HIROSHIMA
Hiroshima Castle
The 30 year anniversary event for Led Zeppelin's
Hiroshima concert, namely "Led Zeppelin Tribute in
Hiroshima", was held on October 8, 2001.
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to join the main event. However, I
entered Hiroshima on October 7, in order to join the evening
event of the night before.
Taking this opportunity, I decided to travel several places in
Hiroshima related to Led Zeppelin, before the evening event was
started.
Map of Hiroshima
Led Zeppelin arrived at Hiroshima station (see
(1) on the map) on September 26, 1971, 30 years ago from today.
I got on Bullet train at Fukuoka prefecture and arrived at
Hiroshima station on October 7, 2001, in order to attend the
evening event of the night before
Hiroshima Station
Led Zeppelin used Bullet train for touring around
Japan.
We have several types of Bullet trains these days, but only this
type was available when Led Zeppelin came to Japan. When I was
taking pictures of this train, a middle aged gentleman, a
hard-core train fan, talked to me and then taught me that this
type had been originated in 1962,
Led Zeppelin kicked up a fuss on this train, and Japanese tour
staff was terrified.
Bullet Train
A guy called "PEIJI", who is the owner
of Japanese Led Zeppelin WEB site, "Houses of The
Holy", was waiting for me at South exit of
Hiroshima station.
PEIJI and myself went to Hiroshima prefectural gymnasium by taxi,
where Led Zeppelin had a concert (see (2) on the map). It looks
different from 30 years ago, as it has been reconstructed.
Hiroshima Prefectural Gymnasium
Before Led Zeppelin showed up on the stage at
Hiroshima concert, the master of ceremony said "Good
Evening! Your long awaited Led Zeppelin came to Hiroshima at
last! The band came to Japan for today's "Love and Peace Led
Zeppelin Charity Concert" at Hiroshima prefectural
gymnasium. In this connection, this Charity Concert at Hiroshima
has more priority than 2 concerts at Tokyo and 2 concerts at
Osaka.
As this is a charity concert, they don't receive any guarantee!
No guarantee at all! Please give them your big hands later on.
Hiroshima municipal office will contribute all the revenues from
your admission fees to victims of atomic air raid. We now Rock
music has the spirit of Love and Peace and liberation."
(quoted from "Led Zeppelin Tribute in Hiroshima"
booklet)
And we met another friend called "kimiy" here. Three of
us walked to Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Memorial Dome. (See (5) on the
map) This Memorial Dome silently appeals the desire for peace,
while this is the only facility, exhibiting the disastrous scenes
at atomic air raid. It has been registered as a global legacy,
i.e. the property conveying the history of human being's
mistakes, and also became the symbolic presence for everlasting
peace. This Memorial Dome has been registered as a global legacy
related World War II, next to Auschwitz concentration camp in
Poland. Meanwhile, this building was originally called
"Industry Promotion House of Hiroshima Prefecture".
Atomic Bomb Memorial Dome
The band members of Led Zeppelin visited this
Memorial Dome, and went to the atomic bomb library located inside
Peace Park (See (3) on the map).
We went through the side walk, watching the Memorial Dome, then
entered Peace Park (see (3) on the map).
We found several monuments, such as Spring of Peace and Light of
Peace, there. "Ceremony for Peace" is held on August 6
in this place every year. 50 - 60 thousands of people get
together for this Ceremony from all over the world, wishing to
eliminate nuclear weapons.
Jimmy Page took his picture at this place, lying on the grass. I
also wanted to take my picture in the same manner as Jimmy, but I
couldn't make it because of a trespass notice. Thus, I just took
my picture on the verge of the grass.
At
Peace Park 
Then we entered the atomic bomb library, i.e. the
facility exhibiting the material for damage by atomic air raid.
This material vividly shows the damage right after the bombing.
East building of the library shows the history of Hiroshima
before/after atomic air raid. West building of the library shows
several articles left by the victims, appealing that the result
of atomic air raid was extremely devastating.
I heard that John Paul Jones couldn't find a word and Jimmy Page
shed tears when they visited this library.
We (kimmy and myself) have visited this library before, while I
understand that Jimmy Page was very much moved during his first
visit to this library.
Atomic Bomb Library
As the evening event of the night before was
going start soon, we had supper at Macdonald's nearby, then
entered the event venue.
I met the prime event organizers, namely Mr. Taniguchi (the onwer
of "Magical Zep World" WEB site) and
Mr. Kobayashi (the owner of "Tangerin" WEB site, and the core
band member of Equinox) .
