WEBINARSHIMAUTA MUSIC FROM
THE AMAMI ISLANDS
The relationship with the ocean
Date June 8, 2023 | Time: 5:30–6:30pm
Platform Zoom | Language: English (Q&A in English & Japanese)
Organizer SEGO Initiative
Contact Alana Bonzi: alana@segoinitiative.org
For registration and inquiries art.segoinitiative.org/session

SPEAKER’S BIO
Marin Naruse
Asian Cultural Council Fellow 2022
Marin is a young singer of shimauta, which is thetraditional music unique to the Amami Islands inJapan. She has not only won multiple awards
at competitions, but has also collaborated withvarious artists, including jazz pianists, orchestras
and a rakugo player, to expand the possibilities
of shimauta.
As an official Minyo Ambassador appointed by the Japan Folksong and Dance
Foundation, she has been actively promoting this unique and culturally significant formof traditional music that represents the heritage of the Amami Islands.
Currently a student at Keio University, she hopes to connect shimauta to larger
audiences from both artistic and academic fields. Marin is often invited as a guest
speaker to seminars and lectures to give presentations about shimauta. Notably, sheheld a shimauta workshop at the 46th World Conference of the International Councilfor Traditional Music in Lisbon.
Acclaimed for her achievements, she has been chosen as a grantee of the Asian CulturalCouncil. Starting in July 2023, she will conduct research in New York City, focusing on
the preservation of ethnic music and its application to shimauta.

SEGO Initiative’s Ocean Awareness & Activation Season
Online Ocean Education Sessions

SEGO Initiative, a not-for-profit association dedicated to environmental causes,
is offering online webinar sessions as part of its educational programming toraise awareness and inspire people to take action against the issues facing theoceans and the planet.
The sessions are a part of the association’s World Oceans Tokyo event programming. For more than a decade,
SEGO Initiative has been organizing the Fujisawa Beach Cleaning Project/Clean S.E.A. The Project includes threepillars:•••

Volunteering with the participation of corporate,family and student volunteers
Public education via citizen science and art
Reconnecting to the marine environment that weare trying to protect via sailing

The fall cleanups are part of the International CoastalCleanup Campaign (ICC) that is held annually in more than
100 countries. Due to Covid-19, the association will once
again lead #TogetherApart ICC cleanups for volunteers
to connect, clean and collect close to where they live,
work or play. As always, all debris will be counted andresults aggregated so that participants can know how
much they have intercepted from the waste stream that
inevitably leads to our oceans.
This programming only happens with the generous
support of our corporate sponsors. But we do need
your help. As we expand our programming, we would
be more than happy to welcome new supporters!

More information can be found on the Expo Mer Fujisawa
website, SEGO Initiative’s online space dedicated to sharing
inspiring artworks and featuring a diverse array of speakers
and artists who offer local, regional and global perspectives.
https://art.segoinitiative.org/sessions/Webinar program sponsored by:

SEGO Initiative
Michel and Alana Bonzi
Founders

SEGO grew out of our Fujisawa Beach Cleaning Project, which westarted in 2009. Its goal was to bring foreign and Japanese people
together to give back to the local community. We are based 800 metersfrom the sea in Fujisawa, Kanagawa Prefecture, and as both of us are
originally from coastal areas, it was natural for us to look to the ocean
and beach as the best way for us to meet our goal. Volunteers aremainly staff from corporate sponsors, their families and local youth. Overtime, the Project has evolved into three key pillars: volunteering, public
education via citizen science and art, and reconnecting to the marine
environment via sailing.