Rinsen Wakayagi

Rinsen Wakayagi (Rin no Kai LA) was born in Tokyo and raised in Fukuoka and Osaka. She spent 12 years in Tokyo working as an actress in TV dramas, Jidaigeki stage plays, modeling, and commercials. In 1997, she moved to New York to study acting, then relocated to Los Angeles in 2001.

In LA, Rinsen founded the NPO Pacific Theatre Production Corp, organizing over 100 volunteer performances at retirement homes and schools. She continued her training in Nihonbuyo, becoming a Shihan in the Seiha Wakayagi school, and founded “Rin no Kai” in 2019, where she teaches 13 students. She has performed at notable venues such as the Japanese American Cultural & Community Center and UCLA.

Rinsen is also a certified Yamano style kimono dressing instructor and holds a California cosmetology license. She teaches Japanese dance at a Montessori school in Santa Ana and continues her practice in Nagauta and shamisen. She holds the tea name “Sōrin” from the Omotesenke school of tea ceremony and is dedicated to promoting Japanese traditional arts in the United States.