The Song of Sapporo Enyu Night School Front Cover

The Song of Sapporo Enyu Night School

SUZUE

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Release Date: 2026/09/30

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Inazo Nitobe, internationally known as the author of Bushido: The Soul of Japan, also left an important legacy as an educator. In 1894, while serving as a professor at Sapporo Agricultural College, Nitobe and his wife, Mary, founded Enyu Night School for people who had little or no access to formal education.

At Enyu Night School, education placed greater emphasis on the development of character than on the pursuit of wealth or social status. The lyrics of the school song were written by the Japanese author Takeo Arishima, who had studied under Nitobe. For the students, learning and singing together were important sources of joy.

In this recording, Suzue, a Shinto priest and vocalist, performs the School Song of Enyu Night School, which also appears in the documentary film Nitobe's Dream: Learning Is the Proof of Living.

Suzue serves as a negi, a Shinto priest, at Ono Hachiman Shrine, while also working as a vocalist, singer-songwriter, and writer.

Artist Profile

  • SUZUE

    Suzue was born in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and grew up in Tokyo, Aomori, and Kobe after returning to Japan. Having been raised in and around a Shinto shrine from an early age, she developed a deep sensitivity to nature and the spiritual dimension of words. Her work is often described as singing Kotodama, giving voice to the spirit and resonance believed to reside within words. Suzue writes and composes her own music, creating a distinctive sound that brings together Western instruments such as piano, violin, and cello with traditional Japanese instruments including Koto, Taiko, Ryuteki flute, and kagura bells. Her music explores gratitude, inner conflict, and the connections between nature and humanity, and between people themselves. Alongside her musical career, Suzue serves as a Shinto priest. By bringing together her spiritual practice and her work as a vocalist and songwriter, she has developed a distinctive artistic voice rooted in both Japanese tradition and contemporary expression. Born Suzue Nitobe, she is related to Inazo Nitobe, author of Bushido: The Soul of Japan and the historical figure whose portrait appeared on Japan's former 5000 yen banknote.

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