The Yoshida Brothers (Japanese:
吉田兄弟) were born and raised in Noboribetsu, Hokkaido. Each picked up the
shamisen at the tender age of five and began studying
Tsugaru shamisen under Takashi Sasaki I in 1990. After sweeping prizes at national Tsugaru shamisen conventions, the brothers made their major debut in 1999. The debut album sold over 100,000 copies, an extraordinary figure for a traditional folk music release. They won the "Traditional Japanese Music Album Of The Year" category of the 15th annual Japan Gold Disc Award, as well as the "30th Anniversary Of Normali…
read more