by Michio Miyagi
Variations on Kazoeuta (A song from one to ten), for solo koto
Harunoumi (Spring sea), for koto and shakuhachi
Variations on Sakura (Cherry blossom), for three kotos
Michio Miyagi (koto)
Mamoru Miyagi
(shakuhachi and koto) Kiyoko Makise (koto)
The koto, or Japanese harp, is nearly six feet long, wirh silk strings (usually thirteen); it rests horizontally on two supports at knee-level. The player sits at one end, stopping the strings wit'h his outstretched left hand and plucking them with long artificial finger-nails fixed on his right hand. The shakuhachi, a kind of bamboo recorder, is about two feet long with a two-inch cylindrical bore.
Michio M'yagi, who is blind, is Professor of Music at the Japanese Arts University in Tokyo. Mamoru Miyagi is his adopted son and pupil, and Kiyoko Makise his niece by marriage.