I just wanted to let people know that Hirosaki’s contest is going to be streamed live again this year starting tomorrow (May 2). It is happening in Japan on May 3 and 4, so the live stream start time will vary depending on where you are in the world.
You can click on this link for the details:
Last year the links stayed up for a week or two, so that might happen again this year.
Thanks for sharing, Gerry! Definitely gonna be open a pack of surume and watch as many renditions of Jonkara Bushi as I can take! 
Did you see this year’s Hibiya Taikai, where one contestant’s shamisen skin tore during his performance?
Thanks for posting the link! For day 2, you can tune in here: https://youtu.be/7UOCJqpH_g0
And then for the Big Five Min’you Competition one day later, you can click here!: https://youtu.be/z-OqJ1iobro That one’s good for if you’ve found yourself a little jonkara’d out. Sit back and listen to some singers, and study up on your utazuke theory.
These little girls that can’t even reach the itomaki are just too cute.
Interesting fact: Unless there are some hiding in the Group division, there are no westerners competing in the tournament this year. In fact, aside from 3-5 Taiwanese people, there are no non-Japanese people at all.
Bachido, we gotta get back in it!
Whoa, there’s Nitta Ryu! Hiroshi always has the most awesome kakegoe!
I wouldn’t have thought he would’ve gone back if Masahiro wasn’t involved in the show, but I guess after two years of Team Bachido and last year’s Nitta Ryu attack, he got bit with the taikai bug. 
Hey, if you wanna see the guy who puts black Ripple on the Eclipse shamisen… - 第35回 津軽三味線世界大会 2日目 - YouTube
Did Nitta Ryu finally win something ?
Actually, Nitta Ryu won first place last year.
I’m not sure they won first place this year, but they did win something, both for group and individual divisions.
They got 2nd place in the Small Group Division this year. I don’t know who they had competing in the individual divisions, so I can’t say how they fared there.