World Shakuhachi Festival 2008 in Sydney

Photos from the WSF 2008 in Sydney are now online (full set and larger size):

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kirstykomuso/sets/72157606395897188/

CALL OF BAMBOO Blue Mountains concert after WSF'08

CALL OF BAMBOO
Japanese Masters of Shakuhachi & Koto in concert

TERUO FURUYA shakuhachi
KAZUSHI MATAMA shakuhachi
KAORU KAKIZAKAI shakuhachi
BRONWYN KIRKPATRICK shakuhachi
SATSUKI ODAMURA koto
MIYAMA McQUEEN TOKITA koto

Shika no Tone 鹿の遠音 traditional anonymous
Shun Sui 春吹 composed by Katsuya Yokoyama
Haru no Umi 春の海 composed by Michio Miyagi
Jogen no Kyoku 上弦の曲 composed by Tadao Sawai
Kaze no Uta 風の歌 composed by Tadao Sawai
Sanya (Mountain Valley) 山谷 traditional anonymous
Kikyo Gensoukyoku 桔梗幻想曲 composed by Rando Fukuda
Dai Yon Fudo 第四風動 composed by Seiho Kineya
Nezumi Guruma ねずみ車 composed by Rando Fukuda

10 JULY 2008 7PM
CARRINGTON HOTEL BALLROOM KATOOMBA
BLUE MOUNTAINS AUSTRALIA
$25/20

www.thecarrington.com.au 47 Katoomba Street +61 2 4782 1111

more info + travel directions: www.kirstybeilharz.com.au/CallOfBamboo.html

Chika at the Performance Space, Carriageworks

After an afternoon of shakuhachi lessons with Bronwyn at David's house, the new 'shakidance' in Sydney, I attended the music performance piece Chika at the Performance Space in its new home at Carriageworks.

I was drawn by the appearance of Satsuki Odamura playing koto and Anne Norman playing shakuhachi in the score by Tom Fitzgerald. The music was amplified electronic and traditional instruments, accessible in style but an interesting blend of live and sampled with a dancer and video montage weaving together analogue and digital, 2D and 3D. Described as "a multi-layered production and contemporary story telling, crossing genres of journalism, visual and performing arts, incorporating original live music, dance and narration, documentary images, archival video and recorded interviews," it is the story of Chika Honda.

Chika is a real person, a Japanese woman who spent a decade in Australian jails for a crime she has always insisted she did not commit. She was one of a Japanese tour group who were arrested for importation of heroin in 1992. She was released on parole in November 2002 and is now living in Japan. It is a "Lost in Translation for a Decade" saga that may all have been avoidable with better interpretation of language during the trial. The story follows the human endeavour and overcoming adversity.

Artists: Mayu Kanamori, Yumi Umiumare, Tom Fitzgerald, Satsuki Odamura, Anne Norman, Toshinori Sakamoto, Andrei Shabunov, Nick Franklin, Malcolm Blaylock, Keith Tucker.

Idan Raichel Project Sydney Opera House

The Idan Raichel Project is a world music ensemble directed by Idan from Israel. Perhaps the most remarkable feature about the eclectic band singing in Hebrew is that its membership comprises people from the rich array of ethnic backgrounds represented in Israel, such as African Ethiopians, a Somalian, a Persian singer, Israelis and a wonderful South American percussionist. The gamut of instruments is equally exciting including a Georgian plucked instrument, South American cabassa, African gourd drums, electric bass, keyboard, kit percussion and hand drums such as bongos and a vast assortment of other skinned and wooden drums, water immersion.

The Idan Raichel Project erupted onto the music scene in 2002 as a new face of Israeli pop music advocating tolerance and joy. Idan Raichel, is a 29-year old keyboardist, producer and composer from Kfar Saba. Idan was born in 1977 to a family with Eastern European roots and honed his skills at improvisation and working with other musicians in Israeli military service in the Army rock band. While counselling in a school for Ethiopian Jews, he listened to recordings of songs from artists like Mahmoud Ahmed, Aster Aweke, Gigi and others. These and gypsy and Latin and reggae influences are all audible in the repertoire of the Idan Raichel Project.

