Sakura – The Symbol of Japan's Soft Power
CHINO Keiko / Journalist
May 17, 2016
In Jakarta, there is a unique drama group that stages Japanese-language musicals performed by non-Japanese actors. This is "en Juku," launched in 2009 by university students studying Japanese. Their original chorus "Sakura yo – To Our Beloved Japan" has become their signature piece, and is now widely sung in Indonesia and Japan.
"Sakura yo" was created soon after the Great East Japan Earthquake in May 2011. The lyrics were written by Sugako Kaikiri, who coaches the group, while student member Nurfadri Pratama composed the score. As our beloved Japan grapples with various hardships, what we can do as Indonesian students is to raise Japan's spirits, and we will do so by sending the lively energy of our country to Japan – that was the idea.
Based on this shared wish, three songs were created. First came the song "Sakura yo," which was followed the next year by "Let’s Meet Again in that Town," and "To All that Fades Away" in 2013, which were all compiled into a CD.
"Japan is always in our hearts" was the message included in the CD.
I first heard the song in April 2014, at the founding ceremony for the Asia Center of the Japan Foundation. The Center was set up to spearhead the "WA Project – Toward Interactive Asia through Fusion and Harmony," a new cultural exchange policy for Asia centered on ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) announced by the Japanese government at the ASEAN-Japan Commemorative Summit Meeting in December 2013.
Midway into the ceremony the "Sakura yo" chorus began, and a sudden hush came over the buzzing crowd.
The song contemplates the workings of man and nature, how precious the cherry blossoms are to us, how transient and graceful, how lonely its loss makes us feel and how sad it is to let go. The lyrics that follow remind us that even so, spring will return, a year from now and into the future. The finale is a refrain of "let the cherry blossoms bloom in their full glory, let Japan bloom, let me bloom, let the sakura bloom..."
That night in April with the cherry blossoms in full bloom, all present were united in the moment, as young Indonesians – appearing somewhat bashful at the enthusiastic applause – shared the warm atmosphere with attendees who seemed overwhelmed by their emotions.
I was especially impressed by the power of "sakura." The cherry blossom is Japan's national flower and is like an alter ego for the Japanese people. Yet, foreigners also love this flower and have expressed their feelings and support for Japan through the image of sakura.
I learned that upon its first performance at the Japanese school in Jakarta, as many as five hundred Indonesian students joined in the chorus.
In the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake, Japan received generous monetary support from the world and became the largest recipient of aid that year. Yet, we should also pay closer attention to the importance of mental support such as this song, which cannot be measured in numbers.
Such mental support can be rephrased as soft power, a concept advanced by Joseph Nye, a scholar of international politics, in the late 1980s. Soft power as the term is widely used today is often contrasted with hard power – military or economic power, and cultural power is the prime example.
Unlike the hard power of coercion or financial muscle, it signifies the power to influence others through sympathy and support.
Apart from songs, soft power comes in diverse forms such as drama, literature, film, manga and fashion. Broadly defined, it also includes such things as democracy, cultural traditions and festivals. Soft power began to attract attention in recent years because hard power alone is not enough to solve the many problems that have erupted around the world since the 9-11 simultaneous terrorist attacks in the United States in 2001, such as ethnic and religious conflicts, failed states and the growing number of refugees.
In 2010, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry launched the "Cool Japan" policy to harness Japan's cultural power. In fact, the US magazine Foreign Policy was the first to recognize Japan's soft power as early as 2002 (in its May and June issues), taking note of the quiet rise of its cultural impact by stating that "Japan has far greater cultural influence now than it did in the 1980s, when it was an economic superpower."
Outside perspectives often shed light on potential strengths that the Japanese themselves have yet to notice.
In April this year, en Juku gave its third performance in Japan, in Hiroshima and Tokyo. According to its young members, "en" means "bond," and their aim is to attain "enjuku" – maturity. I hope "Sakura yo" will spread even further across the globe as a symbol of the bond that binds Japan and Indonesia together.
(The witer is Guest Columnist of the Sankei Shimbun newspaper. This is a revised edition of the article "Offering Support through the Sakura – From Indonesia" that originally appeared in the April 2016 issue of monthly magazine "Tokyo Shobo (Tokyo Fire Defense).")
