Updates on online programs and classes for December 2022 and January 2023

Gusuyoo chuu wuganabira,

On behalf of our Ukwanshin Kabudan shinkaa (circle of friends), I would like to thank all of you for supporting our classes and programs. This has been an interesting year as we slowly started easing our way back to in-person engagements. A special thank you to Jikoen Hongwanji for continuing to provide a space for us to gather. We hope to have even more opportunities next year to be physically together while maintaining our online platform as well.

In anticipation of a busy holiday season for everyone, we’ve decided to take an early break this year. Here is our upcoming online programming schedule (also see December calendar):

  • no Umanchu Suruti presentation for December or January (resume 2/6/2023)
  • no Shima Kutuba class for December (resume 1/9/2023) 
  • last Ufubushi classical uta-sanshin class with Keith-shinshii will be 12/6/2022 (resume 1/3/2023)
  • last Fa-uta folk uta-sanshin class will be 12/7/2022 (resume 1/4/2023)
  • no Beginners’ uta-sanshin class on 12/14/2022 (discontinue in 2023 – see below)
  • last Jiutee dance music uta-sanshin class will be 12/14/2022 (resume 1/11/2023)

We will continue our regular monthly schedule in 2023 with one exception. The monthly beginning foundations uta-sanshin class (2nd Wednesdays, 7:30-8:00pm) will be discontinued. We will instead offer periodic Uta-sanshin Gateway courses which are week-long intensive classes for beginners. Please be on the lookout for announcements on these courses.

We are also excited to announce plans for the first time in 2 years, in-person Sougwachi Uyuyee (lunar New Year celebration) in January and Loochoo Identity Summit in March. Also, we are looking forward to resuming the annual Gakumun Tour to Okinawa in the fall. Please stay tuned for more details as we roll them out.

Please continue to stay safe and take care of each other this holiday season. We look forward to seeing you all soon. Ippee nifee deebitan.

Let’s Speak Uchinaaguchi!

Monday, Nov. 14, 2022, 7 pm (Hawaii time)
Contact us for the Zoom link

Please join us Monday, November 14 on Zoom for our monthly Shimakutuba session with Brandon-shiinshii.  Hope you are finding occasions to say/use the words and phrases that you have learned from these sessions in your daily activities.  Please note that this month’s session will be the last for 2022.  Classes will resume in 2023.

Anshee ya!  (See you!)

Okinawa Hands-On fundraiser at “Trash & Treasures” by Temari

TEMARI, a local Hawaii arts group, has graciously invited Ukwanshin Kaabudan to hold our fundraiser for Okinawa Hands-On at their annual TRASH & TREASURE craft fair on 

Sunday, November 6, 2022  from 9am – 1 pm at the Japanese Cultural Center.

Please visit our table where we will have an assortment of hand-made Okinawan-themed items for sale.  We will also have the much-in-demand/hard-to-find  gooyaa tsukemono (pickled bittermelon) and other ‘maasan‘ (delicious) baked goods.  

Hope to see you there!

Uta-sanshin Gateway: a short course for Beginners

We are excited to launch a new program called the Uta-sanshin Gateway. This will be a series of workshop-style classes to provide new learners of sanshin the basic tools to start their musical journey. Over the span of 6 hours spread out over a number of classes, we will go over how to hold the instrument, the basic mechanics of playing and singing, and how to read Okinawan music tablature (kunkunshi). While the course is designed for folks who have never touched a sanshin or any other musical instrument before, it can also be a good opportunity for novice players to learn basic techniques to improve their performance. All you will need is a functioning sanshin and time to commit to the entire run of the class.

For this first run, we will offer the same course twice in the same week: 

Session #1 (weekend) – November 12-13 (Sat-Sun) from 2 pm to 5 pm; fee=$50

Session #2 (weeknights) – November 15 -18 (Tue-Fri) from 7 pm to 8:30 pm; fee=$50

The content for both sessions will be exactly the same, so you may sign up for both sessions #1 and #2 if you prefer the repetition. The classes will be in-person at Jikoen Hongwanji, Lumbini Preschool. The cost will be $50 per session. The fee will be waived for Jikoen members.

As all of the course material is sequential, we ask that you only sign up if you can come to all of the classes in the course. In other words, the course will not make sense if you miss any segment of it. Also, no refunds for classes that you miss. If the cost is restrictive, please let us know and we can work something out.

If you are interested, please register by clicking on this link: Uta-sanshin registration

If you have any questions, please feel free to send us an email.

Thank you and looking forward to seeing you!

Norman Kaneshiro
Co-director and Musical Coordinator, Ukwanshin Kabudan