Meet Shirley Kazuyo Muramoto | Performer and teacher of the Japanese koto, researcher of Japanese traditional performing arts in the WWII American concentration camps

We had the good fortune of connecting with Shirley Kazuyo Muramoto and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Shirley Kazuyo, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
I grew up with music. My home was filled with the koto music of my mother, and my father loved the violin music. He was not a musician but he was a lover of music, and that is also important to me. An appreciation of music can fill one’s heart and help a person to feel and love and survive. It’s the most important element in my life, and I couldn’t live without it. It’s like air and water for me, so I pursue making good music, feeling it with my soul and conveying it to others.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am a teacher and performer of the Japanese koto which is unique in itself!. I grew up with the music of the koto because my mother was a koto teacher. The music filled our home, and I liked music so I learned how to play it. After studying the koto for about 15 years using the Chikushi School repertoire, I trained in Japan for my teaching credentials, and passed with special honors. I also trained on the shamisen (Japanese lute) with Kazue Kudo of the Miyagi School in Los Angeles.

For over 60 years I have performed and taught the Japanese koto mostly from my home base in Oakland, California. I am also the founder and director of the world jazz fusion group, the Murasaki Ensemble, which took the traditional techniques of koto and ventured into a new direction of improvisational jazz, something outside of the realm of koto music. This training gave me the ability to connect with artists from diverse backgrounds, cultures and genres. Practicing Japanese koto in the U.S. helped me to open the horizons of koto music with like-minded artists who were willing to explore and create new connections and new collaborations.

As time went on I started to realize that there was another purpose to my playing this music. Since my mom had learned in the prison camps of WWII, I learned that it would be the last place where Japanese traditional arts would be so prolific. Once people started moving back to the Bay Area and other places away from the camps, Japanese Americans felt they had to demonstrate that they were true, honest Americans by putting aside anything culturally Japanese.

I’m most proud of the work I’ve done not only in teaching the koto in the Bay Area but also in the historical research that I conducted regarding how traditional arts were practiced in the harsh conditions of the American concentration camps during WWII. I produced a documentary film, “Hidden Legacy: Japanese Traditional Performing Arts in the WWII Internment Camps”, which was the first film to highlight these stories. The narrative that Japanese Americans were not seen as “American” resulted in the subsequent history focusing mostly on American activities in the camps, such as American sports and arts. The idea of traditional or cultural arts practiced in the camps was also an active part of camp life but did not go with the “American” narrative.

Cultural arts are so important not only for the distinct beauty but because of the way they enrich our world and understanding of each other.

I never thought that people would be asking me to tell the story of the camps through music as much as they have been. When I worked on the documentary film, even my mom would not agree to be interviewed. It’s a difficult past that many did not want to re-live, remember, or talk about so I’m grateful to those who came forward with their stories. It cleared up a lot of questions that I had about how and why my mom was able to learn this traditional instrument in a prison camp. Because of this history, I have become a stronger voice for the continuance of folk and traditional arts, and have worked quite a bit with the Alliance for California Traditional Arts who have supported my efforts to keep Japanese koto music alive in our communities and to pass it on to the next generation.
I was recently confronted with an unusual realization, that my playing the Japanese koto is not considered a Japanese American art form! A local festival advised my group that they were not sure we should continue to be a part of the Japanese American festival as we had been for years. I was so surprised by this disclosure! It sparked me to do something to bring out the image of Japanese koto. I wrote an arrangement of the national anthem, and recorded a video of myself playing it submitting it to my two local baseball teams, the SF Giants and the Oakland A’s. I was accepted by both so I’ll be playing at both arenas. I’m also working on a new album of koto music with hip-hop and smooth jazz grooves. I hope this music will show how versatile not just koto is but other folk music can be.

