Japanese Paper Film Project will be featured at FILM FEST – Live Score Music Festival in Setubal, Portugal. Duo YUMENO will accompany for this special screening. Along with this special screening, the workshop – Traditional Japanese Music- will be held on October 30th.
Workshop: Traditional Japanese Music
Internationally renowned koto player Yoko Reikano Kimura presents a program that reflects on the 1300-year-old history of koto, the zither-like instrument that is considered Japan’s national instrument. The program will follow the development of musical styles from the Edo period (1603-1867) to the present in which contemporary composers are rediscovering the richness of the Japanese musical tradition.
This concert will also feature koto-uta (koto-song) which consists the majority of the traditional koto repertoire. She is joined by cellist Hikaru Tamaki – her partner in the cross-cultural musical group, Duo YUMENO – to present the eclectic program that interweaves elements of Western music. The program will include one of their commission works, Heike Quinto – Appassionato – by American composer, Daron Hagen. The event includes a brief talk about various aspects of the koto, such as its history, the mechanics of the instrument and more, to enrich the musical experience.
Discover the hidden beauty of early Japanese cinema – restored 1930s kami eiga (paper films) paired with haunting live koto (traditional musical instrument and cello for an unforgettable cinematic experience.
In the 1930s, several Japanese companies produced films made on paper (“kami firumu”) instead of celluloid. The Japanese Paper Film Project preserves the surviving movies and promotes scholarship about these films.From 1932 – 1938, two Japanese Companies dominated the paper film market. Most well known are REFCY, based in Tokyo, and Katei Toki (“Home Talkie”), based in Osaka. They produced animated and live action films and often in color. Many of the films contained synchronized sound tracks on 78-rpm vinyl and were accompanied by a Benshi narrator.
Given the short period of production, the varying paper quality, and WWII’s devastation, very few Japanese paper film prints survive. Now, almost 90 years later, the handful of surviving prints are beginning to deteriorate. Thus, this project is racing against time to preserve the films before they disappear entirely. Very little scholarship exists on Japanese paper films in English but a few recent works by Japanese scholars prove invaluable.
Music and Live score by Duo YUMENO
New York based ensemble, INTERWOVEN will give annual recital. The program will include Jay Reise – Orpheus in Meikai for Koto and String Quartet and more.
INTERWOVEN will visit the University of Hawaii for a mini residency. It will work with composition students and faculty members. The ensemble’s works will be premiered at the end of the week recital.
Yoko Reikano Kimura will be joining as a guest koto/shamisen performer at Chicago’s most active Japanese taiko group, Tsukasa Taiko‘s annual events. The details will be announced soon.
Duo YUMENO will return to Between the Bars concert series presented by New Asia Chamber Music Society. The program will celebrate New Year 2027!
Celebrate Lunar New Year with INTERWOVEN, an intercultural chamber ensemble bringing the musical traditions of East Asia into vibrant dialogue with Western chamber music. The shimmering sounds of the Japanese koto and shamisen and the expressive voice of the Chinese erhu mingle with violin, viola, and cello in music spanning beloved traditional repertoire and contemporary works inspired by cultural memory, landscape, and exchange. From Michio Miyagi’s evocative Haru no Umi and the dazzling virtuosity of the Chinese erhu tradition to Apple Chang’s Taiwan-inspired In Harmony with Moon and Current and Michael Ippolito’s Sekai no Hazama (Between Worlds), this special program celebrates both the distinct character of these musical traditions and the new possibilities that emerge when they are brought together. In the spirit of Lunar New Year, join us for an afternoon of renewal, connection, and discovery through music.
Parthenia,viol consort ensemble, and Duo YUMENO, a modern cello and Japanese koto duo, will perform for a special concert for kids presented by Musica Reginae Productions.
Parthenia and Duo YUMENO combine their artistry to blend east with west, old with new, in works for koto and cello, viol consort, and five viols and koto, featuring dances by John Dowland and a world premier by Japanese composer Yoko Sato.
Parthenia is one of the most leading consort music ensembles in New York city and it is hailed by the New Yorker as “one of the brightest lights in New York’s early-music scene.” Duo YUMENO is Yoko Reikano Kimura, koto and voice, and Hikaru Tamaki, cello and viol.
Parthenia and Duo YUMENO combine their artistry to blend east with west, old with new, in works for koto and cello, viol consort, and five viols and koto, featuring dances by John Dowland and a world premier by Japanese composer Yoko Sato.
Parthenia is one of the most leading consort music ensembles in New York city and it is hailed by the New Yorker as “one of the brightest lights in New York’s early-music scene.” Duo YUMENO is Yoko Reikano Kimura, koto and voice, and Hikaru Tamaki, cello and viol.
– Air – vol. 4 @ Kosho-ji Temple, Kami-gyoku, Kyoto
Duo YUMENO will hold its annual Kyoto recital at Kosho-ji Temple, featuring new commission work and versatile repertoire including both traditional and contemporary works. The details about this event will be announced soon.
– Air – vol. 4 @ Tokyo Concerts Labo (Shinjuku, Tokyo)
Duo YUMENO will hold its annual Tokyo recital at Tokyo Concerts Lab. featuring new commission work and versatile repertoire including both traditional and contemporary works. The details about this event will be announced soon.