidly showed the Okinawan people's stance against the new base in Henoko...

Int. Day of Peace 2014 - Think PEACE, Act Peace, Spread PEACE - Imagine PEACE

Via Yoko Ono on the Int. Day of Peace 2014,

Surrender to PEACE:
Think PEACE, Act PEACE, Spread PEACE - IMAGINE PEACE
love, yoko

https://soundcloud.com/yokoono/sets/surrendertopeace
#SurrenderToPeace #PeaceOneDay

Environmentalists, Article 9 supporters, and musicians lead Tokyo 8.23.14 Solidarity Rally for Okinawa

Photo: Twitter@soulflowerunion

Especially supported by Japan's environmentalist and musician communities, Tokyo demonstrated solidarity with Okinawa at the 8.23.14 rally in front of the prime minister's residence protesting landfill and construction at the dugong and coral habitat at the Sea of Henoko.

Sherry Nakanishi: "Music vs Militarism: OKINAWA"

"Music vs Militarism: OKINAWA" by BY SHERRY NAKANISHI

In total, 150,000 Okinawans died during the final battles of the Second World War, a third of the civilian population. The number exceeded the total of American and Japanese dead during the same period.

Things start off quite innocently. I receive two tickets from a colleague at school. On them is printed “Okinawa LIVE.” On the appointed day I arrive at the venue, Higashi Honganji, a large Buddhist temple in midtown Kyoto.

My husband, child, and I cross the vast pigeon-thronged gravel spaces of the temple precincts, reach the correct hall and are greeted warmly by monks...

The auditorium is large, and filled. Hundreds upon hundreds of people have come to hear the Okinawan message. On center stage, a man stands alone, holding a sanshin, the traditional Okinawa three-stringed instrument. “We can only fight through our music, it is all we have,” he says. And an hour and a half passes by as the truth of Okinawa’s recent history spills out, accompanied by intermittent notes played on the sanshin — sounds of nodding agreement.

The speaker is Chibana Shoichi, an Okinawan. Labelled an “anti-base activist” by Time Magazine [April/May 1997], perhaps he is more of a peace activist; one who out of love tries to protect the children, the people, the land, and the sea from being misused and ill-treated....

In ancient times Okinawa was independent, and known as Ryukyu Onkaku, the Ryukyu Kingdom. Before being annexed by Japan in 1865 this peaceful kingdom had no army. Looking into Ma-chan’s youthful face, I recall Chibana telling me how young Okinawans are picking up the traditional instruments, shamisen , jamisen, and sanshin, and proudly carrying on their culture. Okinawa has remained connected with its ancestral soul through its music, and this is how it has responded to an unimaginable military onslaught — with songs that are the spiritual poetry of peace, prayers for nature and for people.

We bow again, he departs; I am left holding the hope of Okinawa — the ancient teaching of the sanshin, the music and song of Okinawa; its gift to the people of Honshu, and the world.

I have a friend in Kyoto, a former soldier whose mind remains disturbed by his intensive military training. He knows he’s crazy, and travels the world sporadically, soul- searching for the truth. I tell him what I have learned about Okinawa, and ask for his response. He says:

This — as all things —
does not exist to be changed,
but for us to change.

His words send a shiver through me.
“I didn’t say it — it came from up there,” he says, pointing to the sky.

Read this rest of Sherry Nakanishi's beautiful essay at Kyoto Journal.

Nuclear-free activist Taro Yamamoto wins; Yohei Miyake via YouTube & Twitter: "Keep the Motivation..."

YOHEI MIYAKE Melodious Campaign Speech (Greens Japan) 

Nuclear-free candidate Taro Yamamoto won an Upper House seat after losing a bid for a Lower House seat in last December's election. The actor also opposed Tokyo's entry into  TPP (Trans-Pacific Partnership) negotiations.

Short news documentary on Yamamoto at Shingetsu News here on YouTube.

Beautiful Energy's Jacinta Hin's translation and comment on another Nuclear-free candidate, Greens' Yohei Miyake's concession via Twitter:

"I/we lost, but I/we gained so much". He also mentions the need for international collaboration for world peace. He got a lot of votes. He is a winner for me. This is just the start of his new journey.

