Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on April 2011

Music transcends all borders and brings people together. One of the best examples of that is Chinese violin player WeiWei Wuu, who has been based in Japan for the past 20 years but has often gone back to play in her homeland. Born in 1968 in Shanghai, Wuu grew up during the Cultural Revolution. “My father was a composer and I wanted to play the Western violin but they didn’t sell Western instruments then,” she recalls. “He hand-made a small violin for me. I was five at the time. It was an unreal experience because we had to play quietly and with the curtains closed.”

After the Cultural Revolution ended in 1978, Wuu passed the first audition for entrance into the Shanghai School of Music, where she started to excel with the erhu, or two-stringed Chinese violin. She first came to Japan in 1991 to explore new varieties of music beyond the traditional erhu repertoire. “I started to listen to Western musicians. I really liked French jazz violinist Stéphane Grappelli. I was so surprised at his style. To that point, I had only known swing and older jazz styles, but I wanted to use my erhu to play that kind of jazz.”

Wuu turned professional in 1996 and recorded her first CD the same year. Since then, she has released eight albums and has played overseas once or twice a year, including a memorable 2007 appearance at famed Los Angeles jazz house Baked Potato. In Japan she has performed at Tokyo’s Sweet Basil, and the Osaka and Nagoya Blue Note venues. In addition to her own performances, Wuu has made live and television appearances with musicians including Ryuichi Sakamoto and Kenny G. In recent years, she has provided music for TV dramas (Jin), movies (Doraemon), TV commercials and video games.

Last year, Wuu was supposed to play at the Shanghai Expo but her performance was canceled because of tension between Japan and China. However, when Wuu does play in China, she finds the audience’s reaction interesting. “In China, the erhu is a very traditional instrument that is used for really sad or soulful songs, so jazz feels really new to them and it makes them happy,” she explains. “But in Japan, audiences already think of the erhu as a jazz instrument and they have more understanding of my style. I play standing up in Japan, so I can have more fun.”

Wuu, who plays with her own band consisting of piano, guitar, bass and percussion, says she composes her own music and occasionally does covers for others. “The idea for a new song might come from my dreams,” she says. “I wake up and remember the melodies I dreamed of. Other times, when I finish an enjoyable meal, the melodies come from that feeling. At home, I listen to different music, including classic, rock and pop.”

To mark her 20th anniversary of coming to Japan, Wuu will perform a solo concert titled Dream of the Butterfly in Shibuya next month. She also hopes to be able to contribute to relations between Japan and China. “Sometimes I see on TV stories about people being successful in Shanghai and wonder if I should go back, but then I realize I am doing what I love here in Tokyo. I wouldn’t change anything.”

It hasn’t been an easy road to success for Wuu. Her advice to any young aspiring artist is to “try everything you can and don’t worry about not succeeding. I had a lot of setbacks at first. Never be afraid to make mistakes.”

Dream of the Butterfly, May 19-20, 7pm, ¥6,500. Densho Hall, Shibuya. Tel: 03-3478-9999. For more info on WeWei Wuu see www.weiwei-wuu.com/e. Chris Betros is the editor of Japan Today.