The Love of Shamisen.

I'm not much of a person who appreciates instrumental music; I'm more to R&B and Kpop songs. But lately, I found it difficult for me to focus on my Edexcel finals revision, so I've decided to turn to some relaxing instrumental music. At first I was listening to jazz music, which is soothing yet not my cup of coffee. It somehow reminds me of my Council President singing Michael Buble's songs. Funny yet horrifying moments.

Then, being an exchange student in Japan, I tried listening to Japanese instrumental music. A wise choice, I would say.

Back in Osaka, I was introduced to the beautiful traditional Japanese culture. Among these layers of culture, the shamisen (a Japanese instrument) caught my attention. That happened during my one-week stay in Kasai-shi. My host mother is a shamisen player and coincidentally, she had a shamisen class, hence she brought me along to expose me to the captivating world of shamisen. You have no idea how stunned I was, as I listened to the class picking the shamisen strings, in awe. A friend who joined us nearly dozed off, but somehow, I felt alive.

The small guitar-like instrument, that is the shamisen (3 strings). The longer instrument, koto, has 13 strings.

This is my host mother playing the shamisen.

I guess shamisen is meant to be in my life after all. I moved to my second host family and whaddaya know? My *otousan (host father) plays the shamisen. In fact, he regularly flies to Okinawa to play the shamisen during festivals or cultural events. I held the shamisen many times and long to play it. But I was told that my time hasn't come yet. So I used to lay quietly in my room while listening to otousan play the shamisen late at night.
*otousan means 'father' in Japanese. I call my host father 'otousan'.

After returning to Malaysia, I got to know about the famous shamisen brothers, hailed from Noboribetsu by the name of Yoshida Brothers. Yoshida Ryochiro and Kenichi who debuted in 1999 as a duo playing the shamisen, are performers of the traditional Japanese music style of Tsugaru-jamisen. They've taken the once-forgotten instrument outside the realms of Japanese folks, incorporating elements of pop, smooth jazz, rock and new age styles into their music, without degrading the shamisen and its rich heritage. I've watched them play the shamisen in Youtube and fell in love with them, especially Yoshida Kenichi. Your heart would just skip a beat as you watch two manly figures pick the shamisen strings in concentration and passion, leading you to the true beauty of shamisen and Japanese culture.

The video above is one of my favourites from Yoshida Brothers - Yuunagi (Evening Calm). Their albums are now constantly playing while I study. They really help me in focusing on my work. I feel peaceful and calm even though there are times when my revision gets screwed up. Plus, knowing that the shamisen player is the tough guy Yoshida Kenichi gives me high spirits. *drools*

Anyway, like what I've said, it's not time for me to play the shamisen. But I have a feeling that that time would come soon.