Japanese Culture

Below is the slideshow from the Oyama X Nitta Tsugaru Shamisen concert at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church on Monday, April 11, 2011. According to the Japan-America Society of Greater Austin, they were able to raise $3,200 for the Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund that evening. The total amount raised as of publication of this post is $8333.35. This is a great accomplishment, but there’s still more work to be done. If you were unable to attend this concert but would still like to help, please go to JASGA’s relief fund page and donate what you can.

Unfortunately, even though I filmed the concert with my HD camera, the footage was pretty worthless because the microphone wasn’t working. So, I essentially have 90 minutes of silent footage. I could kick myself. Oh well, I managed to attend a jam session featuring Oyama X Nitta at the Elephant Room later that night. It was a Tsugaru shamisen & jazz mashup.

It really is an interesting thing to hear the collaboration of the classic Tsugaru shamisen with American jazz musicians. Check out the video:

Later, after the jam session, another attendee and I gave Oyama-san and Nitta-san a tour of Austin’s own 6th Street, which was pretty tame due to it being a Monday night. If only those guys had seen it on a Friday or Saturday night.

I drove them and their producer and director to a restaurant for a late-night meal, and they were shocked by the portion sizes here in America. “If you bring a girl here, can she eat all of this?” they asked, indicating the large amount of food on their plate.

“Well, first of all, I would never bring a girl to Denny’s on a date,” I responded. “But I have met some girls who could polish that off and still be hungry.”

“Whoa!!”

They were a real treat to hang out with, and they hope to make a return trip to the States later this year. If you get a chance to see them, by all means, check them out. In the meantime, be sure to friend them on Facebook.

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