Interest

Hiroshima Ballad Based on Poem Written by Author of Barefoot Gen

Katsuhiko Yamamoto, known for his work writing songs for AKB48 and singer JUJU, has put together a team to compose a song based on an original poem by the author of the manga Barefoot Gen, Keiji Nakazawa. The poem, which was written in memory to the suffering and deaths of countless civilians at Hiroshima in World War II, was a request from a friend of Nakagawa. The poem is titled "Hiroshima, Ai no Kawa," and was originally meant to be a song, but struggled finding a songwriter until Yamamoto picked up the project.

Nakazawa's critically acclaimed manga Barefoot Gen began publication in Japan's Weekly Shonen Jump in 1973. Since then, it has been translated into a total of 20 different languages and sold over 6.5 million copies worldwide. Tokiko Kato, the popular singer asked by Yamamoto to perform the song said that she felt the need to reread Barefoot Gen to better understand Nakazawa and his feelings on Hiroshima.

Nakazawa, who himself was a survivor of the atomic bomb strike on Hiroshima, passed away in 2012 at the age of 73. Though he could not see the completion of the song himself, his widow Misayo Nakazawa was in the studio at the time of the recording. She commented saying that Kato, "sings as if she relishes every single phrase he wrote, and echoes all that my husband wanted to convey."

The album containing "Hiroshima, Ai no Kawa" will be released on an album by Universal Music Japan on June 25. Kato, who will be performing at the Bunkamura Orchard Hall on July 12 and in Hiroshima on July 27, will also be performing the song at both concerts.

[Via: The Asahi Shinbun.]