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Speaking of Japanese Artists & Okinawan Music
Found about this on Twitter of a live performance of the song Okinawa Samba (from 1980) by Asano Yuko who is perhaps best known as an actress but she began as an idol singer. Upon first discovering the song, I read it as Okinawa Sanba as サンバ is also used for the Ryukyu instrument sanba…
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Suzuhana Yuko (Wagakki Band) Plays Asadoya Yunta
Suzuhana Yuko, the vocalist of the Japanese folk rock band Wagakki Band, recently shared on her YouTube channel that she’s a fan of the sanshin and Okinawan folk music. She performs Asadoya Yunta and talks a bit about how she came upon the instrument and her love of Okinawa. In the video’s description, she writes…
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i-Dushi’s YouTube Channel
I’ve posted about i-Dushi before and lately they’ve been very active on their YouTube channel (link). The video clip above is one of their older ones (2015) performing a cover of Umi no Koe and it has over 3 millions views! In addition to their original songs, they also do Okinawan versions of famous J-pop…
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Online Store for Ryukyu Musical Supplies
Living outside of Okinawa and Japan makes it difficult to find sanshin and supplies (kunkunshi, bachi, uma, karakui, etc.) so I’m always looking for online stores that service musicians outside of Okinawa/Japan. While you may not be able to have a real snakeskin sanshin shipped outside of Okinawa/Japan, you can a synthetic one shipped to…
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#OkinawanEats #OkiEats
Uchinanchu are lucky to live Hawaii as we have many Okinawan-owned restaurants and businesses. During the pandemic, many of these businesses have been hit hard so let’s do our best to help them and others too. The Okinawan FEASTival website has a list of places to support and keeps a Google Sheet with up-to-date information…
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@toranosukev on Twitter
Travis Seifman is probably one of my longest Twitter follows and I’ve learned so much from him about Ryukyu/Okinawa. He has so many amazing Twitter threads that it’s difficult to select one so I chose one of his more recent ones that happens to be linked to his blog post Ryukyu: Empire of the Sea.…
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Is MATSURI the Next Big Break?
Featured in a Rolling Stones Japan article and already having a song (Kingyo Sukui — her 1st digital single nonetheless) chosen to be an ending theme for a TV drama, is MATSURI set to become the next big breakout from Okinawa? Listen to the song on YouTube or on Apple Music to decide for yourself.…
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Asato Mina’s 2nd Single Shima nu Kokoro 4/18 Release!
Today is the release day of Asato Mina’s 2nd single Shima nu Kokoro. The song has an Uchinaa Pop feel to it and has modern day Okinawa as its backdrop. Currently available for sale on iTunes and coming soon to music streaming services (outside of Japan). Follow Mina’s accounts on her InstaBio.
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Aragaki Yui to Appear in NHK’s 2022 Taiga Drama
Aragaki Yui “Gakky” will appear in NHK’s 2022 Taiga Drama Kamakura 13. She will play the role of Yae, who is the main character’s first crush. In her 20+ years as an actress, this marks her first appearance in a Taiga Drama. Speaking of Taiga dramas, there was one called Ryūkyū no Kaze from 1993…
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Karakui T-shirt 👕 👚
Wear your Luchu Pop Culture in style with the new Karakui t-shirts! Available in 3 colors in quality t-shirts from the fine folks at Cotton Bureau.
Karakui 