ROGER W. LOWTHER
the tsunami violin
ABOUT THE TSUNAMI VIOLIN
“Let me tell you about the music of my home in Japan: the rhythm of the waves, the song of the birds, the whistling of the wind, and the hum of the town.”
A tsunami from the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake sweeps away the peaceful life of a young tree. With no town, family, or friends, she feels like she has lost everything. She once again finds joy and purpose through an unexpected encounter with a master craftsman. Based on incredible real-life events, The Tsunami Violin tells an uplifting story of music, hope, and new life after tragedy.
「波の音、風のささやき、森の鳥のさえずり、丘に抱かれた町のざわめき、これがわたしの町の音楽でした。」
2011年の東日本大震災で、一本の若い木の静かな生活は突然壊されました。町も消え、友達や家族もいなくなって、すべてを失ったと感じました。しかし、あるおじさんとの出会いで、この木はもう一度喜びを見つけます。本当にあったすばらしい出来事に基づいた『TSUNAMIヴァイオリン』は、音楽と希望と新しい命の物語です。
Q&A
Q: What prompted you to write The Tsunami Violin?
A: I first heard about actual Tsunami Violin while giving concerts in the tsunami-stricken northeast coast of Japan after the 2011 earthquake. We rented the instrument for our Aroma of Beauty conference (my book of the same name shares its story) and invited the violin-maker Nakazawa-sensei to share his vision for the violin. Around that time, I realized I wanted to get this wonderful story of redemption out to even more people in any way I could. I asked the violin maker for permission, wrote out the story, and when illustrator Holly Rose Wallace interned with our team the next year the path forward for making the book became clear.
Q: What will children get out of The Tsunami Violin?
A: No child in the world today was around to remember the terrible disaster of 2011. Through the eyes of this Tsunami Violin as a young girl, they can hear this story of life from death, hope from despair, and salvation beyond all expectation.
Q: What were some special moments in creating the book?
A: A core group of five of us met together once every two weeks or so for months to talk through the book and decide how best to tell this story through words, images, and placement of text. The book is so much better for our work together. I am proud of our team and the hard work everyone put in to bringing this project to completion. Also, I love how the refrain from the opening page of the book repeats throughout. It has the structure of a song, with a back and forth between verse and chorus. I also love how the little yellow bird appears throughout the story as a subtle reference to the presence of the Holy Spirit in the midst of our darkest moments.
Q: Do you plan to write other children's books?
A: Well, I do have another story in my head. We'll see!
Roger W. Lowther
Founder and director of Community Arts Tokyo, assisting church planting through the arts. Roger is also director of faith and art at Grace City Church Tokyo and coordinator for the MAKE Collective, a global network of missionary artists. He has been serving with Mission to the World in Japan since 2005. Roger has studied at The Juilliard School, Columbia University, and Reformed Theological Seminary. He lives in downtown Tokyo with his wife Abi and boys.
Holly Rose Wallace
Holly Rose Wallace is a freelance artist from Cleveland, Ohio specializing in illustration and character design, with a passion for comics and animation. She enjoys working with clients to design merchandise, tattoos, and original character designs. Holly worked for two years in Nagoya, Japan, where she exhibited her artwork and interned with a network of international artists at Gallery nani. The Tsunami Violin is her debut as a children’s book illustrator. Find her on Instagram at @hollyrose.art.
