# The Girl Who Heard the Wind: Morita Doji's Solitary Singing and Her Times (1975-1983)

# The Girl Who Heard the Wind: Morita Doji's Solitary Singing and Her Times (1975-1983)

## ■ The existence of a masked poet, Morita Doji

At the end of the 1970s, a woman quietly appeared in a corner of Tokyo wearing a mask, long hair hanging down, and sunglasses covering her face. Her name was Morita Doji. Even the name she gave herself was not her real name, and her existence was shrouded in "anonymous sorrow" from the start.

Born on January 15, 1953, she made her debut in 1975 and continued to speak for the "unvoiced pain" of many people with her words and melodies, always hiding her true face, until she abruptly ended her music career with "Good Bye" in 1983.

The trigger was the death of a friend involved in the student movement. After the young people who fought against society and shared their dreams were defeated, she turned their emptiness and the loneliness of those who were left behind into songs.

## ■ The famous song "Our Failure" - a prayer for loss

Bokutachi no Hoshitsu" (Bokutachi's Failure), from the album "Good Bye" (1976), is one of Morita Doko's most famous songs. The delicate arpeggio of the song tells the story of a young man who has lost someone dear to him, his regrets, and his repose for a time that cannot be recovered.

In the song, "I who dreamed all the time and felt relieved, I will walk with the memory of that girl.

The song is imbued with the pain of facing reality and the self-denial that "dreaming" itself was a failure. The quiet, emotionally restrained voice does not stir up sadness, but rather gently sinks into the listener's heart.

This song was reevaluated in 1993 as the theme song for the TV drama "High School Teacher," and it resonated strongly with today's youth. The pain of loss continued to resonate beyond the ages.

## ■ Other Songs - Works that are songs of silence

◎ "For example, if I die
This song, written in the hypothetical form of "death," depicts the transience of life and the fear of being forgotten by someone.
The line, "Please let me know quietly," is a painful prayer silently seeking someone. The faint desire for solidarity in the face of the disappearance of the self strikes the heart.

◎"Alone on the G Line
Borrowing the "G-line," a symbol of classical music, this piece expresses the sound of loneliness that no one can reach. In a world where music is the only person you can talk to, the artist describes his loneliness in an indifferent way, as if protecting himself.

◎"Mother Sky
Mother Sky" is a work that expresses the presence of an enveloping mother, or the sky that seeks forgiveness and return. This fantastical song depicts the longing and disconnection to "somewhere" that one cannot reach while clinging to the symbolism.

◎"The Last Waltz
Behind the light three beats is a farewell and the end of life. In the time that flows like a dance, a young man who has never danced with anyone leaves the stage...such is the poem of the final act.

◎"You have changed.
Behind the gaze of a person who has changed, there is a silent confession that he too has changed. The sorrow of people crossing paths with each other is depicted in a gentle tone.

◎"Would you like to take a ride on the sightseeing bus with me?
In this ironic depiction of the emptiness that lurks in everyday life, the artist humorously rejects the controlled nature of life by using the "sightseeing bus," a symbol of scheduled harmony. There is a light-hearted anger that is typical of Doji.

## ■ The 1970s: the end of ideals and the beginning of loneliness

◎ End of the student movement (around 1970)
The young people who were fired up by the All-Campus Confederation Movement, the Security Treaty Struggle, and the like, threw their ideals at the state and society, but what remained after their defeat was a deep emptiness.
However, what remained after the defeat was a deep emptiness. Anger that did not cry out, voices that did not reach - this was the original landscape of her songs.

Oil Shock and Social Transformation (1973)
The period of high economic growth was over, and inequality and insecurity were spreading. People lost hope, and young people were crushed by the gap between their dreams and reality.
The songs of Doji Morita were the "voiceless words" of those who had lost their place in the world.

## ■ Retirement and Silence: The Song Continues in a Soundless Place

In 1983, after the album "Good Bye," Doji Morita fell silent.
She gave no interviews, made no comebacks, and consistently said nothing. The silence was not the end of her musical activities, but an extension of the music itself.

For her, singing was "the language of those who cannot speak. Therefore, the silence of her retirement may have been the purest expression of "I have finished singing everything I have to say.

## ■ Why do people still listen to Doko Morita?

We live in an age of smartphones and social networking services. In an age when everyone is constantly releasing words, the quiet voice of Doji Morita is once again in demand.
This is because when people are most deeply wounded, they are unable to hold on to words.

Her songs are for such "unspeakable things.
It is a small letter of sound, a fire lit in loneliness.