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. He leads shinobue workshops nationwide and around the world. KANO produced a YouTube tutorial, "SHINOBUE KANO METHOD." He has also created many videos of live shows to revive the festival culture and spread shinobue throughout the world. Other accomplishments are performing at Expo Milano 2015, collaborating with world karate champion Rika Usami at Tokyo Dome, and co-starring with many artists such as Kosetsu Minami, Salina Jones, Ryuichi Kawamura, and Kimiko Ito. Additionally, he is a member of the well-regarded music project WA-OTO with Keizo Nakanishi and Takana Miyamoto.
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