Consulate General of Japan in Detroit

Contact:
Glenn Oswald                                                                 Consulate General of Japan
Lana Mini                                                                      Public Relations
Marx Layne & Company                                                    (313) 567-0120 ext. 226
(248) 855-6777

CONSULATE GENERAL OF JAPAN IN DETROIT ANNOUNCES TWO FREE CONCERTS FEATURING
AWARD-WINNING JAPANESE ARTIST
First U.S. Performances for Michiyoshi Sato

DETROIT, Mich. – January XX, 2016 –The Consulate General of Japan in Detroit is pleased to announce two concerts by award-winning Tsugaru-jamisen Japanese musician Michiyoshi Sato.  The shows will take place in Kalamazoo on February 11 and in Ann Arbor on February 13.  These will be the first U.S. performances for Mr. Sato.

The performances are free and open to the public. Mr. Sato performs at 7:30 p.m. (doors open at 7 p.m.) Thursday, February 11 at Western Michigan University, Dalton Center Lecture Hall, Room 3001 on Van De Giessen Road, Kalamazoo Township and at 4 p.m. (doors open at 3:30 p.m.) Saturday, Feb. 13 at the University of Michigan, Forum Hall, Palmer Commons, 100 Washtenaw Ave.

Mr. Sato is an award-winning and accomplished musician, and is proficient with the instrument Tsugaru-jamisen, which shares the same name of the music genre. A distinctive, stringed instrument, it enjoys a long tradition in Japan, with origins dating back to the early 19th century.

Mr. Sato’s original compositions exemplify the struggle between his own creativity and the legacy of his father Michihiro Sato, considered a “shamisen master,” one of the most beloved Tsugaru-Jamisen artists in history.

In the process of developing his own technique, the young and creative Mr. Sato has moved between the Tsugaru region and his home in Chiba, Japan.  The relocations have also influenced his change between conventional and avant-garde music. He is the founder and lead singer of ‘Kotobuki BAND,’ a cross-genre "performance band" which mixes Japanese and pop instrumentation, pop Japonism aesthetic, historical allusion, costumes, cross-dressing, and more.  He has won the All-Japan Tsugaru-jamisen competition in Kobe in 2009, and has performed in Russia, throughout Eastern Europe, France, Germany, and Australia.

“It is an honor to help bring Mr. Sato to Michigan and the United States to showcase this very powerful, traditional Japanese music,” said Mitsuhiro Wada, Consul General of Japan in Detroit. “His unique style and the beautiful sounds of the Tsugaru-jamisen will captivate all audiences as we commemorate his first performances here in the U.S.A.”

For more information on Sato Michiyoshi’s concerts, please contact the Center for Japanese Studies at the University of Michigan, (734) 764-6307, or the Soga Japanese Center at Western Michigan University, (269) 387-5890

About the Consulate-General of Japan in Detroit
The Consulate-General of Japan in Detroit was established in 1993 by the Government of Japan to serve in the states of Michigan and Ohio. The Detroit office is one of 14 Japanese Consulates General in the United States. The Consulate strives to promote better understanding of Japan and Japanese culture through educational and cultural programs. The office protects the interests of Japanese citizens and strengthens the Japan-U.S. alliance through furthering relations with local governments, companies, educational institutions, cultural organizations and the general public. For more information, visit www.detroit.us.emb-japan.go.jp/index.htm or call (313) 567-0120. 

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