My Mixiであり、ロスに住むジャズギタリストの友人、Zak Magamiさんに翻訳のご協力をいただいた一通のメールが、Gibsons社の公式facebookページで紹介されました。 Zakさんによる翻訳や、ギターリペアの専門技術等、 それぞれのスキルを生かした、新しいスタイルの被災地支援の可能性を感じています。
以下、facebookに紹介されたGibsonのコメントとZakさんのmailです。
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Here's a heartwarming story! Zak Magami sent this story in to us. Thanks for sharing this Zak...if any of you mentioned below are out there on FB, stop in and say hi!
From Zak:
"I would like to share a story of Gibson Guitar that went through the Tsunami in Japan 3/11 in 2011 and that guitar is supporting the family.
A friend of mine Ms. Ritsuko Nobe is helping families at a temporally housing center as a volunteer in North Eastern Japan after the earthquake and tsunami hit. She shared with me this story.
One of the families that Ristuko met was The Chiba family who run Oyster business which has 50 years of history in Utatsu town of Minami Sanriku area. But on March 11th 2011, they lost everything by 65 feet of Tsunami. Mr Chiba, he really likes to play guitar and purchased Gibson J-45 in 2006 which he loved so much. This Guitar was taken by the Tsunami in 3/11. But fortunately it was found under the collapsed house 2 miles from his home a month later. His guitar was protected by the hard shell case but salty and muddy water penetrated into the case. The warped guitar was not offering any sound at all. He took the guitar to the shop that he punched for the repair, the shop owner mentioned to him it was much cheaper to buy a new one , since it was not reparable. But this guitar has a special meaning to him because it went through the Tsunami like his family. So he cleaned up his guitar and made it to make sound coming out. The sound heals all the families in the temporally housing.
But his guitar condition was getting worse and worse, it may end up unplayable soon. Then God found a repairman for him. His name was Mr. Saito, he offered to repair Taku's Gibson guitar voluntary [at no charge]. Mr. Saito has never experienced to repair the one which damaged by Tsunami, but he has been repairing Taku's Gibson now.
Now Taku is dreaming to have his family Oyster business back so as his Gibson. When he plays guitar, all his family is going to sing to share fun time to forget the day of 3/11. His precious Gibson J-45 guitar is supporting him and his family too."
See the of the pictures in the Album "Tsunami Guitar"