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Shigin (??) is an ancient Japanese poetry recitation, sung or chanted, based on Chinese texts and has been an art form in Japan for about the past fifteen hundred years. The Chinese evolved in a Japanese way and took on Japanese themes and styles.

xie at Graffiti in Akasaka, TokyoShigin has never been a major art form in Japan, and is particularly hard to come by today.

However, shigin has been given an infusion of modern energy and attention thanks to the activities of its contemporary protagonists, a duo called Xie.

Xie comprises the shigin singer, Keisei, the main instrumentalist, Hagi, and woodwind instrumentalist, Soh Tanomura. Hagi and Keisei began their collaboration a few years ago when Hagi heard Keisei perform.

Hagi specializes in synthesizer music, and his style is characterized by rich, soaring compositions with an inspiringly heavily influ
xie and the audience at Graffiti in Akasaka, April 7, 2017enced by the sounds of nature. There are undertones of melancholy and nostalgia uplifted by great aspiring melodies, which, in concert, take the listener on a journey through vast spaces, over great distances.

Hagi's instrumentalization finds the perfect marriage in Keisei's voice, which in its shigin recitation is powerful, true and flies on the wings of tradition by way of its extended vocal techniques.

Keisei is as skilled a performer as singer, and her traditionally inspired costumes and dancing form an essential, and entrancing, part of her act.

The s...