Yoshimasa Inao

Began studying Japanese classical dance at the age of three. From the age of 18, he trained for three years as a live-in apprentice under the third-generation Nishikawa Ukon.
After completing his apprenticeship, he launched Shō no Kai, dedicating himself to refining his art while also focusing on teaching. He currently studies under Nishikawa Sumeshi.
In 2018, he succeeded to the headship of the Inao School, and at the same time founded the Team Kizuna Project, an ensemble combining dance, shamisen, vocal performance, and traditional percussion. He has participated in numerous cultural events and has received many awards at dance competitions.
He is a member of the Crown Records Association for Japanese Traditional Dance.

Hisayoshiko Yamato

She began studying Japanese classical dance in childhood and was given the stage name Koi-Inao by her mentor, Nishikawa Koisaburō.
At the age of 15, she became a founding member of the Inao School of Japanese dance, and at 26 succeeded to the position of head of the school. In addition to her work as a dancer, she is also an accomplished performer of Nagauta and Yamatogaku, performing vocal and shamisen accompaniment at dance performances, as well as appearing on NHK television and radio programs.
In 2018, she passed the headship of the Inao School to Yoshimasa Inao and currently serves as Sōke (principal head), continuing to support the school’s development.

Hisayoshino Yamato

She began playing the shamisen at the age of 12. After graduating from university, she worked as a schoolteacher, but her passion for the shamisen led her to take early retirement. She then trained as a geiko before becoming a professional shamisen performer—an uncommon career path.
Through the encouragement of Kiyoko Yamato, whom she met during her geiko years, she began studying Yamatogaku. Today, she is active as a versatile shamisen performer across a wide range of genres, including folk songs, hauta, nagauta, yose-bayashi, Tsugaru shamisen, Gidayū shamisen, Yamatogaku, Okinawan sanshin, and popular shamisen-based music.

Yodogawa Sanjikkoku-bune Funauta Fushimi Keishōkai
(Yodogawa Thirty-koku Boat Song Fushimi Preservation Society)

The Yodogawa Sanjikkoku-bune served as a passenger-only water transport system connecting Fushimi and Osaka from the Edo period through the early Meiji era. With the development of railways and other land transportation in the Meiji period, the boats were retired, and along with them, the beloved boatmen’s songs once sung on board gradually disappeared.
Following the Great Hanshin Earthquake, the Yodogawa River was re-evaluated as an emergency transportation route, which sparked renewed interest in reviving the Sanjikkoku-bune. Alongside this movement, the boatmen’s songs were preserved and disseminated by the Yodogawa Sanjikkoku-bune Funauta Ōtsuka Preservation Society.
In Fushimi—one of the original starting points of the Sanjikkoku-bune—the desire to preserve these boat songs as a form of local intangible cultural heritage led to the founding of the Yodogawa Sanjikkoku-bune Funauta Fushimi Keishōkai1999.
Since 2002, the group has performed the boat songs using scripts that incorporate spoken exchanges, making them more accessible and engaging for wider audiences. At one time, the group had 12–13 members and was active mainly within Fushimi Ward. However, following the COVID-19 pandemic, the retirement of veteran members has reduced their numbers.
Looking ahead, the group remains committed to recruiting new members and ensuring that this important tradition continues to be passed down.

Rio Masuda

Born in 2005 in Osaka Prefecture.
Career
She began studying folk songs at the age of three, started performing zeni-daiko at seven, and began playing the shamisen at ten. In elementary school, she joined the Nagara Group at the invitation of her mentor, Yukari Minato, and became a founding member of Min’yō Girls, remaining active until the group disbanded in October 2020.
She was appointed Min’yō Ambassador in 2020.
Awards (selected)
Multiple additional first prizes and commendations at national folk song competitions since childhood
2023 Yodogawa Sanjikkoku-bune Funauta National Competition — Grand Prize
2023 Kishūji Folk Song National Competition — Grand Prize
2022 Nara Five Major Folk Song Competition (Hase Oiwake Division) — Grand Prize

Masahiro Wakabayashi (Special Guest Appearance)

Born in 1968 in Fushimi Ward, Kyoto. Graduated from the Faculty of Economics, Doshisha University.
Chairman of the Fushimi Castle Research Association.
Actively involved in the local Fushimi Castle Research Association, Wakabayashi has devoted himself to the study of Fushimi’s regional history. Since 2013, he has conducted over 200 fieldwork sessions and delivered numerous lectures.
His work goes beyond academic research; with a strong focus on community building, he has volunteered extensively by giving lectures on Fushimi’s history, appearing on television and radio programs, and serving as a historical advisor and supervisor.
Publications include co-authored works such as Learning Kyoto: Fushimi Edition (Nakanishiya Publishing) and Report on the On-site Investigation of the Ruins of Fushimi Castle (Osaka Historical Society), as well as single-author articles including “The Transformation of the Ruins of Fushimi Castle” (Kyoto Studies / Rekisaikan Bulletin, No. 3), “Postwar Professional Baseball Promotions in Kyoto through Local and Trade Newspapers” (Museum Bulletin, No. 44), and “The Keihan Rokujizō Line, Shin-Keihan Yamashina Line, and the Nagoya Express” (Museum Bulletin, No. 43).