三宅洋平 / Yohei Miyake @MIYAKE_YOHEI

やれる事はすべてやった。 もっとうまくやれる方法も沢山分かった。 負けたが、得

たものは大きい。 伸び代しかない。 次は強い党を作らないと、だね。 そして国際平和のための世界的な連帯作り。 おし、まずは走り込みだ！ ‪#‎176970票‬

 Read a terrific analysis of the media blackout, "blur" (?) of Miyake's campaign by J. T. Cassidy at Temple Valley Times and wrap-up by Martin Frid at Kurashi
..

Power of Okinawa: Irei no Hi 2013

Via The Power of Okinawa's great blog on Okinawan music and culture:

 

Today is Irei no hi – the day when the end of the Battle of Okinawa is commemorated throughout the Ryukyu Islands. As usual the biggest ceremony was held at lunchtime at Okinawa Peace Memorial Park in Mabuni, Itoman and I was there along with many others. It always seems to be a scorching hot day on the 23rd June and this was no exception as people gathered in the park under a blazing sun and in a temperature hovering around 32 degrees...

Masaharu Kina, the Speaker of the Okinawa Prefectural Assembly, made the most pertinent speech in which he noted that there are now 241,227 names on the Cornerstone of Peace (where the names of all those killed in the fighting are inscribed) following the addition of another 62 names this year. He also pointed out that this is a day when all Japanese should think about war even though Irei no hi is still a designated public holiday in Okinawa only. He went on:

"One of the lessons we learned from the sacrifices of countless irreplaceable lives during the war is that a people with no voice will perish. In light of our past being trifled with by national policies, and the currently unchanged situation of Okinawa, the people of Okinawa have held numerous rallies to demand the reduction and realignment of the U.S. military bases and alleviation of our burden. We have voiced our requests.

“Prompted by countless unreasonable actions against Okinawa, we, the people of Okinawa, are about to reach the limit of our patience. The non-partisan petition handed to Prime Minister Abe this January reflects our earnest collective will not to tolerate any more base burdens and to live peaceful lives.

“Under the circumstances we are here with solemnity on this day, which marks the anniversary of the end of the Battle of Okinawa. This is the day to inscribe indelibly into our hearts that such a miserable war should never happen again and to hope for a peaceful bright future.”

Sketches of Myahk explores indigenous Japanese roots - still alive in northern Japan & Okinawa

Sketches of MYAHK Trailer

スケッチ・オブ・ミャーク 宮古島スペシャル

Koichi Onishi's documentary film, Sketches of Myahk, is a fascinating exploration of Japan's obscured indigenous heritage still extant in northern Japan and  Okinawa:

"I think Aomori connections with ancient Japan are much like those of Miyakojima," said Onishi, adding that he intends to shoot his next film in Aomori Prefecture.

Miyako is pronounced "Myahk" by locals. Two types of songs have been handed down through generations: "Aagu" folk songs that differ in style from traditional verses of the main Okinawa island and "kamiuta" sacred songs...

"Aomori (Prefecture) is home to the Sannai-Maruyama archaeological site and many other ruins from the prehistoric Jomon period (14,000 B.C. to 300 B.C.). Psychics closely related to folk beliefs like 'itako' shamans are still very much alive in our everyday lives," Onishi said. "(Aomori and) Miyakojima share a common bond in the way they retain traces of ancient Japan."

More about this beautiful film at Asahi.

Background: DNA research has confirmed that Ainu and Okinawans are direct descendants of Japan's first people, the Jomon, who entered what is now known as the Japanese archipelago through the area now known as Sakhalin, original home (along with the Kuriles, Hokkaido, and northern Tohoku)  to Ainu. Therefore Ainu and Okinawan cultures give us a sense of the richness of indigenous Japanese (Jomon)  culture.

Geneticists have also confirmed that mainland Japanese have descended from intermarriage of Jomon and later immigrants from Asia who brought rice and metal culture to Japan during the Yayoi period which lasted from around 300 BCE to 300. The later-comers entered the archipelago through Kyushu. New findings show that cultural exchanges went in multiple directions, with Asian mainlanders adopting Jomon culture as well as the other way around.

FRYING DUTCHMAN special no nukes performance and talk by Toshiya Morita in Kyoto Dec 12th

Travel route of radiation from Fukushima
shared by Toshiya Morita and available here

During the parliamentary elections, the Frying Dutchman, a dance-rock band known for its outspoken stance against nuclear power, gave a special performance at Bukkyo University in Kyoto tonight. Following, writer Toshiya Morita who has been covering the nuclear accident since March 11, 2011, spoke to the need for everyone to be prepared for another nuclear disaster.

