MIKAGE PROJECT, a trio of Japanese traditional instrument professionals, will perform at Otakon 2024. Their goal is to connect with the next generation, recreating folk songs from all over Japan in a modern style.
MIKAGE PROJECT was founded in December 2020. Mikage means the soul and the spirits of Shinto and Buddhism. The members are Koki Sato, who plays the Shakuhachi (bamboo flute); Sho Asano, who plays the Tsugaru Shamisen (Japanese stringed instrument); and Takashi Honma, who plays the twenty-five string koto (Japanese harp). In April 2021, they released their first EP, “MIKAGE PROJECT,” which included recordings of “Kokirikobushi” (a Toyama prefecture folk song).
They have appeared in the media multiple times. In October 2021, the group made a national broadcast debut on a show by the Japanese National broadcaster NHK, “Minyo Tamashii Furusato no Uta” (“Folk Song Spirit of Hometown”). Since then, they have appeared on various NHK shows, accomplishing such feats as a collaboration with a folk song legend, Naoyuki Harada, and Sho Asano winning accolades as a folk song concierge.
More recently, MIKAGE PROJECT released their second mini-album, “NEO BUSHI,” in May 2022. Also, they appeared in the Tokushima Prefecture Awa Odori Association New Year Performance in January 2022. Their efforts to create a new wave of Japanese folk songs are gaining support. Their fourth mini-album, “TOU,” will be released in June 2024.
Otakon 2024 will be held from August 2 to August 4 at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center.
Discover more from Graphic Policy
Subscribe to get the latest posts to your email.
Source: Graphic Policy
