, born in

Uruma, Okinawa is a city located in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. The modern city of Uruma was established on April 1, 2005, when the cities of Gushikawa and Ishikawa were merged with the towns of Katsuren and Yonashiro (both from Nakagami District). As of M ...

, was a master Okinawan musician and ''

min'yō , ''Nihon min'yō'', Japanese ''min'yō'' or Japanese folk music is a genre of traditional Japanese music. Characteristics Styles Many ''min'yō'' are connected to forms of work or to specific trades and were originally sung between work ...

folk singer Folk music is a music genre that includes traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be called world music. Traditional folk music has be ...

, and a headliner of the

Utanohi Utanohi (Japanese: うたの日, ''Songs Day'') is an annual music festival held in Okinawa. Headliners include Seijin Noborikawa, Begin, Rimi Natsukawa, Orange Range, HY, Mongol800, Kariyushi58, 2side1brain, Perfume and The Boom, best known fo ...

music festival.

Biography

Noborikawa was born to a farming family in Misato Village (now

Uruma is a city located in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. The modern city of Uruma was established on April 1, 2005, when the cities of Gushikawa and Ishikawa were merged with the towns of Katsuren and Yonashiro (both from Nakagami District). As of M ...

) in the

Nakagami District, Okinawa is a district located in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan. As of 2003, the district has an estimated population of 169,332 and the density of 1,216.03 persons per km2. The total area is 139.25 km2. Towns and villages * Chatan * Kadena *Nishiha ...

. From the age of 7, he became familiar with homemade

sanshin The is an Okinawan and Amami Islands musical instrument and precursor of the mainland Japanese (). Often likened to a banjo, it consists of a snakeskin-covered body, neck and three strings. Origins Its close resemblance in both appearance ...

, watching Mouashibi and learning folk songs. He was able to dance the

Kachāshī , sometimes romanized as katcharsee, is a form of festive Okinawan folk dance. In Okinawa, it is often a feature of celebrations such as weddings and victory festivities after tegumi wrestling matches and public elections. It is traditionally a ...

by 11. He hardly attended school and started smoking at 8 and drinking at 9. After the

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

ended, he worked at the US military base. At the age of sixteen, Noborikawa joined the Shibai Matsu Theater of Okinawa and sang folk songs. He thoroughly learned sanshin from Itarashiki Asaken and won the "Amateur Singing Competition" of Ryukyuhoso radio together with

Rinshō Kadekaru was a Japanese-Okinawan singer who was known as a representative Okinawan folk, shimauta, singer of the post-war era. Early life Kadekaru was born in Goeku Village, Okinawa PrefectureGoeku was later renamed Koza city and is now called Okinawa ...

. From 1955, he became a folk singer who performs solo. He also gained popularity in a trio with

Yoshinaga Masayasu Yoshinaga is both a masculine Japanese name, Japanese given name and a Japanese surname. Possible writings Yoshinaga can be written using different combinations of kanji characters. Here are some examples: *義長, "justice, long" *義永, "jus ...

and

Tsunami Tsunenaga A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater explo ...

. In 1957, Shuei Kohama, Kina, and others established the Ryukyu Folk Songs Association. In 1963, Noborikawa became the youngest executive of the reorganized organization. In 1956, he also discovered and promoted

Sadao China (1945–) is a Japanese musician active in the Okinawan music and shima-uta scene, as a performer on the sanshin, min'yō folk singer, song-writer, and producer, having been responsible in 1990 for the formation of the Nēnēs. Biography Chin ...

. In 1970, he published three music books, such as "Folk and Dance Songs

Kunkunshi Kunkunshi ( ) is the traditional notation system by which music is recorded in the Ryukyu Islands. The term ''kunkunshi'' originally referred to the first three notes of a widely known Chinese melody, although today it is used almost exclusively i ...

", which added voice notes to kunkunshi, the score for sanshin. In 1976, he received the 1st Achievement Award from the Ryukyu Folk Songs Association for these accomplishments. Since 1984 he served as chairman of the association for six terms, and since 1998 he was appointed honorary chairman. In 1999 he received Ryukyubin folk song master from the association. In 1989 it has been certified as a holder of Okinawa Prefecture Designated Intangible Cultural Property Skills. For musical instruments other than Sanshin, he was also a special advisor to the Japan

Sanba is a percussion musical instrument from the Okinawa Islands. The name itself means "three slabs" or "three boards/planks," and it consists of three shards of ebony or other woods that are bound together by twine.Nabbie's Love is a 1999 film written and directed by Yuji Nakae about Nanako Agarikinjo ( Naomi Nishida) returning to Aguni Island (Okinawa) to visit her grandmother, Nabbie Agarikinjo, played by Tomi Taira. The film score is by Kenichiro Isoda, with two ...

'' ( directed by

Yuji Nakae is a Japanese film director who specializes in films set in Okinawa, featuring Okinawan music, language, themes and atmosphere. He shared the Directors Guild of Japan New Directors Award for his debut film, ''Pineapple Tours'', which was an omni ...

) in 1999 and the same director's ''

Hotel Hibiscus A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...

'' in 2002. In 2010 he appeared in

NHK , also known as NHK, is a Japanese public broadcaster. NHK, which has always been known by this romanized initialism in Japanese, is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television license fee. NHK operates two terrestri ...

Okinawa Broadcasting Station's analog television ending program with キャン×キャン, a comedic duo. At the end of January 2013 he was hospitalized in Okinawa City due to

liver cirrhosis Cirrhosis, also known as liver cirrhosis or hepatic cirrhosis, and end-stage liver disease, is the impaired liver function caused by the formation of scar tissue known as fibrosis due to damage caused by liver disease. Damage causes tissue rep ...

. He died of liver failure on March 19, 2013

References

External links

家族そろって楽しめる、超ピースなライブ番組「うたの日コンサート2010」をＷＯＷＯＷで放送！
{{DEFAULTSORT:Noborikawa, Seijin 1932 births 2013 deaths Japanese folk singers Okinawan folk musicians Musicians from Okinawa Prefecture 20th-century Japanese musicians 20th-century Japanese male singers 20th-century Japanese singers

Biography

See also

References

External links