“One Earth” by Ryotaro Leo Ikenaga
Throughout my travels, I have been blessed with opportunities to meet many inspiring people from around the globe.
While I keep most of these conversations close to my heart, there is one quote in particular that I was reminded of during my time in China, which I’d like to share.
“Music and performing arts have the power to make the walls between us become a little bit lower. While it may only be a really little difference, it is a very significant difference.”
China has always been a country that was close yet far for me. Growing up internationally, making friends and meeting people of Chinese descent was nothing out of the ordinary. Chinese people make up the majority of inbound tourists in Japan, and I’ve always been surrounded by things that were “Made in China.” But the country itself? It has always been a great unknown for me. So I wondered…
Will people come to our concert?
Will they like it?
Are we going to be able to do this?
As we wrapped up our first performance in Guangzhou, I remember thinking, “What was I worried about?”
The applause and cheers that we received were as big as we’ve ever received. The audience was ecstatic.
It’s those moments that I think to myself that perhaps what we do has some meaning in this world after all. Maybe just a little bit, but maybe just enough.
My sincerest gratitude to the wonderful people who made this tour happen, and to the amazing audiences in China.
Xiexie!
Kodo members watching the instruments getting packed up for transport back to Japan.
Schedule
- Jul 12 (Fri), 2019 – Jul 13 (Sat), 2019 Shanghai MISA Event Stage, Shanghai, China
- Jul 16 (Tue), 2019 – Jul 17 (Wed), 2019 Guangzhou Opera House, Guangzhou, China
- Jul 20 (Sat), 2019 – Jul 21 (Sun), 2019 Beijing Tianqiao Arts Center, Beijing, China
