Original title: Although Tanimura passed away, happiness will last forever
Bi Zhenshan
“I also want to set off and say goodbye, Star of Destiny!” Japanese musician Shinji Tanimura once sang in the popular song “Star”. Today, Shinji Tanimura bids farewell to this world completely.
According to Japanese media reports, Shinji Tanimura died in Japan on October 8 at the age of 74. In March this year, Shinji Tanimura underwent surgery for acute enteritis. He has been undergoing treatment and recovery since then, but he ultimately failed to recover and passed away.
The life of Shinji Tanimura is quite legendary. In 1965, Shinji Tanimura founded his first band, Rock Candies, at the age of 16. Five years later, he took the band to tour the Americas and became a singing sensation all the way. When he arrived in New York, he was shocked by American rock music. After returning, Shinji Tanimura formed a new band ALICE, whose members included Takao Horiuchi and Toru Yazawa, injecting new energy into Japanese music.
In 1974, Shinji Tanimura released his first album “Xiao”, which shocked the Japanese music scene in one fell swoop. A year later, his new album “Sea Cat” came out. Tanimura’s works are melodious and profound in style, deeply rooted in people’s hearts, and are widely popular in Japan. In 1976, he set a Japanese music record of 303 performances in a year, which has never been broken.
In 1980, Shinji Tanimura released the album “Hoshi”, and the song “Hoshi” of the same name quickly became popular and became his most popular song. The song has been adapted into multiple language versions and has been covered by many singers in Hong Kong. In 1981, Shinji Tanimura held concerts in many Asian countries, and his influence continued to expand. It was also this year that he appeared on the Chinese stage for the first time and participated in a concert called “Hand in Hand” at the Beijing Workers’ Stadium.
In Shinji Tanimura’s view, he has an indissoluble bond with China. The inspiration for “Star” came from his imagination of northern China. He hopes to promote cultural exchanges and people-to-people bonds between China and Japan through music.
In 1984, Shinji Tanimura, Zhao Yongbi and Alan Tam jointly founded the “Peaceful World of Music” (PAX MUSICA) to promote cultural exchanges between countries in the form of music. When China was experiencing SARS in 2003, he held a concert in Japan to support China and donated all the funds raised to the Red Cross Society of China. In 2004, he was appointed as a permanent professor at Shanghai Conservatory of Music.
In 2008, Shinji Tanimura participated in the Asia Night concert in Beijing and sang “Star”. In 2010, Shinji Tanimura also sang this song at the opening ceremony of the Shanghai World Expo, where he served as the Japanese promotion ambassador for the World Expo. In 2018, Shinji Tanimura held a concert in Beijing to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the signing of the Sino-Japanese Treaty of Peace and Friendship.
According to statistics, Shinji Tanimura composed more than 700 songs throughout his life, held more than 4,000 concerts around the world, and sold more than 30 million records. He is regarded as a “national treasure” musician in Japan. His works combine Japanese ballads, rock, pop and other styles, so they can cross borders and be sung in many countries. The most famous ones are “Star”, “Flower” and “Romantic Railway” wait.
Japanese media reported that Shinji Tanimura was planning a new concert before his death. But his sudden departure not only made this plan impossible to realize, but also made Japan and even the Asian music industry feel regretful.
Takao Horiuchi, who once formed a band with Shinji Tanimura, said: “If Tanimura had not invited me at that time, I would not be where I am now.” Toruya Yazawa said: “Tanimura already lives in the hearts of each of us.”
Shinji Tanimura made great contributions to the friendly exchanges between China and Japan throughout his life. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China also expressed condolences on the death of Shinji Tanimura. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said that many of Shinji Tanimura’s works are popular in China and are deeply loved by the Chinese people. “The man has passed away, but his style will live on forever. We look forward to more far-sighted people from both countries to carry forward the past and open up the future for peace between China and Japan.” The friendly music will be sung from generation to generation.”
Shinji Tanimura once said: “I hope that my music can bring happiness to the people who hear it, and I hope that people will gain strength from my music and work hard to move forward.” I believe that in the future, Shinji Tanimura’s concerts will continue to wash more The human soul brings more happiness to this world.
