Voice, Wood, Silk Strings
Nobuko Fukatsu, Biwa & Voice
Profile
Nobuko Fukatsu is a Biwa player based in Los Angeles. She performs at various cultural gatherings, festivals, educational settings, and also in entertainment media music. Click here to meet Nobuko.
ロサンゼルス在住の琵琶奏者です。プロフィール、活動内容など。
About Biwa
Biwa is a 4 or 5-stringed Japanese lute, brought to Japan via the Silk Road in the 8th century. In its long history, it developed into an accompanying instrument for narrative music. Click here to learn more about the biwa.
シルクロードを経て奈良時代に日本に渡ってきた琵琶。長い歴史の中で、語り物音楽として発展しました。
Biwa in America
Some Japanese immigrants in the early 20th century brought biwas over to the United States with them, and played for their fellow people. Biwa performances were held even in the internment camps during WWII. Click here to read hidden stories.
琵琶が20世紀前半に海を越えてアメリカに渡ったのはご存知でしょうか。日本を懐かしむ人々の心の拠り所として、日系社会で演奏や教授が行われました。第二次世界対戦中の日系人強制収容所でも演奏会が行われた記録が残っています。
Videos
An excerpt from the 13th century epic The Tale of Heike, describing a famous scene where a young archer Nasu-no-Yoichi Munetaka of the Genji faces a challenge posed by the Heike.
平家物語から、屋島の合戦における、弓の名手・那須与一の活躍の場面です。
An excerpt from The Tale of Heike, describing a scene where the Heike burned down temples and the Great Buddha in the old capital Nara.
平家物語から、南都焼き討ちの場面です。平家物語の原文を詞章に、琵琶と語りと歌で表現した創作です。
A strange adventure experienced by Hoichi, a musically talented blind monk who specialized in telling the Heike story using the biwa. From Lafcadio Hearn’s well-known anthology Kwaidan (1904), reconstructed into a biwa piece, narrated in English.
小泉八雲の『耳なし芳一』を、琵琶とともに英語で語ったものです。
What’s New
5/12/23 Played in the soundtrack of a short film “The Old Young Crow” (directed by Liam LoPinto). The film will be shown at the Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival 2023 | 短編映画『今昔カラス』のサウンドトラックに参加しました
5/5/22 Joined Kurosawa-inspired samurai game “Trek to Yomi” soundtrack | ゲーム『Trek to Yomi』のサウンドトラックに参加しました
Thank you for visiting my website! If you have any questions, performance requests, or feedback, please contact me in the form below.
ご質問、演奏のご要望、その他ご意見がございましたら、以下のフォームにてご連絡ください。
©2021-2023 Nobuko Fukatsu. All rights reserved.
Voice, Wood, Silk Strings 