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The classical Japanese
dance and music workshops and concert shown here were
held at the University of Limerick on April 12 th and 13th 2000.
They were part of a Japanese cultural festival organised jointly
by the Department of Ethnomusicology, the Japanese Studies
Programme and the Japanese Embassy.
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The musicians and dancers are
from the city of Kanazawa. They form an ensemble called
Hogaku no Kai which includes three koto players, two shakuhachi
players and six female dancers called buyou.
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| Demonstrating the parts of a
traditional woman's kimono. |
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| Teaching the students to dance
Japanese style.Here you can see the variation in design of
the knots at the backs of the kimonos. |
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Traditional Japanese footwear.
Note the socks with divided toes and an opening at the heel. |
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| Irish World Music Centre students
learning to play the koto, a Japanese stringed instrument
that is traditionally played by women. It sounds similar to a
harp. It is likened by the Japanese to a dragon, and all the parts are named as if
they were the parts of the dragon's body. |
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The strings are plucked with the
right hand using two fingerpicks and a thumbpick made
of ivory or bone.The left hand is used to change the pitch by
moving the bridges, or pressing a string downwards to
"bend" the note, On the black board is an illustration
of Japanese musical scales. The musicians play from a score
written in Japanese notation, but it is only a guide line rather
than a set of strict instructions. They are free to vary the music
and it is considered important to develop a good sense of
"ma" or timing, and to respond to the playing of the
other musicians in the group.
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Playing the shakuhachi, an
end blown flute made from bamboo. An expert player can produce a
variety of sounds by changing the position of the mouth and lips.
Most of the students had great difficulty getting any sound at all
from it. He is wearing men's traditional formal dress. The bottom
part is a loose, pleated pants which is worn over a kimono.
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| Getting dressed for their
concert performance.It takes two hours to get fully costumed and
made up. |
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| The first dancer
comes on stage during the concert in the Irish World Music
Centre on 13th April. |
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| This style of music and dance is
traditional, but the actual dance pieces were newly choreographed for this
concert. |
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| Nana, the official photographer,
in action. |
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| The musicians and
dancers lining up for their bow |
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| The Japanese
ambassador, third from left, is introduced to us. |
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| Here they are in
their street clothes |
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| Loking very happy to
be here |
Dancers
Nishizaki Moeha, Yasujima Hiroko,YamashitaTakeko,
Yasuhara chizuru,Kimura Sanae.
Koto Players
Tsurushima Masae,Narita Gakei,Nakayama Utaritsue.
Shakuhachi Players
Tomizu Inzan, Sawami Inei.
Photographer
Nana Tomizu.
Interpreter
Kevin Hayes.
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