"Sakura yo" was created soon after the Great East Japan Earthquake in May 2011. The lyrics were written by Sugako Kaikiri, who coaches the group, while student member Nurfadri Pratama composed the score. As our beloved Japan grapples with various hardships, what we can do as Indonesian students is to raise Japan's spirits, and we will do so by sending the lively energy of our country to Japan – that was the idea.
Based on this shared wish, three songs were created. First came the song "Sakura yo," which was followed the next year by "Let’s Meet Again in that Town," and "To All that Fades Away" in 2013, which were all compiled into a CD.
"Japan is always in our hearts" was the message included in the CD.
I first heard the song in April 2014, at the founding ceremony for the Asia Center of the Japan Foundation. The Center was set up to spearhead the "WA Project – Toward Interactive Asia through Fusion and Harmony," a new cultural exchange policy for Asia centered on ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) announced by the Japanese government at the ASEAN-Japan Commemorative Summit Meeting in December 2013.
Midway into the ceremony the "Sakura yo" chorus began, and a sudden hush came over the buzzing crowd.
The song contemplates the workings of man and nature, how precious the cherry blossoms are to us, how transient and graceful, how lonely its loss makes us feel and how sad it is to let go. The lyrics that follow remind us that even so, spring will return, a year from now and into the future. The finale is a refrain of "let the cherry blossoms bloom in their full glory, let Japan bloom, let me bloom, let the sakura bloom..."
That night in April with the cherry blossoms in full bloom, all present were united in the moment, as young Indonesians – appearing somewhat bashful at the enthusiastic applause – shared the warm atmosphere with attendees who seemed overwhelmed by their emotions.
I was especially impressed by the power of "sakura." The cherry blossom is Japan's national flower and is like an alter ego for the Japanese people. Yet, foreigners also love this flower and have expressed their feelings and support for Japan through the image of sakura.
I learned that upon its first performance at the Japanese school in Jakarta, as many as five hundred Indonesian students joined in the chorus.
In the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake, Japan received generous monetary support from the world and became the largest recipient of aid that year. Yet, we should also pay closer attention to the importance of mental support such as this song, which cannot be measured in numbers.
Such mental support can be rephrased as soft power, a concept advanced by Joseph Nye, a scholar of international politics, in the late 1980s. Soft power as the term is widely used today is often contrasted with hard power – military or economic power, and cultural power is the prime example.
Unlike the hard power of coercion or financial muscle, it signifies the power to influence others through sympathy and support.
Apart from songs, soft power comes in diverse forms such as drama, literature, film, manga and fashion. Broadly defined, it also includes such things as democracy, cultural traditions and festivals. Soft power began to attract attention in recent years because hard power alone is not enough to solve the many problems that have erupted around the world since the 9-11 simultaneous terrorist attacks in the United States in 2001, such as ethnic and religious conflicts, failed states and the growing number of refugees.
In 2010, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry launched the "Cool Japan" policy to harness Japan's cultural power. In fact, the US magazine Foreign Policy was the first to recognize Japan's soft power as early as 2002 (in its May and June issues), taking note of the quiet rise of its cultural impact by stating that "Japan has far greater cultural influence now than it did in the 1980s, when it was an economic superpower."
Outside perspectives often shed light on potential strengths that the Japanese themselves have yet to notice.
In April this year, en Juku gave its third performance in Japan, in Hiroshima and Tokyo. According to its young members, "en" means "bond," and their aim is to attain "enjuku" – maturity. I hope "Sakura yo" will spread even further across the globe as a symbol of the bond that binds Japan and Indonesia together.
(The witer is Guest Columnist of the Sankei Shimbun newspaper. This is a revised edition of the article "Offering Support through the Sakura – From Indonesia" that originally appeared in the April 2016 issue of monthly magazine "Tokyo Shobo (Tokyo Fire Defense).")
