aznhonor
02-22-2007, 06:26 AM
A statue of a Japanese feudal lord -- a daimyo -- stands clad in samurai garb in the middle of a plaza amid the busy, noisy streets of the Manila district of Paco.
The statue at Plaza Dilao is of Takayama Ukon, Japan's best-known Christian daimyo who was exiled to the Philippines in 1614 for refusing to disavow his Christian faith.
Over four centuries ago, Takayama had ''occupied such an enduring and crucial place in the history of the Japanese Church'' -- according to one scholarly work.
In 2003, his legacy will come alive in a Japanese-Philippine joint production of the opera -- ''The Blessed Lord -- Ukon Takayama.'' The opera will mark the 450th anniversary of Ukon's birth and the centennial of Japanese migration to the Philippines.
Edward Tuazon Ishita, the key organizer and overall director of the opera, says ever since his childhood, he has always wanted to do something about Ukon as well as contribute to enhancing ties between the two nations, thanks to his mixed lineage.
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Ishita's Japanese father and Filipino mother met in the Philippines during wartime. Ishita recounts how his mother, who have since migrated to Japan and now lives in Osaka, often told him the legend of Ukon. His mother, who was a Catholic, had a high respect for Ukon who chose to live for his faith.
''I want to use this opera for world peace,'' the 55-year-old general director of the Tokyo Opera Association told Kyodo News at his office in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward.
For Ishita, the work is not only a vehicle for promoting Japan-Philippine ties, but also something close to his heart as he has spent years dreaming of this type of project.
''I want to remind people to think about the way to eternal peace,'' he says, and stresses that working on the opera is ''my privilege, not my duty.''
In Manila, the opera's composer, Father Manuel Perez Maramba, of the Conservatory of Music in the Catholic University of Santo Tomas (UST), echoes this, saying the opera will focus on the messages of peace and harmony.
Based on the ''Takayama Ukon'' novel by Otohiko Kaga, the two-act opera opens with the exile of Ukon to Manila in November 1614 with his family and followers after the Tokugawa shogunate's order of general persecution of Christianity in that year. Shortly after, he died in Manila on Feb. 5, 1615.
The opera will be staged by Ishita's Tokyo-based opera association and UST, the oldest existing university in Asia.
It is expected to showcase a variety of talents featuring cast members from Japan and the Philippines. The libretto is mainly written in English with some parts in Tagalog, Japanese and Spanish.
Twenty-one performances will be staged in both countries, premiering in late June in Tokyo, and other parts of Japan, including Takatsuki, Osaka Prefecture, where a Takayama Ukon statue is also erected. The Philippine tour will begin in August.
The project supporters -- the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo, the Japan Embassy in Manila, former Prime Minister Tsutomu Hata, and other Japanese and Philippine-linked entities -- have been abuzz with preparations for the opera.
When the project was launched at the Philippine Embassy in August, Ambassador to Japan Domingo Siazon said Ukon was a symbol of ''one of the early foundations of Japan-Philippine relations.''
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo herself had mentioned the opera during a recent state visit to Japan.
''It's a very big work,'' Maramba says of the opera that marks the 100th anniversary since Japan mobilized road-construction laborers to work on the scenic Kennon Road linking Baguio in northern Luzon to the lowlands in the first major wave of Japanese immigration to the Philippines.
According to Maramba, he is finishing up the music for the opera and hopes it will appeal to an international audience. ''One of the things Ishita says is we are writing an opera about a Catholic, but the opera should have an appeal for everybody'' whatever their nationality and religion.
With the recent Japan-China joint production of the opera ''Country of Horai -- Tales of Jofuku'' staged in Japan adding to his list of international collaborations, Ishita hopes the Takayama Ukon opera -- which reflects this unique instance of shared Christian heritage between Japan and the Philippines -- will convey the message he wants to his audience.
Takayama Ukon, Ishita said, gave up all that he owned, possessed and represented. ''I would like people to think and reflect on his life, on his choice to live a peaceful life instead of taking arms.''
All too often, the theme of world peace, especially in the post-Sept. 11 era, increasingly seems trite. But Ishita's fervent desire to mix music, peace and faith comes through strongly in this project.
