SHIZUKO AKAMINE AND THE SO-SHIN KAI: PERPETUATING AN OKINAWAN MUSIC TRADITION IN A MULTI-ETHNIC COMMUNITY A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE DIVISION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI‘I AT MĀNOA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF ARTS IN MUSIC DECEMBER 2018 By Darin T. Miyashiro Thesis Committee: Ricardo D. Trimillos, Chairperson Frederick Lau Christine R. Yano ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author would like to thank, first and foremost, the thesis committee, Dr. Christine Yano, Dr. Frederick Lau, and especially the chairperson Dr. Ricardo Trimillos, for their patience in accepting this long overdue manuscript. Dr. Trimillos deserves extra thanks for initiating this project which began by assisting the author and the thesis subject, Shizuko Akamine, in receiving the Hawai‘i State Foundation on Culture and the Arts Folk & Traditional Arts Apprenticeship Grant with support from Arts Program Specialist Denise Miyahana. Special thanks to Prof. Emeritus Barbara B. Smith and the late Prof. Dr. Robert Günther for their support in helping the author enter the ethnomusicology program. The author would also like to thank the music department graduate studies chair Dr. Katherine McQuiston for her encouragement to follow through, and for scheduling extremely helpful writing sessions where a large part of this thesis was written. This thesis has taken so many years to complete there are far too many supporters (scholarship donors, professors, classmates, students, family, friends, etc.) to thank here, but deep appreciation goes out to each and every one, most of all to wife Mika for being too kind and too patient. Finally, the author would like to thank the late Shizuko Akamine for being the inspiration for this study and for generously sharing so much priceless information. It’s unfortunate that this thesis was not completed before her passing, but hopefully it can, at the very least, serve as a written testament to her achievements as a koto sensei. i ABSTRACT This thesis examines the evolution of one of the oldest and longest running koto organizations in Hawai‘i based in the small town of Hilo on the island of Hawai‘i. Originally established in 1957 as an affinity group among the Okinawan diasporic community to accompany fellow Okinawan music and dance groups, the So-shin Kai evolved into an independent, multi-ethnic group performing iconic songs representing the various ethnicities that form the local community. The leader who implemented those changes, Shizuko Akamine, faced criticism and doubt. However, with innovative teaching methods she was able to successfully maintain student interest in the koto, and with a diverse repertory she was able to entertain as well as educate the greater community. While her methods may have been a concern among those hoping to preserve “tradition,” the So-shin Kai's evolution under Shizuko Akamine’s leadership ensured continuity of this koto group within the changing community of Hilo. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................... i Abstract ..................................................................................................................................... ii Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................ 1 Background .................................................................................................................. 3 Literature review ......................................................................................................... 4 Methodology ................................................................................................................ 7 Significance ................................................................................................................. 9 Chapter 2: MUSIC ................................................................................................................ 11 Koto ........................................................................................................................... 11 Sōkyoku ..................................................................................................................... 15 Ryūkyū sōkyoku ......................................................................................................... 18 Okinawan music ........................................................................................................ 22 Chapter 3: PEOPLE ................................................................................................................ 25 Immigration ............................................................................................................... 25 Midori (Shiraishi) Matayoshi .................................................................................... 28 Shizuko (Higa) Akamine ........................................................................................... 32 So-shin Kai ................................................................................................................ 37 Chapter 4: ISOLATION ....................................................................................................... 44 Expression ................................................................................................................. 44 Diversity .................................................................................................................... 47 Integration ................................................................................................................... 48 Succession .................................................................................................................. 49 Insecurity ................................................................................................................... 52 Independence .............................................................................................................. 56 Representation ............................................................................................................ 57 Optimism .................................................................................................................... 60 Chapter 5: INNOVATION .................................................................................................... 62 iii Pedagogy .................................................................................................................... 62 Notation ..................................................................................................................... 64 Transcription ............................................................................................................... 67 Tuning ......................................................................................................................... 72 Chapter 6: INCLUSIVITY .................................................................................................... 74 Possibilities ................................................................................................................. 74 Multi-ethnic repertory ................................................................................................ 75 Localization ................................................................................................................ 77 Sharing ........................................................................................................................ 78 Perpetuation ................................................................................................................ 82 Chapter 7: CONCLUSION .................................................................................................... 85 Appendix A: Transcriptions/Scores ...................................................................................... 90 “Ole MacDonald’s Farm” 1. koto notation – arr. by Shizuko Akamine .................................................. 90 2. western notation – Pahala Hongwanji Mission performance .................... 91 “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” score ......................................................................... 92 “Tachiutushi Shigagachi” 1. koto notation .............................................................................................. 93 2. western notation ......................................................................................... 95 Appendix B: Glossary ........................................................................................................... 97 Appendix C: IRB Approval Form ........................................................................................ 100 Bibliography ......................................................................................................................... 101 iv CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION What are the challenges facing traditional ethnic music instructors in diasporic communities where the present social and cultural environment differs greatly from the historical past, and what are the reasons for, and consequences of, altering conventional teaching methods and repertory? This case study discusses Okinawan cultural transmission in the Hawai‘i-based diaspora. The So-shin Kai was established in 1957 as an organization to practice and perform Ryūkyū sōkyoku (classical Okinawan koto music) among the issei (first-generation immigrants) of the Okinawan community in the town of Hilo