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New Kazumi Tamaki CD to be released on 9/25/08!
Have you heard of the Okinawan word churakaagii? Well, the very handy Okinawan-English Wordbook (Amazon.com link) defines the word as “a beauty; a belle; a pretty girl; a good-looking woman.” All of these describe utasaa Kazumi Tamaki and to top it off, she’s super nice in person too. Anyway, before I go on about Kazumi,…
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Toru Yonaha getting back to his Roots
This upcoming release from Toru Yonaha is the perfect companion to his 2007 album “Utage ~party~” which was heavily influenced by J-pop. The 11 track album titled “Roots ~Ryukyu Iwaiuta~ (Best of Okinawan Traditional Songs)” will be released on 9/24/08 in Okinawa. Dude, I am so buying this. (Via 沖縄三線日和.)
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Tatsuya Shimabukuro to perform in Hawaii’s Okinawan Festival!
I blogged about Tatsuya Shimabukuro’s debut album several months ago and now I’m elated to hear that he’ll be performing at this year’s Okinawan Festival (Honolulu, Hawaii). He’s set to perform on Saturday, August 30, as part of the ROK segment as one of the winners of their Miuta Taisho competition. BBtv has footage (video…
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Sanshin kit – Yukkuriko
mein Sanshin Originally uploaded by Yukkuriko Found this on Flickr’s Okinawa lovers pool. It’s a photo of a sanshin that’s sold in Okinawa as a kit that you assemble on your own.
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3-4 Day Special: Kajadifuu Bushi
In celebration of Sanshin Day, March 4, I’m featuring a Ryūkyū Koten Ongaku (Ryūkyū classical music) song called “Kajadifū Bushi (かぎやで風節).” It has a bit of history for myself as the first song I learned on uta-sanshin from Katsumi Shinsato-sensei some fifteen years ago and I’ve been playing it ever since. Here’s a little background…
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Happy Sanshin Day!
The following is from a 1993 Okinawa Times article: Keeping tradition alive Did anyone hear the sound of sanshin on March 4th, or perhaps someone may have played it? The sanshin is a fretless 3-stringed musical instrument very much intertwined with Okinawan traditional music. March 4th was Sanshin Day, which the Ryukyus Broadcasting Corporation has…
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Tatsuya Shimabukuro’s debut album ‘Tunugi’ hits stores on March 12!
Perhaps the most anticipated CD debut (for Okinawan minyou) of the year is Tatsuya Shimabukuro’s “Tunugi” which is set to be released on March 12. Tatsuya’s “Tunugi” will contain 12 tracks including two that he composed the music for. The reasonably priced ¥2,500 album, from Campus Records’ Tundami label, will also feature the talents of…
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Tutorial: Changing sanshin strings
Our second video tutorial! Yay! Today we go through changing those well-worn strings on your sanshin with brand new, curly-curly ones. Be sure to check out our growing (with two!) Video Page for more. 😉
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Tutorial: Tuning your sanshin, Part 1
When something gets requested here enough times, we’ll do our best to get it to you. So here it is, our first video tutorial on tuning your sanshin. Be sure to check out our “Tuning Your Sanshin” page for more info. I’ll also have it up for download — at a better quality than streaming…
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Okinawan music and dance performance: ‘Loochoo nu Kwa, Children of Loochoo’
Norman Kaneshiro-sensei emailed information on an Okinawan music and dance performance his group has lined up for March 28, 2008, a Saturday. Titled “Loochoo nu Kwa, Children of Loochoo,” the performance featuring the talented members of Ukwanshin Kabudan will be held at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center (<rant>for those like me who are irritated…
Karakui 