March 4 is the day dedicated to sanshin music. There is a traditional song called Kagiya-de-fu which is played at the opening of ceremonial events, and that is the song that opened the Sanshin Day event at the Kumoji Palette Plaza in downtown Naha.
The beauty of Kagiya-de-fu is that it is always and everywhere played exactly the same way in exactly the same key. Anyone, anywhere on the planet, can join in and be in harmony whenever and wherever this song is played.
It's not a simple song, though, and the only way to learn it is to sing it with other people who already know it. What a way to build human harmony!
The words are a poem: "To what shall I compare the beauty of today? A flower, a dew drenched bud about to blossom."
Okinawa Looks Like This
Peaceful: a beautiful place for a walk
自己紹介
- Chura
- Born and raised in the USA (NJ), I’ve spent most of my adult life in Japan. One of my favorite places in Japan is Okinawa. To me, Okinawa is a land of stories and an island of music, magic and mystery. The music is shima-uta, songs sung to the rhythm of a three-stringed lute called a sanshin. The magic is in the colors of land, sea and sky. The mystery? Mystery begins where the line between legend and verifiable human memories begins to blur. I am a member of the Archaeological Institute of America, chapter chief of a sanshin study society, and a founding member of the Marine Culture Research Association of Okinawa.