I'm chinese and we actually have a very similar instrument in our country. We call it the gu zheng ^^ I am a gu zheng player for 7 years. I can hear the distinct difference between a koto and a gu zheng and also the music that is played with each instrument. Just wanted to drop by to tell you that your playing is very beautiful ^^
@@halfnhalf5038 I like both instruments a lot ^^ actually, I like all asian instruments since they're all very unique in their own way and sound beautiful when played :D
@@Jk-cx7ko the gu zheng has a more vibrant sounds, but you can still play calm music with it ^^ I'm very happy to see people that know what a gu zheng is :D
We have a genre called "Japani" in Afghanistan which is inspired by Koto, its played in Kandahar and is mixed with traditonal Pashto music. I have no idea how it got there!
I’m Afghan as well, I never realized why it was called ‘Japani’ music! Now that you’ve told me, I can hear the Koto. But the Afghan element makes it sound very different.
@@jasonisbored6679 Why would it be weeabos? Most people in Afghanistan know nothing about Japanese music or culture. I have no idea how this crossover happened but it could be from the time of WW2 and before since Afghanistan along with Germany were very close to Japan due to the axis. So maybe some cultural exchange happened?
@@TheAfghan72 I would say that that is most likely the case; Japanese animation didn't come into full swing until around the early to mid 1950s, and only began making its way into the mainstream around twenty years ago.
Dear Miss Watanabe, I have seen and heard many versions of "Sakura" but yours is the most enchanting. The Koto needs a lot of strength in the fingers but it seems to be very hard to play "soft" on it. But you master it seemingly without effort and paint the picture of that fragile and docile cherry blossom. My thanks for this impressive performance. From germany with great admiration.
Sakura is a song that is sung even in elementary schools in Japan. Therefore, there is no Japanese who cannot sing Sakura. The koto is played like this during big celebrations, New Year's parties, weddings, and so on. When we Japanese hear the sound of the koto, we are reminded of the beautiful scenery of Japan.
I'm responding in English based on your comment in Google translate. Please forgive me if I don't get it correct. The Japanese (Nippon) should not allow the stupid world government to destroy your genetic and cultural heritage like what has been done to all the Europeans and America.
Respect to the japanese culture and to this amazing lady. I cannot describe how beautiful this is. It's like being in another world that is full of love and hapiness wihtout any worries. I'm speechless. What an art ! What a beauty ! What an elegance !
I knew I was gonna find some Genshin related comment- and I love it It’s actually pretty impressive how they are so delicate towards the themes in the game and are really careful about cultural details ^^
As a westerner I don't know why my spirit seem to feel so inclined to the love of classical Japanese instruments. Beautiful and graceful. I so wish I could have seen its creation and development with my own eyes. Powerful and graceful like her people.
Не знаю сможете ли вы перевести это. Но я хочу сказать что я из России, и вовсе никогда не слышал о таком инструменте, но я давно увлекаюсь восточной культурой и особенно японской. Я давно смотрю аниме и случайно наткнулся на аниме про этот инструмент. И он меня очень впечатлил. Я сам музыкант, закончил музыкальную школу, играю на инструментах с 5 лет и невероятно люблю музыку. Но в последнее время мне начало все приедается. И это звучание, этот инструмент меня как будто пробудил. Я услышал нечто новое для себя и завараживающее. Этот инструмент очень красив в звучании и отлично передаёт эмоции музыканта. Я даже захотел научится на нем играть. Мне 19 лет и я надеюсь когда нибудь съездить в Японию и послушать это все в живую
Beautiful music, its like you're playing two instruments at once, it surely takes a lot of practice and effort to reach this level of skill. Good work :)
American here, I love japan and hold a deep respect and adoration for Japan and all it has to offer from its beauty and culture to its people and their philosophies. Japan is an amazing country I'm currently trying stuying and I'm not having any feelings of stopping any time soon
I feel like I'm sitting under a Cherry blossom tree while its leaves flying down on me. Then there's the sunset and the sky welcoming the moon to take its place.
