Ten Thousand Things
Multicultural Webfinds

"Ten Thousand Things" is a Buddhist expression representing the dynamic interconnection and simultaneous unity and diversity of everything in the universe.

24th TOKYO SUMMER FESTIVAL 2008 – Art & Music from the Amazon, the Sahara, and Miyazaki prefecture

Arion-Edo Foundation's Tokyo Summer Festival, "Forest Echoes / Desert Voices," has lined up another unique, fascinating series of concerts reflecting a global range of creative virtuosity.

Traditional musicians from the Amazon, the Sahara, and Miyazaki prefecture in Japan; eclectic world musician Egberto Gismonti from Brazil; and young classical European musicians from Japan are all featured in performances that will continue through the entire month of July.

©photo by Helio Nobre/ Ideti

The Amazonian Karaja, who live on an island on the Araguaia River in Brazil, will bring their visual art (body painting) and music to Japan for the first time. An online sample of Karaja music can be found at the Smithsonian's Global Sound website.

At present, only five women are able to play the Imzad, a stringed instrument that symbolizes the harmonization of time and space for the Tuareg.

Ethnically related to the Berbers, the Tuareg are an ancient caste-based nomadic people from the upper interior of North Africa who played a primary role in Saharan camel caravan trade until European trucks and trains displaced them in the mid-twentieth century. As with most African tribal peoples, their territory was artificially carved apart into many separate colonies that gained independence around the 1960's. As a result of the these and other social, political and economic disruptions, Tuareg have periodically clashed with the national governments (Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Algeria and Libya) that now rule over them. Tragically, drought and progressive desertification of their lands have resulted in significant habitat loss that has accerbated tribal-national government conflicts, and the Tuareg have recently made global headlines because of tribal revolts in Mali.

These videos are of the Tuareg women musicians playing the Imzad who will be performing at the Tokyo Summer Festival which offers a rare opportunity to experience their gorgeous music in person.

The Karaja will give a workshop and the Tuareg musicians will demonstrate their music during a free (register online for tickets) symposium at the Asahi Beer Center on July 14.

Shinto priestesses (Miko) from Miyazaki prefecture in southern Kyushu will perform a traditional Toshito Kagura dance on July 21. This ceremonial dance will be the first performed outside of their shrine.

The festival also brings to Tokyo Brazilian musician Egberto Gismonti, who studied classical and atonal avant garde classical music. In his free-ranging eclectic approach, Gismonti has drawn from jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt as well as Jimi Hendrix. These YouTube videos posted by Tatsuyukito include a sample of an exquisite jazz ensemble performance of Gismonti's "Sonho" (Dream) with the musician on piano, and another sample of a particularly beautiful guitar performance.

©photo by Krystina Sanderson

The Festival's Gala concert on July 31 will feature among the best of Japan's young European classically trained musicians.

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