Rinken Band

The southwestern Japanese island of Okinawa, a humid and mountainous region situated between the Pacific Ocean and the East China Sea, is home to well over a million people. Due in great part to its geographical proximity to Southeast Asia, China, Taiwan, and Japan - as well as its extensive post WWII contact with the United States - Okinawan culture is a unique amalgam in which one sees the influence of many diverse traditions. Of all Okinawan art forms, this unique diversity is perhaps most obviously reflected in the island's music, which draws upon musical sensibilities fro...