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Draft:Kokin Gumi

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  • Comment: Good work so far on this article. However, unfortunately, in order to prove notability, an article needs to references 2-3 sources which are reliable, independent, secondary sources, which talk about the subject of the Wikipedia article at length. This means that sources where there is only a passing mention of the subject of the article, as in the Discover Nikkei article, do not count for notability. Neither do links to products created by the band, or articles published in sources connected to the band. Also, the Digital Daijisen link appears broken. This leaves us with no suitable sources proving notability for the band itself as of yet (although there are plenty for Yoshitaka as an individual). Hopefully you will be able to find some other sources soon, and we can try this again. Keep up the good work 👍 Absurdum4242 (talk) 16:09, 1 September 2026 (UTC)


Kokin Gumi
OriginLos Angeles, California, United States
GenresTraditional Japanese, new age, world
Years active1993–2007
LabelAvalon Records
Past membersMasakazu Yoshizawa
Hiromi Hashibe
Tateo Takahashi

Kokin Gumi (also written Kokin-Gumi) was a Japanese American musical ensemble formed in Los Angeles in 1993 by shakuhachi player Masakazu Yoshizawa, koto player Hiromi Hashibe, and shamisen player Tateo Takahashi.[1][2] The group blended traditional Japanese instruments with synthesizers to perform traditional, contemporary, and original compositions, all written by Yoshizawa.[1] The name derives from ko ("old" or "traditional"), kin ("new" or "contemporary"), and gumi ("group").[1] The ensemble remained active until Yoshizawa's death in 2007.[3]

History

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Yoshizawa, a classically trained multi-instrumentalist from Takayama, Gifu Prefecture, who held a degree from the Tokyo University of the Arts,[4] had settled in Los Angeles in the mid-1970s and built a career as a studio shakuhachi player, performing on Hollywood film scores including Jurassic Park, The Joy Luck Club and Memoirs of a Geisha.[3][2] In 1993 he formed Kokin Gumi with koto player Hiromi Hashibe and shamisen player Tateo Takahashi, with the stated aim of demonstrating the range and beauty of traditional Japanese instruments through both ancient and contemporary compositions.[1][2]

The ensemble performed across the United States — including in Anchorage, Alaska and at the Matsuri festival in Phoenix, Arizona — and in Japan, where it appeared in projects for the national broadcaster NHK.[1] In the Los Angeles area the group played at events including the Nisei Week festival in Little Tokyo.[1] The trio also gave educational performances in Southern California schools: a 2005 program for the Pasadena Symphony at Paradise Canyon Elementary School in La Cañada Flintridge featured contemporary compositions on traditional instruments alongside folk pieces such as "Sakura".[5] Its recordings were sold through the Japanese American National Museum store.[2] Collaborators included taiko player Kenny Endo on percussion.[2][4]

Outside the ensemble, Yoshizawa continued to work as a studio musician and soloist; in 2006 he performed the Memoirs of a Geisha suite as shakuhachi soloist with Yo-Yo Ma and the Boston Pops under John Williams at Tanglewood.[6]

Yoshizawa died of stomach cancer at his home in San Gabriel, California, on 24 October 2007, and the ensemble ceased with his death.[3][7][8]

Musical style

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Kokin Gumi's instrumentation centred on traditional Japanese instruments — shakuhachi, shinobue, hichiriki, bamboo flutes, kotsuzumi, koto, bass koto and shamisen — combined with piano and synthesizers.[1][9] The album Zen Garden (written entirely by Yoshizawa) was conceived as meditative music tracing the course of a day, from dawn to dusk.[9] Alongside original works, the group also recorded a study CD of Chidori no Kyoku, a classical koto piece by the late-Edo period composer Yoshizawa Kengyō that forms part of the traditional Kokin-gumi suite, whose name the ensemble shares.[10][11] The group described its aim as creating music combining Western and Eastern styles "to stimulate the mind".[1]

Discography

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Albums[10]

  • Yu (cassette)
  • Sorin
  • Wakyo
  • Medeta
  • Zen Garden (Avalon Records; reissued 2006)[12]
  • Chidori no Kyoku (study CD)

Compilation appearances[13]

  • Geisha Lounge (2002)
  • Karma Lounge, Vol. 2 (2002)

References

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  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Kokin Gumi". kokingumi.com. Retrieved 31 August 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Kurahashi, Noriko Eileen (28 September 2007). "Masakazu Yoshizawa: Music Master and Magician". Discover Nikkei. Japanese American National Museum. Retrieved 31 August 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 Nelson, Valerie J. (16 November 2007). "Masakazu Yoshizawa, 57; Japanese flute player featured in many films". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 31 August 2026.
  4. 1 2 "Yoshizawa Masakazu". The International Shakuhachi Society. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
  5. ↑ Sutton, Chris (17 March 2005). "Students Enjoy Japanese Music Presentation". La Cañada Valley Sun. Retrieved 31 August 2026.
  6. ↑ "John Williams leads The Boston Pops in "Film Night at Tanglewood"". iBerkshires.com. 4 August 2006. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
  7. ↑ "Masakazu Yoshizawa, master of Japanese bamboo flute, dies at 57". San Jose Mercury News. Associated Press. 17 November 2007.
  8. ↑ 吉沢政和氏死去 [Masakazu Yoshizawa dies] (in Japanese). Shikoku News. 17 November 2007. Archived from the original on 22 July 2011.
  9. 1 2 "Zen Garden". kokingumi.com. Retrieved 31 August 2026.
  10. 1 2 "The Music of Masakazu Yoshizawa and Kokin-Gumi". kokingumi.com. Retrieved 31 August 2026.
  11. ↑ 吉沢検校 [Yoshizawa Kengyō]. Kotobank (in Japanese). multiple sources incl. Digital Daijisen, Nihon Dai Hyakka Zensho. Retrieved 1 September 2026. 古今集の歌詞による箏曲を古今組という
  12. ↑ "Zen Garden – Kokin Gumi". AllMusic. Retrieved 31 August 2026.
  13. ↑ "Kokin Gumi – Biography, Discography, Albums". AllMusic. Retrieved 31 August 2026.
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Category:Japanese musical groups Category:Musical groups established in 1993 Category:Musical groups disestablished in 2007 Category:Musical groups from Los Angeles Category:American musicians of Japanese descent Category:New-age music groups

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