Ikkan Fugetsu一管風月

Ikkan Fugetsu is the brainchild of Motofumi Yamaguchi, the principal flautist of the world-renowned Japanese performing arts troupe Kodo. Featuring makobue flutes handcrafted from madake bamboo grown on Sado Island, the Ikkan Fugetsu program showcases an eclectic collection of original songs and folk favorites from around the world. Join a multifaceted cast of players from Sado and Niigata as they elicit profound sounds from simple instruments.

Appearing: Motofumi Yamaguchi (Japanese Flute), Akira Nino (Piano), Takafumi Imaizumi (Guitar), Yoko Fujimoto (Vocals)



Please note: A short reception with the artists will be held directly after the concert. Please stay and have a drink!
This is a non-smoking event.

Artist information:

Motofumi Yamaguchi (Japanese Flute, Chinese Fiddle)

Motofumi joined Ondekoza (later Kodo) in 1980 and began to study fue (Japanese flute) on his own. Since then, he has become the featured fue, kokyu (Chinese fiddle), koto and shamisen player on stage with Kodo. Presently Motofumi acts as Kodo's Artistic Director, overseeing the group's stage work and musical composition. In addition to touring domestically and internationally with Kodo, Motofumi also gives solo concerts under the name "Ikkan Fugetsu."
KODO homepage: Motofumi Yamaguchi
Youtube: Kiiroi mura no mon by Motofumi Yamaguchi (Kodo)

Akira Nino (Piano)

Born in Niigata City, Akira Nino began playing piano as a child. At the age of 8 he listened to Led Zeppelin for the first time and experienced a life-changing shock. In college he studied composition and began to gig as a pianist and composer, collaborating with a vast variety of musicians at jazz clubs and live houses around Niigata. Recently, exposure through new media and opportunities to play outside of Niigata and overseas have earned Nino a reputation as one of Niigata’s leading pianists. In December of 2009, he worked with Kodo’s Motofumi Yamaguchi for the first time to record the subsequent CD release “Ikkan Fugetsu,” a project that has profoundly influenced his musical direction.
Akira Nino homepage

Takafumi Imaizumi (Guitar)

Multi-instrumentalist Takafumi Imaizumi plays an impressive array of percussion and string instruments. In 1998 he became an apprentice to the internationally renowned taiko group Kodo, and in 2002 he left Japan for India to study the art of making tabla, a classical Indian percussion instrument. In 2003 he won first prize in the “Famous National Ukulele Contest”, and in 2005 he appeared on celebrated flute player Yazukazu Kano’s album, “Fish Dance.” At present he is based on Sado Island where he adds Flamenco rhythms to various music events using Cajón and Kanjira drums crafted of his own hands. He is known for a performance style that is brimming with energy and originality.

Yoko Fujimoto (Vocals)

Yoko joined Ondekoza (later Kodo) in 1976. After three years appearing as a koto player, singer and dancer, she stepped down from the stage to edit the monthly Japanese language newsletter “Kodo” for the next 13 years. In 1989 she began to sing again and has been Kodo's principal vocalist ever since. Apart from Kodo Concerts, she performs in the song and dance group Hanayui with Chieko Kojima and Mitsue Kinjo, and holds concerts and drum-and-song workshops with her husband Yoshikazu Fujimoto, Kodo's principal O-daiko player. In activities abroad, Yoko is a member of the “Triangle Project” with Japanese-American musicians PJ Hirabayashi and Nobuko Miyamoto. She also conducts “Voice Circle” and “Voice-Body-Soul” workshops which help participants rediscover song and the power of their own voices. (This endeavor is one of Yoko's self-claimed “life works.”) In 2008, her first solo album “Morisa Komorisa” was released.
KODO homepage: Yoko Fujimoto