Yuming Song Monument | The Naru Island Song Born from a Student’s Letter

A short uphill journey from Naru Port leads to the gates of Nagasaki Prefectural Naru High School.

Enter the school grounds with permission, and a simple stone monument can be found in the garden on the left-hand side.

Engraved on its surface are the handwritten words of Japanese singer-songwriter Yumi Matsutoya—widely known by her nickname, Yuming—and her song “Hitomi wo Tojite,” often translated as “Close Your Eyes.”

The monument is not large or elaborate.

It stands quietly on a stone-covered base, surrounded by trees and the everyday atmosphere of a working island school.

Yet the story behind it reaches far beyond the school grounds.

The song began with a letter written by a high school student on a small island. That letter crossed the sea, reached a young musician in Tokyo, and returned to Naru Island as a piece of music.

Although “Hitomi wo Tojite” was never adopted as the school’s official anthem, generations of students continued to sing it. Over time, it became something even greater: a song associated with Naru Island itself, its sea, its departures, and the people who continue to remember home after leaving.

A Student’s Letter Sent Across the Sea

The story began in 1974, when the present-day Naru High School was still the Naru Branch of Nagasaki Prefectural Goto High School.

The branch used the main school’s anthem, but its lyrics had little connection to the landscape or daily life of Naru Island.

One of the students wanted a song that felt like their own.

She wrote to a late-night radio program and asked Yumi Arai—the name under which Yumi Matsutoya was then performing—to compose a school song for the students of Naru.

It was an audacious request from a small island school to a young singer-songwriter working far away in Tokyo.

But the letter was read.

And Yuming responded.

She imagined Naru Island’s sea and mountains, the distance between friends, and the feelings of people separated by the water. From those images, she wrote and composed “Hitomi wo Tojite.”

A single letter had traveled across the sea.

A song came back in reply.

An Island Imagined Before It Was Visited

When Yuming wrote “Hitomi wo Tojite,” she had not yet visited Naru Island.

She created its landscape through the student’s message and her own imagination.

The song evokes the sea, the hills, distant islands, and the wish to send one’s thoughts to a friend living far away.

Those images closely matched life on Naru Island.

The sea is never far from view. Travel to another island or city begins with a boat. Many young people leave after graduation to continue their studies or begin working elsewhere.

For residents of Naru, distance is not an abstract idea. It is visible in the stretch of water between the island and the rest of the world.

“Hitomi wo Tojite” was included on Yumi Arai’s second original album, MISSLIM, released on October 5, 1974.

The song became known throughout Japan, but on Naru Island it carried a different weight.

Here, it was not simply a track on a celebrated album.

It was a song written in response to one of the island’s own students.

Listening to it before visiting the monument—and then listening again while looking out over the sea—reveals why it has remained so closely connected to Naru.

Not the Official School Song, but the Island’s Song

“Hitomi wo Tojite” was not ultimately adopted as the official school anthem.

A different song later became Naru High School’s formal school song.

Yet Yuming’s composition did not disappear.

When the school became the independent Nagasaki Prefectural Naru High School in 1976, “Hitomi wo Tojite” continued to be sung as an aishoka—a cherished school song or community song passed down outside the formal anthem tradition.

Students sang it at graduations and other important occasions.

Its meaning became especially powerful when graduates left Naru Island for university, employment, or a new life elsewhere.

At the port, families, teachers, classmates, and neighbors would watch departing students board the boat.

As the vessel pulled away, “Hitomi wo Tojite” was played alongside “Hotaru no Hikari,” the Japanese farewell song set to the melody of “Auld Lang Syne.”

The song was no longer only about an imagined separation.

It had become the soundtrack to real departures.

Those remaining on the island watched the boat grow smaller.

Those leaving looked back at the port, the mountains, and the people standing on the shore.

Repeated across generations, these moments helped transform “Hitomi wo Tojite” from a song associated with one school into an unofficial anthem of Naru Island.

A Monument Built by Graduates

Fourteen years after the song was written, former students began planning a permanent monument.

The project gained momentum when “Hitomi wo Tojite” was selected for inclusion in a school music textbook.

The monument was created through the efforts of Naru High School alumni and erected in the school garden.

Its unveiling ceremony was held on August 14, 1988.

The words carved into the stone reproduce Yuming’s own handwriting.

Yuming attended the ceremony herself, visiting the island that inspired the song for the first time.

