Under the leadership of charter president Yasukazu Takushi, a veteran Okinawan classical sanshin instructor, an annual showcase of Okinawan classical and folk music and dance was started at venues of an event facility and a hotel facility. Within this setting, the Geino-bu, or the Performing Arts Committee, was organized within the Okinawa Association of America in November 1987.
In the 1980s, Okinawan performing arts circles in Southern California began receiving greater influence from Okinawa when major performing arts organizations in Okinawa started to recognize oversea activities as their own branches.Īt that time, Okinawan performing arts included classical music and dance with roots in the Ryuku Kingdom of several hundred years ago. He performed his favorite classical pieces at banquets and picnics and sought to spread his knowledge of culture and performing arts.Ī high point of the renaissance which occurred in Okinawan musical circles between 19 was the publication of his book, Ongaku no Jitsuso (the True Music), which covers the basic drills in musical intervals and provides a collection of sanshin music. He received his teaching certificate in 1917 and moved to the Imperial Valley where he started farming. From the age of nineteen, Iha, a native of Chatan village, learned Okinawan music under Master Ryojin Kin. Records show that one of the earliest musicians from Okinawa to Southern California was Chusuke Iha. started at the turn of the 20th century, it was not unusual for Okinawans to bring the sanshin (3 stringed banjo) with them. When the immigration from Okinawa to Hawaii and the main-land of the U.S. Okinawa Association’s folk music and dance activity attracts younger generationįor the people of Okinawa, folk songs and dance are always a part of their lives. To make a reservation, contact Violet Nishihira at (310) 329-1904. Tickets are $35 and for children under 11, $20. The deadline to purchase tickets to the 25th Anniversary Banquet is Friday, May 25. The Okinawa Association of America Geinobu Performing Arts Committee is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year at a banquet celebration at the Quiet Cannon, 901 Via San Clemente, Montebello on Sunday, June 3 from 11:30am to 3:00pm. A stage of Okinawan folk music by the Okinawa Association's "Geinobu" Performing Arts Committee (Courtesy of the Okinawa Association of America)
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