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Music as Collective Memory

  • EastSide Cultural Center (map)
 

Sat April 4, 2026 • 3pm(doors open 2:30pm)

EastSide Cultural Center (2277 International Blvd. Oakland, CA)

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Join us for a performance and community dialogue exploring Japanese cultural music as a vessel of collective memory — drawing connections with incarceration, migration, and cultural resilience. 

We'll perform pieces inspired by Japanese folk music using traditional instruments (biwa, shamisen, shinobue) that evoke memories and stories from our community. 

Additionally, we will look at the history of the biwa as a narrative folk instrument that centers stories of those who would otherwise have been forgotten, with emphasis on its historical role in the Japanese American community.

Co-sponsored by EastSide Arts Alliance

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Artists:

Nobuko Fukatsu (Biwa, Storytelling) 

Youtube:  ⁨@biwala⁩  

IG: biwa_la

Website: https://biwala.com/

Mao Sakurada (Biwa, Shamisen, Shinobue)

Youtube:  ⁨@maosakurada⁩  

IG: @_maosakurada 

Website: https://www.maosakurada.com/english 

Earlier Event: March 29
Featured Performance: Open Mic Night!