Over the last 20 years or so, there are many things I have come to enjoy about Japan - gardens, temples, food, tea ceremony, classical art, travelling the country, etc. No other country's culture has interested me as strongly as Japan's. And, without question, the thing I love best of all things Japanese is koto music. I have always had music in my life. By 4 years of age, I began playing piano by ear and could play almost anything I heard. Throughout public and high schools, I sang with my school choirs in the annual competitions at the Kiwanis Festival. From the age of 8, I studied classical piano for over 15 years and classical flute for 5 years at the Royal Conservatory of Music. I think my family expected that I would grow up to become a concert pianist. So if anyone had told me that I would one day learn an instrument from the other side of the world, which very few people have heard of, with music written in strange characters, where I had to practise on my knees for hours, I don't think I would have believed them. If they had also told me that this instrument would change my life, I might have thought they were crazy. But as it turned out, that's exactly what happened. My first contact with Japanese music was in the early 1970's in Japanese restaurants. (Japanese food is another thing I love.) There weren't very many in Toronto at that time. The taped music in these restaurants was not very good and the sound systems were fairly cheap ones. So my first impression of Japanese music was that it was rather terrible. But my family really enjoyed Japanese food. Every time a new restaurant opened, we'd go to try it. As Japanese food's popularity increased, the quality of the restaurants improved. So did the quality of the music. Because music has always been in my blood, I started paying attention to what was being played. Gradually, I realized that I liked the harp-sounding instrument. I discovered it was called koto and started looking for recordings of koto music in the big record stores downtown. Of course, there was almost nothing available. So I decided that, if I wanted to hear more of it, I was going to have to study koto myself. And so, about 12 years ago, that's what I did.

Learning koto has taught me many things and enhanced my life in direct and subtle ways. The koto pieces themselves gave me an entirely new sense of music appreciation. It took time for this to happen, though, and at first it was difficult to feel any sense of interpretation. Another thing koto has taught me is patience - as both a student and a teacher. My own teachers taught me in the traditional Japanese way, with few explanations, and they spoke little or no English. The answer to many of my questions was "Just play." I had no choice but to practise steadily until they said it was right. As for teaching koto, my students find many challenges that I have to help them with. For those with Western musical training, it can be frustrating to find little in common between the two systems. For those who neither speak nor read Japanese, they wonder if it's possible to ever learn to play. I have to patiently help every student to make sure that these and other problems do not stop them from enjoying the instrument. Through koto music, I gradually discovered other aspects of Japanese culture. My interest in the religions of Japan and in Tea Ceremony grew after I started koto. Through the classical songs, I learned things about the Japanese sense of appreciation for life, which is quite different than the Western one. I also learned about history, heroes and geography of Japan through the words of these songs. One of the reasons I enjoy travelling in Japan is because I can see many of the places that I have sung or read about. During these travels, I've met many friendly people, both in and out of the music world. My students over the years have come from all walks of life and cultures. I believe that we have taught each other many things. Of course, I also meet some very pleasant people through my public performances. Koto is in my head and my heart and has become part of who I am. Even after 12 years, I can still get excited about it and I enjoy it more than I ever enjoyed my Western music. I can't imagine what my life would have been like without it.

Linda Caplan, Koto Master, Chikushi Branch of Ikuta Koto School Copyright 1997-2008, Linda Caplan Site links Credentials    Performances & Classes    What People Say    Affiliations and Community Service    The Koto: instrument & music    Resources    The Shamisen: instrument & music About Chikushi Katsuko    Published articles    Links you may like    Upcoming Events and CDs    Email    Homepage Copyright © Linda Caplan, 1997-2009 Any reproduction, distribution and/or personal/commercial usage in any form or media of any photographs, illustrations, images, text, audio clips, and video clips on this website is strictly prohibited. Your respect of this copyright is appreciated.