Inner Light ~Tomoshibi~ is the very first song created for One Poem Project.

There is a reason why this song became our beginning.

We know there are nights when words like “Stay strong” or “Keep moving forward” simply don’t reach the heart.

Nights when you have no one to talk to.

Nights when you hide your tears.

Nights when you smile and say, “I’m fine,” even as your heart quietly begins to break.

Those nights can come to anyone.

That is why Inner Light was never meant to be a song that pushes people to stand up.

Instead, it gently whispers:

“It’s okay if you can’t stand today.”

“It’s okay to cry.”

“The light inside your heart has never gone out.”

This song was born to quietly stay beside those who need to hear those words.

The Japanese word Tomoshibi (灯火) means a small light.

Not the brilliant light of the sun,

but a gentle flame that quietly illuminates your path in the darkness.

Life is filled with these small lights.

The words of family.

A friend’s smile.

A kind sentence from a stranger.

A single book.

And sometimes…

just one poem.

Even the smallest light can help someone take one more step forward.

One Poem Project began with the hope of sharing those small lights with people around the world.

Every country has its own language.

Every culture has its own way of expressing emotions.

Yet sadness, loneliness, hope, and love are feelings we all share.

I live in Japan, and I write my poems in Japanese.

That is why I wanted to let these poems travel beyond my own language.

A poem born in Japan may one day bring comfort to someone living on the other side of the world.

Perhaps the small light they receive will become a light they pass on to someone else.

Believing in that possibility, One Poem Project began its journey.

Inner Light ~Tomoshibi~ is our very first step.

May this song become a small light for someone who is doing their best to make it through today.