gtotani Posted April 11 Share Posted April 11 (edited) On April 7, 13 Japanese concertina lovers got together to welcome Gary Coover's visit to Tokyo. As many of Japanese concertina players have learned playing concertina (especially Anglo in harmonic style) through Gary's book, everyone was so enthusiastic to see him. Some have even traveled 400 kilometers! The four-hour meet-up in a Karaoke room was quite an unusual event with different systems of concertinas (12 Anglos and 3 English) gathered in one place to play all sorts of music, along with lots of talk. Gary has brought a dozen of his books as gifts to the participants which made them even happier. We have agreed that this meeet-up was such good fun and could plan another one in a year's time. Again, thank you very much, Gary, for sparing your time with us. It has been our honour to have you with us, and it was also a great opportunity for us Japanese concertina lovers to see one another in person! Totani Edited April 11 by gtotani typo 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Takayuki YAGI Posted April 11 Share Posted April 11 Thank you gtotani for organizing the meet up. I really enjoyed. Although not as far as 400 km (180 km), it was worth the trip. Thank you Gary, we had met World Concertina Day Zoom meeting before but it was a real pleasure to meet in person. Takayuki 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gcoover Posted April 25 Share Posted April 25 (edited) Having just returned home, I can now officially thank Totani-san for organizing such a fantastic first-ever meeting of many of Japan's top concertina players in Tokyo on April 7 - himself, Kato, Takayuki, Goisagi, Kana, Ryoko, Akane, Aya, Tomoyuki, Gene, Aguarypko, and Ushiro (hope I remembered them all). I've known of many of them from their YouTube performances over the years, and it was quite an honor to be able to meet them in person. What a wonderful group of players, and what amazing Japanese hospitality. Totani booked a karaoke room ("world's first concertina karaoke?") in the Ochanomizu area for the group to meet in, and it lasted so long we had to move and reconvene in another room. Gene brought a 360-degree camera and hopefully I can share some of those photos of the group with everyone here on CNET. Totani later took us to Taniguchi Gakki (English Taniguchi-Gakki / 谷口楽器 since 1935), the local Tokyo shop that specializes in accordions and concertinas, where I was able to meet with owner Hiroshi Iwata through an interpreter (since I only know about 5 Japanese words). They also sell an ingenious button number/note overlay developed by Toru Kato that can be attached to Bastari concertinas to help beginners learn the notes. At the shop I also found the 116-page, 70+ tune, English Chromatic Concertina tutor written by Miyuki Miura in 2021. She has recorded 4 CD's of concertina music, and the book looks to be very well done and comprehensive, with single notes and harmonies, and with graphics showing which buttons to play for 48-button tenor, 30-button soprano, and 48-button soprano instruments. She is Gene's concertina teacher, so hopefully he can help me reach out to her about also publishing it in the English language. One of the attendees, Hayahiro Ushiro, is also an amazing manga artist, and we're already talking about doing an Anglo concertina book in Japanese (and English) that will feature many of his drawings. The meet-up was such great fun for all, I do hope they make it an annual event. And if so, I will definitely have to work up some Japanese tunes for next year. And did I mention the cherry blossoms just happened to be in full bloom all over Tokyo at the same time? I'm not sure how Totani managed that, but it was very impressive. To all the players, and especially Totani - Otsukaresamadeshita! Gary P.S. Although unable to attend, Totani reached out to Yuka Nakafuji of Tricolor who was able to confirm the name of the "Japanese Polka" in Easy Anglo 1-2-3. It is known in Japanese sessions as the "Nishijima Polka" since a fiddler named Nishijima first brought it to Tokyo. Yuka said it was originally called "Ray's Classic" - a reel written by Shetland fiddler Willie Hunter in 1975 in honor of his good friend Ray Leask's Ford Consul Classic car. You can hear "The Nishijima Polka" here (the video I nicked it from) at about the 4:15 mark: Edited April 26 by gcoover 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul_Hardy Posted April 25 Share Posted April 25 If I'd known, I could have dropped in there - I arrived in Tokyo on the 6th for my first ever trip to Japan for a wonderful walking and sightseeing holiday! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtotani Posted April 26 Author Share Posted April 26 On 4/25/2024 at 4:45 PM, Paul_Hardy said: If I'd known, I could have dropped in there - I arrived in Tokyo on the 6th for my first ever trip to Japan for a wonderful walking and sightseeing holiday! Hello, Paul, Wow, so your first visit to Japan was flourished (literally) by full bloom of Sakura! You are very lucky. Please do come again. Totani Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gtotani Posted April 26 Author Share Posted April 26 Gary, Glad to know you are safe back home and thank you for detailed report. All the cherry blossoms are gone, and summer is coming on fast! Most of the concertina players gathered there have X (Twitter) accout and there are number of posts (tweets) related to your visit. They are all in Japanes, but I think you will enjoy. コンサーティーナの Gary Coover さんを囲む会 2024年4月7日 at お茶の水 - Togetter Totani Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul_Hardy Posted April 26 Share Posted April 26 3 hours ago, gtotani said: Wow, so your first visit to Japan was flourished (literally) by full bloom of Sakura! You are very lucky. Yes, it was spectacular, both in Tokyo, and later on the Nakasendo trail and in Kyoto (the Philosopher's Path). On return to Tokyo two weeks later, there was no blossom, but the azaleas were out. I gather that the bloom was later than recent years because of a cold spring there (and in the UK also). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gcoover Posted April 27 Share Posted April 27 On 4/24/2024 at 9:45 PM, Paul_Hardy said: If I'd known, I could have dropped in there - I arrived in Tokyo on the 6th for my first ever trip to Japan for a wonderful walking and sightseeing holiday! Hey Paul, so sorry to have missed you! Or perhaps we passed in the street or in the Shibuya Crossing unawares. It would have been great to meet you in person, and you would have loved meeting all the wonderful Japanese concertina players that Totani-san rounded up. I suppose we'll just have to schedule it for next year... Gary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
genepinefield Posted April 27 Share Posted April 27 On 4/25/2024 at 4:45 PM, Paul_Hardy said: If I'd known, I could have dropped in there - I arrived in Tokyo on the 6th for my first ever trip to Japan for a wonderful walking and sightseeing holiday! Hi, We met in WCCP Quantock Lodge event in 2019. I took your photo and gave it to Mr. @Takayuki YAGI to All We need "I'm planning to go to Japan" as a forum topic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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