Fujima Shunojo earned his professional name at an early age. He opened his own school of classical dance and taught for several years in Tokyo before coming to the United States; first, on tour with a classical dance troupe, and later, permanently. For the past 40 years, grandmaster Shunojo sensei has directed his own dance group in Chicago. And in 2011, Grandmaster Fujima Shunojo received the Japan America Society Cultural Achievement Award for his continuing work in traditional Japanese classical dance, and in 2013 he received the Japanese Foreign Minister’s Commendation Award for his ongoing work in the United States promoting Japanese culture through teaching and performing Japanese Classical Dance; in addition to the annual recitals, Fujima Shunojo and his dancers perform for various civic and cultural groups, colleges/universities and various festivals in and around the Chicago and Mid-west area.

Renowned koto player Mitsuki Dazai is a graduate of both Tokyo’s prestigious Kunitachi College of Music, and of the Sawai Koto Institute, where she studied with the world-renowned virtuoso Kazue Sawai, and received her certificate in koto instruction. Dazai moved to Oregon in 2002, serving as a guest lecturer at universities in Oregon, as an artistic director of new koto ensemble group, Oregon Koto-Kai (Japanese Koto Society of Oregon) and touring throughout the US, Europe, South America and Japan.
In 2010, Dazai had featured on Oregon Art Beat, and released two CDs —Autumn, Music for solo koto (2007), and Far Away…Romances for Koto (2010) in collaboration with Grammy nominated composer Michael Hoppe. Her artistry is also featured on the album Shanti Samsara; World Music for Environmental Consciousness, produced by Grammy Winning Composer, Ricky Kej.
In 2016, she was invited to 21C Music Festival in Toronto, Canada and played with Continuum Contemporary Music.

Larry Tyrrell is a player, composer, recording artist and teacher who embodies the concept of transcultural music. First discovering and composing for shakuhachi in the 1970s Tyrrell went on to devote himself to mastering the instrument in the 1980s onward. He studied in Japan with two of the greatest comtemporary masters of the instrument; Miyata Kohachiro and Yokoyama Katsuya.

From 1991 to 1994 he was composer-in-residence with the Okayama Hogaku Ensemble, a performance group spcializing in new music for traditional instruments.

In 1994 he founded Moonbridge, an independent CD label specializing in transcultural projects often featuring shakuhachi in differing musical contexts and featuring releases in both the World Music and New Age categories.

He performs and teaches in the Portland, Oregon and Seattle, Washington region. You can find performance and booking information here.

Kawa Taiko was formed in Ontario, Oregon in February 2000 ignited by a performance by Portland Taiko in Ontario in 1999. The group is self- taught, but various taiko masters from Seattle, Portland, Los Angeles and Pocatello have generously shared their expertise with KT when they have visited the area. Members have also attended conferences in Seattle, Vancouver BC, Los Angeles, Sacramento and Las Vegas for motivation, inspiration and to advance their taiko skills. 

Emmett lived in Okinawa for 2 years. During that time, he fell in love with the sound of the Shamisen and Sanshin. He learned how to play and sing the Okinawan folk songs.  Emmett performed on many occasions, won contests in Japan and US.  In 2014, He earned Sanshin certification in Okinawa.

He will perform with Michelle Ricks or the exchange student Rimi Sato.

Boise Shishimai team inherited the tradition from Noshiro city in Akita, Japan.

The story was told "When a traveling performer became sick in Noshiro city, he was nursed by the local villagers. When he recovered, he taught them the Shishimai dance." 

The purpose of the dance is to vanquish demons and celebrate the prosperity of the village. 

Sangha Taiko is part of the Idaho-Oregon Buddhist Temple, a Shin Buddhist temple afiliated with the Buddhist Churches of America and the Nishi Hongwanji Temple in Kyoto, Japan. The playing of taiko drums not only serve to entertain but also to teach the Buddhist concepts of ego-lessness and harmony. As we play, we listen to ourselves and we listen to each other. In doing so, we step beyond the usual focus of individual concerns. The result is harmony. There is harmony of spirit, energy, and sound. There is harmony of players, drums, and the listener. The totality constitutes the practice of taiko.