Hoping My Poem-Song Would Be
A Bridge for Korea-Japan
Poet Sunshine Lee, Successor of the Tanka Tradition
Attending the NHK Radio Music Festival
Poem-songs written by Sunshine Lee, a poet and successor of the Japanese fixed-form poetry tanka, are once again performed in Japan which she hopes will help foster Korea-Japan friendship. Sunshine Lee says 'Just like last year, I will attend the NHK Radio Song Festival in Akita City on September 25 where I will give a speech. And my poem 'Flower Stamp' will be performed to a melody composed by a Japanese composer. I hope this contributes to cultural diplomacy through literature and music amid the tense Korea-Japan relations' Following in the footsteps of her mother, Poet Son Hoyun 1923-2003 Sunshine Lee continues the tradition of composing Tanka Poem. The Tanka which is believed to have been brought to Japan by Baekje people, has vanished in Korea but has established itself as a national tradition in Japan. Son Hoyun is renowned in Japan as a master of tanka Poem. In March 2011 of the Great East Japan Earthquake, She wrote 250 tanka under the title 'How can there only be spring days when flowers bloom in life?' which was later published in Japanese and caused a strong reaction in Japan. This experience led her to study classical literature at Kyoto’s Doshisha University. The song 'Flower Stamp' is the result of her ongoing Korea-Japan cultural exchange efforts. At a book launch event in Tokyo, renowned journalist and vocalist Akira Hashimoto deeply moved by Lee's poetry, asked Dr. Yuichi Kudo, president of the National Radio Song Association to compose the piece. Akira Hashimoto who was a classmate of Emperor Akihito and is highly respected in Japan as 'Gogaku-yu' will explain the background of how Lee's poem was set to music in Japan. He will perform 'Flower Stamp' with an orchestra and choir while Poet Lee watches the performance from the stage after giving her speech. Lee expressed 'I am delighted that my poem-song will be performed for the second consecutive year at the traditional NHK Radio Song Festival which introduces famous Japanese songs. This song embodies the spirit of Korea-Japan friendship. I hope it honors my mother who sang for love and peace through a single line of poetry all her life and serves as an opportunity for literature and music to connect the hearts of the two nations'
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