Editor’s Note: This essay was written by Rev. Senji Kanaeda, a Buddhist Monk from the Nipponzan Myohoji Buddhist Temple at Bainbridge Island in Washington State. The monks of the Bainbridge Island temple are facilitating an effort to build the Pacific Northwest Peace Pagoda, the first peace pagoda in the Western United States. This major effort is nearing completion thanks to the collective efforts of many people. The peace pagoda is being built at Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action, which is adjacent to Naval Base Kitsap-Bangor, Pacific homeport for the U.S. Navy’s OHIO Class “Trident” ballistic missile submarines. Click here to learn more about the Pacific Northwest Peace Pagoda. Please also note that the monks from the Bainbridge Island temple will lead their annual Pacific Northwest Interfaith Peace Walk from Vancouver, Washington to Seattle from July 27th to August 6th. All are welcome to join the walk for any part. Click here for more information.
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By Senji Kanaeda
John Coltrane had a particular desire to perform in Hiroshima and Nagasaki for the only performance in his life in Japan, and it was granted. He gave 17 concerts in two weeks in nine cities, from Tokyo to Nagasaki at the western end. Arriving at Nagasaki Station, Coltrane walked along the platform while practicing the flute. In a conversation with reporters in Nagasaki, he replied, “I’m looking for the sound of Nagasaki.” He performed “Peace on Earth,” which he had just composed, in many cities of Japan.I am convinced that the pagoda being built next to the world largest concentration of nuclear weapons (just 20 miles west of Seattle) and the prayer of John Coltrane, an American, are one.
John & Alice Coltrane at Nagasaki, Japan, July 1966
不世出のジャズマン（作曲家）ジョン·コルトレーン：長崎爆心地にて1966,7/14
（ほぼ一年後の7月17日逝去、享年40歳）ジョン‧コルトレーンはその生涯で唯一の日本公演にあたり広島と長崎での演奏を特に望みました。そしてそれはかなえられました。彼は東京から西端の長崎までの9都市で2週間の間に17回のコンサートを行いました。長崎駅に着いたコルトレーンはフルートの練習をしながらプラットフォームを歩いていました。地元長崎の記者団の質問に彼は「長崎の音を探しているのです。」と答えました。
作曲したばかりの「Peace on Earth（地上の平和）」を日本の多くの都市で演奏しました。私たちが今、シアトル近郊の世界最大の核兵器貯蔵庫の隣に立ち上げようとしている仏舎利塔と、1966年に長崎を訪ねたアメリカ人のジョン‧コルトレーンの祈りがひとつである事を確信しています。
Pacific Northwest Peace Pagoda under construction, December 1, 2022.
