Obon Classics Released!
Classic Obon Festival Songs
UPDATED August 23, 2024 – Added practice tracks for the Vocal, Shamisen, Fue, and Narimono parts. Updated sheet music for Hokkai Bon Uta, Sohma Bon Uta, and Tanko Bushi.
Sumie, David, and I had a great time at the Regional North American Taiko Conference in Seattle, WA. Very grateful to Taiko Community Alliance for the opportunity to share not only the taiko parts, but also the vocal, shamisen, fue, and narimono parts as well.
UPDATED April 6, 2022 – It has been a tremendous honor to record two additional songs for the Obon Classics collection – Aizu Bandaisan and Tokyo Ondo. Please feel free to use these recordings at your Obon.
Thank you to Sumie Kaneko, David Wells, Yuta Kato, and Fred Visaya Jr. for sharing their musical talent. These recordings were made possible by a generous grant from Buddhist Churches of America Music Committee.
Obon Festival Organizers, please feel free to use these recordings at your local festival.
Want to learn to play and dance these songs? The Obon Classics Online Course teaches all six, with taiko and dance tutorials for each.
Listen to Obon Classics
Track List
Hokkai Bon Uta (Hokkaido)
Sohma Bon Uta (Fukushima)
Tanko Bushi (Fukuoka)
Yagi Bushi (Gunma and Tochigi)
Aizu Bandaisan (Fukushima)
Tokyo Ondo (Tokyo)
Personnel
Sumie Kaneko (vocals, shamisen)
David Wells (fue)
Yuta Kato (atari gane, percussion)
Fred Visaya Jr. (taiko, percussion)
Isaku Kageyama (taiko, percussion, audio engineer)
Special Thanks
Buddhist Churches of America Music Committee
Gloria Kum
Paul Sakamoto
Vitti Thitivongse