Interview: musician Nobuko Kawashima shares insights on her craft

The biwa has these high frets. We create different sounds with the strength of how we press the strings. (She demonstrates, strumming the biwa and pressing its strings.) The changing of the tone is important. It's not about playing perfect notes. It's more about emotion, and the story always comes first. This is quite characteristic of traditional Japanese music, especially biwa: the words come first, and the sound follows. It's a form of storytelling.

Honestly speaking, I didn't want to play the same thing as everyone else. So many people play the shamisen! Plus, instruments like the shamisen or koto are used as accompaniment, but the biwa works as a standalone instrument. As a biwa player, I don't have to collaborate with anyone.

I used to work in theatre. In that industry, if you don't get a specific role, nobody tells you why you didn't get it. Or maybe you have an audition, and no one accepts you. I was tired of that. I still love theatre, but I couldn't work like that. I wanted to be independent and play freely.

There's so much (laughs). In the beginning, I was happy to conquer different techniques one by one. After completing each technique, how could I improve it to have a better sound? That's still a work in progress. How can I convey the context of the song and music to the audience? That's another question. You can play beautifully, but does it reach the audience? That's another level.

It's become a part of my identity. And I can't lie and say I heard some beautiful music from a master, and then I started to study biwa. No, I wanted to be free from the theatrical world. So that's what kept me learning.

Also, biwa is quite expensive to start (laughs). When I first started, I decided I wouldn't stop no matter what, and it's still that way. I can't stop now. I'm too stubborn!

Many things are becoming digitalised. We can make biwa-like sounds through the computer, but this… (She thoughtfully plucks a string.) This kind of fragility is something that only the real-life biwa can express. It's quite delicate.

You have to have human sensibilities to learn the vibe of the biwa and how to play it. Unless you're taught, you won't know how to play properly. So even with everything becoming more digitalised, this kind of feeling stays, because it's more human. So, I hope this human connection will always remain.

Nobuko teaches her one-and-a-half-hour class in her studio in Bunkyo, about 10 minutes' walk from Sendagi Station, from 11am-12.30pm and 2pm-3.30pm daily. An instrument and interpreter are provided, and no prior experience is required. Book your spot here, and use the code TIMEOUT10 at checkout to save 10% on the class.