Publication date: 12:34, October 25, 2024 Update date: 14:44, October 25, 2024
Itoman hometown ambassador Tamiko Uehara (right) will hold a concert in Itoman City on November 3rd, and Gerald Ishibashi, a third-generation descendant of the prefecture, will perform at a concert in Itoman City on September 21st at Uehara Travel Agency in Los Angeles, USA.Written this article person
Sotoaki Yonekura
[Nakijin/Itoman]A charity jazz concert will be held in Itoman City on November 3rd to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the friendship city agreement between Itoman City and Redondo Beach City, California. An executive committee has been formed by Tamiko Uehara (85), an Itoman hometown ambassador, who is from Itoman and runs Uehara Travel Agency in Los Angeles, U.S.A., and third-generation singer Gerald Ishibashi (72) ) will appear.
Gerald leads the Los Angeles-based four-piece “Island Crooners” and will perform with Okinawa’s “Medical Jazz Orchestra” at the concert.
Gerald Ishibashi’s maternal grandparents, Tokuhei Ishimine (left) and Kamato (provided by Gerald)
Gerald’s grandparents are from Nakijin Village. His grandfather, Tokuhei Ishimine (born 1890), was a good sanshin player. My grandmother Kamato (born in 1999) had a maiden name of Inafuku. The two moved to Mexico as contract immigrants and then moved to California on foot, starting as street vendors and eventually owning a pool hall.
However, during World War II, he was sent to a concentration camp and all his property was confiscated. After the war, he made a living as an apartment manager and gardener.
Gerald participated in the 2022 World Uchinanchu Festival and was moved by the sight of adults and children dancing to the sanshin and taiko drums at the closing ceremony. He recalled that when he was a child, everyone would gather on weekends and sing folk songs on his grandfather’s sanshin.
At that time, I realized that Okinawan music was the reason Okinawan immigrants were able to overcome various hardships. She said she felt like she had received a gift from her grandparents. I am thrilled to be able to share this gift with the audience on stage in Okinawa. His next dream is to take his grandchildren to the birthplace of their grandfathers and inherit their gifts.
For inquiries regarding the concert, please contact the executive committee office at 090 (2713) 9977.
(Sotoaki Yonekura)
