Japanese Music Life

Twenty-six years of koto playing...
so many chapters, so many interesting experiences.....

I'm going to start writing about some moments.

Getting ready for a performance in a few days -- working through pieces, hearing some new ways of playing them. It is still amazing to me that you can take works that you've played for a long time, and play them differently and make them fresh. I feel so lucky that I had a teacher - Kazue Sawai - who encouraged me to do that.

Why koto? The fingers feel good, the mind feels good, the heart feels good when playing. It has been like therapy for me, as the world seems to get more insane, I keep turning to koto, focus on those strings, and start creating, doing what I can (play koto) and letting the world continue on its crazy path.

Such a wonderful instrument with so many moods. Light, dark, pensive, cheerful, thoughtful. It is always surprising me with its versatility.

Music is not just playing notes. It speaks - it speaks - and settles the mind.

Now that I'm writing, I want to go practice.....

I'll be back.