An Afternoon of Contemplative Japanese Music and Art

2.30pm-3.30pm: Keiko Kitamura and Justin Senryu Williams will perform together on Koto and Buddhist flute ‘Shakuhachi’.

 

4pm: Ikebana Demonstration by Aya Tanaka

Ikebana is the Japanese modern art of flower arrangement, a practice that has ancient roots in the offering of standing flowers to deities. Now, flowers have lost their religious connotations, but have remained a popular cultural pursuit.

Performer biographies:

Keiko Kitamura’s early years were spent studying koto under the tutelage of her aunt Kyoko Kitamura, an Ikuta School grand master. She has worked extensively with a variety of traditional Japanese and contemporary Western musicians. Highlights include performing at Glastonbury and Ronnie Scotts in London.

 

Justin Senryu (泉龍) Wiliams moved from the caves of Northern India to Japan to study the Buddhist flute ‘shakuhachi’ for 6 years. He specialises in the contemplative ‘honkyoku’ repertoire of the komuso monks. He now lives in Richmond teaching shakuhachi; and giving psychotherapy based on Buddhist psychology.