Nobuko Fukatsu is a Biwa (Japanese lute) player based in Los Angeles, California. Born in Japan, she started to study Satsuma-biwa under the prominent biwa musician Yoshiko Sakata in 2005. After moving to the Los Angeles area, she started to perform at various cultural gatherings, festivals and educational settings, as well as participate in recordings for entertainment media music.
Her repertoire includes classical narrative biwa music such as the Tale of Heike, narrative pieces written in modern Japanese, and modern instrumental pieces. Fascinated by the biwa’s endless potential for narration via the combined sounds of voice, wood, and silk strings, she also creates music to tell short literature pieces in Japanese and English.
Nobuko plays on instruments that survived the Japanese-American WWII internment experience and were later given to her. She also researches the history of biwa and its music in the Japanese immigrant communities in the US, particularly in Los Angeles.
坂田美子氏の琵琶の弾き語りに魅せられて2005年に入門。ロサンゼルスに移住後、日本・アジア関連のフェスティバル、領事館や日系諸団体の催し、大学などで演奏を行う他、ゲームや短編映画音楽のレコーディングに参加。平家物語をはじめとする古典や、現代語での語り物の他、創作も行う。移民や強制収容といった日系社会の荒波をくぐり抜けた琵琶を譲り受けたのを機に、ロサンゼルスをはじめアメリカ日系社会における琵琶の歴史を探る。
ロサンゼルスの日本語新聞『日刊サン』にインタビューが掲載されました。
Performance & Workshop
Nobuko has performed at various cultural events in the Greater Los Angeles Area. Her past performances include a New Year concert at the Los Angeles Public Library , festivals and celebration events by Japanese community centers and associations, recitals hosted by traditional music groups, and lecture concerts at Pomona College in Claremont. She also participated in soundtracks for a computer game Trek to Yomi and a short film directed by Liam LoPinto. Thanks to online tools, her activities reach wider areas lately. For performance requests, please contact me in the form below.
ロサンゼルス地域で、文化フェスティバル、日系諸団体の催し、伝統芸能グループの演奏会、大学でのレクチャーコンサート等で演奏をしています。オンラインでの演奏、レコーディングへの参加も可能です。演奏のご希望は以下のフォームにてお問い合わせください。
Workshops are also available for different age groups. Contents are customized depending on the event’s purposes and participants’ interests. Please contact me in the form below.
様々な年齢層を対象にワークショップも行っています。日本語学校、大学、シニア等、参加者のご興味に合わせて内容を構成します。ご要望の方は以下のフォームにてご連絡ください。
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 