What kind of song is Bogatsuru Sanka(Bogatsuru Hymn)?

At the Shinkiko lesson held the other day, Participant Ms.A talked about a song called “Boga Tsuru Sanka”  from “Looking for Good Things”. I didn’t know the song, so on the day I asked everyone, “What kind of song is it?”

Later, when I looked up Boga Tsuru, I found out that it is a basin/wetland located at an altitude of approximately 1,200 meters in Takeda City, Oita Prefecture. It is surrounded by Mt. Kuju and Mt. Ofuna, the main peaks of the Kuju Mountain Range, and is included in Aso-Kuju National Park.

The “Bo” in the name refers to a temple (Hokke-in Temple, which is the core of the Kuju-san faith).(Current name Hokke-in Onsen), “Tsuru” means “water flow” and a flat land with a river, and in other words, the place name means the wetland area near Hokke-in Temple.

Yoko Seri became known nationwide for her “Bogatsuru Sanka” sung on NHK’s (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) “Minna no Uta.”(Everyone’s song) . The background to the birth of the Bogatsuru hymn was mountain worship and the thoughts of various people associated with it.

Since ancient times in Japan, mountains have been seen as not just a part of nature, but a place where the gods dwell. Therefore, visiting the mountain itself was a type of training and prayer, and it was believed that it would calm people’s minds and increase their energy.

Kyushu has a long history and has been home to various places of worship since ancient times. The gods that reside there are the positive energy that I always talk about. They exist not only in Kyushu, but everywhere, and are trying to support and encourage many people.

However, in recent years, I believe that this positive energy has run out of energy due to the collapse of nature and changes in people’s consciousness and faith. Also, it is precisely in times like these that we need the energy of “Shinkiko from the universe,” and I believe that my predecessor(my father) started this in a dream in 1986, and I inherited this energy.

By the way, I would like to include in this paper the text of Ms. A (who always receives ki at the Kumamoto Center)’s “Looking for a good things.” One of the good things she said about her daughter and herself is, “I’ve found myself humming this song lately.”

It is strange, but it has just been decided that the first Shinkiko retreat seminar will be held in Oita Prefecture in September of this year. To borrow the words of my predecessor, everything has a meaning, so there are positive and negative energies working behind the scenes, and because of that connection, Ms. A ends up humming the song, and good things happen. Because they overlapped, I think they were able to post on that day’s “Find the Good Things” section.