"Idan had long been fascinated with the diversity of Israel and sought to celebrate his appreciation and respect for different cultures through his music. Because of its open door to immigrants from Jewish communities around the globe, Israel is home to a stew of cultures and traditions, including people of Middle Eastern, Mediterranean, Latin American and Eastern European roots. Yemenite Jews offer traditions that reflect thousands of years of living in the country of Yemen on the southern edges of the Arabian Peninsula. Israel's Sephardic community consists of people who had incorporated the traditions of Spain, North Africa and the Mediterranean region where they had lived for centuries. The largest immigrant population in Israel consists of Ashkenazi Jews, who had come mostly from Russia and Eastern Europe". The 3rd photograph is by Barzi Goldblat.

Farewell Party with the Kakizakai family

(1) Kakizakai Sensei's mother, Emi, Megumi, Sensei [wickedly holding up the last challenge in Japanese culinary delights - a deliberate test I am sure], Haruka, Takashi (2) Kirsty, Megumi, Emi, Takashi, Kakizakai Sensei's mother, Haruka, Kakizakai Sensei.

Naturally, it was tinged with some regret that I had to pack up, clean out the caravan and organise to return to Australia but the Kakizakai family helped me feel very appreciative of the nice time I have had in Japan in the beautiful 'city' of Chichibu where I have made some deep friendships and had plenty of time to think, compose, practice. Their family has helped me and always made me feel very welcome and integrated. Megumi and I perhaps share an adventurous, independent spirit and enjoyed very much our excursions together and Kakizakai Sensei is so much more than my shakuhachi teacher. Many times they welcomed me to their dinner table and shared knowledge and friendship. I am glad Sensei is coming soon to Australia and wonder how next I can escape to Japan. Haruka, Emi and Takashi - Kakizakai Sensei's three hyperkinetic children - are also really cool with the stream of International visitors permeating their household. I hope they will maintain their eagerness to speak English and travel. On our final evening, Megumi prepared wonderful shabu shabu ingredients for us to collaboratively cook in a huge gas-fired urn at the table, accompanied by salads and other idiomatic dishes. Their hospitality extended to a final Shika no tone lesson on the morning of my departure, lunch and a book of photo memories summarising our time together.

Tokyo Shakuhachi students' New Year Party

One of the brilliant winter joys of crisp freezing air is the the wonderful visibility of unsullied, snow-covered Fuji-san on way to Saturday Higashiyamato lessons, across the tea plantations and incongruous buildings in the western suburbs of Tokyo.





Here is (Toyomi) Takahashi-san's photo of my shakuhachi elder brothers. We went to a delicious sushi and nabe restaurant in Tachikawa, organised by Mr. Nakamura-san, explored many dishes and many kinds of Japanese liquor to see in the New Year (some what belatedly)! It was very nice to hear a little more from my friends and learn about their lives outside the shakuhachi lessons. All of them have been playing shakuhachi more than ten years, some many more than that.

From left around table: Dr. Dr. Takahashi-san, Mr. Fujita-san, Mr. Nakamura-san, Kakizakai Sensei, Kirsty desu, Mr. Okamoto-san.

Sumo and Edo-Tokyo Museum

Kakizakai Sensei took me to see the Sumo in Tokyo at the Ryoguku Kokugikan across the Sumida River in Tokyo. First, we visited the Edo-Tokyo Museum of history and culture, adjacent to the Sumo stadium. The special exhibition was the Siebold and Hokusai and Their Tradition (also Hiroshige) of woodblock printing (Japanese ukiyo-e) and painting, including works such as Hokusai's 36 views of Mount Fuji (1826-1833) and many tremendously famous works and other panels of finely detailed ink prints, hand-coloured and paintings in the iconic style, carricature faces, curly waves, glowing mountains and elegant beauties and maidens, Hokusai's The Great Wave off Kanagawa (神奈川沖浪裏) that is said to have inspired Debussy's La Mer and (along with Hiroshige) influenced directly paintings by Van Gogh. The Edo-Tokyo Museum is renowned for its strikingly outlandish architecture (reminded me of Paris with its Pompidou-style escalators and monolithic proportions), housing a large-scale reconstruction of Nihonbashi bridge, a Kabuki theatre and many archaeological and historical records and remnants of the historic city, particularly as it was close to this site, traditional wooden architecture, pedestrian streets, low-rise, articles of print, swordsmanship, handcrafts, ceramics, calligraphy.

