Shamisen…

…a Japanese instrument vaguely similar to a banjo. Sorta. Not really. We found these guys practicing at the grassy edge of today’s Japanese Cultural Festival, an annual local event with lots of good food, entertainment and crafts. I was interested in the instrument (three strings, and played with a very large pick), and fascinated with the sheet music. I don’t know if you can see it well enough—three lines, one for each string, and numbers to indicate where you put your fingers— pages and pages taped together and cascading on to the lawn.

We had just heard a shakuhachi flute performance while eating an excellent ramen and some yam dumplings, and though the fog was still around, we had a very nice afternoon. The fact that I slept ten hours straight last night probably had a lot to do with my enjoyment…