If you've not yet had the opportunity to experience Japanese music and wish to do so, over the next six weeks some of the contemporary hogaku masters will offer a truly diverse variety of concerts, ranging from the classical to the modern.
The husband/wife team Tatsumi Yoshioka and Seiei Tomimoto will present their annual recital early next week. Yoshioka is a versatile shakuhachi player trained in both the solo honkyoku tradition (which places emphasis on the Zen-meditative aspects of the shakuhachi) and the sankyoku classic ensemble tradition, where the shakuhachi accompanies the shamisen, koto and voice. Their recital will feature a modern shakuhachi solo piece by Yutaka Makino along with a rarely heard shakuhachi honkyoku solo, "Musashi Shirabe," transmitted by the legendary shakuhachi master Watazumi Doso.
Tomimoto, an accomplished shamisen/koto player, will perform an innovative Edo Period shamisen piece titled "Naniwa Junitsuki," which uses a lot of interesting imitative techniques. Together, Yoshioka and Tomimoto, along with guest performer Kiyotaka Tomiyama, will perform the classic sankyoku piece "Toru," with its interplay of vocal, shamisen, koto and shakuhachi parts.