The Frying Dutchman became popular throughout Japan after their post-disaster performance of "Human Error" at Sanjo Bridge, a popular gathering spot in Kyoto. "Human Error" details the fallacies of nuclear power, the process by which the nuclear industry has tricked the public, and the tireless efforts of the anti-nuclear movement in Japan. Their set opened with this song:

Genpatsu Iranai!
No more nuclear power!
(Applause)

Dondondondondon Koe ageyou ze!
Keep raising and raising and raising your voices!
(Applause)

Ai wo komete FUCK YOU!
With love FUCK YOU!
(APPLAUSE)

Koe wo ageyou!
Koe wo agete minna de tomerushikanaize!
Raise your voices, raise your voices-
all we can do join forces to stop nuclear power!
(APPLAUSE)

Okashii da ze! Okashii da ze!
It's not right! It's not right!

(Applause)

Okane yori motto daiji no aru yo ne!
There are things more important than money!

(Applause)
Wasureta ha ikenai ne!
We can't forget!
 (APPLAUSE)

Shizen enerugi minna dashite ikou!
Everyone, let's all use natural energy!
(APPLAUSE)

Minna de koe wo agemashypu!
Enryou nakute koe agemashyou!
(APPLAUSE)

Nani ga daiji ka saikakunin shiyou ze!!

Ai!
Love!
(AI)

Ai!
Love!
(AI)

AI!
Love!
(AI)

AI
LOVE
(AI)

Genpatsu ha hitsuyou nai!
We don't need to nuclear power!
(APPLAUSE!!)

Genpatsu hantai!
(APPLAUSE!!)

For the full English and Japanese lyrics of "Human Error" check the FRYING DUTCHMAN website. Despite the ongoing nuclear disaster, there are still political parties that promote the continued use of nuclear power, do not discourage its use, or do not even discuss nuclear power in their platform. The FRYING DUTCHMAN may have power to convince people to vote against nuclear power.

The FRYING DUTCHMAN will also be one of many performers at the Nuclear Free Now! Conference in Tokyo on the 15th of December from 3:30-5pm at the Hibiya Outdoor Music Hall.

Following the performance, which was more raging than a dance hall, Toshiya Morita urged the audience to develop an exit strategy well before a nuclear disaster strikes, pointing out that Kyoto is within the exclusion zone for a nuclear disaster, only 60 kilometers from the Ohi nuclear reactor.

"My wife and I have planned to meet at Kyoto station should their be a nuclear accident. That way we can both meet and get on the bullet train immediately. If trains are not running, like after Fukushima, then we have a plan for which bus to take....By the way, who were the first people to leave Fukushima after the disaster? The family members of the workers at Tokyo Electric who controlled the reactor because they already knew how to evacuate in the event of a nuclear disaster." 

Regardless of stance on nuclear power, he urged the audience to not only prepare an evacuation strategy for themselves, but to be prepared to accept evacuees emphasizing the impossibility of depending only on the government. Next he discussed how radiation has flowed from Fukushima along the paths of major roads and trains tracks contaminating major cities throughout Eastern Japan. Osaka and Kyoto have also been contaminated through food coming in from contaminated regions.

Although the accident of four nuclear reactors of the Fukushima nuclear power plant has not been converged, 
the athletic meet of spring of an elementary school is being held in Fukushima. The children who do play 
ball and race have to do a mask so that the dust of radioactivity may not be inhaled. May 2002

He also noted how parents and children have not been vigilant in ensuring children are wearing masks to prevent the inhalation of radiation contaminated dust. He pointed out how the child to the left of the picture was clearly not wearing a mask properly during an outdoor Sports Day event, and showed other photos of unmasked children, or children that did not cover their noses with the masks.

Finally, he shared the advice of Dr. Shintaro Hida, a doctor who entered Hiroshima immediately after the U.S. government dropped the nuclear bomb over the city. Also, receiving radiation poisoning himself, he studied how radiation changed the lives of over 6000 people. He asked the oldest living survivors of the bombing how they lived so long, and they most common answer was "by not overeating."