With
Mr. Taniguchi and Mr. Kobayashi
Finally, the evening event was started. Led Zeppelin tribute bands, IMMIGRANZ and 151A, performed on the stage, and there was a joint session with other players.
IMMIGRANZ 
151A
The followings are the comments/reviews for both
the evening event and main event, which the audience reported on
BBS:
From kimiy:
I was so excited. If you are a Zeppelin fan, I feel as if you
were my good old friend. Ha ha ha, thank you!
From Nobacchi:
I really enjoyed both the evening event and main event. I hope to
see you one day.
From L, B:
Hiroshima is quite distant from my home town. It wasn't easy for
me to go to Hiroshima, but I was much satisfied with the live
performance at the evening event. I am thankful to IMMIGRANZ,
151A and all the people supporting the live performance.
From PEIJI:
Thank you very much for everything you did to me in Hiroshima. I
appreciate the great performance by IMMIGRANZ at the evening
event. I was impressed with the costume and speech. I was
video-taping the performance, while the speech was really
entertaining to me. I will be more than happy to participate in
another event, if any. For those who didn't join this event,
don't miss the next event at all. This event is unforgettable and
indispensable to my life.
(Kodakara from 151A)
Thank you very much for your support in Hiroshima. I was quite
happy during these 2 days. I apologize to you for our incomplete
performance at the evening event, as one of our band members was
heavily drunken.
We managed to make it at the main event, although there were some
unexpected troubles, i.e. a guitar string was cut off and our
combination was incomplete in some songs, while these troubles
happened to Led Zeppelin, as well. I hope to have another event
again!
(ROBERTOH from IMMIGRANZ)
Thank you very much for your support in Hiroshima. I cannot
forget the incidents at these nights for the rest of my life. I
discovered that I was capable enough to entertain the audience
with my speech, regardless of the quality of performance. Let's
get together in Hitoshima again.
(Aosuzu from 151A)
I was very happy to meet all of you. I could meet many Led
Zeppelin fans, including Ms. Numata, who I wanted to meet in
person from before, and these 2 days were really fruitful to me.
It was fantastic, in deed. I cannot forget it for the rest of my
life.
I also enjoyed the evening event on 7th from the depth of my
mind. As I was a bit drunken, I am sorry for the drunken
performance.
All the band members were rather tense on the main event, but we
tried it very hard. I hope that you tolerate our performance this
time, and I can see you again regardless of the quality of our
performance. Also, please come to Kansai (Western part of Japan),
if you have a chance.
Let's get together again!
I joined the after party, following the evening
event, and it was pretty much enjoyable. The after party was held
at the restaurant called "FUKUFUKU TEI", and we enjoyed
Japanese local cuisine. We went to the place called "Smatora
Tiger" for the 2nd after party, and the live session was
started again.
Then, the after party continued to the 3rd and 4th, and the night
grew late.
At
the After Party
We kept drinking until the following morning. We
went to Hiroshima municipal office (see (4) on the map) in the
morning, although we were extremely sleepy. The building was
reconstructed in 1985, after Led Zeppelin members visited there.
The members met the mayor at his office, and contributed the
revenue from the concert, i.e. 7 million yen, to the city. The
mayor gave the members the Civil Charter, thanking for this
contribution.
Robert Plant, representing Led Zeppelin, said to the mayor
"We were born after the atomic air raid. We are not in a
position to blame anybody, as it just happened in the past
history and it was human being who did it. It is not our fault,
but our "past" should be blamed. We would like to
express our sincere apology about it. In this regard, we would
like to help any victims who have been suffering from the
bombing. Music can bring peace and joy to you. We, the musicians,
will feel honorable if we can be of help to anybody."
Hiroshima Municipal Office
Led
Zeppelin at Mayor's Office of Hiroshima Municipal Office
We went to Peace Park again. PEIJI visited the
atomic bomb library again, to look into the material more
carefully. I was just sitting on a bench at the Park, by way of
killing time, until PEIJI came back.
We went for lunch to have OKONOMIYAKI (Japanese style Pizza),
which is one of the special products in Hiroshima, after PEIJI
came back.
They baked that Japanese Pizza in front of our table, and we were
impressed with the cook's performance. It tasted real good, too.
As a matter of fact, another friend called "Nobacchi",
the owner of "Led Impulse"
WEB site, was there, but we didn't recognize each other, as we
were busy for eating.
At
Japanese Pizza Restaurant
Kimiy joined us after lunch, then three of us
went to South municipal culture center, which was the venue for
the main event. We wanted to say "good bye" to Mr.
Taniguchi, the prime organizer of the event.
