Akai Kutsu

Akai Kutsu (lit. Red Shoes) is a Japanese nursery rhyme written in December of 1921, about a girl adopted by foreigners and taken to the United States.

A statue dedicated to Iwasaki Kimi, the little girl in the song.

The song is sung as if the singer knew the girl, and speaks of how the singer imagines her eyes have turned blue, and how each time he sees a foriegner, or a pair of red shoes, the singer thinks of her.

The song was written in December of 1912 by a Japanese Poet, Ujō Noguchi, and composed by Nagayo Motōri.

The subject of the song is Iwasaki Kimi, born July 15th, 1902 in the village of Fujimi (now Shimizu). Despite the song suggesting she was adopted by a foreigner, the American couple did not return with her to the United States. She was diagnosed with tuberculosis, which was incurable at that time, and could not leave Japan. She was given to an orphanage run by the Methodists Church in Tokyo to care for, where she died of her illness at age 9.

There are several statues across Japan in the memory of the girl, some with donation boxes. There is also a statue in the Port of San Diego, unveiled on the 28th of June, 2010.

External links

• bulldog2.redlands.edu The Lyrics in [Romanji], with English translation, as well as a performance of the song.
• wikimapia.org A Wikimapia article regarding one of the scultpures in Yokohama.