The English-Speaking Union of Japan
桜というソフト・パワー
千野 境子 / ジャーナリスト
2016年 5月 17日
世界でも珍しい外国人による日本語ミュージカル劇団がジャカルタにある。２００９年、日本語を学ぶ大学生らが立ち上げたen塾だ。彼らの唄うオリジナル合唱曲「桜よ～大好きな日本へ～」は、今や代表曲としてインドネシアと日本で広く愛唱されている。
「桜よ～」は東日本大震災からあまり日の経たない２０１１年５月、塾を指導する甲斐切清子さん作詞、塾生ヌルファドリ・プラタマさん作曲により誕生した。大好きな日本が様々な困難に立ち向かっている時、自分たちインドネシアの学生に出来ることは日本に元気になってもらうこと。そのためにはこの国の明るさを日本へ届けよう！
それを合言葉に、最初に「桜よ～」が、翌年には「あの街でまた会おう」が、そして２０１３年には「消えゆくものへ」の計３曲が生まれ、１枚のＣＤに結実した。
「日本はいつも私たちの心の中にあります」とはＣＤに収められたメッセージだ。
私がこの歌を初めて聴いたのは２０１４年４月、独立行政法人国際交流基金「アジアセンター」発足式の時だった。同センターは前年１２月に東京で開かれた日・ＡＳＥＡＮ（東南アジア諸国連合）特別首脳会議で、日本政府が発表したＡＳＥＡＮを中心とするアジアとの新しい文化交流政策「文化のＷＡ（和・環・輪）プロジェクト～知り合うアジア～」を行うための部署である。
式も半ば、コーラス「桜よ～」が始まると、それまでざわめいていた会場は一転、水を打ったように静まり返った。
桜の愛おしさ、はかなさ、やさしさ、さらには失う寂しさ、あきらめる悲しさなど自然と人間の営みに思いを馳せ、それでも春は来る、来年も、その先も…と歌詞は続き、フィナーレは、桜よ 咲き誇れ、日本よ 咲き誇れ 私よ 咲き誇れ…と桜よ咲き誇れがリフレーンされた。
折しも桜咲く４月の一夜、大きな拍手に少し恥ずかし気なインドネシアからの若者たちと、感無量の面持ちの出席者たちとが和気藹々、会場を一つにした瞬間だった。
私が特に感じたのは「桜」の力だ。国花であり、日本人にとって分身みたいな桜を外国の人々も愛し、かつ桜に託してこんなにも日本を思い、励ましてくれるー。
ジャカルタ日本人学校でのお披露目では、何とインドネシアの学生５００人が大合唱をしたそうだ。
東日本大震災による世界からの多大な支援で、日本はその年の世界最大の被援助国になった。しかし数字では測れない、このような歌を通じた心の支援の大切さについても、もっと留意したい。
心の支援はソフト・パワーと言い換えてもよい。１９８０年代末に国際政治学者、ジョセフ・ナイが提唱し、今日広く使われているソフト・パワーは、ハード・パワー（軍事力や経済力）としばしば対比されるが、文化力はその代表である。
ハード・パワーのように強制力や財力などではなく、共感や賛同などによって影響を与える力を意味する。
歌以外にも、ソフト・パワーは演劇、文学、映画、マンガ、ファッションなど様々で、民主主義や伝統・祭事なども広い意味では含まれる。近年その力が注目されるようになった背景には、２００１年９月１１日の米同時多発テロ以降、民族や宗教対立、破綻国家や難民の増大などハード・パワーだけでは対処出来ない問題が世界中で噴出していることがある。
経済産業省が文化力の活用に「クール・ジャパン」政策を始めたのは２０１０年。しかし実は２００２年には、米誌フォーリン・ポリシーが日本のソフト・パワーをいち早く評価し、《日本は１９８０年代に経済的超大国だった時よりも、もっと文化的超大国のようだ》（同年５・６月号）と、日本の文化的影響力の静かなる増大に着目していた。
日本人がまだ気づいていない自らの可能性に、外からの視点はしばしば光を当ててくれる。
去る４月、en塾は３回目の日本公演を広島と東京で行った。enとは縁であり、円熟を目指すという若者たち。日本とインドネシアを結ぶ絆の象徴として「桜よ」がさらに世界にも広がってほしいものだ 。
