Drumming group Kodo has taken the art of playing Japanese taiko drums to new heights both musically and as spectacle, achieving international fame in the process. Kodo traces its origins to Ondekoza, which was formed in 1969 on Sado Island in the Sea of Japan by people from various parts of the country… ...

Rock ‘n’ roll is as much about attitude as about music. Take, for instance, the Yoshida Brothers, whose instrument of choice is not the electric guitar but the shamisen. That traditional three-stringed instrument has a twangy, high-pitched sound, which instantly conjures up picture-postcard images of… ...

Shang Shang Typhoon burst onto the Japanese music scene in the early ’90s when anything “ethnic” was considered cool. Amid the renewed global interest in world music, many Japanese were finding that they had their own version(s) of world music right in their own backyard. Okinawan music was especially… ...

Simultaneously icy and lush, desolate and comforting, the music of Chihei Hatakeyama is a transcendent combination of acoustic instruments and computer processing. Based out of Tokyo, Hatakeyama performs under his given name, and also as one half of the electro-acoustic duo Opitope along with Tomoyoshi… ...

Japan maintains a strong love for bossa nova music, which nicely complements its thousands of stylish cafes and retail stores, and singer/songwriter/guitaritst Lisa Ono is the undisputed queen of this thriving scene. Born in São Paulo and raised in Japan from age 10,Ono was musically influenced by… ...

Spanning several genres in as many decades, Kyoto-based DJ and producer Nobukazu Takemura has carved out a niche as one of Japan’s most respected soundsmiths. Starting out as a hip-hop DJ in the mid 80s, Takemura migrated to the mixing desk later in the decade, soon releasing tracks on several labels… ...

Maki Nomiya is best known as vocalist for Pizzicato Five in the 90s, but her career as a vocalist stretches considerably further back. Nomiya released her first album, Pink no Kokoro, in 1981. The album saw limited success, and luckily for future fans, Nomiya’s career as cookie-cutter Japanese idol… ...

Kenji Ozawa began his professional music career along with Keigo Oyamada, aka Cornelius, in cult favorite Flipper’s Guitar. After a two year gap following the band’s breakup, Ozawa resurfaced to high expectations with his first solo album, Inu wa hoeru ga kyaraban wa susumu in 1993 (released in 1997… ...

Ami Suzuki’s disappearing act is one of the Japanese music scene’s more depressing stories. Until 2001, girl-next-door Suzuki was one of the J-pop scene’s most visible faces, with a plethora of TV appearances and product endorsements, and several top-selling singles and albums for Sony Music that sold… ...

One of the most highly visible and sought-after DJ/producers in the world, Towa Tei has consistently remained in the public eye since his debut. Born Doug Wa-Chung in Tokyo, Tei attended Musashino Art School, where he majored in Visual Art. In 1987, he relocated from Tokyo to New York, where he soon… ...