Musicians perform Kurdish music in Tokyo

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Musicians and music lovers are coming together in the Japanese capital, Tokyo, to share their enthusiasm for the rhythm of Kurdish music in the land of the rising sun.

Musicians from various backgrounds are holding workshops, familiarizing audiences with Kurdish culture and music.

“We have been holding workshops with the Japanese and Kurds in Japan as well. Tonight in Saitama, we will be holding a special concert for Kurds in Saitama and Warabi,” Serdar Canan, a Kurdish artist, told Rudaw.

The workshops are not exclusive to music, as they include Japanese dancers, musicians, and theater actors showcasing different art forms, according to Canan.

Canan is an artist from the Kurdish city of Yuksekova in southeastern Turkey’s Hakkari province (Colemerg in Kurdish). For over a decade, he has worked to spread the famed Dangbezhi, a Kurdish folk genre in his homeland and abroad. 

Japanese artists and musicians eagerly participated in the workshops, to learn more about Kurdish music and Dangbezhi.

“I am very much interested in Kurdish vocal traditions. I really wanted to create something new with Sardar.  So our program is going very well,” said Erika Oida, a Japanese musician.

Kurds arrived in Japan in the 1990s. Now, there are an estimated 3,000 Kurds, mainly from southeast Turkey, who live in the Island Nation of East Asia.