Junko Ueda

Performing satsuma-biwa music: A challenge for sharing an emotion, which is evoked when you touch the significant dignity facing to the deepness which has been continuously developed through the tradition. My biwa teacher, Ms. Kinshi Tsuruta was convinced that everywhere in the world, the biwa story-telling music can be understood. One of the most important elements of the story-telling is the sound of the voice and the breath which contain human’s thoughts, feeling and deep sense. The most impressive element is not the meaning of the words, but the sound of the voice and the timing 'MA' of the breath.

Singing shomyo: The human being is a child created from the stars wandering in the universal space. Then, now, by the action of singing, the small energy of voice or a vibration wave of the sound goes to the air. The wave continues traveling in the universal space. A little energy of the voice goes back to the universe where once human was created. A little energies of the voice are piled up in the universe and again continue wandering in the space like stars. If the imagining the universe is the existence of the universe itself, I imagine that my voice continue to wander in the space as an evident energy of the existence of the universe.

Playing the Biwa: One of the most characteristic effects of the biwa sound is "sawari" effect. "Sawari" means "to touch". Through touching, it creates mixture, distortion, waves and finally a complex noise which may consider as a "beautiful noise”. The sawari sound seems to symbolize the aspects of the nature or the universe.

Playing Music: A voyage towards something universal. An admiration towards something meditative. And through the act of music, a challenge towards healthy and peaceful world and common feelings to share with the people. Music is an essential food for the heart of the people.