What’s setting me apart from other musicians of koto music is this history of coming from the American concentration camps of WWII, and that I am an American continuing this traditional art form. It is more than just practicing the art but how the arts helped those incarcerated to feel better about themselves, to be resilient. It helped me to feel better and resilient all through my life, especially during the pandemic! The research that I’ve done on this subject tells the story of the music of the camps practiced in the backdrop of the history where 120,000 Japanese and Japanese Americans were imprisoned only because their heritage was Japanese. Even small babies and children were sent to these prisons. We’d like to think that this sad history is behind us, but it is even more relevant today

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
My favorite place in Oakland is Lake Merritt. The view from almost any part of the lake is so serene and beautiful. I took some of my wedding photos near the pergola and Colonade when I got married. There is even a bonsai garden there. Across the street is one of the secret stair cases, Cleveland Cascade, one of the many hidden walkways that are fun to explore around the city. I do like nice places to walk, and one of the best is Tilden Park. A train ride and carousel for kids and adults, a Botanic Garden, a golf course, hiking trails. And spectacular views of the SF Bay. But actually, even in my own neighborhood, there are many good places to walk, a lot of hills in Oakland, so it’s a good workout!
If you want to see a movie in a classic theater, the Grand Lake Theater is the best place to enjoy movies in a 1925 grand dame of theaters with a mighty Wurlitzer organ. Eddie Muller of Turner Classic Movies often gives his commentary about noir movies from this theater. I love hearing the Wurlitzer organ when we go to the movies there.

Believe it or not, Oakland is home to quite a few Michelin star restaurants. One of my favorite restaurants is Soba Ichi in west Oakland, where they make fresh soba onsite every day and homemade style Japanese comfort food. You can even have sake by Den Sake brewed right next door, handcrafted in Oakland.
I love noodles and the Jjapaguri Breakfast at Kitchen Story in north Oakland has my favorite dish. It’s Asian fusion leaning towards Korean. The Jjapaguri Breakfast is inspired by the academy award winning film “Parasite”, which joins two classic Korean instant noodles, jjapaghetti (like ramen) and neoguri udon. A thick slice of Millionaire’s bacon, minced pork, and egg, and I’m in heaven.
For a nice neighborhood sushi restaurant, my favorite is Park Sushi. Chef Andy has a good assortment of imaginative sushi rolls, like Maguro Fever, Fire Cracker Roll, Pink Lady, etc.. I usually get these and the nigiri sushi which is always fresh. My husband likes the Hamachi kama or salmon kama and the fried calamari. The sashimi slices do not skimp, and they also have traditional dishes, like udon, tempura, donburi. The staff is super nice, and we go here the most often. Great down home Japanese food!

For entertainment and information, I like to check out some of the events at the Oakland Asian Cultural Center. They often have exhibitions and many classes in Asian dance, art, music and health. The Oakland Museum is also a good place for exhibitions, galleries, artifacts & interactive displays in a modern building focusing on California’s art, history & science.
The Oakland Museum and Chabot Observatory are also fun visits. If you have kids, gotta take them to Fairyland, where Walt Disney visited to get ideas for Disneyland. Lots of great things to do in Oakland!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are so many people that I’d like to give a “shoutout” to because it takes a village, right? But two people who supported me with love and encouragement in pursuing my career in koto music are my dad, Roy Naoto Muramoto, and my husband, Robert Chan Wong. I had a lot of self-doubt growing up especially in playing a non-Western instrument in Oakland, CA. The koto is different from the American music and violin I was learning in school. Performing and playing the koto in the United States is foreign to many. My mom was my main koto teacher, but she taught in a traditional way which was not as open to new ideas. She learned in the traditional ways and I wanted to “spread my wings”, so to speak, and experiment with the koto. Being from the SF Bay Area where there are so many diverse artists I had the opportunity to expand the reach and ideas for koto music. Without the support of my dad and my husband, I don’t think I would have continued to pursue these new horizons and extend my creativity to other genres and multi-cultural collaborations.

Website: www.skmkoto.com

Facebook: Shirley Kazuyo Muramoto

Youtube: Shirley Kazuyo Muramoto

Image Credits
Personal Photo – Mark Shigenaga Additional photos – 1, 2, 4, 5, 6 and 8 to Robert C. Wong, image 3 to Jennifer Jameson, image 7 to Shosuke Muramoto