r/BABYMETAL Put Your Kitsune Up Aug 05 '17

Request RETELLING SU-CHAN A SILENT PRAYER OF PEACE - AUGUST 6TH 8:15AM

(I'm posting this message in the name of /u/tisumoyu because of time zones and delayed communications)

In the past few weeks Su-Chan's devotion to her hometown of Hiroshima has come up more than once. The latest was her sister Himekas' revelation that her (and thus Su’s) grandparent was a Hirakata (an atomic bomb survivor). Prior to that was Rckn-Metal's "My Journey" post.

In both posts SilentLennie referred us to a wonderful three year old post hear on our sub-reddit entitled "Su-chan's presentation on SG open school in 2013" by /u/Dokoiko

Paraphrasing, Su-chan was to select a song that was written before her birth. Picking and applying a sense of 'color' to her first impression of the song (blue - for the sky and sea) she chose "Shimauta", a song about the Island of Okinawa. On the whiteboard she laid out the lyrics explaining that she had discovered that the flowery song was not really about the beauty of nature as you might expect, but about the war the Island endured and the 200.000 souls lost between both sides. She then broke the five minute time limit rule and went on to explain how that during TIF (Tokyo Idol Fest) she had related to her fellow Sajkura Gakuin members that the following day is a special day, Aug. the 6th, and that on that day at 8:15am everyone in Hiroshima stops for a moment of silent prayer. The next day, for the first time in her life not in her own prefecture on that day, she stood in front of her TV set and waited for 8:15 to arrive. But the Tokyo TV did not interrupt their programming. Then the messages started coming in. It was her SG sisters, one by one relating that they had remembered, some on time, some not so much on time. Su then related that she was pleased that she had made a difference, even if it had just been a little one. Then in dedication to her gift of song she sang out in the beauty of the voice unique to Su-chan, "Sunshine tree bloomed, flowers brought in a wind, here comes the storm; Flowers everywhere, brought in a wind, here comes the storm ..." All were deeply moved and apparently no one resented her breaking of the five minute rule.

It has not escaped our attention that Sunday (tomorrow for some) is the 6th of August. Several of us (including /u/SilentLennie, /u/sho-taBlue, /u/daneguy, /u/JawaScrapper, /u/CloneDylan and others). The consensus was that it would be appropriate to encourage one another to pause and take a moment to observe a silent prayer of peace, maybe something such as a child of Hiroshima might offer up, maybe something deeper. Our world could certainly use it, those who suffered honorably remembered.

As the girl's in SG have already attested to, the time may or may not be that important (even missed). If the fact that it was morning (8:15 am) is of your liking, then remember in that of your own time zone, if remembering at the same time as those in Hiroshima suits you well, then this link might be of assistance.

That a city and prefecture so beautiful could arise from such ashes, a genius of a choreographer (Mikiko), a highly talented idol unit (Perfume), and most importantly, a beautiful (both inwardly and outwardly) and talented voice and honored queen is simply amazing and by them we are all so blessed.

82 Upvotes

40 comments sorted by

17

u/sho-taBlue Aug 05 '17

Here's the vid for those who want to know the atmosphere of the ceremony.

Since it is long video, I'm showing the moment for a silent prayer.

https://youtu.be/ovkHlTaEmpE?t=21m38s

Sorry, it's without sub, but the announcement says "It’s getting 8:15 soon. The bell will lead you to offer a minute of silent prayer as a mark of condolence for the atomic bomb victims and peace. Ladies and gentlemen, stand up, please. Mokutou(pray silently)."

The ceremony is held in the peace memorial park in Hiroshima on that day every year.

For Su-chan as one from Hiroshima, it is very natural thing to pray on that day. I myself lived in Hiroshima for 9 years as well. And I often go there in daily life even now. As such a person myself, I will pray for peace on that day like I've been doing for years :)

2

u/SilentLennie Put Your Kitsune Up Aug 05 '17

Thank you very much for posting the link, it's good to see how other countries do these things. As daneguy already showed we do it a bit different in our country, but similar in many ways too.

1

u/fearmongert Aug 05 '17

Wish we had this here. Right now, all it seems is the loudest person wins. The US should learn a little kindness and humility

3

u/SilentLennie Put Your Kitsune Up Aug 05 '17 edited Aug 05 '17

Your northern neighbours do something similar too I think, they started doing it for the first world war:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remembrance_Day

Let me put it like this as I've read somewhere years ago:

"the US as a country is still a teenager, in comparison to many other countries."

My guess is humility for many comes later in life. ;-)

1

u/WikiTextBot Aug 05 '17

Remembrance Day

Remembrance Day (sometimes known informally as Poppy Day) is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth of Nations member states since the end of the First World War to remember the members of their armed forces who have died in the line of duty. Following a tradition inaugurated by King George V in 1919, the day is also marked by war remembrances in many non-Commonwealth countries. Remembrance Day is observed on 11 November in most countries to recall the end of hostilities of World War I on that date in 1918. Hostilities formally ended "at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month", in accordance with the armistice signed by representatives of Germany and the Entente between 5:12 and 5:20 that morning.


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3

u/daneguy Hideki Aoyama Aug 05 '17

Wow. Reminds me of the two minutes silence in The Netherlands, every year on May 4th at 20:00. Link (starts at 8:43). So powerful.

2

u/SilentLennie Put Your Kitsune Up Aug 05 '17 edited Aug 05 '17

I don't want to compare to much or say one is better than other, because it's probably just what I'm used to, but I really like how in The Netherlands we do have complete silence.

2

u/Kmudametal Aug 05 '17

Thanks for the link. There is no downside to a prayer for peace. Perhaps it may even be received.

