The King Brothers are brothers in the Ramones tradition, and began life as such near Kobe with members possessing the real names Keizo Matsuo- guitars and vox, Masafumi “Maya” Koyama- guitars and screaming, and Jun Fujimoto- drums. Like the Ramones the band deals in high intensity rock’n'roll, although… ...

Michiyo Yagi is a pioneering koto player who is highly regarded in both traditional and avant-garde circles. She was born in Tokoname, in Aichi prefecture, and began studying koto at the age of six under Satomi Kurauchi. She later was admitted to the main branch of the Sawai Koto School. She also enrolled… ...

Paralleling musical trends in North America and Europe, the early ’70s saw several talented singer/songwriters emerge in Japan, such as Miyuki Nakajima, Tatsuro Yamashita and Yumi Matsutoya. Somewhat less well-known but equally deserving of attention is Taeko Onuki, who was one of the members of a band… ...

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… ...