{"id":132650,"date":"2020-06-09T15:54:06","date_gmt":"2020-06-09T06:54:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/?p=132650&lang=en"},"modified":"2020-06-09T16:09:39","modified_gmt":"2020-06-09T07:09:39","slug":"doriano-sulis-chikuzen-biwa-artisan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/en\/doriano-sulis-chikuzen-biwa-artisan\/","title":{"rendered":"Doriano Sulis – Chikuzen Biwa Artisan"},"content":{"rendered":"

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46 Year Fukuoka Resident Campaigns to Save Local Culture<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Doriano Sulis, an Italian-native artisan of Chikuzen biwa<\/em> (Japanese lute), has launched a crowdfunding project to save the traditional instrument from disappearing due to lack of knowledgeable craftspersons. The Chikuzen biwa<\/em>, which originated from ancient Persian lutes, enjoyed great popularity during the ages of mid-Meiji to early-Showa. Amongst other traditional lutes in Japan, the instrument embodies particularly complex structures, and therefore requires considerable skills to craft and repair. Doriano came to Fukuoka in 1974 after majoring in classical guitar in Rome. Enchanted by the beautiful sounds of the biwa<\/em>, he began an apprenticeship under the late Genzaburo Yoshizuka, a prefectural intangible asset and then-last craftsman of the instrument.<\/p>\n

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Since then, Doriano has dedicated over forty years of his life in Japan to learn and perform Chikuzen biwa<\/em> until he became the last craftsman in the field. At the age of 72, Doriano strongly feels the importance of passing down the tradition to future generations. While running the Italian Center of Fukuoka (Centro Italiano di Fukuoka), he is preparing to open a new school near Tenjin to train younger bearers of the culture. From October 2020, the new place \u2018Biwa-kan\u2019 will provide classes for Chikuzen biwa<\/em> production. Doriano also hopes to educate young people with musical and tale performances as well as the history of the instrument in the near future. The donations gathered through his crowdfunding project will partially cover the managing costs of including office rents. Contributors to the campaign will receive unique antique Italian tools, art pieces, biwa-related items, and Italian language learning resources as rewards. To introduce the world of Chikuzen biwa<\/em> to more people, a special exhibition featuring repaired parts will be held in the coming fall (*postponed from April 15 due to the spread of the new coronavirus.) For more information on the project and to offer support, please visit this website<\/a>.<\/p>\n