永遠の友情を - To Eternal Friendship (Sino-Japanese Friendship Song) [Original Recording]

Details

Description

A song composed by Japanese Maoist singer Mitsuko Ogasawara, known for her performances of "The East Is Red" (https://youtu.be/Kxb2PApwLYs) and "Sailing the Seas Depends on the Helmsman" (https://youtu.be/YIomuSAz_Ic) in Japanese. The lyrics to the song were written collectively as part of Ogasawara's "Sino-Japanese Friendship Song Classroom" (日中友好の歌の教室), a group active during the Cultural Revolution with the goal of translating Chinese revolutionary songs and writing songs of friendship between the two countries. After the end of the Cultural Revolution, Ogasawara's focus shifted more to the DPRK and she became chair of the Japanese-Korean Music and Arts Exchange Association (日朝音楽芸術交流会). This recording was performed by Ogasawara herself, but a recording with a Chinese soloist and choir singing the song also exists: https://youtu.be/dSBXL70L1IQ

Chinese Title: 为了永恒的友誼
Performer/Composer: Mitsuko Ogasawara (小笠原美都子)
Lyricist: Sino-Japanese Friendship Song Classroom (日中友好の歌の教室)
Source: Vinyl record "永遠の友情を"
Image: Chinese citizens welcome the arrival of the "Second Sino-Japanese Friendship Kitakyushu Youth Ship" at port in Dalian, China, April 1977. Banner: "Warm Welcome to the Second Sino-Japanese Friendship Kitakyushu Youth Ship!" (热烈欢迎日本第二次日中友好北九州市青年之船访华团！)