Time: 6:30pm - 9:30pm

Cost: FEW Members ¥2,000 / Guests ¥5,000 (supper and drinks included)

Venue: Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan (FCCJ), Yurakucho Denki Building, 20th Floor (map)

Speaker: Dr. Nathalie Cavasin, Visiting Scientist at Waseda University, Global Information and Telecommunication Institute

Topic: A foreigner in the world of Japanese traditional music - Journey learning Nagauta shamisen.

An important aspect of Japanese culture is the traditional music that Dr. Cavasin discovered in the fascinating world of kabuki theatre and in the bunraku. She was impressed by the whole body of the music and particularly, by the sounds of shamisen instruments.

Keen to understand better the Japanese people ways of thinking and their sense of appreciation for life, she has chosen to learn Nagauta shamisen as a hobby by which will help to achieve her objective. Nagauta, or literary "long song" is one of the styles of shamisen music and song.

In this presentation, Dr. Cavasin will first relate her personal experience as a foreigner in going deeper into the Japanese culture and their traditional music, with the introduction of the shamisen instrument. Thereafter, she will share her two-stage experiences in Tokyo and finally, she will play two short pieces of Nagauta: Suehirogari and Echigo Jichi.

A PHD in geography from the University of Toulouse in France, Nathalie has been working in Japan for about 10 years. She has conducted research work and taught in Japan for more than 7 years at several prestigious universities such as Tokyo University, Keio University, Tsukuba University, She, too, has been adjunct professor at Nihon University, Temple University Japan and Tohoku University. She performed researches on the relationship between techno-industrial change, IT and regional development planning policies, focusing on urban analysis and decentralization, as applied to high-technology science parks. She also used her academic expertise in government and business as a consultant and in the telecommunication industry where she held the position of Senior Research Scientist at France Telecom in Tokyo. Back in academia, currently at Waseda University, her research is related to the role of information technologies in location and regional development. Amidst her busy schedule, she is also writing a book on Japanese economy, space and society for a French publisher. Like many academics, her hobby is her research, but she also plays Nagauta shamisen, a three-stringed plucked lute. In October 2004, she performed at the Buddhist Hall Tsukiji Hongwanji Temple.

Contact: few@gol.com

No advance reservation required. Please note this is a women only event.