The Story of a Water Bottle

＜Work Contents＞Composed by Yasuhide Ito, a composer from Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, based on an episode about the Shizuoka Air Raid by Dr. Hiroya Sugano, a doctor living in Shizuoka City.It is a drama of comfort and repose between Japan and the U.S. without boundaries, beginning with the memorial service for the American soldiers of the B-29s who died during the Shizuoka Air Raid.
It conveys the importance of the hearts that offer prayers to the comrades-in-arms who fought for their country and each other, while not forgetting human dignity in the midst of war.The opera will be available for viewing to those who support the charity in 2019.
For more information about the opera, please visit the Uki Uki Project website.http://ukiukishizuoka.com/

<Profile of Hiroya Sugano, Director of Sugano Branch Clinic>Born in 1933. Author of “Only One Memorial Service.” A physician who continues to hold memorial services for the Japanese and U.S. war dead. 90 years old（2023）, Mr. Sugano experienced the Shizuoka Air Raid when he was a boy, in which over 2,000 people were killed. For 51 years since 1972, he has held joint memorial services for the citizens of Shizuoka City who were victims of the air raid and for the American soldiers whose B-29s crashed in the city.Since 1991, he has made annual visits to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and continues to hold a memorial service for the Japanese and U.S. war dead at the Arizona Memorial, a memorial built on the Battleship Arizona, which sank during the attack on Pearl Harbor. His activities have expanded over the years, leading to the realization of the first official memorial ceremony between the United States and Japan held in December 2016. A joint press conference was also held between Prime Minister Abe and then US President Obama. Mr. Kanno also attended. Mr. Kanno believes that mourning the dead, regardless of friend or foe, is the path to peace.

<Profile of Yasuhide Ito, composer and professor at Senzoku Gakuen College of Music> His symphonic poem “Gururiyoza” for brass band has been featured in music textbooks as an appreciation piece and is well known in the world repertoire. On the other hand, his vocal works are also popular, and his opera “Mr. Cinderella” (commissioned by Toru Takagi/Kagoshima Opera Association) was first performed in 2001, and has been frequently performed again in 2004 (New National Theatre, Medium Theater/Japan Opera Association), 2015 (National Cultural Festival/Kagoshima), 2017 (New National Theatre, Small Theater/Japan Opera Association), etc.His stage works include the opera “Tensei” (Sato Araima/Commissioned by Hida Culture Center/2015), the opera “Kisho-ten-ten” (Ryoichi Wago/2015), the choral opera “Nekohashiru” (Naoko Kudo/Commissioned by Tsuyama International Music Festival/2003), the oratorio or theater piece “On the Road” (Ryoichi Wago/2017) He is also a member of the After completing the composition department and graduate school of Tokyo University of the Arts, he has been a part-time lecturer at the same university for a long time. He won a prize in the composition category of the Japan Music Competition. Born in Hamamatsu City, Shizuoka Prefecture. He is a Hamamatsu Yaramaika Ambassador, honoring musicians associated with Hamamatsu. Composer of “Hamamatsu City Song” and “Date City Song” (Fukushima Prefecture). www.itomusic.com

<Profile of Toru Takagi (script)>Born in 1950 in Iwaki City, Fukushima Prefecture. Former director of Seinenza Theater Company’s research institute. Member of Japan Directors Guild, Japan Broadcasters Association, Japan Theatre Association, and currently Director of Iwaki PIT Theatre. Wrote and directed “When the East Wind Blows” performed in Tokyo by Iwaki Theatre Company, which won the Ikebukuro Theatre Festival 25th Anniversary Special Prize.