Wagakki Concert in Harajuku: Koto, Shamisen, Shakuhachi and Taiko in One Hour in Tokyo

Traditional Japanese instruments are easy to hear in Japan and almost impossible to hear properly. They turn up as background in temples, restaurants and department stores, thinned out through speakers, with nobody to tell you what you are listening to. An hour in a small hall with the musicians three metres away is a different proposition entirely.

The programme covers the main wagakki: the koto, a long thirteen-stringed zither played on the floor; the shamisen, three strings struck with a large plectrum, whose percussive attack is unlike any Western string instrument; the shakuhachi, an end-blown bamboo flute capable of a breathy, unstable tone that composers spent centuries refining; and taiko drums, which need no introduction once they start.

What lifts this above a recital is that each piece is introduced. The show runs in English and Japanese, and the musicians explain where a tune comes from and what it was originally for, so an ancient court piece and a modern composition sit in context rather than blurring together. The programme also includes a cover of a Western hit, which sounds like a gimmick and is actually the most instructive part of the hour — hearing something you know played on these instruments makes their character obvious in a way nothing else does.

The musicians perform in kimono and photography and video are welcome throughout, with photos alongside the performers afterwards.

The venue is Hall 60 in Jingumae — a minute from Meiji-Jingumae Station Exit 7, five from Harajuku's Omotesando exit — so it drops neatly into an afternoon around Takeshita Street or Meiji Jingu. Seats are reserved, the hall is wheelchair accessible, and the whole thing takes an hour.