KARACHI: From bonsai arrangements to origami formations to traditional music, the Japan-Fest 2016 at a local hotel on Thursday evening had it all. But the highlight of the day was a brilliant rendition of traditional music on two unique instruments by renowned Japanese artist Sumie Kaneko.

The programme was divided into two segments; the first had an exhibition of works of Ikebana, origami and bonsai with some activities related to pop culture; and the second was marked by Ms Kaneko’s performance who played string instruments koto and shamisen with great facility and sang beautifully.

She began her stint on stage with a composition on the multi-string koto. She began by playing smaller notes which build the mood of the tune. Soon, her swift runs on the strings changed the tempo of the track, allowing the composition to ebb and flow. There were instants when one could hear the instrument chime gently and on other occasions harp along. At the end of it, Ms Kaneko told the audience that it was a 1942 composition titled ‘Three Dimensions’.

The second number was called ‘Like a Bird’ composed by a koto virtuoso. It was interesting how beautifully the notes represented not just the flight of a bird, but an entire journey. The chirpy little bits added colour to the composition and then came a time when the melody became steady, as if there had come a halt in the bird’s flight.

Then Ms Kaneko switched to the three-string instrument called shamisen. Narrating the story of the first song ‘The Maiden Heron’ that she played on it she said it was about a heron — a half bird, half lady — who falls in love with a human. Lamenting her destiny she starts dancing on snowflakes and dies on them. Ms Kaneko sang the song while playing the shamisen. Since she had already told its story, the audience enjoyed the tune even more.

The musician’s last solo act on stage was her interpretation of ‘My Favourite Things’ from the movie Sound of Music. In the beginning of the track, she said she expected that the audience would know the song. Some of them did.

In the second part of the concert, sitar player Nafees Ahmed of the National Academy of Performing Arts (Napa) joined Ms Kaneko with a young tabla player. Their first piece together was the famous Sindhi folk song ‘Mor Tor Tilley’.

The event was organised by the consulate general of Japan, the Pakistan-Japan Business Forum and Pakistan-Japan Cultural Association.

Published in Dawn, September 9th, 2016