Performing Englishness at the Koukin Society... and farewell to Japan!

And so this blog about 'Performing Englishness in Japan' draws to a close... I am writing this blog entry in mid-air while flying back home to the UK and stealing free wifi to post it at Frankfurt International Airport. From now on, I shall merely be performing Englishness in England, which is somewhat less blog-worthy (although perhaps not! Check out this book by my colleague, Simon Keegan-Phipps—and Trish Winter—which provided the inspiration for the title of this project: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Performing-Englishness-Contemporary-Resurgence-Ethnographies/dp/071908539X). Before signing off, however, I just wanted to write a short piece about my final evening in Japan—which included one last morris jig with Tomo from Grand Hama Morris!

On Wednesday I was lucky enough to be invited to perform a short concert for the Nihon Koukin Kyoukai—or Japan Jews' Harp Association—in Koenji, near Shinjuku. The Koukin Society—formed in 1990 and dedicated to all things jews’ harp—have been meeting monthly since 2003. By coincidence, I have played the jews’ harp since childhood, having learned from my father and uncles (UK readers of a certain pedigree might remember a Topic Record, ‘The Lark in the Clear Air’, from the 1970s, which featured my family). The Koukin Society founder, Leo Tadagawa, has been a personal friend since (at least) 2006 when we were both invited to play at an International Jews’ Harp Congress in Amsterdam, so this was a wonderful opportunity to reconnect and to share a few tunes and songs. This was also a rare public performance for me, as I have been officially retired from music for almost two years now!

[Leo Tadagawa]

[Playing the jews' harp very intently!]

The event was held at a record shop named Enban (or 'Disk'), which has been regularly hosting the Koukin Society since 2003. This was a glorious, intimate place for a concert, with all kinds of characterful objects scattered around the place, including kitsch figurines, kokeshi dolls and rare Japanese vinyl.

 [Kokeshi dolls and rare Japanese records]

[A cosy audience!]

[Bric-a brac]

One thing that made the evening extra-special for me was being able to invite members of Grand Hama Morris to join me on stage. Maki and Yuko—AKA 'A Drop of Good Beer'—were kind enough to share some morris tunes.

[Performing with 'A Drop of Good Beer']

(By the way, you can check out Maki and Yuko's excellent playing here)

Finally, Tomo and I performed 'Old Molly Oxford', the morris jig we practised at last Sunday's rehearsal. As a side note, Tomo and I have decided that when we dance together, we will be called ‘Green Hama’—combining the ‘Green’ of Waters Green, and the ‘Hama’ of Grand Hama. I hope this will be the first of many performances! 

The concert was a lovely way to end a fantastic trip. It has been a wonderful adventure this last fortnight and I am so grateful to everyone I have met for their kindness and generosity, as well as to all those who have followed my journey online. I’m very sad to leave, but I hope—no, I am sure!—that I will visit Japan again… I am already plotting my next project... watch this space!

[with Tomo, and mini-Tomo!]

Thanks are also due to the Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation (http://www.gbsf.org.uk) for making this experience possible, and to the Traditional Arts Development Agency for being my organisational 'home' during this period. 

I shall be writing a magazine article and likely a conference paper or two over the coming weeks, so I will keep this blog sporadically updated to include these things. 

For now, however, it's さようなら!