JAWing On – Life on Okinawa

I just returned from Koza 2005, an enjoyable theatrical performance by a troupe visiting from Nagoya. The play was created by a mainland Japanese artist who was inspired by the history of rock ‘n’ roll music on Okinawa and the how it affected the lives of everyday people who were part of the scene. The story, loosely set in a Gate 2 Street-style backdrop, was of one fictitious family and the overwhelming role rock played in the lives of the grandfather and his family. Unfortunately the slide clips that followed the performance brought on an atmosphere of anti-war propaganda. The cliché themes of “love”, “peace”, and “make love not war” of the ‘60s demonstrated a failure to comprehend that the underlying force behind the rock music scene on Okinawa was the desire of individuals of varying cultures, thrown together due to tragedies of history beyond their control, to express their belief in the unity of the brotherhood of humankind through the universal language of music. The finale was a rallying performance by the troupe where the artists demonstrated their prowess in the acquired skills of the local art of Eisa drumming.