I was born in Kainan, which is home to Fujishiro-jinja Shrine, the site where the first torii gate on the Kumano Kodo was said to be.
After high school, I moved to Osaka to begin my musical career, and, by a curious coincidence, it was at the same time that my band was having its major debut that my musical performances in Kumano also began. That first performance was in Nachikatsuura for the “Japan inter-design forum Conference ‘88 in Kumano.” A bridge was constructed to uninhabited Bentento Island, and artists from around the world gathered there for the event! Later, after the Kii Mountains were included on the list of World Heritages, I received a series of offers to give musical performances out in the vast nature of the mountains; this provided me with musical inspiration for my votive performances and other performances that I then took back to the concert halls of the city to start sharing it with the world. There was tremendous healing power in those sounds drawn from the wilderness of Koyasan and Kumano! “Those who spread their roots in Kumano will blossom in the city!” I keep these words of Kenji Nakagami always in my heart as I continue to draw on the natural energy residing within the sounds of Koya and Kumano to create healing music to share with the world.