Muneyuki Nakazawa’s tsunami violins,
each with a solitary pine tree painted on its back.
Image courtesy of Classic for Japan Foundation
Muneyuki Nakazawa’s tsunami violins,
each with a solitary pine tree painted on its back.
Image courtesy of Classic for Japan Foundation
If music is healing, then it follows that violins can also bring healing.
Master luthier Muneyuki Nakazawa has constructed two violins with the goal of bringing harmony and healing to a devastated Japanese community.
After the 8.9 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami in March of 2011, Nakazawa felt that he needed to do something for his community.
He visited the ruined shores of the city of Rikuzentakata, Japan, strewn with broken trees that had been ripped from the ground.
Nakazawa (right) at Rikuzentakata, with piles of wood broken by the tsunami.
Image courtesy of Classic for Japan Foundation
He couldn’t help but notice that a single miracle pine stood in the spot on the beach where nearly 70,000 pine trees had been rooted before the disaster.
solitary pine tree
Image by Takata Matsubara
He had his “Oh, I see” moment: he would build violins from the splintered wood. Nakazawa worked with several local experts to choose and collect wood from the piles of rubble. Then he took the wood back to his shop where, over the next several months, he crafted the pieces into violins.
On the back of each, he painted the miracle pine, as a symbol of hope and continued life.
Muneyuki Nakazawa carves a tsunami violin.
Image courtesy of Classic for Japan Foundation
But Nakazawa’s idea didn’t stop there.
Inspired by the Japanese tradition of folding 1,000 paper cranes to fulfill a wish, Nakazawa’s dream was to have the violins played by 1,000 people around the world. Taizo Oba worked with him to launch the project, named “The Bond Made of 1,000 Tones.”
In an interview with Yoree Koh of Wall Street Journal’s blog Japan Real Time, Nakazawa explains,
This isn’t a violin meant to play big concertos in a large concert hall. That should be left to other violins. I wanted to make a tender sounding violin that consoles people. This is a violin for the people in the disaster zones, for people who have grieved over lost loved ones and for the souls of those who died from this tragedy.
The project encourages anyone who wishes to play one of the instruments, young or old, experienced or amateur, to apply.
Exactly one year after the devastating storm, on March 11, 2012, Israeli violinist Ivry Gitlis debuted the first violin at a benefit concert in Rikuzentakata. An audience member recorded the moment.
If the video does not display, watch it here.
Gitlis put the music he played in the violin case and handed it along to the next artist. Each person who plays is encouraged to add to the notes in the case.
Kimiko Nakazawa
Image courtesy of Classic for Japan Foundation
Since then, the two violins have been featured around the world in the hands of artists from many cultures who support the effort of healing the community.
Gérard Poulet
Image by Minoru Watanabe
At the end of October, the violins were played inside the world’s first inflatable concert hall, a purple balloon-like structure called Ark Nova, in the hard-struck city of Matsushima, Japan. This partnership of violins and concert hall can travel to many of the other areas struck by the 2011 storm and help give the people a respite from the rebuilding that is still happening around them.
Nakazawa shared with The Japan Times,“The rebirth of (driftwood into) the two small violins can continue conveying what happened on March 11 beyond this generation.” He imagines that it will take years to fulfill his dream of 1,000 tones.
Violins built of broken wood, played by cross-cultural artists around the globe, are bringing a harmony of hope that is sure to continue for decades.
Comment on this post below, or inspire insight with your own OIC Moment here.
{"id":14678,"date":"2013-11-18T03:00:40","date_gmt":"2013-11-18T11:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ohisee.genweb.site\/blog\/?p=14678"},"modified":"2021-07-26T11:07:22","modified_gmt":"2021-07-26T18:07:22","slug":"the-harmony-of-hope-tsunami-violins","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/the-harmony-of-hope-tsunami-violins\/","title":{"rendered":"The Harmony of Hope: Tsunami Violins"},"content":{"rendered":"![\"Tsunami](\"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/tsunami-violins.png\")
Muneyuki Nakazawa’s tsunami violins, If music is healing, then it follows that violins<\/em> can also bring healing.<\/p>\n Master luthier\u00a0Muneyuki Nakazawa has constructed two violins with the goal of bringing harmony and healing to a devastated Japanese community.<\/p>\n After the 8.9 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami in March of 2011, Nakazawa felt that he needed to do something for his community.<\/p>\n He visited the ruined shores of the city of Rikuzentakata, Japan, strewn with broken trees that had been ripped from the ground.<\/p>\n Nakazawa (right) at Rikuzentakata, with piles of wood broken by the tsunami. He couldn’t help but notice that a single miracle pine stood in the spot on the beach where nearly 70,000 pine trees had been rooted before the disaster.<\/p>\n solitary pine tree He had his “Oh, I see” moment<\/strong>: he would build violins from the splintered wood. Nakazawa worked with\u00a0several local experts to choose and collect wood from the piles of rubble. Then he\u00a0took the wood back to his shop where, over the next several months, he crafted the pieces into violins.<\/p>\n On the back of each, he painted the miracle pine, as a symbol of hope and continued life.<\/p>\n Muneyuki Nakazawa carves a tsunami violin. But Nakazawa’s idea didn’t stop there.<\/p>\n Inspired by the Japanese tradition of folding 1,000 paper cranes to fulfill a wish, Nakazawa’s dream was to have the violins played by 1,000 people around the world. Taizo Oba worked with him to launch the project, named “The Bond Made of 1,000 Tones.”<\/p>\n In an interview with Yoree Koh of\u00a0Wall Street Journal’<\/em>s blog\u00a0Japan Real Time<\/a>, Nakazawa explains,<\/p>\n This isn\u2019t a violin meant to play big concertos in a large concert hall. That should be left to other violins.\u00a0I wanted to make a tender sounding violin that consoles people. This is a violin for the people in the disaster zones, for people who have grieved over lost loved ones and for the souls of those who died from this tragedy.<\/em><\/p>\n The project encourages anyone who wishes to play one of the instruments, young or old, experienced or amateur, to apply<\/a>.<\/p>\n Exactly one year after the devastating storm, on March 11, 2012, Israeli violinist Ivry Gitlis debuted the first violin at a benefit concert in Rikuzentakata. An audience member recorded the moment.<\/p>\n
each with a solitary pine tree painted on its back.
Image courtesy of Classic for Japan<\/span><\/a><\/span> Foundation<\/p><\/div>\nHealing with Cross-Cultural Contributions<\/h2>\n
Moving from Disaster<\/h4>\n
![\"Nakazawa](\"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Nakazawa-rt-and-Shimada-left-at-Rikuzentakata.png\")
Image courtesy of Classic for Japan Foundation<\/p><\/div>\n![\"Solitary](\"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Takata-Matsubara-solitary-pine-tree.png\")
Image by Takata Matsubara<\/p><\/div>\n![\"Muneyuki](\"https:\/\/www.oh-i-see.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/11\/Nakazawa.png\")
Image courtesy of Classic for Japan Foundation<\/p><\/div>\nContinuing the Plan<\/h4>\n
The Tour<\/h4>\n