Pushed by the singing voice of his late son, January 1 15:19

On the 17th of this month, it will be 29 years since the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake.

There is a former high school music teacher who continues to support young musicians in Hyogo Prefecture.

I have been holding back the regret of not being able to help my son, who had just turned 10 years old in the disaster, and I have been pushing the young people.

It was the singing voice of his late son that encouraged the man who continued his activities beyond the age of 70.

(Osaka Broadcasting Station Cameraman Hiroaki Fukushima)

Increasing opportunities for young musicians to express themselves

Kikuo Izumi (73), the representative of the NPO, introduces opportunities to show off his skills at concerts and other events to students majoring in music and young musicians who have just graduated from school and are just starting out as professionals.

Ms. Izumi taught music as a teacher at a high school in Hyogo Prefecture and also served as the principal of a high school with a music department.

I have heard that young musicians who have just graduated from music colleges and other institutions are not blessed with the opportunity to play a professional role in concerts and other events.

After retirement, Izumi founded the NPO Kansai Arts and Culture Support Mori Yuzuriha to introduce young musicians to opportunities to perform at concerts held at schools and other venues in Hyogo Prefecture.

The idea was that I wanted them to gain experience in performing activities and use it as an opportunity to play an active role as a professional.

Kikuo Izumi:
"Young musicians improve their skills every time they step on stage, and I hope that they will use the opportunity to improve their skills and playing ability to become great performers."

A video of my son that I found unexpectedly

After retirement, Izumi continued to support young musicians for 10 years.

I was thinking of retiring from activities at the milestone of 70 years old.

At that time, I found a video while organizing my house.

It was a video of his eldest son, Tadahiro, that Izumi had taken with a video camera before the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake.

The regret of that day that I continue to carry on my back

Izumi was devastated by the earthquake in Nishinomiya City, where her home is located, and lost Tadahiro, who was in the fourth grade of elementary school at the time and had just turned 4 years old.

The two-story wooden house was completely destroyed.

Since he was a child, Tadahiro has slept with his family on the second floor, but on the day of the earthquake, he was practicing sleeping alone on the first floor.

Izumi has always regretted not sleeping with Tadahiro, who came upstairs that night because she was scared.

Ms. Izumi:
"I wonder if it would have been helpful if I had been with her at that time, and I have always carried the burden of being a parent. It is said that it has been 29 years, but the scene of that time emerges behind the eyelids as it was yesterday. As a parent, you can't bear to lose your child first. I don't want to be gone before me."

My son's singing voice pushed me

The video found recorded Tadahiro singing at home.

Listening to the nostalgic voice singing the theme song of the popular "Ultraman Eighty♪"
TV show, I remembered that Tadahiro used to sing a lot on a regular basis.

Izumi, who used to be a tenor, said she hoped that her son's taut voice would lead him to follow the same path of vocal music in the future.

Izumi:
"I used to sing by myself, and I used to talk as if I were singing. She had a taut voice that came out of her stomach, and I thought she was suitable for opera. When I saw the video of my son singing, I wondered what he would have done in the future."

Izumi unexpectedly heard Tadahiro's singing voice, which he had not heard since the earthquake.

I felt that it was a message from Mr. Tadahiro, who was unable to pursue his dreams for the future, and I wanted to continue to support the dreams of young people.

Izumi:
"It sounded to me that the singing voice was telling me to do my best, so I decided to do my best. It gave me the courage to do my best while I was alive."

Feelings for his son are the driving force to continue his activities

Even after she was over 70 years old, Izumi continued her support activities while keeping her feelings for Tadahiro in her heart.

So far, more than 400,1500 young musicians have performed on stage at more than <> concerts thanks to Izumi's support activities.

Female saxophonist
: "There are many things on stage that you can't get just by practicing, and I think that the more opportunities you have to perform, the better you will become as a performer, so I'm very grateful."


"It's very difficult for musicians to make ends meet, and there are only a limited number of places to play, so I'm very grateful for the opportunity to provide a place to perform like this."

Thinking of the young musicians and the image of his late son

In November last year, a music appreciation party was held for high school students in Shiso City, Hyogo Prefecture.

Twelve young musicians from all over the Kansai region gathered to entertain the audience with performances that incorporated pop songs that high school students are familiar with.

Ms. Izumi was filming them playing with a video camera.

He looked kindly at the young man who was performing with a hopeful expression.

Ms. Izumi:
"I was filled with emotion when I was watching it today, and I think the reason why I was holding the corners of my eyes was that tears would naturally come out. Seeing them working hard really gave me a lot of energy."

29 years after the earthquake, a major earthquake occurred on the Noto Peninsula

On New Year's Day at the beginning of the year, a major earthquake with a seismic intensity of 7 struck the Noto Peninsula.

Izumi:
"It brings back the scene of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake 29 years ago, and I thought it was the same tragedy when my house collapsed."

The NPO that Izumi represents has donated a portion of the donations and sales collected at concerts to organizations that support children who lost their parents in the Great East Japan Earthquake.

We have started working with our NPO colleagues to support the people affected by the Noto Peninsula earthquake.

After discussing with my friends, I decided to raise donations, and I am planning to raise money at the concert venue this month.

Ms. Izumi:
"I am where I am today because of the support of many people during the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, and I feel that I have to do what I can in some way, and I feel like I have a mission."

Mr. Izumi says that his experience with the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake was his starting point. In addition to supporting young musicians, we will continue to provide support to the disaster-stricken areas.

"I think my son has my back," he said gently.

I felt that the way he is still active is supported by Tadahiro's bright singing voice.

Osaka Broadcasting Station Cameraman Hiroaki
FukushimaAfter
joining the station
in 2003 and working at the news bureau, he has been covering disasters in various places such as the Noto Peninsula earthquake since 2020, where he
currently belongs