One of Japan's most prolific singer-songwriters yesterday fulfilled her lifetime ambition when she sang Derry's adopted anthem, The Town I Love So Well, in Japanese, on Derry's historic walls overlooking the Bogside.
Ms Kumiko Yokoi, who specialises in translating Irish ballads into Japanese, has performed more than 3,000 concerts worldwide in her 30-year singing career.
"I have always wanted to sing the songs in Derry because I found the words and emotions in both The Town I Love So Well and Danny Boy so moving," said Ms Yokoi.
The Japanese soprano was accompanied on her visit to Derry by a 30-person choir from Tokyo.
Against the backdrop of the Creggan and Bogside, Ms Yokoi and her choir entertained puzzled passers-by for almost an hour.
"I first heard The Town I Love So Well at a song festival in Berlin over 25 years ago and I was captivated by it. It is a very, very beautiful melody and so I translated it into Japanese.
"But words in the song, like factories, the Creggan, the Moor and the Bog, proved difficult to translate. The melody is very similar to a famous Japanese melody.
"I am fascinated by songs which come from areas of conflict and I have a strong desire to bring Irish songs to my people in Japan.
"I am very happy to sing the songs in Derry," she said.
Meanwhile, local tour guide Mr Martin McCrossan, who met Ms Yokoi when she paid a private visit to Derry last January, said her CDs of Irish ballads were a big hit in Japan.
"This lady is huge in Japan. Some of her fans literally follow her around the world and some of them are here today. She is very politically aware and she wanted to visit both sides of the community divide in Derry.
"However, the main part of her visit was to sing on the walls and she told me she's been wanting to do that since she first heard Phil Coulter's song in 1975.
"It's been a long time in coming but it was certainly worth it and who knows what spin-offs this could have for tourism locally," he said.