China Daily, January 30 (Reporter Zhang Qiong) At the beginning of the new year, the song "Long Tune" jointly created by Japanese friend Sadao Kawakami, Chinese composer Li Hong, and Chinese singer Ao Du was released online and attracted widespread attention. According to media reports, this is the moment when three artists paid tribute to the 50th anniversary of the normalization of diplomatic relations between China and Japan with a long Inner Mongolian tune.
Sadao Kawakami, 76, who lives in Hiroshima, Japan, told reporters in a written interview that he was first exposed to traditional long-tuned folk songs in Inner Mongolia through television. "Because of the popularity of sumo wrestling in Japan, there are many Mongolian wrestlers, so Japanese television often broadcasts special programs with Mongolian style," he explains.
The long tune, as an ancient form of Mongolian folk song, dates back to the seventh century. The lyrics usually convey the Mongolian people's perception of history, culture, aesthetics, morality and philosophy, and the melody is beautiful and soothing, the tone is high-pitched, and the range is wide, and it has been listed by UNESCO as a "masterpiece of the oral and intangible heritage of mankind".
Reveling in the melody of the long tune, Sadao Kawakami claimed to have feelings and composed the lyrics of this song praising the long tune, and invited Li Hong, a native musician in Inner Mongolia, to compose music for him. The two met through an online chat group for music lovers.
Li Hong was amazed when she read the lyrics, calling them "a good word and sentence with magnificent momentum and lyrical eternity". Although the two have never met, their empathy for art is not limited by national borders.
"His understanding of grassland folk art is profound, which makes me, a musician born in Inner Mongolia, moved by it, and I am full of infinite attachment to the grasslands of my hometown, and when I encounter such a good word, I naturally have the impulse to create," Li Hong said. She then used strong Mongolian musical elements to compose this "Long Tune" tune. After being sung by Ao Du, a member of the Chinese Musicians Association, the song was released online in early January.
Sadao Kawakami, who is fluent in Chinese, is an old friend of China. Since 1988, he has been based in China for 30 years, working in Management of Japanese-funded enterprises, during which time he has witnessed the earth-shaking changes in China, while also maintaining a strong interest in China's history and culture. He said in the interview: "We often say that China and Japan are neighbors with water and water. Both official and non-governmental organizations should cherish this hard-won friendly relationship. ”
In the 1980s, Sadao Kawakami worked at the Hiroshima Branch of the Japan-China Friendship Association and organized many exchange visits to Japan by Chongqing Song and Dance Troupe, Acrobatic Troupe, and Calligraphers and Painters. He believes that it was these activities that led to the conclusion of Hiroshima and Chongqing as sister cities in 1986. In his eyes, wuxi, a famous industrial and commercial city in Jiangsu Province, has done a very good job in promoting Sino-Japanese friendship, including the organization of sino-Japanese calligraphy and painting exhibitions and cherry blossom viewing parties. "I think art exchange has to be done by someone, and as long as it is done, it may have results."
A collection of lyrics written by Sadao Kawakami after his retirement, "Wuxi Chapter", was recently launched on the online platform Amazon, depicting Wuxi's scenic spots, humanities, folklore and monuments. During his 23 years of settling in Wuxi, he claimed to have almost regarded himself as a "Wuxi man". In the preface to the book, he wrote: "The lyrics are highly colloquial and concise and easy to remember, and I would like to make some contributions to the friendly exchanges between the Chinese and Japanese peoples in this form of 'appreciation of elegance and customs'." ”
In addition to "Long Tune", Sadao Kawakami also cooperated with well-known Chinese composers Zhang Zhishen and Yang Hong to make songs from the lyrics collection such as "Wuxi Farewell", "Wuxi Muqing", "Masquerade World" and so on. He highlighted that the three Chinese composers he currently works with are composing his lyrics without expecting anything in return. "They also have no complaints or regrets in promoting Sino-Japanese friendship," Kawakami commented.
Sadao Kawakami also revealed that the lyrics of "Wuxi Farewell" have been translated into Japanese and will be introduced to Hiroshima's music team. He is full of expectations for promoting Chinese culture in Japan through the form of popular songs: "If you can achieve the effect of 'Wuxi Travel' (a classic song that is well known to the Japanese people), it will be better, and if the level is not enough, it can also play a role in promoting friendly exchanges between the two countries within a certain range." ”
Xu Ruilan, former head of the Culture and Art Club of the Wuxi Association of Enterprises with Foreign Investment, commented that Sadao Kawakami's work shows a foreigner's local story of perceiving and experiencing China from a nuanced perspective and different cultural environments.
In 2019, Sadao Kawakami (right) poses with Wuxi writer Zhang Songxuan. (Courtesy of Sadao Kawakami)
Inner Mongolia composer Li Hong. I provide the picture
Chinese singer Ao Du. I provide the picture