東日本大震災12年、被災者100人で創るミュージカルを石巻圏で！

Backstage Vol.42でもご紹介いたしました、「１００通りミュージカル×ヤイリギター」ですが、ヤイリギター（別名 K.Yairi ）は国内がで非常に人気が高く、

日本では、桑田佳祐さんやB’ｚの松本孝弘さん、海外では、ポール・マッカートニーさんやエリック・クラプトンさんなど数々のアーティストの方々が愛用されています。

 

風の便りに聞くと、私たちが投稿したヤイリギター(Backstage Vol.42）編が海外からも注目されているらしく（！！）、原稿の著者「寺本ららら」さんが、特別に英語バージョンを書き下ろしてくださいましたので、海外の方向けにこちらをご紹介いたします(.  .)  

 

 

 

 

On the 29th of April 2014, our family headed to Kani in Gifu prefecture to attend a memorial party after Mr Kazuo Yairi, President of Yairi Guitar, passed away. Yairi is a made-to-order guitar shop. My father has known them for more than 30 years. All guitars are handcrafted. Loved and trusted by the most prominent musicians worldwide, on a waiting list of two long years!

 

 

Upon request from my father, they crafted guitars from a pine tree washed away on 3.11 from the coastline of Higashimatsushima, Miyagi, which would never have been possible without Mr Yairi's courageous decision.

It was a horrific series of impossible and unthinkable challenges.

Let alone the catastrophic tsunami that overtook the tree, the pine log was too damp and way too thin.

 Dismissed, you'd expect! Nonetheless, my father asked, "Can you please make guitars from this? " He knew that no one else but Mr Yairi would have an idea, and indeed he did. Mr Yairi accepted the request, recognising the challenges to come as he also saw his passion in our stage musical's aim to "express gratitude towards support received from all over Japan and around the world."

Master Craftsman at Yairi Guitar, Mr Kenji Koike, or 'Kensan', took on the challenge.

The creation process caught a lot of attention internationally, and I watched it on Facebook, messaging with Kensan.

 

NHK WORLD, the international broadcast of NHK, covered my father travelling to the workshop to pick up the guitars and the actual stage musical for audiences around the world.

 

 

In the summer of 2012, soon after the stage performance, we visited Yairi Guitar to express our gratitude for their incredible work.

Though my father had told me about Mr Yairi and Kensan, it was the first opportunity I finally got to meet them in person. It was great to pay my first visit to the guitar workshop.

Kensan told me that Mr Yairi recruited him when he was a student at a woodworking technical school.

Tools, guitars, and timber yet to be turned into guitars were loaded on many benches facing the walls. Some other unrecognisable stuff was hanging from the walls, about which I had absolutely no idea. The place smelt of wood and echoed with the sound of guitar-crafting. It was just like Geppetto the Dollmaker's workshop in "Pinocchio".

 

 

I shook hands with Kensan. Knowing that the master craftsman in front of me had made the guitars, I couldn't contain my excitement.

"Kensan, I can't thank you enough! Um, just a modest handshake would never help express my gratitude which is about to explode. Do you mind if I give you an Aussie hug instead?" I asked, and he simply said "sure," So, I put breaks on my wheelchair and jumped up to give him a hug I had so proudly grown accustomed to in Australia as an overseas student.

Then he mumbled, "Right, I got a hug…...."

I asked him.

"Kensan, what did you think when you first saw the soggy log in that awful condition."

In one single word, he replied. "Puzzled."

"When I saw the log for the first time, I have to say I was on an enormous challenge. In the past, Mr Teramoto had requested me to make guitars out of wooden tubs. We were grateful that they made quite a big hit, but with that pine log, I was like, What?! With this?! Your father was wondering if I could manage the guitars in time for the show. He also mentioned he didn't mind sacrificing the sound quality of the guitars. As a craftsman though, I couldn't possibly have let that happen."

"You've got to make good guitars. I put all the other jobs aside and pressed the materials under heat, as the first thing in the morning every day, to speed-dry the wet timber. I knew it wouldn't mean a thing if I settled for part of the bridges and didn't use this one as the soundboard- the 'face' of any guitar that defines the sound."

"The guitars were for musicals made from the hopes and prayers of 100 people, and I was the only person crafting these. Well, I must admit I was nervous and worried." He added, "It was moving to play the guitars for the first time. They made a nice, crisp sound", smiling all over.

His words truly convinced me that faithful creations would only come from a faithful man.

An incredible number of people gathered to make a crowd at the president's memorial party. Six venues were full of visitors to bid him a warm final farewell. A refined dining hall, photo exhibition space, and guitar exhibition. One venue had concerts going on all day. Okinawan singers BEGIN were on stage. The audience was having fun, singing "IYA-SA-SA!" to the iconic Okinawan tune. My father had told me that Mr Yairi was quite a party lover.

I hadn't seen Kensan for a while until that day. I gave him another hug.

He replied, "I'm fairly used to it now."

 

 

Now we are grateful for the immeasurable support from Kensan once again for our show "100 Ways of Thank You on the 13th Anniversary". It will be performed on the 4th of March, 2023.

A sailing ship once embarked on a long journey from Ishinomaki to Spain. A bold mission headed by Tsunenaga Hasekura, following the order from feudal lord Masamune Date of the Sendai clan.

 

 

The sailing ship is San Juan Bautista, the icon of the Keicho Embassy. After the demolition of a superb replica showcased at the San Juan Museum of Miyagi, Kensan is working tirelessly to create brand-new guitars from its old timber. Now San Jan Bautista is on her way from Kani, Gifu prefecture to the coastline of Miyagi. Stay tuned for her debut on stage!