How it all started

 In 1997, it was a very cold February when I first visited Germany. I was a 20-year-old university student majoring in Japanese literature. I was also interested in Christianity and my favorite class was the history of Christianity. My professor was a priest. He was specializing in European Christianity and studied in Germany in his young days. Once a year, he took his students to Germany so that we could see and feel the German history especially German Christianity.  Some years later, after the fall of the Berlin wall, I still saw some differences between “East” Berlin and “West” Berlin. To me, Some German people still looked worried and tired about that event. But the trip was very interesting for me. Huge museums, beautiful cathedrals, and German foods. It was my first visit to a foreign country. But I never imagined it would be the start of my connection to Germany.

 After a long time I was singing at my friend’s party in Tokyo. After the little concert, a woman talked to me and said, “I cried. I really like your songs. It was so touching.” she was married to a German and lived in Germany. We connected on Facebook. One day she said on Facebook she was planning a Japan-day in her village. She was a Japanese teacher and had a Japanese class at Bon University a few years before. She wanted to introduce Japanese culture to German people. I would like to go but I didn’t have enough money at that time. She said “Please come to Germany and sing for my friends someday.” “Yes! Of course.” I replied. But we thought it would be “someday”.

 But a few days later, my husband who likes travelling so much, said to me “We are going to go to Croatia and Slovenia this summer.” Then he explained there is no direct flight, so we have to transit at Frankfurt. I was like "Yippee!!" So I told him “I want to stay at my friend’s house in Germany a little longer. She invited me and I would like to sing for her friends”. But I didn’t say the truth that she and I had met only once and We didn’t know each other so well because he would be worried.

 Anyway, I sung at a chapel of her village. It was a success. There were about 100 people and they enjoyed my songs with standing ovation.
 This story is to be continued…