Symphony “Kūkai,” a Co-creation for Expo 2025 Osaka, Staged in Japan
- Tianguzhiyin
- Jul 15
- 2 min read
China News Service, July 15, 2025
Tokyo, July 15 (CNS) — Symphony “Kūkai,” a joint China-Japan artistic project for Expo 2025 Osaka, was recently performed in Osaka and in Kagawa Prefecture, Japan.
The tour is organized by Beijing Tianguzhiyin Cultural Media Co., Ltd. The performance features deep collaboration between Chinese and Japanese artists. It was conducted by the eminent Japanese conductor Kosuke Tsunoda, who led the Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra, together with the Choir of the Central Conservatory of Music of China. The event is hailed as a sincere cultural production built by ordinary people from both countries.
Before the Osaka performance, a cultural exchange meeting was held, at which Xue Jian, Consul General of the People’s Republic of China in Osaka; Taishin Imagawa, Chief Administrator of the Shingon Sect at Mount Kōya; Hayato Watarai, representative from the Embassy of Japan in China; and Yue Yongde, representing Beijing Tianguzhiyin, each delivered speeches. On the eve of the concert in Kagawa, Governor Toyohito Ikeda of Kagawa Prefecture met with representatives from Tianguzhiyin and the Central Conservatory Choir, expressing keen anticipation for a performance at “the birthplace of Kūkai,” and hoping that the visit and concert would serve as an opportunity to deepen exchanges between China and Kagawa.
In his address, Xue Jian said that Buddhist exchange between China and Japan has spanned a thousand years, serving as an important vehicle for cultural interaction, and has played a uniquely significant role in the development of bilateral relations. As an eminent monk who went to Tang-dynasty China in search of Buddhist teachings, Kūkai had a profound influence on the transmission of Buddhism in Japan, on Japanese culture and arts, and even on socio-economic development. He made outstanding contributions to the people-to-people friendship and cultural dialogue between the two nations. He expressed the hope that this musical feast jointly offered by Chinese and Japanese artists will further awaken and inspire emotional resonance between the peoples of both countries, help rebuild spiritual and value-based bonds, and promote the sustained improvement of Sino-Japanese relations in the new era.
After the performance, Taishin Imagawa commented: “The symphony Kūkai ends with the grand vow of Kōbō Daishi [Kūkai’s posthumous title]. I believe the work as a whole, connected with that vow, fully expresses Kūkai’s lifelong wish to devote everything for all sentient beings.”
During the concert reception, Hayato Watarai read a congratulatory message from Kenji Kanesugi, Japan’s Ambassador to China: “Symphony Kūkai makes an outstanding contribution to deepening mutual understanding and exchange between the peoples of Japan and China, to the cause of Japan-China friendship. I sincerely hope that this symphony—centered on this important historical figure in the history of Sino-Japanese exchange—can become a bridge beyond eras, languages, and borders, tightly connecting the hearts of people in Japan, China, and even the rest of the world.”
According to organizers, Symphony Kūkai, as one of the co-creation projects of Expo 2025 Osaka, aims to blend diverse differences and to resonate with the human spirit through music.
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Editor in charge: Zheng Yuntian
