The famous Japanese male choir Shingetsu-Kai from Kwansei Gakuin University will sing the song that made them famous in Croatia
Connection between Croatian arias and Japanese students is already well known. Male choir of one of the most prestigious Japanese universities - Kwansei Gakuin University - for its anthem chose "U boj, u boj ", the famous aria from the Croatian opera "Nikola Subic Zrinski".
Japanese choir is singing this aria in the Croatian language for the last 90 years, and it is believed that the persona and life of Nikola Zrinski of Siget found its admirers in distant Japan because of his courage and honourable samurai death. But only during the last thirty years it is known that this is a Croatian song.
Kwansei Gakuin Alumni Association members are proud to have the opportunity to come and sing this song in its homeland, even more so since Croatia is also the homeland of the cravat. On September 9 & 11 2014, in Dubrovnik and Zagreb, the Kwansei Gakuin choir will sing the song which made them famous in Croatia, while wearing the cravats designed by CROATA, exclusively for the 125th anniversary of their establishment.
The choir is arriving to Croatia accompanied by Mrs. Jelena Yamasaki, trip organizer and support staff to the Honorary Consul of Croatia in Osaka, who, for the last nineteen years promotes beauty, history and cultural values of Croatia in Japan.
It is interesting to know that the Japanese soldiers heard Zajc"s aria after World War I, during the overhaul of the American ship Heffron in Kobe, and they liked it so much that they had to learn it by heart. Well-trained ear might notice that in the impressive performance of the Kwansei Gakuin Alumni Association some words are not pronounced correctly, as it was for many decades believed that the song originates from Czech Republic, Slovakia, Macedonia, Serbia. Finally, in 1979 the Kwansei Gakuin discovered the true origin of the anthem that made them famous and that they have been performing for almost a century.
SUPPORTED BY: Honorary Consulate of the Republic of Croatia in Osaka, Japan
Organizers: Akamatsu Masaaki, Yamasaki Jelena (Shinegtsukai, Hankyu Travel, Office Tenitama, Do Traffic and Croata)
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