Traditional Japanese instruments are the focus of this episode. They are generating considerable interest in Japan at present, evoking both the past and being a source of new sounds. We are treated to a performance by a popular group that only uses traditional instruments. And we delve into the traditions in Gagaku or Imperial Court Music, the oldest type of orchestra music, as it were, which has been around for one thousand years. We look at flutes being crafted from materials aged for a century. The Gagaku musician Togi Hideki talks about instruments around the globe and the essence of Gagaku. A craftsman shows the techniques for fashioning koto (a type of zither). The episode also interviews an Italian artisan who is helping preserve the Chikuzen-biwa, a type of lute. And the actor Kusakari Masao gives a thrilling drum performance!
