Comments by Wakasanojo from the Printed Program

(September 18, 2012, Concert by New Shinnai Professionals)

This year, the late summer heat was very severe, and it lasted a long time. Even though I like summer, it was too much for me. I remember that it was like this last year, too. Maybe it is a result of global warming. But there are some scientists who theorize that the earth will become very cold in the near future. Anyway, the weather always changes. I am very optimistic about this, because the change in the average temperature is not so great.

A change that worries me is that the number of people who like Japanese traditional music continues to decrease every year.

The Agency for Cultural Affairs is also concerned about this and, starting last year, they decided to support events to showcase the next generation of performers in the traditional arts, including shinnai. We are very appreciative of this support.

The first of these shinnai events was held earlier this year, in March. Today’s performance is the second one. We teachers in the Shinnai Association have been training new shinnai professionals. Today’s concert will show you the results.

In this year’s London Olympics, Japan earned the largest number of medals ever for our country. This was a result of the strategy of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of developing measures to ensure broad support from Japanese society for training our athletes and strengthening their skills.

We too are receiving support from the Agency for Cultural Affairs. We want to make an effort of pass on the wonderful Edo traditional shinnai genre to the next generation. This responsibility is our duty.

I ask all of you who like shinnai to strengthen your support of us in these activities from now on.

Tsuruga Wakasanojo
Chairman, Shinnai Association