As a passage in the opera about the life of the exiled Christian samurai goes, ''Anybody who holds swords will be ruined by swords.''
alam ko po na medyo luma ang article na ito..pero i just wanted to share it wid you
The statue at Plaza Dilao is of Takayama Ukon, Japan's best-known Christian daimyo who was exiled to the Philippines in 1614 for refusing to disavow his Christian faith.
Over four centuries ago, Takayama had ''occupied such an enduring and crucial place in the history of the Japanese Church'' -- according to one scholarly work.
In 2003, his legacy will come alive in a Japanese-Philippine joint production of the opera -- ''The Blessed Lord -- Ukon Takayama.'' The opera will mark the 450th anniversary of Ukon's birth and the centennial of Japanese migration to the Philippines.
Edward Tuazon Ishita, the key organizer and overall director of the opera, says ever since his childhood, he has always wanted to do something about Ukon as well as contribute to enhancing ties between the two nations, thanks to his mixed lineage.
Advertisement
Ishita's Japanese father and Filipino mother met in the Philippines during wartime. Ishita recounts how his mother, who have since migrated to Japan and now lives in Osaka, often told him the legend of Ukon. His mother, who was a Catholic, had a high respect for Ukon who chose to live for his faith.
''I want to use this opera for world peace,'' the 55-year-old general director of the Tokyo Opera Association told Kyodo News at his office in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward.
For Ishita, the work is not only a vehicle for promoting Japan-Philippine ties, but also something close to his heart as he has spent years dreaming of this type of project.
''I want to remind people to think about the way to eternal peace,'' he says, and stresses that working on the opera is ''my privilege, not my duty.''
In Manila, the opera's composer, Father Manuel Perez Maramba, of the Conservatory of Music in the Catholic University of Santo Tomas (UST), echoes this, saying the opera will focus on the messages of peace and harmony.
Based on the ''Takayama Ukon'' novel by Otohiko Kaga, the two-act opera opens with the exile of Ukon to Manila in November 1614 with his family and followers after the Tokugawa shogunate's order of general persecution of Christianity in that year. Shortly after, he died in Manila on Feb. 5, 1615.
The opera will be staged by Ishita's Tokyo-based opera association and UST, the oldest existing university in Asia.
It is expected to showcase a variety of talents featuring cast members from Japan and the Philippines. The libretto is mainly written in English with some parts in Tagalog, Japanese and Spanish.
Twenty-one performances will be staged in both countries, premiering in late June in Tokyo, and other parts of Japan, including Takatsuki, Osaka Prefecture, where a Takayama Ukon statue is also erected. The Philippine tour will begin in August.
The project supporters -- the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo, the Japan Embassy in Manila, former Prime Minister Tsutomu Hata, and other Japanese and Philippine-linked entities -- have been abuzz with preparations for the opera.
When the project was launched at the Philippine Embassy in August, Ambassador to Japan Domingo Siazon said Ukon was a symbol of ''one of the early foundations of Japan-Philippine relations.''
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo herself had mentioned the opera during a recent state visit to Japan.
''It's a very big work,'' Maramba says of the opera that marks the 100th anniversary since Japan mobilized road-construction laborers to work on the scenic Kennon Road linking Baguio in northern Luzon to the lowlands in the first major wave of Japanese immigration to the Philippines.
According to Maramba, he is finishing up the music for the opera and hopes it will appeal to an international audience. ''One of the things Ishita says is we are writing an opera about a Catholic, but the opera should have an appeal for everybody'' whatever their nationality and religion.
With the recent Japan-China joint production of the opera ''Country of Horai -- Tales of Jofuku'' staged in Japan adding to his list of international collaborations, Ishita hopes the Takayama Ukon opera -- which reflects this unique instance of shared Christian heritage between Japan and the Philippines -- will convey the message he wants to his audience.
Takayama Ukon, Ishita said, gave up all that he owned, possessed and represented. ''I would like people to think and reflect on his life, on his choice to live a peaceful life instead of taking arms.''
All too often, the theme of world peace, especially in the post-Sept. 11 era, increasingly seems trite. But Ishita's fervent desire to mix music, peace and faith comes through strongly in this project.
As a passage in the opera about the life of the exiled Christian samurai goes, ''Anybody who holds swords will be ruined by swords.''
alam ko po na medyo luma ang article na ito..pero i just wanted to share it wid you