Musicians: Madame Kazuko Muramoto: Koto; Shirley Muramoto: Koto
This session was a result of a KPOO radio station program that I DJ’d way back in the day – early 70s. Amazing KPOO is still programing great music that you would never hear anywhere else. Kudos to KPOO.
We Sanseis (third generation Japanese in America) were all interested in learning where our roots came from so the search began in traditional Japanese music. The first Sansei, I met that was playing traditional Japanese music
on Shakuhachi and Fue (Japanese Flutes) was Gerald Oshita. After meeting Gerald, I met many Sanseis who were on the same journey. This interest by the Sansei’s turned into many journeys. San Francisco Taiko was born by founding sensei (teacher) Seichi Tanaka, along with Kinara Senshin Temple Taiko and San Jose Taiko. We also learned Gagaku (Buddhist music brought to Japan from Vietnam/India around the year 640AD) from Masanobu Togi who was brought to the Senshin Temple in Los Angeles by Sensei Mas Kodani of the Senshin Temple. Kodani Sensei was the spiritual spearhead of the Sansei generation leading us to find our roots in our past. Many of those roots were lost when the Japanese Americans were interned during WWII.
Thank you Kodani Sensei!
Hence my journey led me to the house of Madam Kazuko Muramoto who taught the Chikushi School way of Koto. She agreed to come in and play for the show. She came with her daughter Shirley and I believe another player and did the session for the radio show. This recording is the result of the session for the radio show. I remember the session, but was very surprised when i heard it a year ago! It was so refreshing, I remastered it from a quarter inch tape that it was on.
Shirley Muramoto, Madam Kazuko Muramoto’s daughter, told me, “The tradition is that you must learn it their way, and play only the pieces of the school. Writing your own music was never encouraged. You were supposed to play only the music of that school, no one else’s.”
She continues, “Brian’s (Shirley’s son) interest in koto was sparked by Kazue Sawai another koto sensei, I encouraged him to study with her. He went to Japan several times to be a live-in “uchideshi” student. In 2005, Brian took his teaching tests, and won the highest “Grand Prix” scores! Here is Brian playing “Shaei” (“diagonal shadows”, 1st movement), composed by Hikaru Sawai, Kazue and Tadao’s son (Hikaru was a heavy metal guitarist before deciding to devote his time towards koto). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f3NGq9slldw
Everyone congratulated my mom for having a 3rd generation koto teacher in the family. She put down all these praises! My mom said that Brian had not attained his koto credentials in her koto school, Chikushi Kai, so he is NOT a third generation! She said she knew nothing about Brian’s going for a degree in a different school (but, we did tell her before he went for his tests in Japan.) Even with that, Brian still loves his grandma, so, to make her happy, he went for another koto degree under the Chikushi School, issued by my mom.”
Again for the Audiogeeks
I converted the files to 24bit 44.1 audio files, but the software used for the internet is only compatible with the 16bit mp3 format so the sound is a little compressed. This session was transferred from a 1/4″ master that luckily hadn’t crumbled. I felt that the performance needed to be heard by those who would be interested. For myself even given all these limitations the spirit of the performance and the aura of the times comes through the recording. I hope you enjoy it.