On May 4, JASH celebrated Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month by exploring the indigenous sounds of Japan’s northernmost region through OKI: Music of the Ainu.

Oki Kano, known professionally as OKI, is a leading musician of Ainu music—the music of Japan’s northernmost indigenous people. Born to a Japanese mother and an Ainu father, OKI has recovered and recreated traditional music on the tonkori, a stringed instrument of the Ainu people of Karafuto (a region also known as Sakhalin). The rich, reverberating twang of the tonkori strings, which are traditionally made from deer tendons, allowed Ainu shamans to communicate with spirits that control the wind, rain and other natural phenomena called kamuy.

In his Texas debut, OKI performed solo pieces as well as contemporary works with his band members from their new album Tonkori in the Moonlight, which was released in January 2022.

The Ainu maestro curates a collection that gives his people’s endangered ancient sound a modern lease of life – with dub, harmony and dazzling percussion and harmony...This is music from the past with the future on its mind, preserving traditions as it propels them into new places.
-Jude Rogers, The Guardian

To learn more about Ainu traditions and see more of OKI, watch Ainu Mosir (2020), currently streaming on Netflix.

Thank you to everyone who joined us at Miller Outdoor Theatre for this special performance.

The North American tour of OKI: Music of the Ainu is produced and organized by Japan Society, New York, and is supported by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, Government of Japan through the Japan Arts Council.

The Houston performance of OKI: Music of the Ainu is sponsored in part by the City of Houston through the Miller Theatre Advisory Board.