Good afternoon, everyone.
It is my honor to make my first address as president of the club.
Before today’s meeting began, I asked to play a piece called Andante Festivo by Jean Sibelius.
It was originally composed for the inauguration of his close friend company.
The piece begins with a quiet string ensemble, gradually deepens in richness, and finally, with the addition of timpani, brings a sense of solemnity to the room.
By the time it ended, I felt our minds and the atmosphere had naturally come into harmony — just right for our meeting to begin.
It reminded me once again that music can calm the heart and shape the environment — a true social function.
Today, I would like to say a few words about our club song, ZAO WO AOGU, meaning “Looking upon Mount Zao.”
This song was created to commemorate the 30th anniversary of our club. The music was composed by Koichi Hattori, and the lyrics were written by my father, Kosuke Igarashi.
The precise details of how the song came to be are no longer clearly recorded.
So, I did some research myself.
Looking back at the past presidents around that time:
The 28th was my father, Kosuke Igarashi.
The 29th was Mr. Denshiro Suzuki.
The 30th was my uncle, Giich Toyota.
But I don’t believe the idea of creating a song came from these three.
Rather, I believe it was Dr. Tomosuke Takasaka, who initiated it.
Dr. Takasaka was a charter member of our club and also a past district governor.
He remained a proud Rotarian until the end of his life.
At his funeral in 1999, I’ve heard that Mr. Iida — who was then the club secretary — served as the master of the funeral ceremony.
Dr. Takasaka was a man of the Meiji era.
He studied at Manchuria Medical University in his youth and, while there, learned to play the cello from a Russian musician who had migrated to Manchuria.
Due to the Russian Revolution, many artists and intellectuals had fled to the region, and Japanese and Russian students even formed impromptu orchestras together for enjoyment.
In 1940 — the year of the 2,600th anniversary of Japan’s imperial lineage — Dr. Takasaka was 33 years old.
It was a time when the Japanese government led major cultural initiatives, including music, as part of national celebrations.
I’ve read that Germany sent a work by Richard Strauss, and Italy contributed a piece under Mussolini’s direction.
It was a moment in history when music was placed at the heart of national celebration and diplomacy.
Dr. Takasaka, with his refined sensitivity, must have witnessed those events and deeply felt that “music is a force that connects people and society.”
Later, in 1952, he played a key role in establishing the Yamagata Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra.
Its first permanent conductor was Koichi Hattori — then still a teenager.
Incidentally, Mr. Hattori was also related to Isao Tomita, the pioneer of Japanese electronic music. That’s Yamagata for you — everyone seems to be connected!
I imagine it was Dr. Takasaka who first said, “Shall we create a club song?”
And when the club opened the lyric writing to public submissions, I suspect he told my father, “You’d better have something ready, just in case we don’t get enough entries.”
As a child, I visited Dr. Takasakas’s home a few times with my father.
He once said, “Let’s hear you play a little,” and I nervously played a short étude — probably something by Burgmüller.
To my surprise, he accompanied me with his cello from behind.
It was the first time I felt, “Wow, music is fun,” and “Playing together is wonderful.”
Though I must admit, I hated practicing.
This club, I believe, is one where the efforts of our predecessors have gradually become a kind of “culture.”
I hope to honor that culture and, however modestly, do my part in passing it on to the next generation.
Thank you very much — and I look forward to serving with you all in the coming year.