"There is a secret to excel in playing the shakuhachi. Blow not intensively, but from your heart. Although technique is secondary, it helps to express your true self. If we are natural, we make fine sound. If we have an open mind, our sound will be mellow. If we have right attitudes toward life, our music will be acceptable to everyone. Take care of your sound as you would care for yourself." - Masayuki Koga

Masayuki Koga studied Kinko shakuhachi with his father, Kiichi Koga, and Tozan school with Kazan Sakai in Tokyo. In 1967, he became the youngest member of the award-winning Ensemble Nipponia, and continued to work with them for the following four years. In 1973, he moved to the United States. He founded the Japanese Music Institute of America in 1981. He has taught in the San Francisco Bay Area, at the Naropa Institute and at the University of Hawaii at Hilo. In 1998, he collaborated with Taiko artist Kenny Endo in the Deai project, funded by the Rockefeller Foundation. He has been selected for the 1998-2000 Touring Artists Directory by the California Arts Council.

Website: http://www.jmia.org/
email: mkoga@sbcglobal.net