If you follow the main street in front of the Sakai Plaza of Rikyū and Akiko eastward, you’ll find a temple named Kenpon-ji. Slumbering here is Takasabu Ryutatsu, Japan’s first singer-songwriter. Sakai created its take on the snakeskin shamisen instrument of the Ryukyu Islands. Snakeskin was a rare commodity; instead, makers used dog and cat skins to create shamisen. Despite being a monk, Ryutatsu played the shamisen and composed unique “ko-uta” ballads.

Kenpon-ji Temple possesses illustrations depicting Takasabu Ryutatsu as a wandering poet. His body of work could fill a jukebox, with over 500 songs to his name. Among them is his rendition of “Kimigayo,” a poem that went on to become the Japanese national anthem. Nowadays it is well known as a prayer for the Emperor’s long and prosperous reign, but in Ryutatsu’s day, it was actually treated like a love song.