JR Senzaki Station Gallery reopens after renovation.

Two accomplishments to ponder.

On Wednesday, April 10, 2019, the gallery located in JR Senzaki Station celebrated its reopening.

For about 14 years since 2003, this place has been familiar to visitors as the Senzaki Station Tourist Information Center. The information center was integrated into the Roadside Station and became a free space for a while, but now it has become an enhanced gallery by integrating with the "Machinaka Gallery" located on Misuzu Street in Senzaki.

On display at the gallery are materials tracing the footsteps of Akira Otsu, a lyricist from Senzaki who wrote many famous songs such as "Shining..." and "for you..." and photo panels of Senzaki Port, which was designated as a repatriation port soon after the war. The exhibition also features photo panels of Senzaki Port, which was designated as a repatriation port soon after the war.

Furthermore, from this day on, the melody of "Shining While..." began to echo on the platform when trains arrive and depart. The familiar, gentle tone matched the retro atmosphere of Senzaki Station.

At the opening ceremony, Yoshiko Minamino, executive director of the Nagato City Tourism and Convention Association, said, "This renewal was made possible by a donation from one of our local residents and his strong desire to pass on the history of the salvage to future generations. We hope that the gallery will be loved by visitors to Senzaki Station and Roadside Station Senza Kitchen," she said.

Mr. Kisaburo Suzuki, who composed one of Akira Otsu's best-known works, "Shining While...," followed, saying, "As a duo, we have done a lot of work together. We are very pleased to have a gallery in Senzaki and to have the melody played at the station.

The ceremony was followed by a ribbon-cutting ceremony in which Hideto Fujita of the Association in Memory of Akira Otsu, lyricist Kenji Seki, music producer Hirohiko Tokuda, and Takayoshi Yasumi, General Manager of JR Nagato Railway Department, joined Mr. Suzuki in cutting the tape.

Akira Otsu, lyricist from Senzaki

Born in Senzaki in 1950, Akira Otsu graduated from Keio University after attending Yamaguchi Prefectural Fisheries High School. He wrote lyrics and music for many stage songs with the Tsuka Kohei Theater Company, and in 1982, he provided "Kokoro no Iro" to Masatoshi Nakamura, which became a hit and won the 15th Japan Lyrics Award, Popular Prize.

Since then, he has been known for providing lyrics to numerous musicians, including Mariko Takahashi, Eikichi Yazawa, and Akina Nakamori, and 18 reproductions of his handwritten lyrics are on display in the gallery.

If you look closely at each piece, you can even see the title of the song before it was released to the world, and traces of how it seems to have been rewritten through many attempts.

The exhibition also features valuable artifacts donated by Akira Otsu's family.

There is also a section where visitors can listen to songs on an audio system that was used by singer Kenji Sawada, as well as drawings from his wedding reception.

Many local residents visited the gallery earlier in the day, and one person said, "There are four monuments in Senzaki with lyrics inscribed on them, so I would be happy if people could use this place as a base to visit and learn about Mr. Otsu's achievements. Currently, there are four song monuments located at Senzakitchen Roadside Station, Sawayaka Beach, Artificial Island, and Renaissa Nagato.

Senzaki Port that received about 400,000 people

After the war, Senzaki Port was designated as a port to receive repatriates from overseas, replacing Shimonoseki Port.

The gallery is lined with 14 photo panels that read of the accomplishments of the community members who supported the repatriates.

At that time, the former Kogan Liaison Ship "Koyasumaru," the first repatriation ship, arrived at the port with approximately 7,000 repatriates. Thereafter, the "Chohaku Maru," "Osumi Maru," and "Taihoku Maru" as well as American landing craft were deployed.

One person who was actually involved in the repatriation in Senzaki came to the exhibition, and while looking at the photos, he said, "I still remember the look on his face when he finally came back to Japan. I hope that more people will see them now that they are on display at the station.

This gallery can be visited within a 5-6 minute walk from Senza Kitchen and Kaneko Misuzu Memorial Museum.

When you visit Senzaki, please come and see our valuable exhibits and achievements.

Information

Hours] 9:00-17:00
[Location] Inside JR Senzaki Station
[Closed] Every Thursday
[Admission] Free

Related Links

• Kaneko Misuzu Memorial Museum
• Roadside Station Senza Kitchen