Haru no Umi – The Sea in Spring

春の海  Haru no Umi (The Sea in Spring) – Michio Miyagi (1929)
Koto and shakuhachi

‘Haru no Umi’ is one of Miyagi Michio’s best known works, frequently heard in Japan at New Year.  Composed in December 1929 as a duet for koto and shakuhachi, it depicts impressions experienced on a springtime boat trip on the Inland Sea of Japan.  Miyagi Michio(1894-1956) is considered to be the father of ‘shin nihon ongaku’ (new Japanese music).