(筆者は産経新聞客員論説委員。本稿は月刊『東京消防』２０１６年４月号掲載の「桜に託す支援―インドネシアから」に加筆・修正したものである。）
「桜よ～」は東日本大震災からあまり日の経たない２０１１年５月、塾を指導する甲斐切清子さん作詞、塾生ヌルファドリ・プラタマさん作曲により誕生した。大好きな日本が様々な困難に立ち向かっている時、自分たちインドネシアの学生に出来ることは日本に元気になってもらうこと。そのためにはこの国の明るさを日本へ届けよう！
それを合言葉に、最初に「桜よ～」が、翌年には「あの街でまた会おう」が、そして２０１３年には「消えゆくものへ」の計３曲が生まれ、１枚のＣＤに結実した。
「日本はいつも私たちの心の中にあります」とはＣＤに収められたメッセージだ。
私がこの歌を初めて聴いたのは２０１４年４月、独立行政法人国際交流基金「アジアセンター」発足式の時だった。同センターは前年１２月に東京で開かれた日・ＡＳＥＡＮ（東南アジア諸国連合）特別首脳会議で、日本政府が発表したＡＳＥＡＮを中心とするアジアとの新しい文化交流政策「文化のＷＡ（和・環・輪）プロジェクト～知り合うアジア～」を行うための部署である。
式も半ば、コーラス「桜よ～」が始まると、それまでざわめいていた会場は一転、水を打ったように静まり返った。
桜の愛おしさ、はかなさ、やさしさ、さらには失う寂しさ、あきらめる悲しさなど自然と人間の営みに思いを馳せ、それでも春は来る、来年も、その先も…と歌詞は続き、フィナーレは、桜よ 咲き誇れ、日本よ 咲き誇れ 私よ 咲き誇れ…と桜よ咲き誇れがリフレーンされた。
折しも桜咲く４月の一夜、大きな拍手に少し恥ずかし気なインドネシアからの若者たちと、感無量の面持ちの出席者たちとが和気藹々、会場を一つにした瞬間だった。
私が特に感じたのは「桜」の力だ。国花であり、日本人にとって分身みたいな桜を外国の人々も愛し、かつ桜に託してこんなにも日本を思い、励ましてくれるー。
ジャカルタ日本人学校でのお披露目では、何とインドネシアの学生５００人が大合唱をしたそうだ。
東日本大震災による世界からの多大な支援で、日本はその年の世界最大の被援助国になった。しかし数字では測れない、このような歌を通じた心の支援の大切さについても、もっと留意したい。
心の支援はソフト・パワーと言い換えてもよい。１９８０年代末に国際政治学者、ジョセフ・ナイが提唱し、今日広く使われているソフト・パワーは、ハード・パワー（軍事力や経済力）としばしば対比されるが、文化力はその代表である。
ハード・パワーのように強制力や財力などではなく、共感や賛同などによって影響を与える力を意味する。
歌以外にも、ソフト・パワーは演劇、文学、映画、マンガ、ファッションなど様々で、民主主義や伝統・祭事なども広い意味では含まれる。近年その力が注目されるようになった背景には、２００１年９月１１日の米同時多発テロ以降、民族や宗教対立、破綻国家や難民の増大などハード・パワーだけでは対処出来ない問題が世界中で噴出していることがある。
経済産業省が文化力の活用に「クール・ジャパン」政策を始めたのは２０１０年。しかし実は２００２年には、米誌フォーリン・ポリシーが日本のソフト・パワーをいち早く評価し、《日本は１９８０年代に経済的超大国だった時よりも、もっと文化的超大国のようだ》（同年５・６月号）と、日本の文化的影響力の静かなる増大に着目していた。
日本人がまだ気づいていない自らの可能性に、外からの視点はしばしば光を当ててくれる。
去る４月、en塾は３回目の日本公演を広島と東京で行った。enとは縁であり、円熟を目指すという若者たち。日本とインドネシアを結ぶ絆の象徴として「桜よ」がさらに世界にも広がってほしいものだ 。
(筆者は産経新聞客員論説委員。本稿は月刊『東京消防』２０１６年４月号掲載の「桜に託す支援―インドネシアから」に加筆・修正したものである。）
一般社団法人 日本英語交流連盟