Tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa.
I love the sound of Te Reo Maori. I fell in love with it when I heard it for the first time. Some of you may know my mother tongue, Japanese sounds quite similar to Maori language. When Maori people welcome their guests they say "Haere Mai". Although sounds a bit antique and authoritative today, we actually say "Hairi Tamae" in place of "Haere Mai" for "Please come in."
There are many other similarities between the indigenous culture of New Zealand and Japanese culture. That naturally leads me to recognise my own roots as a descendant of the maritime worriers that ruled the Inland Sea of Japan several hundreds years ago. My family name Murakami is like an Iwi for Maori people connects me to my maritime ancestors.
They were great pilots and navigators of the sea. They mastered all the currents, tides and reefs in these important but perilous marine transportation routes. Without their instructions and protections provided in exchange for mandatory tolls, any ships would be destroyed either by the local natural hazards or by the weapons of the rulers.
After land-based Shoguns unified and ruled Japan, this maritime tradition declined until recently. Just like Maori culture, since late 20th century it has been seeing revival. Museums were built and cultural events are now held regularly.
When I look around the two harbours of Auckland from the summit of One Tree Hill, it reminds me of the scenery of the Inland Sea of Japan where my ancestors dominated with their versions of Waka, battle canoes.
To conclude, I would like to sing a song, which represents my emotions toward these wonderful connections very well. It is a folk song very popular in Japan. Of course the original lyrics is in Japanese so I tried my best to translate it into English to make sense to you all.
The title is "I'm a child of the ocean".
I'm a child of the ocean my old home was on the shore
Where the curling white waves constantly roar
The humble little hut which the pine trees shroud
With the kitchen vent trailing a long white cloud
You see? Long white cloud. Yes, Aotearoa is now my home.
No reira, tena koutou, tena koutou, tena koutou katoa.
(from my first speech "The Ice Breaker" at a Toastmasters club)