Gekkeikan Sake Song Preservation Society

Founded in 1975, the Gekkeikan Sake Song Preservation Society is dedicated to preserving traditional sake brewing songs and promoting awareness of sake culture.
These songs originated as work songs sung by tōji (master brewers) and brewery workers during the sake-making process, with distinctive variations depending on their region of origin. As the number of tōji and brewery workers has declined, concerns grew that this valuable cultural heritage might be lost, leading to the formation of the preservation society.
The group preserves and performs songs such as the Kashiba-uta (rice-washing song), Moto-suri-uta (yeast starter grinding song), and Kai-ire-uta (mashing song), sharing them with audiences on various occasions.
We invite you to listen to these heartfelt songs, infused with the spirit of sake brewing.
https://www.gekkeikan.co.jp/sustainability/culture/culture/

Mio Matsuda

At the age of 18, she discovered Fado as her mode of self-expression, and in her twenties studied in Lisbon. Since then, she has pursued a musical journey unrestricted by genre or location, traveling the world while absorbing rhythms rooted in local cultures.
Fluent in six languages including Portuguese and Spanish, she gathers songs imbued with the spirit of each region and transforms them into her own distinctive expression. Her work has earned her the title “The Singing Traveler”, and she is highly regarded by prominent musicians in Japan and abroad.
She made her major-label debut in 2005 with the album Atlântica, recorded in Rio de Janeiro and released by Victor Entertainment, tracing the Atlantic musical map from Lisbon to Cape Verde and Brazil. Since then, she has collaborated extensively with artists from South America and Europe.
From 2012, she began uncovering little-known Japanese songs, including those passed down by overseas emigrant communities. This work culminated in the 2014 CD-book Creole Nippon: Traveling Through the Memory of Songs, which received wide acclaim and led to her selection as one of “120 Women Representing Japan” by Bungeishunjū. Two documentary programs following her work were broadcast on NTV’s NNN Document.
In 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, she collaborated with South American music legend Hugo Fattoruso, recipient of the Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, to produce La Selva, an all-Spanish album released as an Ultimate Hi Quality CD and later on vinyl.
She also sang the ending theme of the documentary film Shirokagami and currently serves as a Visiting Professor at Saga Women’s Junior College.
http://miomatsuda.com

Ryō Watanabe

Percussionist and visual artist.
Born in 1958 in Kobe. While studying at Musashino Art University, he began his musical career focusing on percussion and self-made instruments, participating in numerous recordings and concerts.
After serving as an instructor at Kodomo no Shiro in Aoyama, Tokyo, he has conducted workshops nationwide at venues including the Kodo Earth Celebration on Sado Island, Iwaki Arts and Culture Exchange Center Alios, Yokohama Museum of Art, the National Museum of Ethnology, and the Lafcadio Hearn Memorial Museum.
His albums include Wallace Line and Morpho. His publications include Let’s Play Samba (1998, Ongaku no Tomo Sha) and Lafcadio Hearn’s Complete Ghost Stories (2021, Yakumo-kai).
He also curates SOUND FOREST – Art and Music, a program exploring the coexistence of visual art and music.
http://www.ryo-watanabe.com/

Sayoko Hayashi

Handicraft artist and landscape quilt artist.
Born in 1965. Lives in Fushimi Ward, Kyoto.
Graduated from Ueda College of Fashion, Department of Fashion Creation.
Aspiring to become a craft artist from an early age, Hayashi developed her own unique methods of design drafting and sewing, distinct from American patchwork traditions, through self-directed study. In 2000, she began her creative activities by converting her family machiya townhouse into the Machiya Quilt Studio (registered trademark No. 4799241), and simultaneously opened the Machiya Quilt School.
Working independently without affiliation to any specific craft organization, she continues to present works that reflect her distinctive artistic worldview.
In 2018, she was selected as an artist for the Kami no Te Nippon (Hands of God Japan) Project, Phase IV.
https://www.hayashisayoko.com