BEYOND THE HORIZON/Satoshi Yagisawa

1. KURE – Core City of the East
2. SETOUCHI – The Inland Sea
3. YAMATO – The Battleship

Beyond the Horizon was given its world premiere by Maritime Self-Defense Force Kure Band, conducted by Mr. Hirokazu Ishida.
Kure is in the south west of Hiroshima Prefecture. The city is on the Seto Inland Sea and some smaller isles. It is a seaside city blessed with a mild climate and surroundings of natural beauty.

As soon as the operation of former Kure ‘Chinju-fu’ (naval base) started in 1889, naval arsenals and related facilities were built one after another. Workers gathered from all over Japan to build the city infrastructure. The municipality was established in 1902. In time, Kure became a notable location with Japan’s top naval shipyard. For example, the battleship “Yamato” was built there in 1941. When the Second World War ended and the Japanese navy was abolished, Kure was restored successfully as a new seaside industrial district by constructively transferring former military assets with the aim of transforming the city into a peace-time industrial coast city. Furthermore, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) Kure District was set up and Kure is now moving forward with new urban buildings based on “co-existence and co-prosperity” together with the JMSDF.

In 2000, the city was designated as a “special city”. The eight towns of the inland area and island area around Kure were merged with the city between 2003 and 2005, reborn as western Japan’s premium city with both beautiful islands and a coastline.