About Ginza and Ho Etsu Taiko Aug 9-11 2019: The Midwest Buddhist Temple's long-running summer festival is a staple of Chicago's Old Town neighborhood and one of Ho Etsu's favorite festivals to perform. Ho Etsu got its start as a youth drumming group at...
On September 8 Ho Etsu will once again participate in Japan House Matsuri at the University of Illinois. Held on the grounds of Japan House and the University Arboretum, on the U of I campus in Champaign-Urbana, the festival showcases Japanese culture. To learn more follow...
Ho Etsu's premier of their new concert, Emergent
Ho Etsu's concert Emergent on March 29, 2020 in Schaumburg, IL
Ho Etsu's concert Emergent on April 17, 2020 in Little Rock, AR
This year MBT's Ginza Holiday Festival will be 'VIRTUAL'. On AUGUST 8 @ NOON we'll premiere a film chronicling the history of Ginza's 64 year run. Memories, photos and videos have been collected from many sources including guests, performers, exhibitors and of course temple volunteers....
Ho Etsu will be participating in Japan House's summer program: GANBARU: Day of Giving on August 29. he day-long program will offer sessions on culture and entertainment. You can watch many of the events from your computer. Ho Estu is scheduled to perform during the...
Ho Etsu's concert Emergent on October 17, 2020 in Davenport, IA
DAY OF REMEMBRANCE for more information: Chicago Day of Remembrance (wordpress.com)
Ho Etsu Concert Monday, April 11 at 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM Norther Illinois University Boutell Memorial Concert Hall 550 Lucinda Ave, DeKalb, IL 60115 for more information: NIU Events
Composer’s note: Poston is an incarceration camp in Arizona that held over 17,000 Japanese American citizens rounded up and displaced by the US government during World War II.
Only what you can carry, they said
An unknown future, moving forward
Separation, nulled identities
Stories hidden, some may never know
Divided by war (Unified to forge ahead)
What lies ahead from here? (We’re staring into present day)
No time for the past (Unified in face of hate)
What lies ahead from here? (Won’t let it repeat again)
All life
All life is
All the love you give
Tell me Where does your heart
Your heart live?
All life
All life is
All the love you give
Tell me Where does your heart
Your heart live?
In the nightwood, dark and deep
The tiny songbird cries in sleep
Sleep my love, though the wind do wail
And snow clouds pile, and storm and hail
Black bough trees, cold earth beneath
The breath of night bares icy teeth
Water moves, though the moving’s slow
And the deepest root guards life below
Fire flicker, warm and bright
Bind us in your ring of light
Shadows tall on the cold ground cast
Draw dancing shapes of those who passed
Gather now in the circle round
While the hoarfrost kiss the ground
Heart and hand and drum and song
We speak of them, we speak of them, our voices strong
Mountains high and oceans wide
The dead stand with us, side by side
Greeting’s sweet and parting’s sore
And still time’s tide wears on our shore, wears on our shore
And still time’s tide wears on our shore
Come by me and share your light
Walk hand in hand into the night
Glowing hearts and our faces cold
Life catches us in a web of gold
In the nightwood, dark and deep
A tiny songbird sighs in sleep
Sleep my child though the wind do cry
My love will keep you by and by