Transcript Slide 1

Sakura Namiki in Washington D.C., USA
(photos compiled by Tuan Vu, Olympia, WA, USA, lyrics embedded by Dang Luong Mo of HCM City, VN)
MY DEAR LOVER
(translation by Dang Luong Mo)
KOIBITO-YO
Mayumi ITSUWA ca
On the evening when withered leaves are falling,
Telling of a cold that is coming,
I was sitting in the rain on a broken bench
Without a murmuring love song
My dear lover please stay by me
Just stay with me for I am being frozen
Tell me you are just kidding
By saying good-bye and please smile
Kareha chiru yuugure wa
Kuruhi no samusa wo monogatari
Ame ni kowareta benchi niwa
Ai wo sasayaku uta mo nai
Koibito yo, soba ni ite
Kogoeru watashi no soba ni ite yo
Soshite hitokoto kono wakare-banashi ga
Joudan da yo to waratte hoshii
A jogging man passing by
On the gravel road
Seems to seduce me who am standing still
As if I want to forget all
My dear lover good-bye
The seasons keep on changing though
The shooting star we were looking at that evening
Flashing and disappearing, has just become a heartless dream
My dear lover please stay by me
Just stay with me for I am being frozen
Tell me you are just kidding
By saying good-bye and please smile
Jarimichi wo kakeashi de
Marason bito ga yuki sugiru
Marude boukyaku wo nozomu youni
Tomaru watashi wo sasotte-iru
Koibito yo, sayonara
Kisetsu wa megutte kuru kedo
Anohi no futari, yoi no nagare-boshi
Hikatte wa kieru, mujou no yume yo
Koibito yo, soba ni ite
Kogoeru watashi no soba ni ite yo
Soshite hitokoto kono wakare-banashi ga
Joudan da yo to watte hoshii
Kareha chiru yuug(k)ure wa
(On the evening when withered leaves are falling)
Kuruhi no samusa wo monogatari
(Telling of a cold that is coming)
Ame ni kowareta benchi niwa
Ai wo sasayaku uta mo nai
(I was sitting in the rain on a broken bench
Without a murmuring love song)
Koibito yo soba ni ite
(My dear lover please stay by me)
Kogoeru watashi no soba ni ite yo
(Just stay with me for I am being frozen)
Soshite hitokoto kono wakarebanashi ga
Joudan da yo to…
(Tell me you are just kidding, by saying good-bye…)
waratte hoshii
(…and please smile)
Jarimichi wo kake-ashi de
(On the gravel road,…)
Marason bito ga yuki sugiru
(A jogging man passing by)
Marude boukyaku (wo) nozomu youni
(As if I want to forget all)
Tomaru watashi wo sasotte-iru
(Seems to seduce me who am standing still)
Koibito yo, sayonara
(My dear lover good-bye)
Kisetsu wa megutte kuru kedo
(The seasons keep on changing though)
Anohi no futari yoi no nagareboshi
(A shooting star we were looking at that evening)
Hikatte wa kieru mujou no yume yo
(Flashing and disappearing, has just become a heartless dream)
Koibito yo, soba ni ite
(My dear lover please stay by me)
Kogoeru watashi no soba ni ite yo
(Just stay with me for I am being frozen)
Soshite hitokoto…
(Tell me…)
…kono wakarebanashi ga
(By saying good-bye…)
Joudan da yo to…
(…you are just kidding)
…waratte hoshii
(…and please smile)
History of Cherry Trees in America
-City of Tokyo gave 3,000 Cherry trees to Washington, D.C., in 1912.
-3,800 more Cherry trees were given in 1965.
-In 1981 the cycle of giving came full circle. Japanese horticulturalists came
to take cuttings from our trees to replace Yoshino cherry trees in Japan
which had been destroyed in a flood.
-Cuttings from a famous 1500 years old Japanese cherry tree in Gifu
province were planted in Washington D.C.
- The National Cherry Blossom Festival annually commemorates the gifts of
Japan to America