News

The International Exchange Office has been organizing hands-on workshops on the KOTO (Japanese harp), a traditional Japanese musical instrument, to give our international students opportunities to understand and experience a taste of traditional Japanese culture.

On Thursday, September 4, our fourth workshop took place, and all participants enjoyed the session.
After that, on Friday, September 13, we held a lobby concert to showcase the participants’ progress.

During the concert, our Koto students performed “Sakura Sakura” and “Hotaru (Firefly)” along with Assistant Professor Mariko Saito’s Shakuhachi.
Their harmony was beautiful and impressed the audience.Following the performance, we also had an impromptu KOTO Trial, inviting interested audience members to join in.

GSM has received a donation of KOTO

Ms. Miho Ohno, a resident of Sendai City, came to GSM on August 25 and generously donated a beautiful KOTO. Thanks to her, students who are interested in KOTO can now play it regularly.

The donated KOTO is made of Kiri（paulownia）wood. Its exquisite grain patterns, intricate carvings, and maki-e work make it a great musical instrument and an authentic Japanese craft.

Again, we greatly appreciate Ms. Ohno and will continue creating opportunities for international students to become familiar with and better understand Japanese culture.
The International Exchange Office is responsible for managing the instrument. Interested students are encouraged to contact us!