In the end, he reminded us that the people in Fukushima are fighting harder than anyone now in Japan to get rid of nuclear power. It is because of their courage and determination that we have come this far.

- Posted by Jen Teeter

"No Nukes Live 2012" brings playfulness, seriousness to Tokyo stage

                                                     Event headliner, the Inoue Ohana band

Musicians have long been known for offering some of the most cutting-edge and creative social critique around the globe, and Japan is no exception—particularly with regard to post-3.11 nuclear issues.  

This past Sunday, November 25^th, a No Nukes live event was held at Shin Sekai ("New World"), a small basement club in Tokyo’s Nishi-Azabu district, taking up the tradition of other local event series that have combined music with commentary on nuclear issues, including No Nukes More Hearts and Atomic Café.

The event was organized and headlined by the fantastically upbeat Inoue Ohana band, which features both Hawaiian and reggae tunes. The night’s lineup also featured many additional artists, including slack key guitarist Kamoku Takahashi, folk singer Yara Tomonobu, hula dancer Miho Ogura, and the legendary Rankin’ Taxi, whose video “You Can’t See It and You Can’t Smell It”(referring of course to radiation) went viral in the weeks following the Fukushima nuclear disaster.

The evening was billed as a “party”, and—capturing the spirit of the evening— the ever rabble-rousing Rankin’ Taxi followed up his performance of a song regarding the dangers of the precariously placed fuel rods at Fukushima Daiichi plant’s reactor #4 (whose video I had technical problems uploading—will try again shortly!) by commenting—in his trademark quirky and yet serious style— “Well, we shouldn’t really be having fun at a time like this, but hey, let’s have ourselves some fun!”

Each of the evening’s artists took time to reference the dangers of the nuclear power industry. Guest speaker Umi Hagitani, a social activist for numerous causes including nuclear issues, gave an illuminating overview of the workings of the nuclear industries and anti-nuclear activism in both Japan and the USA, where she has spent most of the past decade.

To summarize the highlights of Umi’s talk, she emphasized that we must consider nuclear issues as a whole, taking into account its various aspects, including uranium mining and testing, and the effects on (often indigenous) communities; as well as the interconnections between nuclear power, weapons, and testing, which are often overlooked in both countries. She pointed out that the mainstream media in the U.S. suppressed the voices speaking out against Three-Mile Accident in 1979, and that the government began almost immediately thereafter to promote the construction of nuclear power plants in other regions of the country—resulting in continuing environmental and health damage, along with citizen unawareness regarding what was actually taking place. She pointed in particular to the nuclear facility in Hanford, WA—profiled in filmmaker Hitomi Kamanaka’s “Hibakusha”—where radiation dating back to the early 1940’s has penetrated all the way down into the water table, causing numerous cancers (that were denied by the government as having any connection with the plant).

Umi pointed out the borderless nature of damage from the Fukushima nuclear accident, explaining that cesium is now showing up in Pacific herring in Alaska, which indicates that internal radiation exposure is something not limited to Fukushima or to Japan alone. She also asserted that lying governments and complicit media are a shared feature of both the United States and Japan, explaining that since 3-.11, anti-nuclear activists from the two countries have been working together to expose the way that the nuclear industry has been working to pollute the land where we live, while companies meanwhile continue profiting from decontamination efforts, and governments attempt to quash any citizen movements that speak out against negative effects such as rising illnesses and human experimentation.

“I recently watched ‘Women of Fukushima’, where one of the speakers said that if people in Tokyo did not begin speaking out about low-dose radiation exposure suffered by Fukushima citizens, their situation would never change,” Umi explained. “Given our privilege living in urban areas with access to all sorts of technologies, we need to raise our voices against these unjust systems by continuing to advocate for Fukushima citizens’ right to relocation, to support Fukushima citizen radiation efforts, and to educate ourselves regarding nuclear-related matters,” she said.

An interview with Umi in English may be downloaded from the website of the Nuclear Hotseat, and more information about her work is available at No Nukes Asia Actions.

--Kimberly Hughes

Solidarity With Tohoku: Summer School Campfire & Drumming

Solidarity with Tohoku:

The neighborhood in Tsukidate consists of both the old rice farming community, and the new evacuee community from the coast. The children were thus part of an event that brought both communities together.

Evacuee residents from the neighboring temporary container housing were invited to join camp events...

