June Kuramoto: Spirit And Soul [ 精神 せ い し ん と 魂 た ま し い ] (2002, Junko Music)

Track List:
1. Spirit And Soul+
2. Steal My Heart
3. Don't Give Up
4. Through the Streets of Gion+
5. Courageous Heart
6. Children of Our Wars+
7. Eye of the Beholder
8. Lani
9. Two Sisters+ [featuring: Karen Hwa-Chee Han]
10. Heaven And Earth * [featuring: Kimaya Seward]
11. When Winter Cries

* = Vocal Track
+ = Personal Favorite

Notes:

• This is the first of (so-far) three solo albums by koto master June Kuramoto
• The subtitle (the yellow text on white background ☹) is:
  • 精神と魂
  • せいしん 　 と 　 たましい
  • Seishin to Tamashii
  • Literal translation: "Spirit - And - Soul"
• Many of the tracks have a story behind them; I'll add those here when I have a chance to refresh my memory with June herself
• "Heaven And Earth" features vocals by Kimaya Seward
• "Two Sisters" features Karen Hwa-Chee Han on the Er-Hu [二胡]. The "Two Sisters" refers to the two countries: Japan (represented by the Koto) and China (represented by the Er-Hu).
• Through the Streets of Gion [祇園] is June's commentary and appreciation of the (true) traditional Geisha [芸者], which tranlates to Art [芸] (the fine arts) and Person [者] (or "Artisan"). According to June, she feels that the geisha have gotten, and I quote:

  "a bad rap."

  Thus, she wrote this song to show her appreciation of the art form. Particularly, the song presents an audio depicition of the geisha literally in-procession "through the streets of Gion [祇園]," an old artisan district in Kyoto [京都], Japan.