The rainy season is here, and this song is for June.
There is a temple called Iwaya Shimyoin in Kitayama, the backwoods of Kyoto, founded by En no Gyoja in 650 and reestablished by Kobo Daishi. It is a mountain temple that really looks like something out of an old story.
It is said that when electric lights were added to Kyoto, all the “Mononoke” who had no place to stay fled to this temple. Ryotaro Shiba liked to stay, and Susumu Miyazaki started ideas for Mononoke-princess, here.
The monk of this temple is a very nice and unique person, and he is also a cute guy who looks like he is from a folk tale. When a dam was to be built using water from the Kamo River, he put his body on the line to stop it. His courageous story of overturning a dam construction plan that had once been decided was compiled in a book titled “Dam and the Monk,” and is used as a model for dam protest movements throughout Japan and the world. He said, “It’s not a difficult story. I just can’t stand the thought of this water being polluted or stopped,” he said with a wonderful smile.
The monk asked me to write a song about the adventures of frogs, and this song was born.
It is a children’s song, but here I am singing it myself.
In fact, I have a version sung by the monk, but I am currently looking for a way to distribute it in some form that will be useful for the care of Shimei-in and the revitalization of Kitayama.
If this sounds fit to your projects, please contact us. The monk’s voice is wonderful☺️