Ragukaki: Contemporary Music for Koto & Shakuhachi - "dedicated to the pursuit of Beauty and Life on this planet"

This gorgeous collection "dedicated to the pursuit of Beauty and Life on this planet" by Kim Oswalt and Helen Dryz is available for online listening.

Includes "Gymnopédies" by late 19th-century French composer Erik Satie, two compositions by the late Katsutoshi Nagasawa, and three compositions by the late Minoru Miki, who believed music can serve as an elevating and bridging force for humanity:

In a world powered by military muscle and crass materialism, music and the fine arts may seem weak and ineffectual, but they provide a way to raise consciousness and reverse the march toward increasing violence and intolerance.

"With music," Miki said, "we hope to lead the way in place of leaders who cannot be trusted."

no nukes more heart - NO NUKES! ALL STAR DEMO 5 - Shibuya - 7.7.12

NO NUKES! ALL STAR DEMO 5: Shibuya, Tokyo on 7.7.12...

9.19脱原発デモ『NO NUKES! ALL ST☆R DEMO 2011』

Check out some of the music at the website, including "Wonderful World"...

"ODAKIAS" - Ryuichi Sakamoto's Remix of Demonstrators at the Oi Nuclear Plant restart protest chanting "Saikado Hantai!" ("Against the Re-start!")

Sounds for Our Generation: "ODAKIAS" - Ryuichi Sakamoto's haunting remix of demonstrators at the Oi Nuclear Plant Restart Protest chanting "SAIKADO HANTAI!" ("Against the Re-start!")

TONIGHT - June 22! Greetings From the Earth @ Chikuya Live House, Kunitachi, Tokyo

Greetings From the Earth

Peace Not War Japan

Friday

7:00pm until 11:30pm in UTC+09

Chikyuya Live House, Kunitachi, Tokyo, Japan

☆日本語の詳細が↓↓にあります☆

Come listen to the fabulous music and stories of Alicia Bay Laurel, author of the best-selling 1970 Living On the Earth, who will also be joined by the upbeat grooves of the Inoue Ohana band featuring Hawaiian and reggae style tunes.

An evening of warmth, love and vibrant energy not to be missed!!

Alicia Bay Laurel and Inoue Ohana: ‘Greetings from the Earth’

Friday, June 22nd, 2012

OPEN/START 19:00/20:00

Chikyuya in Kunitachi 地球屋＠国立市

Map　アクセス: http://chikyuya.info/contents/access

Advance Price:　2000円

At the Door: 2500円

☆LIVE

・　INOUE OHANA (Hawaiian/reggae)

・　Alicia Bay Laurel (acoustic folk)

☆TALK

Alicia Bay Laurel

☆DJ

RAS FUKU

Alicia Bay Laurel's full Japan tour schedule:

http://www.aliciabaylaurel.com/2012japantour

Photo/video/highlights from a recent show of hers in Tokyo:

http://tenthousandthingsfromkyoto.blogspot.jp/2012/06/artists-bring-message-of-harmony-spirit.html

アリシア.ベイ.ローレル

１９４９年、整形外科医の父と彫刻家の母の間に生ま れたアリシア.ベイ.ローレル。母の影響で、ボヘミアン的な生き方に憧れた彼女は、 高校卒業後、ヒッチハイクの旅に出ます。そうしてたどり着いたのが、カルフォルニアの北部に あるウィラーズランチ、

いわゆるコミューンでした。 当時ランチには１００人ほどの自由人が、畑を作り、 牛や馬をかって暮らしていました。

電気も水道もない森の中。右も左もわからない彼女 は、少しずつそこでの生活を覚えていきます。そして、ランチでの自分の役割を見つけます。それは得意の絵 と文章で、自然の中で生きる手引書をつくること。 そうしてできあがったのが『地球の上に生きる』です。

小さな森の手引書はたちまちベストセラーに。

ミュー ジシャンとしても活動しており、２０００年に地球

に生き るの音楽編Music from Living on Earth をリリース。

続編に　Living inHawail style がある。

＊Kathie & Keni Inoue (INOUE OHANA)

Keni 井上：７０年代より”南正人”、又バンド”久保 田真琴と夕焼け楽団”その後”サンディーアンドサン セッツ”のギタリストとして活動を開始。その後内外の著名なミュージシャンとのセッションを 経て、現在ソロ活動とバンド"INOUE OHANA"で活動中。

