The Life of a Steadfast, Unworldly Man ～Memorial Service for Iwasaki Matsuo held in Tokyo

 

On June 24th, a memorial service to remember IWASAKI Matsuo was held at the Space Tampopo Plaza in Tokyo. He was a former Kokuro Tosodan (National Railway Workers’ Union Dismissed Members Group) member and died of cancer in February at the age of 68. Among the 1,047 workers laid off as a result of the division and privatization of Japan’s railway industry in the late 1980s, Iwasaki relocated to Tokyo from Kagoshima, where he was laid off, to work as a full-time organizer for Kokuro Tosodan; in recent years, he was involved in the anti-nuclear movement in his hometown. Two members from Kottaji, a Korean modern folk song group of which Iwasaki was a core member, traveled to Japan for the memorial service where Kottaji singer Park Hyan-Mi captivated the audience with her performance of “Bird,” a song based on a poem by the famous Korean playwright and poet Kim Chi-ha (photo). The jovial atmosphere of the memorial service reflected the exuberance with which Iwasaki lived his life. “Although I was working for the postal service and not the railway industry, Iwasaki and I became instant buddies as fellow laid-off workers,” NAGOYA Tetsuichi said in a speech. “No matter what happened at the top, Iwasaki never wavered.” Then, he added jokingly, “Perhaps the possibility of wavering never even crossed his mind…. He was quite an unworldly person.” His comment drew laughter from the crowd. (MATSUBARA Akira)

Youtube of  Park Hyan-Mi' singing

ブレない不器用な男のたたかい～国労闘争団「岩崎松男さんを偲ぶ会」開かれる

6月24日、東京・スペースたんぽぽで「岩崎松男さんを偲ぶ会」が開かれた。岩崎さんは元国労闘争団で、30年前の国鉄分割・民営化で解雇された1047人の一人。鹿児島で解雇されたが上京して専従としてたたかってきた。近年は地元の反原発運動にも関わっていたが、今年2月がんのため68歳で亡くなった。韓国民衆歌謡グループ「コッタジ」応援団の中心メンバーでもあり、偲ぶ会には韓国からコッタジ関係者が2名来日した。コッタジ歌手のパク・ヒャンミさんは金芝河の詩に歌をつけた「鳥」を歌って追悼、会場を魅了した（写真）。「偲ぶ会」は本人にふさわしく明るく楽しい集いになった。呼びかけ人のスピーチで名古屋哲一さんは「私は郵政だったが、同じ解雇仲間でウマがあった。かれは上が変わってもブレなかった。たぶんブレたり他の選択を考える頭がなかっただけかも…。不器用な人間だった」と笑わせた。（松原明） 
パク・ヒャンミさんの歌（6分）