NITABOH, The Founder of Tsugaru Shamisen

The sounds of the Tsugaru shamisen, the three-stringed Japanese long-necked lute from the Tsugaru region in the northern prefecture of Aomori, enjoy great popularity in Japan. The award-winning anime tells the life story of Nitaboh, the founder of Tsugaru shamisen music.

Akimoto Nitarô (Nitaboh) is born into a poor family, his father working as a boatman and his mother dying shortly after his birth. He suffers blows of fate at a young age, going blind at eight and becoming an orphan at eleven.

Left to his own devices, Nitaboh meets a goze, a blind street singer and shamisen player, who moves around with her daughter and teaches him. With an iron will and the help of various companions, he succeeds in developing a new, powerfully percussive shamisen style.

Music in Japanese Film - An Inspiring Combination of Sound and Image

For almost all films, music is an essential component. A film's soundtrack underscores its atmosphere, and the theme song or certain leitmotifs associated with individual characters or storylines often create lasting memories.

This film series presents eight works created between 1985 and 2021 that are remarkable examples of the relationship between film and music.

The series opens with an anti-war drama in which a harp also plays a supporting role in terms of content (The Burmese Harp), followed by a drama and a comedy in which the composers were nominated or awarded in the "Best Music" category at the "Japanese Academy Awards" (The Movie Actress, Swing Girls). Two documentaries pay tribute to the eminent composer, pianist and music producer Sakamoto Ryûichi, who wrote legendary soundtracks and passed away on March 28, 2023. Another documentary describes the fate of a Jewish family of musicians who lived in Japan for a long time (The Sirota Family and the 20th Century). Rounding out the series are two anime: a story about the founder of Tsugaru Shamisen music (NITABOH, The Founder of Tsugaru Shamisen) and a rock musical about a gifted dancer set 600 years ago (Inu-Oh)