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Champuru.net Book Review: Snakeskin Shamisen
Snakeskin Shamisen by Naomi Hirahara The familiarity of situations, foods, phrases, and of course, the Okinawan culture appeal to me, making this a fun, quick read. Read the rest of Donna’s review over here. According to the author’s website, Snakeskin Shamisen (which is the third book in her Mas Arai series) has been nominated for…
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4,000 and Counting
Wow, 4,000 hits came in a flash! Nifee (Okinawan for ‘thanks’) for visiting everyone! I’ll be doing something special when we reach the 5,000 hits mark so stay tuned! 🙂
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Discussion Panel and Lecture with Dr. Gregory Smits at UH Manoa Next Week
University of Hawaii at Manoa’s Center for Japanese Studies will have a special guest next week, Dr. Gregory Smits, Associate Professor of Japanese History from Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Smits will be a guest discussant on Wednesday, April 11, 2007, from 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM at the Tokioka Room (Moore Hall 319). The theme…
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Karakui.com: Two songs I’m in love with…
Rimi Natsukawa’s latest album (and perhaps her last from the JVC label), “Umuikaji” (VICL-62259), as a whole is pretty good, much like her other 11, yes eleven (we’re going according to her record label’s site), albums. But two songs, both eisaa-flavored, are simply delicious to my ears. Of course, I’m kind of partial to this…
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Happy Shiisaa (4/3) Day!
Okay, we have Sanshin Day (3/4), Sanba Day (3/8), Gooyaa (bitter melon) Day (5/8), and now, *gulp* Shiisaa Day (4/3)? I think I’m missing something here. Koto Day (9/10)? Know of any other special days in Okinawa?
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Rimi Natsukawa Special to Air on TV Japan!
TV Japan will air a special one hour half program on April 7, 2007, featuring Rimi Natsukawa called “Shima Uta no Kaze ∼Natsukawa Rimi ga Tabi suru Furusato no Kokoro∼”. You’ll have to check out TV Japan’s website for the time that it’ll air in your region (in Hawaii it’s from 12:30 AM). Be sure…
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Listing of Artists Available for Purchase on iTunes (United States)
Here’s a list of artists from Okinawa (or with ties to Okinawa) whose music can be purchased on iTunes. You may find that some of the artists are listed twice at the store and they may be listed under a different genre so navigating the store can be quite difficult. (Please note that clicking on…
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TRIPLE-P
One of the many indies music artists (I’ll blog about the others in the coming weeks) that caught my attention this past March in Okinawa is the hip-pop (hip-hop, rap, J-pop) duo TRIPLE-P. The duo of SHUN and Alice is on the same indie record label as the popular mixture band HY, Climax Entertainment Inc.,…
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Not Your Father’s Sanshin Uma
Continuing with the sanshin-related posts… Driving your family or neighbors (or both – yikes!) nutty with your late night sanshin practicing? There’s a uma (the free-standing bridge for the sanshin) that greatly mutes your playing no matter how heavy your picking style is and can be purchased for around ¥800. As pictured above, the uma…
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Other Ways to Tune Your Sanshin
Here’s additional information on gear you can use to help with your sanshin tuning. AW-1 Micro Tuner from Korg — all the cool kids are using it. TU-12 Chromatic Tuner from BOSS — the ol’ standby which I’ve owned for over 15 years but used mostly for guitar/bass tuning. Pitch Instrument (P-13E) from Tombo —…
Karakui 