A Letter from LANA member in Japan

Kayoko Matsubara Performing on lyre after her stroke

Dear LANA Board members,

I, Kayoko Matsubara, suffered stroke (cerebral hemorrhage) last year, which caused me right-sided hemiplegia. It was "fatal" for lyre player like me. (I don't sing. I need to play not only a melody line but accompaniment together with both hands.)

In the abyss of despair, German lyre builder Gundolf Kühn offered me a lefty lyre. A kind of miracle occured when I started to play it with my left fingers. My right hand reacted as if it would like to move again!

"I don't mind if I couldn't use chopsticks or couldn't write. I use my left hand to do so. However, I need at least my right index finger and middle finger to play lyre!" I said.

A skilled Japanese occupational therapist understood how I desperately wanted to play lyre again and devoted all his knowledge and experience into my special rehabilitation. As my right arm-hand-fingers ataxia gradually got under control,  I returned to my old lyre with 39 strings.  After practicing 6 months, I was qualified to participate in the Special One Concert for disabled musicians, held on the 9th September 2023,  in Tokyo, Japan, 

Among the five participants, four had paralysis as an after-effect of a stroke and 1 was suffering from Parkinson's disease. Among them, I was the only lyre player. (I also played Accordian and Concertina at the same concert.)

Here is a link to the short digest movie of the concert, which lasted more than 3 hours in full. (I appear around 27 seconds to 1 minute from the beginning:  https://youtu.be/hHEGadJl2Yo?feature=shared.) It was such an amazing experience after long period of darkness. Spotlights and shower of applause!  Smiling and some crying audience...

Numbness of my right hand still continues. I don't feel what I touch, so I need to watch and listen carefully when I play strings. I can't move my fingers like before. However, I can play my lyre with both hands again, with left fingers playing more notes than usual. 

My father passed away last week. He couldn't come to my concert, but he could listen to a full recording of my concert at the last minute of his life.

I would like to thank all the people who cared about me and prayed for my early recovery.

There are many people who are stroke survivors. Life with sudden disability is quite tough. I believe that playing music may be the most cheerful way of rehabilitation, not only for the body, but for a sound spirit.

I am all right now. I am living full of joy and music again.  I wish for everyone in the time of difficulty to be blessed, and that hope embraces you all. Thank you for listening to my story.

 Best Regards,
Kayoko Matsubara (artist name as: Lei Amane)

 2023年11月9日(木)