Okinawan Folk Music - Na-Kuni-

ctravel · #1 (**permalink**) 12-27-2007, 06:29 AM

Currently in Okinawa, where there is a lot of great folk music.

This video clip only lasts for one verse, but it shows the great vocal style. The 3-stringed lute is called a sanshin. This song is called Nākunī:

This next video is of Toru Yonaha, one of the most famous Okinawan folk musicians of the new generation:

ESL Guy · #2 (**permalink**) 12-27-2007, 07:05 AM

Nākunī is a great song from the main island of Okinawa. Actually there are many versions of the folk song from different towns on the island with different lyrics and slightly different sanshin playing. The snake-skin lute they are playing is called the sanshin (三線；さんしん), and it is the main musical instrument of Okinawa since the pre-Japan days of the independent Ryukyu Kingdom.