The sequence feels almost like a long exchange of letters.

First, a student wrote from Naru Island.

Yuming answered with music.

The students and islanders kept that music alive.

Then, years later, the graduates responded by creating a monument and inviting its composer to the place she had once imagined from afar.

The stone is therefore more than a memorial to a famous musician.

It represents a relationship built between a song, a school, and an island community.

Look for the Warmth in Yuming’s Handwriting

The monument stands just inside the school gate, on the left-hand side of the grounds.

There is no large visitor center, dramatic entrance, or elaborate exhibition.

The natural form of the stone has been preserved, and the monument rests on a base faced with pale pieces of stone.

Its most important feature is the writing itself.

The words are not reproduced in a standard printed typeface. They follow the shapes of Yuming’s handwritten characters.

That detail gives the monument a personal quality.

The inscription connects the stone directly to the person who answered the student’s request in 1974.

Take time to look not only at the text, but also at the setting around it.

This remains an active school where students attend classes, participate in clubs, and prepare for their own futures.

The song belongs to the past, but it is also surrounded by the continuing life of Naru High School.

That contrast is part of what makes the monument meaningful.

A Song About Departure on an Island Reached by Boat

To understand the emotional importance of “Hitomi wo Tojite,” it helps to spend time around Naru Port.

There is no bridge connecting Naru Island to the mainland or the neighboring major islands.

Arriving and leaving usually means traveling by boat.

For a visitor, the ferry or high-speed vessel is part of the excitement of an island journey.

For residents, however, the port is also where many important farewells take place.

A student leaving for further education.

A young person beginning a job in another city.

A friend moving away.

A family member returning after a short visit.

Modern communication makes it easier to stay in touch, but watching someone disappear across the sea still gives distance a physical form.

After visiting the monument, return toward Naru Port and look across the water.

The relationship between the song and the island may become clearer.

The sea is beautiful, but it also separates people.

At the same time, it connects them. Letters, music, boats, memories, and people all cross it.

Why Visit Even If You Are Not a Yuming Fan?

For admirers of Yumi Matsutoya, the monument is an important destination associated with one of her early songs.

But knowledge of her music is not required to appreciate the place.

The story is also about a teenager who believed that someone far away might listen.

It is about a musician who chose to answer.

It is about graduates who continued to care for a song long after leaving school.

And it is about a community that gave the song new meaning by singing it through decades of departures and reunions.

The monument demonstrates how a work of music can become larger than the person who created it.

Once a song enters the lives of listeners, it begins to gather their memories.

For Naru Island, “Hitomi wo Tojite” carries the memory of school days, friendships, graduation ceremonies, port farewells, and the view of home from a departing boat.

The visit itself may be brief.

But once you know the story, the modest stone monument can become one of the most memorable stops on the island.

Visit at the Beginning—or End—of Your Naru Island Journey

The Yuming Song Monument is approximately five minutes from Naru Port by car and around 24 minutes on foot.

Its location makes it easy to visit near the beginning or end of a trip.

Visit soon after arriving, and the story of “Hitomi wo Tojite” can accompany you as you explore Naru Island’s coastline, hills, churches, and settlements.

Visit before your return boat, and the experience takes on a different meaning.

You will soon be the person leaving the island.

The port will recede, the hills will become smaller, and Naru Island will gradually disappear from view.

At that moment, the story of a song about remembering distant friends and landscapes may feel unexpectedly personal.

Before You Visit

The Yuming Song Monument is located inside the grounds of Nagasaki Prefectural Naru High School.

This is an active educational institution, not a public park or a purpose-built tourist facility.

Visitors should contact the school in advance or speak to a member of staff upon arrival before entering the grounds.

The monument is located on the left after passing through the school gate.

Do not enter the school buildings or walk into areas unrelated to the monument without permission.

Keep voices and other noise low, particularly while classes, examinations, club activities, or school events are taking place.

Do not photograph students, teachers, or other members of the school community without their permission.

When listening to “Hitomi wo Tojite” at the site, use headphones rather than playing the song through a loudspeaker.

Admission is free.

Parking is available with the school’s permission. Speak to Naru High School before using the parking area.

There is no visitor toilet specifically provided for the monument. Use facilities around Naru Port or another public facility before arriving.

Access may be restricted during examinations, school events, holidays, maintenance, or other school operations. Confirm the visiting arrangements before making a special trip.