Casual Hitoe Tsumugi Ensemble

Today, I met with a friend for tea, so I chose casual ensemble: a grey striped tsumugi hitoe with summer accessories. It's already hot enough for full ro/sha here, but I decided to stick slightly closer to the traditional calendar by continuing to wear hitoe today. Despite the heat and humidity being so high, this kimono kept me pretty cool!

My trip to Japan and being on Japanese TV

In my previous post, I was kind of cryptic about my recent trip to Japan. This is why: I was on the Japanese TV show 世界!ニッポン行きたい人応援団, and I could not reveal any details until the episode aired. If you're not familiar with it, the show is about foreigners who have a specific interest in Japanese culture. I have been playing the shamisen for about 5 years now, and I love everything about the instrument, so I decided to submit an application later last year. I was previously passed up, so I figured that I was out of the running probably, but they contacted me about being interviewed in early April. At that time, I did not know that I would be chosen to actually go to Japan. The reaction to their invitation is definitely 100% real!

For my episode, we traveled to Shiga and mostly spent time at Marusan Hashimoto to see how the silk strings for traditional instruments (like the shamisen, koto, biwa, etc.) are made. It was an amazing process, and I plan on giving a more in-depth explanation on my shamisen blog, Tsukiko Shamisen - so please look for it in the near future!

The biggest surprise is at the end, but I do not want to spoil the episode, so please watch it (above)! I come in around 10m30s.

I hope you enjoy it!

Spoils from Japan!

Sorry, I've been so quiet lately! I actually just got back from Japan a week ago, and I'm still recovering somewhat. I didn't buy too many things while I was there, but here are a few of the spoils! A polka dot haneri, blue and purple obiage, blue ombré obijime, shamisen bachi strap, and a shou (mouth organ) strap (that one was actually a gift).

I'd love to explain the details of the trip now, but that will have to wait. Thank you for your patience!