Welcome to Mai’s corner!

At Monthly Music, Mai plays famous music that has been sung since long ago and remains in Japanese people's hearts today. Since ancient times, the Japanese have sung songs that express their feelings about the four seasons. These songs are about love for the family, memories of friends and confessions to lovers.
They are masterpieces full of Japanese people's emotions that are a little different from today’s J-pop. These masterpieces will be performed by a piano with a variety of video footage. How wonderful it would be if these could touch your heartstrings. Also, the video is composed of themes that I have thought of myself. Which video do you prefer?         You can listen to all the tunes already played in the Monthly Music corner here.
​Click here and scroll down for this month's tune​

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Pianist Mai

Mai has started playing the piano at the age of 4.
She had a bachelor's degree in piano from Ferris University. Obtained a master's degree from the Ferris graduate school of music.
She was selected at the audition and performed at a chamber music evening concert. Performed with violinist Yuriko Kuronuma and NHK Symphony Orchestra, cellist Hisaya Dogin.
She has studied under Yoko Nakano, Naoyuki Inoue, and Shizuko Soh.

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​Click here Japanese Classical Music 〜 Fall/Winter 〜

​The music for July is ‘Sea’ (海). ​

海 (Umi in Japanese)
​Music : 井上 武士(Takeshi INOUE)
Arrangement : 川口 晴子 (Haruko KAWAGUCHI)

Japan is an island country surrounded by the sea.
There is also a legend that happiness comes from beyond the sea.
This blessing of the sea plays a role in Japanese food registered as an Intangible Cultural Heritage. 
In the summer, people go to the sea and play in the waves.
Listen to Mai's piano and imagine the seascape of Japan.

​The music for June is ‘Summer has come’ (夏は来ぬ). ​

夏は来ぬ (Natsuwakinu in Japanese)
Music: 小山　作之助 (Sakunosuke KOYAMA) 
Arrangement: 渋谷　絵梨香 (Erika SHIBUYA)

The fresh white flowers herald the arrival of summer in Japan.
The rainy season comes between Spring and Summer, and people are impressed by the natural beauty of the water. The rainy season lasts for a month and when it’s over, people know that an exciting, lively summer awaits. Enjoy Mai's piano while feeling the beautiful June atmosphere.

The Music for May, 'Flower of Trifoliate Orange' (からたちの花）

からたちの花 (Karatachi no hana in Japanese)
​Music : 山田 耕筰 (Kosaku YAMADA)

Japanese express the wind of May to be a fresh Spring breeze. And a white pretty flower begins to bloom in the hedges of our homes. This flower is the Trifoliate Orange Flower. The thorns of the flower are very painful. It reminds me of the time when I was a child and I got stuck by a thorn and it made me cry. Enjoy this Japanese famous song by the piano version!

​The music for April is ‘Hazy moonlit night’ (朧月夜). ​

朧月夜 (Oborozukiyo in Japanese)
Music: 岡野 貞一 (Teiichi OKANO)
Arrangement: 轟 千尋 (Chihiro TODOROKI)

This song depicts an evening in spring, the darkness of the night, and the night-time scenery. The sun seems to enjoy Spring and sets on the edge of the mountain. The evening breeze blows comfortably, and I am walking along a path overlooking a rape field. When I look up, the hazy spring moon is gently looking down.​
'Hazy moon' is also mentioned in the Tale of Genji, a classic of Japanese literature. The Japanese have valued vagueness. This is a fantasia about the theme of the hazy moon called 'Oboro Zukiyo' in Japanese. Listen to the tune while enjoying the pictures of Japan's spring scenery.

The music for March is 'Cherry blossoms, Cherry blossoms'(さくらさくら).

さくら さくら (SAKURA  SAKURA in Japanese)
Music: 不詳 (Unknown)
Arrangement: 平井 康三郎 (kozaburo HIRAI)

This tune has been loved by Japanese people as one of the traditional songs for a long time. It is said that this tune was composed as a practice tune for the ‘Koto’ (Japanese harp) for children at the end of Edo era. Its graceful melody is familiar for Japanese people from generation to generation. This song is also played as BGM on international broadcasts for overseas (NHK).
Mai plays a fantasy song composed by Kozaburo Hirai based on this song "Sakura Sakura" impressively. Imagine Japan while enjoying the beautiful cherry blossoms in the video.

​The music for August is ‘At The Shore’ (浜辺の歌). ​

浜辺の歌 (Hamabenouta in Japanese)
​Music : 成田 為三 (Tamezou NARITA)
Arrangement :  鈴木 奈美 (Nami SUZUKI)
Composed in 1916

This song is a song to cast our minds back to the memories we had while strolling along the beach. On the beach, once people have left, a wind that carries the smell of the sea blows, and you may find pink cherry shells at your feet. At that time, what comes to mind is a person who you had once forgotten or a person that is important to you.
Please listen while casting your mind back to various events unfolding on the beach.