The opening reception for the Battle of Okinawa exhibit at the National Japanese American Historical Society (see earlier post) this past Saturday, January 15 was a great success.  People of all generations filled the room, many standing outside the doors, waiting to squeeze in.   The panels were beautifully put together, there were objects brought…

Fauta.net has a listing of Noborikawa’s albums that are available on iTunes. Veteran Okinawan singer and sanshin player Seijin Noborikawa has a live double album released on the Respect label on 23rd February. Entitled Seijin Noborikawa Live! ~ Just One Night at Cay 2010.8.29 ~ the album has a total running time of 138 minutes…

Last month I went to the Ryukyu Shimpo offices in Naha to be interviewed about The Power of Okinawa. The article was published in the 31st December 2010 edition of the newspaper and focuses on the 2nd edition of the book and on my general interest in Okinawa and its music. For those who can…

The 8th annual Choho Miyara Ongaku Sho (Music Award) ceremony was held yesterday at Ryukyu Shimpo Hall in Naha. I was very pleased and honoured to receive an invitation to attend from Yasukatsu Oshima’s management office. The award is named after the late Choho Miyara who was a songwriter and an educationalist. The Ongaku Sho…

If you’re just getting into or already fairly knowledgable about Okinawan music, I recommend picking up John Potter’s wonderful book, The Power of Okinawa. Check out his website for more info. There is a new reduced price for the 2nd edition of The Power of Okinawa. For those buying the book through the internet only,…

My friend Eriko Ikehara and I received a grant from the Center for New Racial Studies to put together a multi-media/mixed performance on Black Japanese.  It will be February 12th in the bay area (space tbd). If you (or someone you know) are Blackanese and has photos, comedy, performance pieces, spoken word, prose, artwork, etc.…

Misako Oshiro is one of the greatest singers of Okinawan traditional songs. Born in 1936 in the Taisho-ku district of Osaka, where large numbers of exiled Okinawans live, she moved to Okinawa when still a child and grew up on the north of the main island in the village of Henoko. She took an early…

At 83 years of age, Koutoku Tsuha is the oldest performing singer and sanshin player from the first generation of Okinawan recording artists. Born in 1927 in Yomitan on the main island of Okinawa, his father was a teacher of classical Ryukyu music, and his uncle was also a music teacher and a Ryukyu dancer.…

At last the long-awaited album from the newest line-up of Sadao China’s protégées Nenes has been released on the Dig label. Okurimono (the title means ‘gift’) contains thirteen tracks and runs to 54 minutes. This time Nagisa Uehara is the only surviving member from the previous quartet who made the Sai album in 2008. Among…

This is the second album from Ska Lovers, the joint project of producer, programmer and keyboard player DJ Sasa and Hokkaido-born Okinawa-based singer and sanshin player Kanako Horiuchi who is also an accomplished performer of Okinawan minyo. Their idea is to play well-known J-pop songs in ska and rocksteady versions together with a large helping…