Yasukazu Kano

Yasukazu KANO was born in Tokyo in 1963. He began playing drums at the age of thirteen and started performing live while attending Hitotsubashi University.

Later on, while studying in New York, he had a cultural awakening to his Japanese identity and returned to Japan.

He became a member of the taiko performing arts group Kodo in 1987 and participated in more than 1,000 performances in twenty countries worldwide, including Carnegie Hall.

In 1997, he left Kodo and began pursuing his career as a solo artist. While living on Sado Island, he explored and expanded the possibilities of playing the ancient Japanese bamboo flute called the shinobue, creating his own method of playing.

He made his major debut using this new method in Yamaha in 2005. In addition to many CDs, he has published instructional DVDs, sheet music books, photo essays, and more. He has performed more than 2,000 times in thirty countries around the world. As a music producer, he wrote a theme song for NHK's NIPPON NO WAGEI and music for television, movies, and theater.