At the main event, Ms. Ikumi Numata (the owner of "Led Zeppelin Collectors Only" WEB site) and Mr. Ysunori Naitoh
(the manager of Fukuyama branch of used record shop
"Groovin''", an eyewitness of Zeppelin's Hiroshima
concert) did lectures, and Zeppelin tribute bands,
"151A" and "Equinox", played on the stage.
When we arrived at the venue, Equinox was rehearsing. Mrs.
Taniguchi invited us to enter the venue. I was very happy to see
their rehearsal, because I was unable to join the main event
itself.
At
The Rehearsal
Then I reluctantly left the venue for Hiroshima
station.
I am thankful to the prime organizers, Mr. Taniguchi and Mr.
Kobayashi, and also all the other friends. I am also thankful for
the lectures to Ms. Numata and Mr. Naitoh. 151A, Equinox,
IMMIGRANZ, and session participants did good jobs, as well. I
thank all the staff members for this fantastic event. Finally, I
would like to express my appreciation to kimiy and PEIJI for
joining my trip to Hiroshima.
* For further details on the evening event and main event, please refer to the reports by Aosuzu, Nobacchi, IMMIGRANZ and PEIJI.
Newspaper Article on This Event
October 5, 2001 CHUUGOKU PAPER (Evening Paper)
Led Zeppelin tribute bands,
"151A" from Western part of Japan and
"Equinox" from Hiroshima, will play Zeppelin songs. The
live version of "Dazed and Confused" will be completely
recreated on the stage on this event.
Led Zeppelin represents 70's rock bands. They had the 1st
"standing ovation" concert in Hiroshima, gathering
approx. 5 thousand audience at former Hiroshima prefectural
gymnasium.
An eyewitness of Led Zeppelin charity concert will be invited to
this anniversary event in order to share his memory with the
audience, showing slide pictures of Led Zeppelin relaxing at
Peace Park.
Led Zeppelin contributed the revenue from the charity concert to
Hiroshima city, approx. 7 million yen, for the victims. Jimmy
Page, one of the world's three greatest guitarists, said "We
didn't experience the war, but it was disgraceful that the human
being dropped the atomic bomb."
This anniversary event was organized by Led Zeppelin related WEB
site owners, Mr. Taniguchi and Mr. Kobayashi.
My personal opinion on the meaning of Led
Zeppelin's Hiroshima concert
The terrorism at New York city was such a catastrophe. TV
broadcasting of collapsed buildings was shocking enough.
Nevertheless, I feel that we haven't been well informed of the
situations/histories in Palestine.
We cannot tolerate terrorism at all, as a genocide brings upon
another genocide.
The current situation of Taliban faction in Afghanistan, which is
being isolated, reminds of that of Japan right after Peal Harbor
air raid at World War II. Had Pearl Harbor air raid been
televised, it would have ignited the worldwide hatred.
After I looked into the studies related to atomic bomb, I started
doubting if America really needed to drop atomic bombs twice,
while Japan was losing the War. I have been doubting that it
probably wasn't for warfare, but for experiment.
Many people believe that the atomic air raid was a right thing.
They say that the atomic bomb accelerated the end of the War. It
can be interpreted as "Japan was so dirty that it deserves
being atomic-bombed." From my point of view, the Allied
Powers understood that it was the victory of justice.
When I walked in Peace Park, I found a few monuments from foreign
countries. Most of them are from the countries called
"Eastern" in the cold war era. The only exception was
Brazil where many Japanese immigrants lived.
I received a political message from these monuments, rather than
a desire for Peace, and it was disappointing to me.
The Eastern countries might have used "bombing at
Hiroshima/Nagasaki" for criticizing the Western countries.
If that is true, it is quite a sorrow to me.
I am not writing this opinion to discuss the purpose of atomic
bomb and postwar issues. I am desiring that not only my daughter
but also other children in the world can live, without killing,
being killed or being burned in a cruel bombing from the maternal
point of view.
It seems to me that the band members of Led Zeppelin were raised
under the sentiment of "the atomic air raid was a right
thing" in the UK, belonging to the Allied Powers.
Nevertheless, Led Zeppelin came to Hiroshima to have a charity
concert for victims, visited the atomic bomb library, and
expressed their apology. I think that they were so serious that
they did these contributions.
It is highly respectable and impressive that Led Zeppelin
directly contributed the revenue from the concert to the victims,
rather than constructing a fancy monument.
We can proudly declare that our beloved Led Zeppelin is one of
the greatest rock bands in the world, handing down their story in
Hiroshima to the next generation.
Scripted by U
October, 2001
TOSHI, THE MEMBER OF RUSTY LED, SPECIAL THANKS FOR YOUR NICE TRANSLATION.
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