Posts under ‘Culture’

After taking a trip to Cancun and visiting Chichen Itza and Tulum, I learned many interesting facts about the Mayan civilization. While we were on the way to Tulum, we stopped by a mercado (store) and bought a Mayan calendar replica.

It is amazing how the Mayans developed a calendar that is so accurate and sophisticated. It is based on an uninterrupted, continuous count of days called Kin. The two most important counts were 260 and 365 days.

Last year on this same day I also wrote a blog on Boy’s day. It is also known as Tango no sekku, which marks the beginning of summer. It is a day filled with rich symbolism and tradition. The three main symbols of the holiday that represent the qualities boys were expected to possess are:

1. Musha ningyo or warrior doll

   These are dolls dressed in traditional samurai armor which are placed in a special alcove. They represent masculine qualities of strength and bravery. They are also accompanied by a miniature helmet or kabuto.

Recently I went to Hide Sushi, which is one of the best quality, reasonable priced sushi restaurants in Southern California. It is located in Los Angeles: map
They don’t take reservations, but it is definitely worth the wait or worth going early. We sat in the sushi bar and enjoyed some ebi (shrimp), ika with shiso (cuttlefish with perilla), salmon skin roll, scallop with ponzu sauce, aji (Japanese mackerel), and lastly the amaebi (sweet shrimp). Also here are some tips that I learned from this experience:

Last year I wrote a blog about the main components of the Girl’s Day/ Hinamatsuri: display, delicacies, and celebrating with friends. This blog will focus more on the history of Hinamatsuri and the interpretation of symbols used in the festival.

Over the last couple of weeks I wrote a brief bio of Master Kineya Kichisaburo, his performances, important lessons I learned, and his excellent craftsmanship. Today I will focus on my fondest memories and share a side of him not linked to his music.

Master Kineya Kichisaburo’s musical accomplishments were quite remarkable, but he also showed excellent craftsmanship. In addition to fixing the shamisen, he also loved to create items out of recycled goods.

The picture below is a water well he made out of recycled Japanese cookie box. It is intricately made. The wheel actually rotates allowing movement with the ropes.

The next picture is a tsuzumi (Japanese drum) that he made with wood, construction paper and rope. Although it does not make any noise it is very similar to the real instrument. He strung the rope similar to how it is done on a real tsuzumi.

• Value of auditory learning

  My teacher was a great musician, able to listen to a piece of music and notate the music. Often new music would be sent from Japan via tape and without a music sheet. He would listen to it and write the notation in a book he made for all the students. Master Kineya Kichisaburo would teach auditory learning as well. During nagauta singing lessons for example, he would sing the new music part first. I would learn without music sheets, relying solely on listening to his singing. He would then sing with me the first time and then I would have to sing the new part on my own. These lessons have helped me to sharpen my ear rather than solely relying on reading music.

Master Kineya Kichisaburo was a brilliant teacher and performer. I first started taking lessons with him when I was 3 years old. Although I could barely read Japanese, he handwrote a book for me and pasted a colorful bind. Usually he would sing and through auditory learning, I would copy him.

The picture below is my first performance with him at the Japanese American Theater in Downtown Los Angeles, California at the age of 4.

It is hard to believe that it has been 7 years since my teacher passed away. He was my nagauta (literally meaning long song, is a lyrical music accompaniment of Japanese Kabuki and classical dance), and shamisen (Japanese 3 string instrument) teacher for 14 years.