There is a harmony to an acoustic string instrument that no electronic device can come close to. It's a sound that cannot be described, only experienced! This instrument provides that kind of experience. She plays it beautifully. ❤❤❤❤
@@marcus-flavius No, that was because the US stole all the technology from germany and searched for a place to try it out in life “combat” without getting blamed for the war crimes like mass genocide that come with it. The pacific war theatre happened to be the perfect chance
@@starstencahl8985 or maybe because Japan was conquering a third of China and going for Australia and the rest of Oceania? Maybe. Germany was losing, but Japan was far from stopping by that time.
There’s just something very magical about traditional Japanese music. Nothing that western music and/or their instruments can compare to. As an American I’m proud of saying that. I listen to a mix of traditional Celtic and Japanese music while I write my original story and create artwork based on it (Britsune Garden, in particular, which encompasses both British and Japanese themes), and this song is in the playlist I listen to. I’m also here to stop by to say that this rendition of Sakura is the most beautiful I’ve ever heard ^^
I would say Traditional American Folk Music while certainly not matching the same tones or instrumentation can certainly be just as moving and captivating. Because much of that same music is, as warm and folksy as some of it is, about rather sad and dark themes. Poverty is the birthplace of Traditional American Folk music and poverty is a rather sorry state to be. One must remember for whom the music was originally made for. While tradtional Japanese music is beautiful much of it, especially for instruments like the Koto, was for the upper classes not the common man. So while it is perfectly valid to appreciate it, remember the audience for pieces of works and the context they were made in. It can give you deeper insight into the music.
@@yotubeification As someone who’s familiar with Traditional American folk music I understand the themes it conveys. I’ve actually heard some Traditional Japanese songs that have a dark theme, including Takeda no Komoriuta. It was originally a melody sung by the lower class people from the late 19th-early 20th century from what I remember reading.
I'm so glad I found this song. I grew up listening to it from an old music box my great grandmother brought from Japan during the war. After sixty seven years I'm surprised it still works. It is a very beautiful sad song.
Everything about this is beautiful, the song, the gorgeous kimono, the cherry blossoms, I love everything about this marvelous video and performance. How's it have only six million views?
Hello, lady Watanabe! I'm Roséline Lam de Montmorency. Can I upload the mp3 version of your work (Sakura - Played by the Koto)? I will very happy if you agree^^
i came here from an anime and i never knew what a koto instrument was and when i searched for it, and listened to this, it made my eyes open. as if i saw a new perspective in life. This instrument really is amazing
I stumbled across this piece while I was in production for an audio book I narrated about submarine warfare in the South Pacific during World War II. This music was just haunting and would have served as the perfect transition to scenes involving the actions of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) in the book. Unfortunately, I could not secure the permission I needed and had to settle for Koto creations that were good, but not as incredibly beautiful as this. This is my best-selling audio book to date. Not getting the approval I wanted to use Ms. Watanabe's beautiful rendition of Sakura was one of my biggest disappointments.
Astrid Moonborn - If you like the sound of koto, you might want to try searching for guqin music. Guqin, if I remember correctly, pre-dates the guzheng, which definitely means it also pre-dates the koto. Generally, the guqin is even better for achieving a meditative soundscape than the koto or the inspiration for the instrument koto, the guzheng.
Comme ses beau !Une vrais boite a musique sa d'étend !SES VRAIMENT JOLIE ! Mais par chez nous on na pas la chance d'écouté sa!Ses vraiment trés dommage !Ses pourtant magnifique !Est son yukata est trés beaux!
This is exquisite. Thank you. The music, the setting, the costume, the cherry blossoms. Your meditative presence. All so peaceful and very beautiful. Blessings from South Africa.
Traditional Japanese music has this aura of delicate beauty that no other genre can match. It touches your soul in a deep way, to become one with your mind, body and soul, surrounded by nature.
I just don't know what to comment on. It's so awesome like they say the dragons reach the heart of the audience they really do. Besides I'm from India & i recently got to know about koto when I first heard it was amazing. I wish there could be more of the koto tradition in India as well. Although we have a similar instrument like this called the sitar it also sounds amazing.
