Saturday, November 4, 2 pm

A concert by koto musician Shirley Muramoto,her students, with guest artist Bando Hiroshichiro

To honor musicians held in Japanese American prison camps who performed traditional instruments, musician Shirley Muramoto and her students will perform. Hear the music of newly restored koto and shamisen instruments that have not been played since the family departed Topaz camp, and a restored shakuhachi whose owner was interned in the Fort Lincoln Internment Camp in Bismarck, North Dakota. Kabuki dancer and teacher Bando Hiroshichiro will perform a Nihon Buyo traditional dance that was well known to the Issei generation. Made possible in part by Alliance for California Traditional Arts, California Arts Council, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and the Walter and Elise Haas Foundation. Presented by Friends of Topaz Museum and J-Sei.

Suggested donation: $10-$15.  Limited seating available. RSVP at Eventbrite.

“Desert Winds & Strings: A Historical Exhibit” shares the story of Japanese traditional artists who performed in America’s concentration camps. The exhibit will be on display from November 1 to 17 in the J-Sei gallery. Gallery Hours:  MWF 10-1, TuTh 1-5, and by appointment.

 

Photo: Koto, shamisen and shakuhachi performance, Topaz concentration camp. ca. 1944 Courtesy of Kent Nakamoto.