As rain fell from a grey and gloomy sky above Japan's capital city of Tokyo, the dulcet sounds from an acoustic guitar reverberated brilliantly off the concrete walls under a small bridge, naturally amplifying the harmonics.
The accompanying voice albeit astounding, was, however, distinctly haunting.
"I usually play over there," said 23-year-old Naoyuki Hironaka, gesturing to the tall trees that surround the city's iconic Yoyogi Park.
"But I've come here to take shelter. I'll play on regardless. I have something to say," the young musician said determinedly.
While the talents of this soloist were incontrovertible, with his rhythmic, contemporary, urban style not dissimilar to that of the likes of Ed Sheeran, it was the content of the lyrics and the passion with which they were belted out that set this musician apart.
"There's no place in this world for war. If we look to the past we can see the future. As a nation we scream 'no more!' We live to love with peace as the wind in our sail and we'll end up at the perfect destination," so the English translation of Hironaka's chorus went.
The young musician told Xinhua that he often sings about Japan, admitting that while a few years ago he sang about more lighthearted topics in a style that was more "pop," nowadays he felt the climate around him changing and so found his music becoming darker, more melancholy, politically-charged and stirring to the ears.
He said that he feared for the future of Japan amid such uncertain times, adding that since he'd left school and university, he'd been more exposed and had learned more about the political scene here from a global perspective.
"When I was younger, I thought we (Japan) had always been a peaceful nation and that the world wasn't such a bad place. We didn't learn much about history in school, but we became more politically active in university and some of our foreign lecturers told us things about the war we'd never been taught before," said Hironaka.
"I read a lot of foreign history books that had been translated into Japanese and started checking stuff out on the Internet and realized the awful things Japan did to so many people during the war. It really upset me, but when I asked my non-uni friends and family about this, they didn't seem to know," Hironaka added despondently.
It's possible that those Hironaka was referring to not fully understanding about Japan's war history and the culpability of the Imperial Japanese Army for war crimes and the immeasurable suffering brought to innumerable people in its victim countries, has a lot to do with the education here.
It's equally possible that the lack of knowledge is a direct result of the government's longstanding campaign of attempting to whitewash its tainted history and in doing so ensuring that the nation will never be able to fully reflect on its wartime past.
The likelihood is, however, that it's a combination of both - as inextricably linked as they are - coupled with the nation's preference for conformity and for turning a blind eye to negative or upsetting matters, past or present, even those it was responsible for.
"Social media has also helped me learn about the war and make friends and chat with foreigners, but it's been really upsetting today on some sites like Twitter and Instagram as other people in Asia have been posting stuff about the atrocities Japan committed during the war and how even today, Japan has not fully accepted its responsibility," Hironaka said, failing to hide a sense of self-reproach.
He went on to say that if he could understand the true reality of Japan's role and actions during World War II, it was inexcusable for older generations and particularly teachers, politicians and the media to perpetuate a myth of innocence and present a skewed view of history with Japan as the victim.
A lot of younger people want to reach out beyond the confines of Japan's hegemonic society and make connections and share experiences with friends from overseas, but Hironaka pointed out that the government here is making this difficult for the younger generations - the very ones that will one day inherit the country.
"I'm only 23 (years old), but even I know that Yasukuni Shrine is bad news and that anyone visiting there, particularly today (the 72nd anniversary of Japan's surrender in WWII), and particularly politicians, is going to cause trouble and upset those living in countries close to ours," stated Hironaka.
Abe's memorial speech today "didn't really seem to be aimed at true reconciliation with the countries we (Japan) invaded. I've just watched it on YouTube and some of the comments below really criticized Abe and Japan as well," he added.
"And while they hurt my feelings too, I know if the truth of Japan's war history became the norm in Japanese politics, education and society and we truly take the time to think about the acts we (Japan) committed during the war, such rightfully scathing comments wouldn't be made and people like me could make loads of more friends overseas."
Despite the darkening clouds above threatening to drench him to the bone, Hironaka stepped out of his cramped shelter, slung his guitar back on and beat out a rhythm on the case with his thumb while strumming his signature tune.
"There's no place in this world for war. If we look to the past we can see the future. As a nation we scream 'no more!' We live to love with peace the wind in our sail. We'll end up at the perfect destination," belted out Hironaka at the top of his lungs.
When asked what she thought about Hironaka's tune as she was passing by, a bespectacled, middle-aged lady clutching a lavender-hued umbrella said: "He's got a lovely voice; really powerful but great tone. And the lyrics, well, they're certainly thought provoking, but he's really on point. Such an important message."
"Could you tell me his name so I can find him on YouTube?" she asked. "My kids would love this too."
