Sad news from Okinawa Times reporting that minyou great Oshiro Misako has passed away. RIP.
Yearly Archives: 2021
YouTube: Yonaha Tōru Band Live at Output Naha
Enjoy this live concert of the Yonaha Tōru Band from their performance at output in Naha December 30, 2020. Tōru is a musician who’s able to masterfully perform in both koten (classical) and minyou (folk) — add roots pop to that too. He has two channels on YouTube but this is the one that’s being …
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Miyazawa Kazufumi on J-MELO
If you have the NHK World app (website link) be sure to catch the latest episode (1/10) of J-MELO (it’s on VOD until March 12, 2021) to see Miyazawa Kazufumi perform an acoustic (sanshin-only) version of Shimauta. It’s always interesting to see an artist’s rendition of a song they’ve played 100’s (probably 1000’s in this …
YouTube: Hidden Gems in Okinawa
The manjū pictured for the video’s thumbnail is my grandmother’s favorite and it’s become one of mine’s too. Check out the I Will Always Travel for Food’s YouTube channel for Day 1’s video as well as upcoming and archived videos.
Speaking of Noborikawa Seijin
Here’s a 2012 video from Respect Record’s YouTube account (be sure to subscribe!) featuring Noroborikawa Seijin 登川盛仁 and Oshiro Misako 大城美佐子 — outtakes from their recording of the album Duet. You may also see Nakasone Hajime 仲宗根 創 pop in here and there in the video which is pretty cool.
Rory (アーサー) the Ryukyuan Villager in Animal Crossing
Rory (アーサー [aasaa] in the Japanese-language version) is a lion jock villager in the Animal Crossing video game fr0m Nintendo (above photos are from the New Horizons version of the game — he first appeared in the New Leaf version of the game) who is Ryukyuan. Playing the English-language version of the game doesn’t give …
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Cobra Kai & Okinawan Culture Twitter Thread @sherryberry100
I just started watching Cobra Kai (Netflix link) and am still on Season 1 so it’s great to see what develops in future episodes/seasons of the series. Cobra Kai takes place decades after the Karate Kid films (the ones starring Pat Morita as the sensei) so it’s nice to see that it calls back to …
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Honolulu-Naha Sister City 60th Anniversary (Hawaii)
History of Okinawan immigration begins in January 1900, when the first 26 migrants from Okinawa arrived in Hawai‘i to seek better lives for themselves and their descendants. Now Hawai‘i residents of Okinawa ancestry number approximately 50,000, one of the largest ethnic groups in Hawai‘i. Okinawan workers faced significant discrimination when they arrived, but they successfully …
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RBC Special “Ryukyu Athlete MTG 2021” (Okinawa)
RBC aired a 1-hour special today called “Ryukyu Athlete MTG 2021” (琉球アスリートＭＴＧ２０２１). The TV special features several athletes from Okinawa that will be competing in Tokyo 2020 (now in summer 2021 as it was postponed last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic). The athletes (links to their Wikipedia page if available) featured in the special …
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Kiku TV’s 2021 New Year’s Special Programs (Hawaii)
Although many of us were saddened of Kiku TV’s decision in not picking up the 71st NHK Kouhaku Uta-Gassen, they are showing two special dramas that have actresses from Okinawa featured in them. The first airs tonight (Saturday, 1/2) and is called The Last Promise (Saigo no Yakusoku) which aired in Japan on January 9, …
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