Karin Nakagawa

25-string Koto Performer – Singer – Composer – Artist

Karin Nakagawa, an award-winning, internationally successful Japanese artist, was born into a musical family in Tokyo and has lived in Europe for the last several years. She began taking piano lessons at the age of three. By age twelve, she dedicated herself to studying the rare 25-string koto (Japanese vaulted zither) under highly revered Professor Keiko (Sōju) Nosaka. Furthermore, Karin graduated from the renowned Tokyo University of Arts in traditional Japanese music (Sōkyoku Ikuta-Ryū & Jiuta Sangen: 13-string koto, shamisen with singing) and over time began to work across genres with numerous international artists. To date, she has partaken in stage programs, performances and concerts in over thirty countries worldwide. As winner of “the Best Debutant in Music” in Japan in 2009, Karin also worked with prominent Japanese rock and pop groups such as Porno Graffitti or Ikimono-Gakari and took over musical direction for various productions organized by the Japan Foundation, including projects in Sweden, Africa and Southeast Asia. In addition to numerous international CDs, Karin also had her first ECM Records release in 2015 with the album, Trees of Light, for which she was awarded the “Swedish Grammy Award” in a trio with Lena Willemark and Anders Jormin.

More recently, Karin has established herself in the realm of children’s theater, with her own poetic stories and stage designs. In addition to diverse, cross-cultural collaborations, she continues to be successfully active as a solo artist, touching audiences with her own authentically developed and masterful performance style, both on the koto and with her voice. Today her repertoire ranges from traditional Japanese music—the sound of wind, rain and rice planting—to classical, jazz and pop, as well as avant-garde. Building upon her distinct cultural identity and tradition, Karin’s diversity gives her music a rare and unparalleled emotionality.

Education and Qualifications

2002	Graduated from the Tokyo University of Arts with a Bachelor of traditional Japanese music (Sōkyoku Ikuta-Ryū & Jiuta Sangen: 13-string Koto, Shamisen and Singing).
1997	Began to study Jiuta Sangen under the direction of Prof. Satomi Fukami.
1991	Began to study the 25-string Koto under the direction of Prof. Keiko Nosaka (Souju Nosaka).
1982	Began to study the Piano under the direction of Izumi Nakagawa.

Awards

2016	Swedish Grammy Award – Lena Willemark, Anders Jormin & Karin Nakagawa won the Swedish Grammy for the best Folk/Traditional Album with there ECM-records CD: „Lyöstraini–Trees of Light“
2009	Best Debutant in Music in Japan, distributed by Men’s Fashion Unity.