from "Sansei Voices in the Community: Japanese American Musicians in California." by Susan M. Asai, pg. 368-394
In The Music of Multicultural America

Edited by Kip Lornell and Anne K. Rasmussen

 

Nobuko Miyamoto - vocals; Sharon Koga - shamisen; Danny Yanamoto - taiko; Taiji Miyagawa - acoustic bass; Rev. Masao Kodani - spoken vocals.

"Tampopo" was written by Nobuko Miyamoto with text by Rev. Masao Kodani and Nobuko Miyamoto for dancing at an O-bon festival, a midsummer commemoration of the souls of one's ancestors. This is Japanese American music, incorporating the American-style acoustic bass and English lyrics into the instrumentation, mode, and rhthyms of traditional Japanese folk songs.