Wow lol so… A lot happened while I was asleep haha~
ok… so, as for how I know Ryoichiro, he is a friend of a friend.
And he is a very nice guy. But as a general rule, I try avoiding acting too “fan”-ish or making requests. So while I can bring up the idea of how many people would love to see him on BachiTV, if he doesn’t volunteer for it himself, it would be wrong of me to push it too much.
So I guess that one is up to fate~ (^_-)
As for the view of Shamisen players here in Japan, Kyle pretty much hit the nail on the head. The famous ones are very famous, but not seen as super-stars. They are more seen as a cultural treasure. Japanese are very culturally strong and love Japanese culture in itself. So the more famous Shamisen players are highly respected, but the average person admits that “I have seen them on TV, and Youtube, and I know of them very well, but I have never seen them live”.
It’s very much like Sumo in that manner. Everyone knows, and everyone respects and appreciates, but there is a definitive gap between those who know and those who love. (hope this description makes sense lol)
Actually, even throughout the Tokyo area, there are certain Shamisen players that can be seen performing at different venues, or even on the streets from time to time.
3 that have really impressed/interested me are:
輝＆輝
Website: http://kiki-teruteru.jimdo.com/
Tokyo Ghetto Shamisen
Website: http://tokyo-ghetto-shamisen.com/
Seshami Street
http://www.shamisen.jp/seshami/index2.html
To the people who know them, they are all fairly well known~
But to the general public, people may have seen them in a street performance, or at a cool restaurant, etc… but not really know who they are~
Ok… Well this post seems to have gotten considerably longer than I originally expected to make it. So I will stop here for now~
Agatsuma tableture as well, right? I was discussing that with Masahiro. He’s quite busy recently, but I’m sure it’ll be discussed when I head over there in July. 