Mie Kamishima

KAMISHIMA, Mie. b. Ehime Prefect, Japan; 1961. Mie Kamishima was baptized at Matsuyama Church, a congregation in the United Church of Christ in Japan (UCCJ) and is the wife of UCCJ pastor Kazutaka Kamishima. She submitted the hymn, ‘Hana irodoru haru wo*’ (‘Spring, symbol of hope’), during the open competition for new hymns in Hymnal 21 (Sambika 21)* with a tune written by her father. The hymnal committee adopted the text with slight changes and commissioned a new tune by music professor Shin’ichi Takanami (1941– ).   YASUHIKO...