Five Pieces on Yoshie Hikage’s Poems: Fukushima Refugees/No More!/For the Wild Chrysanthemum/For the Adonis/Missing You Husband

Five Pieces on Yoshie Hikage’s Poems In 2012 and early 2013 Hyo-shin Na wrote music for five of the 19 poems included in Yoshie Hikage’s collection “For the Pink Dianthus” (written after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan). These five short pieces for koto solo were commissioned by Shoko Hikage. The translation from the Japanese is by Brenda Wong Aoki. (Hyo-shin Na)

1. Fukushima Refugees;
Little Fukushima refugees worry: Grandma, can we play outside? Grandma, is it safe outside? Grandma, we are afraid outside…

2. No More!
; Still in diapers, tiny twin boys raise their fists: Earthquake!
Tsunami!
Radiation!
NO MORE!

3. For the Wild Chrysanthemum; Over the hill of wild chrysanthemums, Red dragon dragonflies high in the sky
Where are you going?

4. For the Adonis; Sharing you with the Sun Happiness pours over me How lovely! 5. Missing You, Husband; Your voice…
So deep and rich
Still rumbles in my heart