＊Kathie井上：９０年代より作詞作曲活動をして、

サン ディーや内田有紀などに楽曲提供。"Kathie & Keni Inoue"名 義で"Voyage to Paradise"を２００４年に発表。

現在はKeni 井上と日本やハワイのメンバー達と"INOUE OHANA"名義で最新アルバム"Island Blend"をハワイで制作発表。作詞作曲活動と共に"INOUE OHANA"のボーカル＆ウクレレ プレイヤーとして活動中。

http://inoueohana.com/

Artists bring message of harmony, spirit of earlier era to Tokyo event

Alicia Bay Laurel performs "Rinpoche", a song that she wrote for Tibetan Buddhist master Kyabje Dorje Chang Kalu Rinpoche, which includes an enlightenment mantra, at his request

This past Sunday, in a home that doubles as a café and event space overlooking the stunning vistas of the Hachioji Basin in western Tokyo, one might have thought they had traveled back in time.

Accompanied to the backdrop of a flashing multi-colored light show, artist and author Alicia Bay Laurel—whose 1970 best-seller “Living On the Earth” has inspired generations of hippies and permaculturists across the planet—strummed her acoustic guitar and told fascinating stories of her life as a traveling artist.

“Over and over again, I watched people come to Hawaii and heal their bodies and spirits simply by absorbing the energy from the sun and the ocean,” she said, speaking of Maui island, her home for some 25 years. Her stay there served as the inspiration for her second book, “Being of the Sun”—described by Amazon as a “cult classic among nature-worshippers to this day”.

Laurel has earned a devoted following in Japan, where she has traveled nearly every year since 2006 to play music, sign individual copies of her books and CDs in her trademark flowing script, and collaborate with numerous artists, musicians and designers. She illustrated a book for bestselling author Banana Yoshimoto in 2010, and her works have helped raise funds for environmental nonprofit Artist Power Bank, as well as its sister project Kurkku, a complex of environmentally sustainable businesses. Her designs also helped raise funds for survivors following the 2011 disaster in Tohoku.

This past Sunday’s event, held at the aptly named Holistic Earth Café, indeed featured a distinctly Beatnik vibe. Guests were invited to try on and purchase hemp-based clothing, and the lineup of kitchen offerings even included fresh hemp pasta. “I could easily imagine myself in northern California in the 1960s, but here we are in present-day Tokyo,” Laurel commented. “The popularity of Living On the Earth never diminished in Japan, in large part because of the absolutely phenomenal community of people here who are committed to the ideas represented in the book.”

Event attendee, who told Laurel that he and his wife utilized the advice from her book to home-birth all three of their children

Laurel was joined by actress-turned-environmentalist Ikue Masudo (who was also a featured speaker at Harukaze 2010, a peace and sustainability event held in Tokyo). Masudo left the metropolitan capital several years ago to build an organic café and event space along the gorgeous shores of the Boso peninsula in Chiba prefecture, later going on to the island of Ishigaki in Okinawa, where she is now in the midst of creating a retreat and healing center. “My hope is that more and more people will become connected with the natural world, which will have positive repercussions for society on the whole,” she said, sharing her own personal story of becoming deeply inspired to change her life after filming television documentaries that featured swimming with dolphins in Hawaii and aboriginal communities in Australia.

Ikue Masudo

Sunday’s event, while unmistakably holding a vision for a better world, was most certainly not exclusively idealistic. Kathie Inoue, vocalist and ukulele player for the Hawaiian/reggae band Inoue Ohana, utilized the time in-between the band’s upbeat set to urge attendees to take action by adding their voices to citizen movements to end nuclear power and advocate alternative energies—including a recent worldwide petition urging Japan not to restart its nuclear reactors.

“There are many tools, including social networking sites like Facebook, that we can use to share information with each other and encourage positive social change,” she said, also echoing Laurel and Masuda with her message of simple living.

Kathie and Keni Inoue performing a chilled-out acoustic version of their song "Touch the Sun"

Alicia Bay Laurel and the full Inoue Ohana band play Yokohama Thumbs Up on June 21^st, and Kunitachi Chikyuya on June 22^nd. Laurel’s complete Japan tour schedule may be found on her website. In addition, this article provides a lovely introduction to her work and her long-standing connection with Japan.

--Kimberly Hughes