Shirley Kazuyo Muramoto invites you to a Free Koto Workshop & Gathering-SJ

San Jose Buddhist Church Betsuin

640 North 5th Street, 95112, San Jose, CA, United States

Shirley Kazuyo Muramoto

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Shirley Kazuyo Muramoto earned her “Shihan” degree (instructor’s credentials) with “Yushusho” (highest) honors and her masters’ “Dai Shihan” from the Chikushi Kai School based in Fukuoka, Japan. Shirley teaches koto privately and through virtual formats using the base curriculum of Chikushi Kai repertoire and traditional koto music. With this diverse musical background of Japanese and western music, Shirley has composed and written many arrangements for koto to suit the needs of the diverse artists she has collaborated.An adventurous seeker of mixing cultural ideas and ways to expand the music of the koto, Shirley has been fortunate to have the experience of collaborating and experimenting with the diverse musicians and artists of the Bay Area. She has performed with musicians such as Pete Escovedo, Lori Lewis, Maurice Jarre, David Grisman, Elias Negash and Joe Craven. As a traditional kotoist, she has performed and/or studied with notable koto masters such as Chikushi Katsuko, Kazue Kudo, Keiko Nosaka, Kazue Sawai, Yoko Gates, June Kuramoto, as well as her mother, Kazuko Muramoto. Shirley learned the violin through her public school years as well as some classical guitar which helps her with arranging music for the koto.Because Shirley started early performing as a little girl following her mother who was also a koto teacher, she has played koto for over 60 years all over the Bay Area, across the U.S. and in Japan. Shirley also produced the documentary, "Hidden Legacy: Japanese Traditional Performing Arts in the WWII Internment Camps" (YouTube) which includes interviews from those who taught and practiced Japanese cultural arts in the American concentration camps.Shirley has been asked to present this history with music performances highlighting songs performed and played in the camps that cover not only Japanese music but also American music. From the U.S. to Japan, she has talked to students on both continents about this subject. Since 2022, Shirley is also involved with a program educating public elementary school students about the music of the WWII American concentration camps as part of “the Golden State of Song Program”, administered by Pc Muñoz, the Director of Education and Community Engagement at the Freight & Salvage, a music venue and non-profit association. Shirley has received many awards and accolades through the years. The most recent is the 2024 Taproot Fellow, Taproot Artist and Community Trust from the Alliance for California Traditional Arts. She also teaches a week long summer koto workshop at the Morikami Museum and Gardens in Florida since 2023. Shirley teaches private lessons from her home in Oakland, CA, and continues to perform and and give talks about the koto and history of Japanese traditional arts in the WWII prison camps.