Tsugaru Shamisen Concert by Masahiro Nitta in Montebello, Jan. 20, Sat
Masahiro Nitta
A Tsugaru shamisen concert will be held on Saturday, January 20 at the Sozenji Buddhist Temple in Montebello. The concert, funded by the Japan Foundation of Los Angeles. will feature leading Tsugaru shamisen artists from Japan and the U.S.
Performing from Japan will be King recording artist, Masahiro Nitta, one of the leading talents to emerge from this increasingly popular art form. Nitta is a two-time champion of the national Tsugaru shamisen contest held annually in Japan.
Accompanying Nitta on stage will be American Tsugaru shamisen players Kevin Kmetz and Mike Penny. Both Kmetz and Penny recently placed second and third respectively in the same annual competition held in Japan. This was the first time any foreigner had placed so high in the competition.
These three musicians have been gaining recognition in Japan as well as in the United States for both their traditional as well as their newly cultivated styles of playing which implement musical techniques from a variety of world music styles.
The concert will also feature Japanese taiko drumming with Reverend Tom Kurai of the Taiko Center of Los Angeles.
The Tsugaru shamisen is a 3-stringed lute played with a large plectrum from the region known as Tsugaru in Aomori prefecture. The Tsugaru style of shamisen is very percussive and has been incorporated in almost every type of music ranging from traditional folk to hard rock.
The concert begins at 7 pm at the Sozenji Buddhist Temple, located at 3020 W. Beverly Blvd, Montebello, CA 90640. General admission tickets are $10.00.
For reservations, call: (626) 307-3839.
Cultural News, March 2005
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Kris Bergstrom (left), student of Kineya Katsuyukie of Hakodate and member of professional taiko group “On Ensemble” and veteran player Kineya Yasoyo in Pomona are members of new Nagauta group “Shiki no Kai” in Los Angeles. (Cultural News Photo)
Editor’s note: Japanese names appear in the family name and the given name order.
By Fumie Iida
Nagauta was originally created as background music for kabuki in the 17th century. It can be easily explained as such: an orchestra to opera is what nagauta is to kabuki. Nagauta music consists of shamisen (a three-stringed instrument), singing, fue (wooden flute) and ohayashi (small drums).
It used to be common to hear the twang of the shamisen, and the deep, resonant sounds of people singing in their houses when one strolled the streets of the old part of Tokyo known as shita-machi. However, these days, this former sound of everyday life, the sound of nagauta being practiced, is becoming a nice old memory in Japan, as well as in Los Angeles where nagauta was most active outside of Japan.
To withstand this current trend, “Nagauta Shiki no Kai,” since its establishment in March last year, has been actively studying, practicing and preserving this Japanese traditional music of nagauta.
The group was organized by two nagauta shihan (instructor) and two natori (skilled and titled artists) in the Los Angeles area: Kineya Yasoyo (aka: Osumi Takako of Pomona), Kineya Kichikazu (aka: Kamei Hideko of Gardena), Kineya Katsuminori (aka: Hattori Noriko of Torrance) and Kineya Rokkensho (aka: Noriko Britton of Los Angeles).
Yasoyo has been practicing nagauta since 1945. After coming to the United States, she obtained her shihan teaching title from Kineya Yajuro. Kichikazu started nagauta in 1968 and received her shihan from Kineya Kichisaburo in 1981. Katsuminori has been playing nagauta since 1953 and got her natori title from Kineya Katsuyomi in Tokyo. Rokkensho learned nagauta from Kineya Jorokusho and received her natori in 1984.
Although four of the Shiki no Kai players have the same artistic name “Kineya,” it does not imply that they belong to the same school as there are 16 different Kineya Schools.
“Shiki no Kai is the group that students from different schools can participate and practice nagauta together,” Rokkensho says, “We’d like to keep practicing nagauta, so that Japan’s great traditional music will not disappear in Los Angeles.”
Katada Kikusa (aka: Mikko Haggott Henson of Torrance), who is an instructor of ohayashi school Katada Kai U.S.A. and also represents the non-profit Japanese Traditional Performing Arts Organization (JTPAO), supported these four individuals in forming the Shiki no Kai.
“Los Angeles used to be the place where Japanese traditional music was most active in the United States; however, because of the death of some nagauta masters, nagauta activities are on the verge of extinguishing here. I want to help them to be active again,” Katada says.
In January, they had nagauta lessons for 11 consecutive days with instructor Kineya Katsuyukie of Hakodate, Hokkaido.
Katada says that this attempt was a little unusual for traditional Japanese performing art because students normally do not learn from different instructors or instructors from different schools. Therefore, Katada stresses on the benefit of this innovative way of practicing because it provides a good opportunity for players in Los Angeles to learn the various trends of nagauta.
“Even though nagauta is traditional music, it is evolving every moment, so we need to catch up to the newest trend periodically,” Katada says.
Since its establishment, Shiki no Kai students have practiced nagauta every Friday evening at Kichikazu’s house in Gardena.
They kneel on the floor behind music scores placed on low stands. In the past, there were no formal scores for nagauta music. Students used to learn every tune of nagauta directly from their instructors until they memorized it.
As a call of “Yo” is voiced from Yasoyo, who takes on the role of “tate” (similar to a concert master in an orchestra), a twang of the shamisen and resonant singing voices follow.
Melody is not simple and lyrics are sometimes not easy to understand because they are written in old Japanese. In many nagauta songs, lines tell the story of kabuki plays.
“Lyrics of nagauta repertoires are beautiful,” Rokkensho says, “Every time I read them, I’m impressed by them so much and that feelings make me learn them more and more. You’ll never get tired of them.”
Kichikazu is filled with passion for nagauta. “When my master Kineya Kichisaburo passed away in 2002, I thought I’d stop nagauta completely,” Kichikazu says, “But I couldn’t discontinue nagauta.”
One of the members David Okihiro, who is sansei, or third generation Japanese American, says that he did not have any interest in Japanese music before, but now he prefers nagauta to any other music. He also plays shamisen in a group called “Shami.”
“Out of all shamisen music, nagauta is most ornate music,” Okihiro says.
Katada says that nagauta music has a complex form called “jo ha kyu” and that makes nagauta music sound interesting. Jo means moderate tempo, ha means middle and kyu means fast. Nagauta follows this rule.
“That’s why playing nagauta is just like riding a roller coaster. Playing nagauta is also like a jazz session. All three parts, shamisen, singing and ohayashi, has its highlight in music. And sometimes it has ad-libs as well,” Katada says.
Shiki no Kai just celebrated its establishment at Armstrong Theatre in Torrance on Feb. 27 (2005) by holding a nagauta concert hosted by JTPAO.
The group was joined by special guest artists from Japan, including ohayashi player Katada Kisaku, who is a Living National Treasure of Japan, Kineya Katsuyukie and Kineya Katsunobu. From Los Angeles, the Fujima Kansuma Japanese Dance School participated on stage. They performed famous nagauta numbers such as “Tsuru Kame,” “Matsuno Okina” and “Kanjincho.”
“Shiki no Kai welcomes students of any level, from beginner to advanced. We like to enjoy nagauta and try hard to preserve this music,” Kichikazu says. For those who are interested in Shiki no Kai, contact Kichikazu at (310) 515-7981.
Fumie Iida is a freelance writer. After graduating from Waseda University, she worked at an advertising agency in Tokyo for five years. She was a staff writer, photographer and assistant sports editor of the El Camino College newspaper Union. She came to the United States in 2002 to study American journalism and public relations. Readers may contact her via e-mail at fumie_la@yahoo.co.jp.