Profile: Chitose the utasha

Chitose sings a type of Amami-Ôshima minyou called higya uta (higya = east).

Chitose’s utasha career so far:

• In 1992, at the age of 13, she won the “Shourei Shou”, an award given to a person who cultivates the art.
• In 1993, at the age of 14, she was awarded the “Yûshû Shou”, for excellence in the art.
• In 1994, at the age of 15, she received her “Shinjin Shou”, or new comer’s award.
• In 1996, at the age of 17, she received the “Taishou”, or grand prix, the highest award for utasha.

There is a cassette tape available of Chitose’s early utasha career called “Higya Merabe”, which was recorded in 1994. It’s a collection of lullabies. There’s also a CD of her utasha music called “Shima Kyora Umui”, which is a collection of recordings from 1994 to 1996.

These recordings are quite difficult to get through the regular channels. One way to order them is through the distributer from Amami-Ôshima.

Links:
Chitose World — this site has the most information on Chitose’s utasha career.
Simauta.net — you can order her utasha recordings here.

Posted by Richie at 02:37 PM