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From the Oak Ridger, August 25, 2000
Koto to be featured in concert
To celebrate the 21st century, Yuko Fukuda had a dream. She wanted to drive across the United States, coast to coast -- and play her koto.
She thought it would be a fine way to meet Americans and share her love for her musical instrument.
Fukuda confided this to her friend, Shigeko Uppuluri, who in turn talked to her friend, Marianne Vigander.
Arrangements were made and a route laid out. The end of the tour would be at the International Friendship Bell in Oak Ridge.
There, a concert will be given at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Sept. 19. The bell will also be rung. At 7, the Oak Ridge Sister City Support Organization will host a potluck picnic at the shelter behind the Oak Ridge Public Library.
The concert will have music and singing in natural voice and in Western voice, according to Vigander.
What is a koto?
A koto is an instrument about 6 feet long made of paulownia wood. It is 10 inches wide and 2 inches deep and weighs 10 pounds.
It has a flat box shape and the resonated sound comes out of the holes in the bottom.
The koto has 13 strings that are tuned by moving the bridges up and down. It is strummed, using a pick in the right hand while the left hand presses the string down. The koto came from China around the 6th century.
Fukuda has studied koto playing at the Tokyo Arts & Music University, Department of Koto. The women will be dressed in Japanese kimono. The public is invited to meet them.