Be it at a min'yo performance in a small club or among the massed troupes of the annual Eisa festival, you'll find graceful dancing, haunting vocals, all kinds of drumming and stunning playing on the three-stringed sanshin , in the islands of Okinawa .

Music has been integral to the island's culture and social life for centuries; it's said that peasants carried their musical instruments into the rice fields, ready for a jam session after work. The folk tradition is very much alive, and in some villages umui (religious songs) are still sung at festivals to honour ancestors. Work songs that reflect communal agriculture techniques can still be heard, and various kinds of group and circle dances, some performed exclusively by women, can be found in the smaller islands.

Popular entertainment is known by the general term zatsu odori (common dance), though everyone calls these songs shima uta (island songs). The best-known style, one no wedding would be complete without, is called katcharsee . Set to lively rhythms laid down by the sanshin , which plays both melody and rhythm, and various drums, the dance is performed with the upper body motionless and the lower body swaying sensuously, accompanied by graceful hand movements that echo similar dances in Thailand and Indonesia.

The Asian connection can be clearly seen in the history of the sanshin . This three-stringed lute began life in China and was introduced to Okinawa around 1392. Local materials were quickly exhausted so that Thai snakeskin was used for the soundbox and Filipino hardwood for the neck. Once introduced to mainland Japan, the sanshin became bigger, produced a harder sound and was renamed the shamisen , one of the quintessential Japanese instruments.

A more recent influence on Okinawan music has come via the US military presence. Local musicians started to copy American pop styles in the 1950s, sometimes mixing in folk music. One major star whose music developed in this way was Kina Shoukichi who formed the band Champluse while still at high school, thus opening the way for a new generation of Okinawan rockers, including ex-band members Nagama Takao , famous for his fast-action sanshin playing, and Hirayasu Takashi .

Another contemporary Okinawan musician to watch out for is China Sadao , who records his own solo min'yo and brought the all-female group Nenes to international fame. Nenes have played with Ry Cooder, Michael Nyman, George Winston, among others, and recorded their most recent album with Talvin Singh. China has a club, Shima Uta Live House , in Ginowan , which is one of the best places in the islands to see Okinawan roots music. Other hot acts include Parsha Club , led by Ara Yukito, who mix jazz funk, rock and dance with Okinawan min'yo , and the former child prodigy Nakano Ritsuko (aka Rikki).