MIKAGE PROJECT

A group of three musicians who compose and arrange traditional folk songs from every region of Japan, imbuing them with a contemporary sensibility to make them accessible for a present-day audience.
The foundational principle is to preserve the sonic spirits of our predecessors for future generations through folk songs from around the world.

MIKAGE means “divine spirit” in Japanese.
And the divine spirit is what we actively seek out in ancestral folk songs from Japan and the rest of the world.

We have reinterpreted an extraordinarily wide range of music in our bid to pass that spirit on to future generations.

Times may change but the fundamental character of a people never changes.
Join us on a journey into a completely new world of folk music.

member

Kouki Sato (Shakuhachi, bamboo flute, ohayashi accompaniment, narimono instruments)
Born in Tokyo as the eldest son of a family of folk musicians, he was trained from infancy by other family members and started performing publicly at a young age. When he was nine, he won 1st prize at the Tokyo Boys’ and Girls’ Minyo Competition. At 16, he began studying shakuhachi under Keisuke Zenyoji. He graduated from the Department of Traditional Japanese Music (majoring in shakuhachi) at Tokyo University of the Arts. He then worked as producer for an all-female Japanese instrumental group before making his own recording debut with Sakuramen, a group of traditional Japanese instrumentalists managed by the Avex talent agency. The group has released numerous songs and albums spanning various genres, including western music, and given concerts both in Japan and overseas.

Sho Asano (Tsugaru shamisen, singer)
Born in Miyagi Prefecture, with his grandfatherʼs encouragement he started learning the Japanese drum at the age of three and the Tsugaru shamisen at five. He went on to study under Tokuou Odashima II of the Sangen Odashima shamisen school. At the age of seven, he was the youngest entrant in Japanʼs National Tsugaru Shamisen Competition and broke the record for the youngest winner at his level the next year, a feat he repeated every year until he became the youngest-ever winner of the highest level, Class A, at the age of 14. He subsequently won the competition a further two years in succession, earning himself a place in the Hall of Fame. In 2007, at the age of 17, he released his first CD album, Shofu, with Victor Entertainment. Since graduating from Keio University, he has given concerts worldwide, showcasing the appeal of minyo and shamisen with a performance style that transcends genre.


Takashi Honma (25-string koto)
Born in Gunma Prefecture. His mother taught him koto from the age of three and shamisen from the age of twelve. When he was 17, he started a band for which he composed and played guitar, while also composing koto music. He graduated from the Music Course of Toho Gakuen College of Music and Drama, majoring in Japanese music and also completing a research course. He studied 25-string koto under the late Souju Nosaka II. In addition to composing music and performing at the National Culture Festival sponsored by the Agency of Cultural Affairs, he has been active on a range of fronts both in Japan and overseas, including winning first prize in the chamber music section of the Romanian International Music Competition.


日本各地の民謡を現代の感覚で作編曲し、次世代へと繋げる。
想いを一つに、和楽器の可能性を追求しながら活動してきた実力派三名が集結。

MIKAGE(御影)とは、神仏の霊魂や魂という意味がある。
日本のみならず世界の民族音楽を通じて、先人の方々が残してきた音霊を感じ、後世に残す。
数多ある民謡を改めて見つめ直す。
時は流れても民の理は変わらない。

古きを知り新しきを知る、温故知新。

唯一無二の新しい民族音楽の旅が、今ここから始まる。



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