Sayo Komada - The Rock Star of Tsugaru Shamisen

 An interesting video popped into my Facebook timeline this week from NHK World Japan featuring Tsugaru Shamisen artist Sayo Komada. I was immediately impressed by how she played her traditional shamisen like Eddie Van Halen played the electric guitar. I have seen the instrument played in several television shows about Japan and have enjoyed it's unique sound. I had never thought of it as something of a rock instrument until I heard Sayo Komada do her thing!

Sayo Komada bio - from her website translated into English:

Born in 1999. Born in Mie prefecture.
Started playing Tsugaru shamisen at age 7, folk songs at age 10, and nagauta shamisen and nagauta at age 16.

She studied Tsugaru shamisen and folk songs under Takayuki Matsuda, nagauta shamisen under Goshiro Kineya, and nagauta under Kineya Katsushinki. In 2022, graduated from Tokyo University of the Arts, Department of Traditional Japanese Music.

The fourth generation Kineya Gosaburo is allowed to use the name of " Kineya Goshikoma " by the head of the school . Currently, while performing all over the country, she challenges various genres from classics to original songs and contemporary songs, and gathers support from a wide range of people. In addition to playing and singing, she enlivens the stage with the style of playing the drums with his feet, which she invented when she was a junior high school student.

So what is Tsugaru shamisen?

The shamisen is an instrument that's been around for a long time in Japan. It's about 1 meter (3 feet) long and has three strings that are played using a large pick called a bachi. The tsugaru shamisen is a kind of shamisen whose unique style of play gives performers room to improvise. A lot of people say it's similar to jazz in that way. "Tsugaru shamisen is the jazz of Japan," claims Chisato Yamada, one of the top artists in the genre. Mr. Yamada, in fact, has often performed with jazz bands both in Japan and other countries.

The shamisen first came to Japan from China by way of Okinawa (which was then called the Ryukyu Kingdom). People in Japan began developing their own way of playing it, such as the use of the bachi. In the Edo period (1603-1868), it was used as background music for kabuki theater. Its popularity soared as a result, and it evolved into one of the most important instruments in Japan's classical music.

The tsugaru shamisen, as the name suggests, developed in the Tsugaru district - the western half of Aomori Prefecture on the northern tip of Honshu, Japan's main island. Tsugaru is usually covered in snow from the end of November to early April, and is one of the snowiest regions in the country. - Source

I have to say that Sayo Komada has become my new musical addiction!

Check Out:

A Guilty Viewing Pleasure: Japan Railway Journal

Luckily for us NHK is now streaming the show via their website and on YouTube. The show was on hiatus for some time due to the Covid-19 pandemic but is back on the air with a new host Cathy Cat (an internet video personality) who is paired alongside longtime show commentator Takagi Ryo, Ph.D. (Professor at Kogakuin University). - READ MORE

Spirits Of Death In A Sea Of Trees - Japan's Suicide Forest

Aokigahara (青木ヶ原), also known as the Sea of Trees (樹海) or Jukai, is a 14 square mile forest that lies at the base of Mount Fuji in Japan. Due to the wind-blocking density of the trees and an absence of wildlife, the forest is known for being exceptionally quiet and for the thickness of its trees. - READ MORE

Seven Stars in Kyushu: Hakata-ku, Fukuoka, Japan

The 7-car Passenger Train Reflects the Elegance of the Journey. The gold Seven Stars emblem stands out against the royal wine red of the train cars. The glaze and depth of the tone, which is also described as the color of ancient lacquer, represents the elegance of the journey and is a magnificent sight to behold. - READ MORE