March 2009 interview with Mrs. Itsuko Tsujii

On November 7, 2012, this short article  came up on the Internet site http://matome.naver.jp/, a news portal in Japan:

辻井さんは生まれつきの小眼球症で光も感じない全盲。

出典

ピアニスト辻井伸行さんの母いつ子さんに聞く - 琉球新報 - 沖縄の新聞、地域のニュース

小眼球症（しょうがんきゅうしょう）とは、眼球の先天的な疾患の一つ。眼球が小さいことから、この名がある。症状は、先天的な全盲となる。ただし程度が軽い場合は、視力が弱まる（遠視になる）だけで済むこともある。(wikipediaより)

Mr. Tsujii was born with microphthalmia; he does not sense light and is completely blind.

Source: Interview with Mrs. Itsuko Tsujii, mother of pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii, mother of pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii - Ryukyu Shimbun - Okinawa newspaper, local news

Microphthalmia is a congenital disease of the eye. The affected eye is small, hence the name of the disease name. The symptom is blindness at birth. In some cases (hyperopia),  the eyesight is only weakened, however. (from Wikipedia)

I looked up the source cited in that article, and found this precious interview, which is particularly notable because of its date.

This interview of Mrs. Itsuko Tsujii took place after Nobu had passed the screening round (February 21-24 2009) of the 2009 Van Cliburn Competition but before the preliminary round (May 2009) of the actual competition that led to his sudden fame in the world.  (There is no mentioning of the competition in the article.)  Nobu returned in 2012 to perform in Okinawa in a major concert hall - see this page: Nobuyuki Tsujii 2012-13 Japan Tour. 

The original  article can still be read at  http://ryukyushimpo.jp/news/storyid-142270-storytopic-6.html

The Japanese text is copied below for preservation; the English translation is my personal best effort.  The photos are shown via Internet link

琉球新報 沖縄の新聞、地域のニュース 2009年3月28日

ピアニスト辻井伸行さんの母いつ子さんに聞く

全盲のピアニスト辻井伸行さん（２０）の県内初リサイタルがこのほど、浦添市てだこホールで開かれ、大勢の聴衆を魅了した。辻井さんの才能を信じて支援してきた母いつ子さん（４９）に子育てについて聞いた。

辻井さんは生まれつきの小眼球症で光も感じない全盲。いつ子さんはクリスマスのイルミネーションや絵画を見るたびに「（息子は）きれいなものを一生見ることができない」と涙をこぼし「夢ならさめてほしい」と現実を受け止められなかった。

しかし、視覚障害がありながらも歌舞伎鑑賞や展覧会に出掛けるなど、障害にとらわれずいきいきとした人生を送る福沢美和さんの「フロックスは私の目」を読み「『見えない』世界に生きる人にはその人の世界観がある。自分の物差しだけで測ってはいけないんだ」と気持ちを切り替えた。

辻井さんは２歳のころ、いつ子さんが歌を口ずさむそばで同じメロディーをおもちゃのピアノで弾くなど才能を見せた。「目が見えない人生でも何か楽しみを持たせたかった」と、いつ子さんは振り返る。

辻井さんは筑波大学付属盲学校の小学部に通ったが、中学部には進まなかった。付属盲学校では「障害を克服してどのように社会適応させるか」を大きな目標とし、進学に伴い、付き添いなしで学校に通学するための単独歩行の練習が必要とされたためだ。

歩行練習は危険も多く、ピアニストになりたいと日夜、レッスンに励んでいた辻井さんの環境を考え、いつ子さんは規則の緩やかな盲学校に入学させた。「ピアニストの夢を支えるのが私の仕事だと思った。卒業後に“自立”した生活を送らせようと学校は考えるが、子どもたちに合わせるような教育も必要」といつ子さん。

周りの温かい支援や辻井さんの努力の結果、伸行さんは２００５年に１７歳でショパン国際ピアノコンクールに最年少で出場し、世界から注目される存在になった。いつ子さんは「親ばかなぐらい、その子の個性を大事にすることは重要。その子がやりたいと思うことをできるだけサポートして、可能性を無限大に広げてほしい」と呼び掛けた。

Ryukyu Shimpo - Okinawa newspaper, local news March 28, 2009

Interview with Mrs. Itsuko  Tsujii, mother of pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii,

The completely blind pianist Nobuyuki Tsujii (age 20) recently held his debut recital in the prefecture at the Daku Te Urasoe Hall; it attracted a large audience.Tsujii's talent is believed to have been cultivated by his mother, Itsuko.

Born with microphthalmia, Mr. Tsujii does not sense light and is completely blind.

Mrs. Itsuko Tsujii said at first she did not accept the reality, crying  "every time I saw a painting or Christmas lights.  (My son) would never  see something beautiful in his life",  and "I wanted to wake up from the nightmare."

"However, Fukuzawa Miwa <Editorial, 福沢美和, a blind woman  writer famous for her writing about her relationship with her guide dog Phlox> went to shows, including kabuki, while visually impaired, and lived an active life without being bound by failure.   After reading her writing, I realized that there is an "invisible" world that I did not know about.  I changed my feelings."

Tsujii showed talent at the age of 2, when he <instinctively> played a melody on a toy piano accompanying songs sung by Itsuko. "We wanted to have something fun in life that does not require eyesight ," recalls Mr. Itsuko.

Tsujii went to the Elementary School for the Blind at the University of Tsukuba, but did not go on to the middle school. At the school for the blind, the major objective was "How do you overcome the obstacles to adapt to society". With college, he needed to practice to walk alone in order to go to classes without an attendant.

Just practicing walking was dangerous, and always he wanted to become a pianist.  Because he was a diligent student, Tsujii was allowed to enroll in school for the blind with the rules relaxed.  "I wanted to support his dream of becoming a pianist, while the school only focused on trying to train the students for a life of  'independence' after graduation".  Mrs. Tsujii added, "Such education is necessary for some children."

As a result of the efforts and warm support around him, Mr. Tsujii  became the youngest  participant in  the International Chopin Piano Competition in 2005 at the age of 17, attracting attention from all over the world. Mrs. Tsujii advocates "providing as much support as possible that you think is important." Itsuko said."As a doting parent, it is important to take care of the personality of the child, to provide as much support as possible to cultivate what the child wants to do,  to extend it to infinite possibilities".