Ryler Nielsen and Dr. Jeremy Grimshaw, School of Music
Two of the most often used methods that we, as humans, use to identify with each other are language and music. The Omoro Soushi, compiled in the early 1600s, is a compilation of poems and songs in the Okinawan language that were used to create music. It shows that a relationship does exist between the language and the subsequently created music.
In an effort to better understand the unique language, music and of Okinawa I visited with a Professor Yamauchi Masaya, a professor of traditional music at the Okinawa Prefectural University of Arts. Yamauchi teaches the children’s sanshin (see Figure 1) group at the Okinawa City Cultural Center, lectures at the Okinawa Health Insurance Center for Traditional Ryukyuan music, and is a member of the Nomura Style Koza players group. Also he is the author of Fun Okinawa Sanshin Handbook. He expressed the sentiment in the interview that his playing of the sanshin connects him to his childhood and his heritage as an Okinawan. He feels that the traditional style is and should be very important to modern Okinawans. He suggested and agreed to help me set up an Okinawan music club at Brigham Young Univeristy.
I also visited the store of Arakaki Shigeru. He is the master craftsman at Ichinto Arakaki Sanshin. He specializes in traditional sanshin production modeled from ancient court styles used on the island of Okinawa. He lectures at local conventions and writes short articles concerning the sanshin. He really enjoyed showing me the instruments he had made and watching an American attempt to play them. I have seen a wide variety of sanshin and feel the sanshin crafted by Arakaki could also be interpreted as works of art.
I then visited the store of Yamazaki Youta. He owns a small sanshin gallery, he crafts the instruments to meet different tastes in design, he wrote Free Style Sanshin Play Guide which is a book that adapts the sanshin to more modern uses with chords and popular music, and he also performs publically. As we talked he performed for us many genres for us on his sanshin. He also felt strongly that the traditional instrument can and should be used to entertain as well as connect one to the past.
I then set up a meeting with a well know Okinawan YouTube personality Ueta Takenobu. He actively publishes videos at http://www.youtube.com/user/takenobu1120. He was very kind and performed a very difficult Okinawan traditional song called Kagijyadeifuu Bushi with a distinguished Koten (traditional) performer Irei Tadashi. His goal is to spread the enjoyment of Okinawan music to many places. He also agreed to help me set up an Okinawan club here at BYU.
I attended many of the local Obon/Eisa festival dances. The one in Kadena Town was especially rewarding because I got there just as they were taking a break to have some ice cream and they were very kind and allowed me to take a lot of pictures (see Figure 2). Even though the temperature that day was very hot they all had smiles on their faces and were proud to be a part of a long heritage of music and dance. I also attended the festivals of Kina Town, Ryukyu Village, and Yomitan Village and the performers in each location conveyed the same feelings of joy for the opportunity to participate in the annual celebration of their culture.
I feel that there is so much more to study on this small island. I didn’t have sufficient time in the two weeks I was able to be there to really delve in to the linguistic side of the research and therefore have not been able to adequately research the connections between the language and music yet. I also discovered that I needed professional quality equipment to better record and portray the rich culture. Other information about the island is very scarce in the US. Even here at BYU, in the Japanese Department, there is not a lot of knowledge of Okinawa, hence further study is merited.
This well known Okinawan Proverb reflects the inherent desire to preserve the ancient culture:
Nmarijima nu kutuba wasshii nee kuni n wasshiin. Forgetting your native tongue means forgetting your native country. According to Garfias, “The impact of mass media and global popular culture, are together doing much to change the Okinawan tradition. The number of music groups each year suffers from the loss of its oldest members…who know the tradition well enough to lead. Unfortunately, it seems just a matter of time now” [until the tradition is extinct]1.
Many of my findings were presented at BYU’s President’s Leadership Council on September 30th, 2011. Also I have published two short films with photos and video footage showcasing the events, interviews and Okinawan culture I experienced during my visit. These can be viewed online at: http://www.youtube.com/user/okityler?feature=mhee.
References
- Garfias, Robert. “The Okinawan Kunkunshi Notation System and Its Role in the Dissemination of the Shuri Court Music Tradition” Asian Music, Vol. 25, No. 1/2, 25th Anniversary Double Issue (1993 – 1994), pp. 115-144. http://www.jstor.org/stable/834193.
- All photographs taken by Parker Nielsen and Jay Nielsen.