TSURU TO KAME

Liner Notes to the album Shakkitose

The bulk of the recordings for this album were made in a community hall in Sawada-san’s home village of Sasadate-cho, Aomori. The beautiful surroundings have a special atmosphere that forms the base for Sawada-san’s music, and which moved Messrs Hosono and Hamaguchi to make their phenomenal contributions. Hosono-san describes the place as "another world."

About fifteen years ago Hosono-san organised a festival of roots music of the northern part of Japan, including indigenous peoples from parts of Aomori. The concept of World Music, still fairly novel then, brought about substantial change in the music scene, with musicians from traditional and more commercial backgrounds coming together to create new and exciting music. Kitsu-san and Hosono-san met for the first time in this context, and at Tokyo’s National Theater they played Japanese traditional music from all the country’s different regions. This experience developed into one of the basic ideas for the "Crane & Turtle" project.

Subsequently the musicians each went in their own different directions. Kitsu-san went back to the roots of her own music and began to play with Sawada-san, whom she has known since her childhood and whom she regards as a mentor. Sawada-san is one of the greatest musicians in the musical tradition of Tsugaru, and despite living in Tokyo for some twenty years he has maintained his identity and musical character. Hosono-san compares him to a Southern gentleman from the USA like Doc Watson.

Since the late 1990s Hosono-san has organised and played with a highly improvisational group for the autumn festival of the Sarutahiko Shrine in Ise Province. The musicians, including Kitsu-san and Hamaguchi-san, come from a variety of backgrounds. This group was another seed for the "Crane & Turtle" project, and with this experience, Hosono-san and Hamaguchi-san were able to take part in this recording, playing Japanese traditional music with traditionally trained musicians, very naturally and with much enjoyment. All the musicians share an attitude to the music, that there should be no fixed form or style, nor rules about how to play.

Now, with the recording successfully finished, they are looking forward to playing together again soon, and the future of this project looks very promising.