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Choir presents performance in Hiroshima about Nanking Massacre

by Toshiko Bajo, Staff Writer

A choir named "Egans," a group of amateur singers from Kure and Hiroshima, are presenting "The Story of the Dame's Violet," a piece about the Nanking Massacre, at Hiroshima Kenmin Bunka Center on June 12 at 5 p.m. It will mark the first performance of this piece in Hiroshima.

Originally, a woman from Tokyo, a former teacher, wrote verse based on a true story. The story tells how a Japanese soldier was given a Dame's Violet flower by a girl who survived the Nanking Massacre. After the soldier returned to Japan, he tried to spread the seeds of the flower across Japan, the distress of being a perpetrator of the war driving his wish for peace. Music was then added to the verse and the songs in the suite relate the soldier's tale.

Amateur singers from throughout Japan gathered to present the piece in Nanking and Beijing nine years ago. To date, they have performed the suite six times in the two cities. A member of Egans, who has taken part in these performances, proposed presenting the piece in Hiroshima. As a result, the performance for June 12 was prepared. The members of Egans have been gathering twice a month for rehearsals.

On the day of the performance, about 35 members of Egans and nearly 30 members from three choirs in Hiroshima, as well as about 40 other supporters from five prefectures, including Tokyo and Ishikawa, will sing on stage. Mitsuko Kubo, 81, an A-bomb survivor and a resident of Kure, is the Egans representative. "Nanking has suffered the same pain as the A-bombed cities," she said. "I hope our performance will appeal for the importance of building a peace that rises above bitterness."

Tickets for the performance are 2000 yen for adults and 1000 yen for students in elementary school and junior high school.

(Originally published on June 1, 2010)

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