Today, Master Idaki Shin held a piano concert at the Sakura Hall of the Shibuya Cultural Center Owada. It’s the beginning of June. With the concert, I had a good start and a vision of rising and expanding in June, filling me with joy and hope. There was a fragrance from the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, and I felt the breath and vitality of the land that gave rise to the great civilizations of antiquity. I could see the scene of people meeting one another along the riverbanks, beginning to walk together, living together, joining their strength, and building a place where all could make their lives—and I was captivated by the world in all its pure beauty. I was deeply moved by the sense that such a world is truly beautiful. If we trace beauty to its source, we find “love.” I understood that love is the origin of human beings and the very starting point of living.
Today, the former Syrian Ambassador to Japan and his wife joined us, and I find myself wondering whether their presence led to the fragrance of the Tigris and Euphrates. They wept as they listened to the music. From the depths of my heart, I wish for a world in which beautiful souls can go on living beautifully. In today's concert, I saw shapes suggesting that this irrational and unjust world might one day change suddenly. It is hope. To bring that moment into being, Master Idaki Shin continues to give concerts, always at the risk of his own life. I was given the experience of a concert overflowing with hope and vitality, motivated to live as authentic human beings and to become a force moving toward the realization of peace.
I will not be discouraged by the air of the city, where simply walking drains one of strength and the will to act. Living in a beautiful world with a beautiful heart in its center, I will continue to devote myself to creating a place to live truly. Thank you very much.