"Aogiri no ki no shita de" ("Under a Phoenix Tree")

by Metis

Grandmother experienced the atomic bombing of Hiroshima
Wishing to convey the power of life through song

Metis

Born in Hiroshima in 1984. She made her debut with the mini album "WOMAN" in September 2006. To date, she has released five albums, including three mini albums and eight singles.

Since she was a child, she has routinely heard her grandmother talk about her experience of the atomic bombing. Metis, 26, a reggae singer who was born in Hiroshima, said, "Because Hiroshima is my hometown, I feel compelled to convey my grandmother's experience of the atomic bombing and the war through my music."

The song "Under a Phoenix Tree" is on two of her albums, including "ONE LOVE."

The singer's grandmother was exposed to the atomic bomb at the age of 14 while in Eba, a district in the southern part of the city. Her grandmother saw her own mother (Metis's great-grandmother) die before her eyes along with her younger sister, who was 11. "My grandmother lost her family in such a cruel way," Metis said, "but she talked about it openly with me."

She attended an elementary school in downtown Hiroshima for six years, where she saw films about the war in the school gymnasium and listened to teachers talk about the bombing while showing photos of survivors who were injured in the blast. "The teachers spoke honestly, with tears in their eyes, telling us 'Today you're able to live a comfortable and convenient life, but children at that time, of the same age as you, experienced such terrible things.'" The class which focused on the atomic bombing was her favorite class.

Because she was born and raised in Hiroshima, she thought that everyone knew about the horror of the atomic bombing. However, after she began living in Tokyo, she was shocked to discover that young people of the same generation don't know much about it. At that point, she became moved to convey the cruelty of the bombing and the importance of life. Expressing these ideas would be fitting for the Jamaican-born spirit of reggae, she felt, which promotes "love and peace."

To that point, though, she had only created songs based on her own personal experience. She confessed to some anxiety, saying, "I wasn't sure, since I didn't experience the war myself, whether or not I could express such things." Through an acquaintance, she was introduced to an A-bomb survivor named Suzuko Numata. Ms. Numata shares her story of the atomic bombing with others by telling them about some phoenix trees (also known as Chinese Parasol trees) that had survived the blast. "The phoenix trees can't speak," Metis said, "but they have strived to live despite suffering the atomic bombing. I learned about the power of life from Ms. Numata and the phoenix trees." Inspired by such messages from her grandmother and Ms. Numata, Metis conceived the song "Under a Phoenix Tree."

When she first began singing the song, she thought that listeners wouldn't grasp her message. However, the audiences for her live performances responded well to the song. They told her, "I plan to visit the A-bomb Dome and Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum" and some, in fact, did just that when they traveled to Hiroshima on business.

"I know I can't change the world on my own, but I hope listeners will keep my message in a corner of their mind," Metis said. She added, "Children today will understand when they grow up," so every year as August 6 approaches, she intends to sing the song on stage. (Rie Nii, Staff Writer)