Chasing Kadekaru

Chasing Kadekaru examines the life and music of Okinawan minyō (“folk song”) legend Kadekaru Rinshō (1920 to 1999) in two parts. The first is a research-based novel in which the protagonist interacts with real-life people who knew Kadekaru Rinshō. These people are fellow musicians, collaborators, friends, and family. Through these encounters, a story of Kadekaru’s life and music unfolds. This first part is meant to be enjoyed as a novel by even the non-music specialist. The second part is a chapter-by-chapter guide to the first part of the dissertation (the novel) with notes, citations, analyses, and other relevant data. The dissertation aims to show the utility of biographical research and studies of the individual in ethnomusicology—approaches that have been controversial in the discipline historically but have gained popularity since the 1990s, and particularly in the last decade. Composed in a non-traditional format, the dissertation also demonstrates the potential for arts-based research to promote new modes of knowledge sharing in academic discourse.