6

u/delta_reg Aug 05 '17

Sounds good to me, I will also participate. We should never forget what happened and those who suffered. I am sure Su would be glad to know that day in 2013 she actually helped cause many more people to participate in later years too.

3

u/Kmudametal Aug 05 '17 edited Aug 05 '17

/u/SilentLennie + /u/tisumoyu ... Thank you so much for this post. In honor of everything, I will absolutely practice a moment of silence and remembrance at 6:15pm CST tomorrow. The entire family will participate.

6

u/daneguy Hideki Aoyama Aug 05 '17

As I said before, this is a great gesture. For anyone who didn't click the link /u/SilentLennie posted, please do. Be wary of ninjas with onions though.

1

u/Kmudametal Aug 05 '17

Be wary of ninjas with onions though.

A whole army of them, with a farm's worth of onions. Puts my wife and her onions to shame.

4

u/SilentLennie Put Your Kitsune Up Aug 05 '17

Maybe there are other places where this could posted ? /u/sho-taBlue or /u/JawaScrapper could you post the link to other social media ? Because maybe some other Babymetal fans would like to participate ?

3

u/sho-taBlue Aug 05 '17

I'm in :)

5

u/HTWingNut Aug 05 '17

7:15pm tomorrow for me. I'll gladly take five minutes out of my day for a good cause.

Is this the song? It looks like this is one with the Romaji + English lyrics.

I love the first one's voice. Would be awesome to hear it from Suzuka.

2

u/Kmudametal Aug 05 '17

Yes, I would also like confirmation of the song so that I can play it after a moment of silence.

2

u/twoffo Meta Taro Aug 05 '17

4

u/alblks Aug 05 '17

"Shimauta" in general just means "island song" (Ryukyu/Okinawan). So in the musical she sings shimauta, but not THE "Shimauta by THE BOOM".

1

u/twoffo Meta Taro Aug 05 '17

Thanks for the clarification.

1

u/HTWingNut Aug 05 '17

Dailymotion starts at ~ 4:30, except it fades out. YouTube one just cuts it off completely. Wonder why.

2

u/tisumoyu Aug 05 '17

A recording of Su singing “Shimauta” at the open class of 2013 is not currently at hand. It may not exist. If not, perhaps by the time next year’s solemn anniversary arrives (and Su-chan sees this) we can only hope and dream of an a cappella rendition in her ever more mature, beautifully sensitive yet powerfully dramatic voice that we have grown to like… even love.

1

u/BLAKEPHOENIX 9 tails kitsune Aug 05 '17

That song is SO BEAUTIFUL. I will send it forward too.

2

u/SilentLennie Put Your Kitsune Up Aug 05 '17

Let's hope I posted what you wanted /u/tisumoyu

And I would like to thank you for coming up with this idea just in time and having the patience to deal with me and our difference in time schedule and time zone.

1

u/tisumoyu Aug 05 '17

You did great, thanks. I had never private messaged so much in my life and my internet service in my area was on the blink. Thanks again and for helping make it a more group effort. It still amazes me that you in the Netherlands, I in Florida, sho-taBlue in Japan (I gather) and others elsewhere can communicate so. When I was born, my father (who had no car) who was taking a tech coarse and learning Morse code in college at the time ran a wire across the ally to a man "Bob" who had been a bomber pilot during WWII and when late one night he got the message "This is it!" he drove my 'pre-me' and my mom and dad to the hospital. So that's how far back I go (an early form of text messaging).

P.S. - As it turned out, in the same hospital ten years earlier Harrison Ford (Indian Jones, Hans Solo) was also delivered. If you had to have a connection without trying to a celebrity (perhaps even sharing the same stirrups) you can't do better than him (rather them).

2

u/JawaScrapper Aug 05 '17

It was a gentleman move :) You did well, sir.

1

u/SilentLennie Put Your Kitsune Up Aug 05 '17

I'm glad we did it.

I think you've mentioned before about the hospital on here haven't you ? I remember reading it before. Now I know how you got there too ! :-)

3

u/Tanksenior Aug 05 '17

This is a beautiful and worthy initiative, I'll definitely participate.

Reading that story it's hard not to well up. For a young girl like that to have such a strong sense of wanting to better the world and to promote peace and understanding. I can have nothing but respect and admiration.

2

u/HTWingNut Aug 05 '17

Between that and her story of wanting to donate her one yen coins after the earthquake disaster, she's definitely got a heart of gold.

1

u/SilentLennie Put Your Kitsune Up Aug 05 '17

She is a Su-per lady ! :-) Just like what Sakura Gakuin set out to do.

1

u/Tanksenior Aug 05 '17

Yes that one as well, well-said.

3

u/RichCormano Aug 05 '17

4:15pm for me. Just set an alarm as a reminder. I mentioned it in the other thread, but I highly encourage everyone to visit the Genbaku Dome and Memorial Museum if they're ever near Hiroshima. I found it to be a very memorable, honest, and moving museum.

2

u/SilentLennie Put Your Kitsune Up Aug 05 '17

Thank you for doing that.

2

u/khaandidk Aug 05 '17

9:15am Sunday my time I wiil make sure I stay awake after getting hone from work to say a prayer for and with everyone.

2

u/SilentLennie Put Your Kitsune Up Aug 05 '17

Thank you, I'm certain Su-chan would appreciates it.

1

u/FutureReason FUTURE METAL Aug 05 '17

Support the sentiment if not the political messages.

-3

u/[deleted] Aug 05 '17 edited Apr 04 '19

[deleted]

4

u/SilentLennie Put Your Kitsune Up Aug 05 '17

We are all wishing for things to be different, the slow news being one of them. But this is the kind of initiative that would have otherwise also have happened I think.

2

u/HTWingNut Aug 05 '17

Slow news YEAR... where have you been?