September 24, 2025

Another home.

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MUFG Bank, Ltd.
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Hello to everyone who regularly reads my reports, and to those meeting me for the first time. I'm Sora Kikuno, a member of the horn section of the first-year Tohoku Youth Orchestra.

In preparation for writing this essay, I reread past reports on TYO's website, wondering when I first appeared. Then, in a report from August 21, 2015, I found this sentence:

"A knowledgeable fifth-grade elementary school student from Fukushima was taking photos with his smartphone and said to me, 'Let's come again next year,' so I couldn't help but smile and respond."

I'll admit it: this "know-it-all" was me. Now that I'm a humble student, I'm a little embarrassed to remember my title back then, but the truth is, 10 years and one month ago, I was TYO's cheeky guy. That's right, I, now 21, first encountered TYO in the summer I was 11 years old.

(First term, arriving at Fukushima Station after the Miyakojima training camp. August 2015)

The elementary school I attended at the time had an orchestra club, a rare sight even in Fukushima City. I don't remember much, but apparently, as a third-grader, I fell in love with this coiled instrument at first sight. Of course, I still love the horn. But, you know, elementary school students usually choose the trumpet or the violin. Normal. Maybe I was just an unusual kid.

I think it was around the spring of my fifth grade, my third year in the club. One day, a flyer was handed out. It said "Ryuichi Sakamoto," "Miyakojima Training Camp," and "Opera City." It really captured my young heart. After consulting with my mother, I immediately decided to apply without hesitation. This is where my TYO life began.

I can't count the things I gained from my time with TYO, but the biggest one is a change in my way of thinking and feeling about the earthquake. In March, just before I started elementary school, Fukushima became known as a "disaster area." Even so, there was very little human casualty around me, and as an elementary school student, the only impact of the nuclear accident was that "you shouldn't play outside."

While visiting areas that were severely hit by the tsunami as part of TYO's volunteer performance activities, I witnessed the true extent of the damage that I had never known. "Before the earthquake, there were houses all the way up to that area," said an elderly woman, pointing to a place where the streetscape will never be the same again.

(Kitakami River, taken from disaster reconstruction housing in Minatomachi, Ishinomaki City. March 2017)

I was still young at the time of the earthquake, and despite being a member of an orchestra formed in response to the disaster, I realized I knew absolutely nothing about it. As a member of TYO, a group dedicated to supporting reconstruction, I resolved to think more deeply about the disaster.

When thinking about not just disasters but anything in the world, it's often said that it's important to understand things from various perspectives, including the perspectives of those actually involved. TYO gave me the opportunity to put that into practice.

Another invaluable experience I'll never forget was meeting director Ryuichi Sakamoto. I wasn't originally a huge fan; at first, I thought of him as the man who composed the music for the historical drama "Yae no Sakura." I had an unconscious image of musicians as being difficult, so even as an elementary school student, I was nervous about Director Sakamoto, thinking he might be scary (laughs). But in reality, he was far from it; in fact, he was very friendly and approachable, and my image of him was shattered in a good way. During training camps, he would even sit next to me while we ate.

Not only was he approachable, but it was also refreshing to receive guidance from his perspective as a composer. When you play classical music, of course, all composers are ancient figures. Usually, you either read their intentions from the score or follow the conductor's interpretation. But practicing in front of the composer himself, while a little nerve-wracking, was a valuable experience, as I was able to perform while being taught the meaning of each note. Thanks to this experience, I've become more conscious of trying to understand the intentions of past composers as much as possible when performing their music.

In his book "Emile," the French philosopher Rousseau wrote, "We are, so to speak, born twice." I truly celebrated my second birth under the great influence of TYO. It's no exaggeration to say that, having spent half my life with TYO, it's not just my life, but half of my personality is made up of TYO.

To me, TYO is my second "home." I don't have much time left as a member of TYO, but even after graduating, I would like to continue watching over and supporting TYO, hoping that this home that gave birth to me will also become a home for someone else.

This post is a bit disorganized, but thank you for reading to the end. I hope you will continue to support the Tohoku Youth Orchestra, or rather my house.

In closing, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to director Ryuichi Sakamoto for creating such a wonderful house. I was so happy that he remembered my name.

(With Director Ryuichi Sakamoto during a training camp just before the first season. March 2016)

Well, everyone, see you again someday.

REPORT

Another home.