1995-96 Visiting Artists
KATSUTOSHI MIYAGI (left) and WATARU SHINJO (right)
With Dr. Robert Garfias, center, and students Kim Carter, Carla Becker
and Vicky Campbell (from left)
Katsutoshi Miyagi and Wataru Shinjo were selected by the Okinawan
Prefectural Government's Cultural Department to teach and represent
Okinawan music at the University of Washington during the 1995-96 academic
year. They have taught over 50 students the sanshin (a three-stringed
plucked lute which is the predecessor of the Japanese shamisen), the taiko
(a pair of drums played with sticks), the kokyu (a spike-fiddle) and the
sanba (wooden clappers).
Katsutoshi Miyagi
Miyagi Sansei is a master of Okinawan music in the Nomura style.
He is a winner of the Okinawa Times Arts Festival, and has performed in
Japan and abroad. Mr Miyagi is also a professional real estate broker in
Okinawa.
Wataru Shinjo
Shinjo Sansei is a master musician of the Afuso classical style
of sanshin and kokyu. He has won numerous honors, including the Mainichi
News' highest award. He is a graduate student in ethnomusicology at the
Okinawan University of Fine Arts and Music.
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