In Sumo, several aspects of the theatrics and even spiritual Shinto origins of the ring, stoicism are quintessentially Japanese. The 'ma'-like anticipation of commencing a bout, timing/knowing is remarkably like in shakuhachi playing ... an unsignalled yet 'right feeling' for timing. The same Ryoguku site has been used for Sumo for 300 years, Ryoguku Kokugikan (Grand Sumo Stadium). Etiquette in the Kokugikan requires that spectators do not go too near the ring because it is considered sacred, even after the last bout is over and the inherent Shinto spirits and ceremonies transcend in the act of throwing purifying salt about in the ring, fastidious cleaning rituals and the respectful introduction of each wrestler, a session concluding with a bow-dance (yumitori-shiki) with taiko drumming encouraging fans to come again. Early in the day, morning preliminary bouts of new Sumo trainees start, leading on to Jonokuchi-Makushita (lowest rank) and Juryo (intermediate division, at which rank and above, wrestlers are considered fully-fledged salaried Sumo professionals) and on to the senior and champion divisions that we arrived in time to watch. An event sheet describes the Sumo Banzuke tournament contenders for the day representing the opposing East (Higashi) and West (Nishi) sides. A 'season' lasts 15 days and so Sensei was keen for us to reach the last days of the season before the closing weekend (already booked out). Each day escalates from mid-level (professional) wrestlers through to grand champions at the end of the day. The day preceeding, matches/clashes are decided by a committee, designating which contestants will battle whom, often fairly evenly matched though there were some surprising bouts of 'heavyweights' vs. significantly lighter wrestlers, with 40kg weight disparities, 'David and Goliath' style. While mass is an obvious advantage in this sport, the only wrestling kind to have no weight restriction, agility can also have its advantage, resulting in a few favourable outcomes. The wrestling itself was often extremely brief, longer contests drawing roars and cheers from the crowd, much of the time was devoted to ceremonious gathering of concentration, and mind-battling, like yachts jostling for a place on the starting line, the wrestlers seemingly took their position several times at the starting location before the 'ma' felt right to physically mesh. As the standard increased, so too the suspense and tension of the commencements escalated and lengthened as visual sparring and camaraderie prevailed.

The wrestlers for the Makuuchi (Senior division) session are introduced with a ceremonial entrance and parade around the ring in traditional (expensive) aprons (kesho-mawashi) before the afternoon matches commence, forming a circle that turns to face the crowd. This is followed by the appearance of the Yokozuna Grand Champions wearing a white rope and Shinto folded design waist-piece to much audience excitement. The ring is 4.55m in diameter, prepared by wetting down the clay and sweeping it smooth and tidying with the broom between every bout. The everyday hairstyle of the Sumo is the 'topknot' and above Juryo rank, special ginko-leaf-shaped topknots are prepared by appropriate hairdressers at the stable and firmed with oil that we smelled wafting from their hair as we followed a group of wrestlers from the train. When I asked Sensei about the status and salaries of these whale-proportioned men, he wisely replied that it was small compensation for their lack of longevity and health problems associated with strange eating and sleeping patterns practised in order to build up and maintain such mass, for a career that often ends in the 30s. Bouts between well known wrestlers attract specific bout sponsorships in which the winner also picks up the award from the sponsoring company on the banners, circulated around the ring just before the match. Signs over the central ring on the roof of the shrine-like roof, reminded us that were were fortunate to have seats in a booked-out event and we can be grateful for our chairs!



We took a quick but delicious meal of giant gyoza (dumplings) in Ikebukuro before catching the return express train. With still a little time to spare, we visited the food hall of the Seibu Depaato (Department store). At first glance, it resembles David Jones foodhall - all gourmet delicacies and fresh produce. On closer inspection, it comes to life. Intrigues included live crabs wandering in wood-shavings, spanner crabs, strange molluscs who had larger bodies than the shell they inhabit, unspeakable large ocean mammals, inconceivably diverse sea creatures and fish bits, not to mention the $157 190g Wagyu gift-set if you would like to buy 4 steaks for your friend (who you like very much). Not a red-meat-eater? Maybe just a whole squid!