News Release:

Music of Edo Concert
in commemoration of the quadracentennial of Edo (Tokyo)
December 7th, Sunday, at 2:00 PM in the Garden Room, JACCC

The Japanese Traditional Performing Arts Organization presents a concert titled “Music of Edo.” It is to commemorate the establishment of Edo as a seat of government by the Tokugawa Shogunate 400 years ago. Edo was renamed to Tokyo (literally means east capital) in the Meiji Restoration in 1868. About the same time as the beginning of the Edo period, Kabuki started in Kyoto by a woman named Okuni and became the most popular entertainment of Edo.

 Kabuki is a Japanese musical. The music that developed along with Kabuki is called nagauta and it consists of shamisen (three stringed instrument) and singers along with percussion called Hayashi. It forms an orchestra. About the time when Edo was renamed to Tokyo, nagauta became an independent music form as well and provides music for Japanese classical dances or is performed alone.

The music selection for this concert is carefully chosen to evoke the feeling of the Edo period including the percussion piece “Edo Bayashi.” Programs are “Genroku Hanami Odori,” “Echigo Jishi,” “Tomoyakko,” an excerpt from “Ren Jishi,” and “Edo Bayashi.”

For this concert Japan's professional shamisen player Kineya Katsuyukie will come from Japan with two other musicians, Kineya Wayukiji and Matsunaga Chumie to play together with local nagauta musicians, Nagauta Toei Kai members and Katada Kai of USA members.

Kineya Katsuyukie is one of the top woman professional players in Japan and she just received the Cultural Contribution Award from her home town of Sapporo, Hokkaido. She came to Los Angeles to head the nagauta music group from Japan to participate in the “Katada Kai 20th Anniversary Concert” at Aratani/Japan America Theater on January 6th of this year.

Noted local musicians taking part in this concert are Masakazu Yoshizawa, Katada Kikusa and Kristofer Bergstrom. Kristofer is a member of O’n ensemble and studied shamisen from Kineya Katsuyukie while he was in Japan.

The concert will be held at the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center, Garden Room. Tickets will be $20.00. For more information and tickets call the Japanese Traditional Performing Arts Organization at (310) 378-3550.

For more information on this event, or to learn more about the JTPAO, please e-mail us at mikko@jtpao.org

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