Rimi Natsukawa -- Tinsagu nu Hana（てぃんさぐぬ花）

 

As a freshman at University of Toronto in the mid-1980s, I was required to take the introductory course on East Asian History which I believe was given the code of EAS 100Y. We had a colourful bunch of professors to teach us throughout the year on the respective histories of Japan, China and Korea with one fellow being affectionately called Gatling because he often spoke like how a certain gun rattled off its rounds. Another professor who was in charge of the Japanese segment even showed us the famous 1966 Yukio Mishima（三島由紀夫）film "Yukoku"（憂國...Patriotism） in full, and a lot of us were going "Oh, man, we're watching this after lunch?!".

Well, I did get my education but frankly retaining it was another matter, and I recall being an absolute bust in the final exam; was never good at those. Still, I remember that there were a few lectures on the teachings of Confucius of which I recall the virtue of filial piety, something that I am trying to practice now although not strictly on Confucian lines.

On that point, I was watching "Uta Con"（うたコン）last night and Rimi Natsukawa（夏川りみ）was one of the guests. Her contribution to the show was the gentle and calming Okinawan song "Tinsagu nu Hana" (The Balsam Flowers) which according to Wikipedia relates Ryukyuan values including some of those Confucian virtues. However, during the host-and-guest banter, Natsukawa merely mentioned about the significance of the titular balsam flowers and how they've been used as healing balm for burns and the like. Their pigment also stains fingernails like nail polish and it's from there that the unknown lyricist likens that action to one's own heart being stained by the teachings of one's own parents.

From the J-Wiki article on "Tinsagu nu Hana", the song had first made its appearance on NHK's "Minna no Uta"（みんなのうた）children's music program in 1966 (though I couldn't find that first example on YouTube), years before Okinawa was handed back over to Japan. Since then, it made enough of an impact on listeners that a number of other artists, such as singer-songwriter UA, have covered the song over the decades. As for Natsukawa, she first recorded "Tinsagu no Hana" on a mini album of covers of Okinawan songs called "Minami Kaze"（南風...South Wind） in March 2002 which reached No. 37 on Oricon. Her cover was arranged by Chuei Yoshikawa（吉川忠英）.