"Good morning!!"

A loud voice resonates from the Book Plaza.

The powerful voice seems to resonate with the large school building and shake.

If you trace the source of the voice, you will find a gentleman who looks like a large Zelkova tree that has grown beautifully in all directions, smiling and facing the children.

That's right. Musician Naohito Sekiguchi has come to Gakusha Yumenomori.

Huh? Mr. Sekiguchi?

We would like to introduce him to our readers.

Musician Naohito Sekiguchi

Composer, music director, baritone singer. Born in Iwate Prefecture. Graduated from the Department of Vocal Music, Faculty of Music, Tokyo University of the Arts. While attending university, he has performed as a soloist in operas and religious songs as a vocalist, and has also participated in the Seiji Ozawa Opera Project and the opera "Un Ballo in Masquerade" conducted by Riccardo Muti. He is also active in many areas, including composing and music teaching.

From "Children of the Forest of Memories"
Here at Manabiya Yumenomori, he writes the lyrics and composes the original songs, and also serves as the musical director for the play. "Let's sow the seeds," "The place where I begin," "Let's go find it," etc. Just writing down the titles of the songs brings his beautiful melodies back to life in the back of my ears.

Sekiguchi asks the children.
"You all know about instruments, right? Pianists use pianos, violinists use violins, so they use instruments to make sounds. So, what instruments do we use when we 'sing' songs?"
"Hmm... instruments?"
"... our bodies?" The children answer.
"That's right. When we sing, our 'instruments' are our bodies."
The children are still dumbfounded.
"If you don't know the piano well, you can't play the piano. The same goes for the violin. And it's the same for singing. Knowing your own body well will create a rich sound."
To sing, you first need to explore your own body... His words are backed by deep knowledge, and I nodded along in agreement.

Sekiguchi's lesson began immediately.
Invited by his words, I tried to focus my attention on my "inside my body," something I don't usually pay much attention to.
When I make a sound, I tried placing my hands on various parts of my body to see which parts move.
"This area gets louder." One child placed his hand on his solar plexus.
"This area gets tired when I speak loudly." Another child rubbed the base of his foot. Even though the structure of our bodies is the same, there are still individual characteristics (or habits) in the way we use them.
Next, we tried to make a sound while lifting something heavy.
"Ready, set, go!"
Next, we tried to extend the last sound.
"Ready, set, go!"
"How was it? Was there any difference?"
In response to Sekiguchi's questions, each child made a new discovery.
By focusing their attention on their bodies, it seemed they had discovered a "new self" that they had not noticed before. I myself feel like my skin is peeling off every time I take a deep breath and let out a sound.

The last part is the "Breath and Breath Volleyball Game" using tissues.

Several people blow into a tissue so that it doesn't fall. Of course, they don't use their hands. They compete to see who can keep the tissue up the longest.

"Ready, go!"

All the students blow into the air with all their might.

Everyone is struggling with their mouths pursed and their faces red.

"Ah, I'm tired."

They are all smiling, even as they take a deep breath.

It was an hour of having fun exploring their own bodies through "voice."

Just a little more to finish... Even if you simply say "tree" in a sentence, the persuasiveness of the sentence will change dramatically depending on whether or not you have in your mind an image of the tree's leaves, its shape, its trunk, and other details... I'm sure a writer wrote something like that.
The same can be said not only about writing, but about "expressing" something.
By knowing "something" thoroughly, your expression will become more certain.
In order to grasp this world more clearly, express it yourself, and pass it on, you need to know it thoroughly, that is, you need "knowledge." The key to opening the door to a new world is always "knowledge."
The main purpose of school is to "gain knowledge," which is what "learning" is.
However, when we talk about "knowledge," there is "living knowledge" and "dead knowledge." I have to say that it is extremely dangerous to unilaterally condemn traditional education as "knowledge-oriented" without carefully examining the difference between the two, or to hastily conclude that "knowledge is no longer necessary."
I believe that the reason why Naohito Sekiguchi's music touches people's hearts is due more to his rich "knowledge" than to his sensitivity.