Tokiko IHARA

Tokiko Ihara first encountered the shō while training in sacred miko dance at Niutsuhime Shrine, the guardian shrine of Kōyasan. It has guided her practice ever since. She went on to study under the former Chief Gagaku Musician of the Imperial Household Agency, performed at the Inner Shrine of Ise Grand Shrine, and at Kiyomizu-dera for a performance of Terry Riley's In C. The shō has brought her to shrines, theatres, and stages globally, always at the threshold between prayer and sound.