Some Westerners might be surprised to learn to what extent Japanese people have little or no interest in traditional Japanese music. Many young people simply prefer to listen to contemporary pop music, but it is also not uncommon to come across those who are not even sure what traditional Japanese music is.
Makoto Nishimura is doing what she can to change this. Nishimura is a conservative-looking woman who uses unconventional methods to expose Japanese people to their traditional music. She takes what she calls "an ironic way" -- teaching and performing with foreigners.
About six years ago, when she was studying English, her American teacher, a piano player, became curious about her student's musical activities. So Nishimura brought a shamisen to her English school and used one of the spare classrooms to start teaching her to play.