This particular record is quite interesting, and was a great way to kick off the Vinyl Vault section of my website! This is an experiment my girlfriend, Jully, and I are doing, where every weekend we explore thrift shops and each pick out a record we want to listen to that night. We then go home and enjoy a glass of wine, play a board game, relax with the dogs, or whatever else we choose to do while we listen to the music.
A Visit to Goodwill A Visit to Goodwill
For this first weekend, we visited a Goodwill in Georgetown, Texas to look for something interesting. We had a good bottle of Saké to enjoy back at home and a few hours to spend, so it was the perfect time to try out this new idea. Unfortunately, the selection was surprising small and we only found a single record of interest: Walton's Belshazzar's Feast. (I wasn't sure how interesting this one would really be, but it was recorded by the London Philharmonic which is usually a great listen). I'll write more about that one in the next edition, but for now I'm much more interested in what we unexpectedly found inside.
Upon looking inside the jacket, there was a second, small 45-rpm record inside, without a jacket, that was released by Victor Custom Records in Tokyo, Japan. It was in near perfect condition, and it's very curious how it was stored. The group is called Ondekoza, or 鬼太鼓座 in Japanese, which means "Demon Drum Group." I was really excited by this find because I spent some time studying world music in college and one particular style I quite liked was Taiko drumming. Maybe this would be similar? It was also very intriguing that it was tucked inside another record, maybe as a way to protect it in storage.
There is an inscription in a small box on both sides, 非売品, meaning "not for sale," so I assume this was some sort of demo or promotional record, especially since I can't find a reference to the cat number PRA-10431.
Finding a Surprise Finding a Surprise
I wouldn't have known much about this group or the record, since I don't speak or read Japanese and was struggling to look it up by the number on it. However, it got more interesting when I looked inside the jacket and found the following letter: (the full text is reproduced below)
To: Ursula Boltshauser
From: Sumi Sakura
Date: Feb. 15, 1979
Subject: Ondekoza
Dear Miss Ursula
The players of this record is a group called "Ondekoza" (Goblin Drums Group), specialized in the large Japanese Drums (over 3 feet diameter) and Japanese 3-string guitars known as Shamisen. Side one features the drums and the side two the guitars. This musicians group is formed on rather philosophical ground than normal motives of musicians, living together in a barren island and their practice of the instruments consists of spiritual discipline and actual instrument play. It could be compared with Yoga plus music life.
The recorded music or rhythm is popularly played on occasion of Shrine festivals to be dedicated to Gods.
Yours Truly
What a fascinating background about the artists, not to mention the correspondence itself, and the Bose letterhead is an interesting detail. I had to do a little digging.
This document appears to be a scan of the original letter, and it was hugely helpful in identifying and enjoying the music! The first side is indeed drumming, and the second side is the 3-string guitar (三味線). The pieces are short, at only one or two minutes per side, but it was fun to find this little piece of unique music inside what we were expecting to be the London Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir.
Researching the Letter Researching the Letter
I've never found a record accompanied by a letter like this before, so naturally, I wanted to learn all about it. There are 2 names mentioned in this document: Sumi Sakura and Ursula Boltshauser. The third name appears in pencil (or pen) above the letterhead and could read Ed Marchena, however, I've had no lunch researching anyone by that name.
Sumi Sakura Sumi Sakura
I started with Mr. Sakura. There isn't much public information, but I found an article from Inc Magazine that explains that he was Bose's sales manager in Japan⁽¹⁾. I also found a book, Distinguished Asian American Business Leaders, that explains more of his role:
[Bose] opened a Tokyo office in 1975, and for the next five years, it struggled, only attracting $300,000 in revenue. Bose then tenaciously recruited a Japanese businessman, Sumi Sakura, who eventually agreed to lead Bose Asia Ltd., Japan Branch⁽²⁾.
Ursula Boltshauser Ursula Boltshauser
Ursula Boltshauser was the second wife of Amar Bose. He was the founder and chairman of the Bose corporation, and from what I understand Ursula was his long-time assistant before they were married, and they remained so until his death in 2013⁽³⁾.
The details of Dr. Bose's divorce from his first wife are virtually nonexistent, so it's difficult to ascertain whether the above letter was from the time he was married to Boltshauser or not. I also have no idea if the enclosed record is the same one I purchased, or if this is simply a copy. There appears to be no way I can investigate further, so I'd love to hear from anyone with more information! (If that's the case, I can be reached at tips@keegandonley.com)
Tracks Tracks
Each side is a single track, and as mentioned earlier one side is drums, and one side is 3-string guitar. Each side is labeled and provides some insight into either the name of the track, or the type of music represented.
弓ヶ浜
This is the label on side A, which translates to "Yumigahama Beach." This is one of the beautiful beaches in Japan, and you can give this track a listen on YouTube here.
太棹 (Futozao) 太棹 (Futozao)
This is the label on side B, which translates to "thick neck." This describes the type of shamisen, or 3-string guitar. These types of guitars are used for the Tsugaru style, which is very lively and hard-striking⁽⁴⁾. This video isn't the track on the record, but it is a recording by Ondekoza and gives a good demonstration of the style.
Conclusion Conclusion
We set out on this experiment to force ourselves to try out new styles of music, explore a medium that we enjoy, and find potentially unique stories behind whoever once owned the records that we acquire. I wasn't sure what would come of it, but I'm very pleased that we discovered something interesting on our first shot. It's not often there is so little information available online about a topic, so I feel quite lucky to have found this note detailing exactly what the story is behind these two tracks, or I may have never known.
- Kotkin, J. (2020, February 6). Going Through Customs. Inc.Com. Retrieved August 14, 2022, from https://www.inc.com/magazine/19841201/5982.html
- Hirahara, N. (2003). Distinguished Asian American Business Leaders. United Kingdom: Greenwood Press.
- Amar Bose ’51, SM ’52, ScD ’56, Bose Corporation’s founder, has died at 83. (2013, July 13). MIT News | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Retrieved August 15, 2022, from https://news.mit.edu/2013/obit-amar-bose-0712
- Styles of Shamisen — Bachido Store. (n.d.). Bachido. Retrieved August 15, 2022, from https://bachido.com/store/shamisen-styles
