Bonfire Festival

On December 6th, a bonfire ceremony was held to commemorate the Japanese literary scholar and poet Seika Tatsumi.

Ms. Seika Tatsumi, who passed away in Hino City in 1973, also wrote the lyrics for the school song of a Hino City elementary school.

Unfortunately, she did not write the lyrics for my alma mater. However, whenever I hear the school songs she wrote at events like entrance ceremonies, I feel they capture the sparkling hearts of the children, and their singing voices convey a sense of a bright future. 🕊️💫

I had a long talk with Ms. Naoko Inamura, known as the Singing Sister.

When looking back on life, children’s songs are what every Japanese person nostalgically hums.

I don’t know how much exposure today’s children have to children’s songs, but I imagine it’s quite different from my childhood.

I hope to create more opportunities for today’s children to listen to children’s songs, and to have Japanese songs—the ones we hum when we long for our hometowns—accompany each person’s life and heart.