About us
Concept/Thoughts behind our activities
The shakuhachi is a traditional Japanese instrument highly acclaimed overseas for its beautiful tone and refined elegance.
However, opportunities to hear it performed are rare in Japan, and the number of players and instrument manufacturers is steadily declining.
We are challenging ourselves to convey Japan's unique, magnificent tone and culture to people of all generations and nationalities through a completely new musical performance style combining the shakuhachi and DJing.
In addition, by covering our faces with expressionless masks on stage,
we negate concepts like "language," "expression," and "race," which unconsciously divide generations and nationalities.
The overall color story of our costumes is deliberately monochromatic, expressing the uniquely Japanese spirit of "wabi-sabi" (wabi-sabi) and "motion and stillness."
Depending on the performance, we alternate between black suits and traditional Japanese clothing, using our very appearance as a stage production.
Group name and logo concept
KUUHAK—derived from the Japanese word for "void."
However, the void referred to here is not simply empty space.
It refers to the "meaningful nothingness" that Japanese aesthetics value, namely the "intentional blankness" hidden within sound, light, and movement.
The spelling deliberately hides the final "U" and replaces it with a hyphen to express the Japanese meaning of "blankness," while also conveying the desire to "go beyond the blank."
The blending of the shakuhachi and digital sound creates an intentional "space" or "white space."
KUUHAK—expresses this "space" as music,
intersecting tradition and avant-garde within a single beat.
The logo is designed based on the initials D and C of the musical term "Dead Count," which was also the name of our predecessor group.
(Meaning "a blank beat"), and is modeled after a traditional Japanese family crest.
Main appearance history
・Tokyo Big Sight Design Festa Show Stage 2017, 2018, 2019
・Tokai-ji Temple Fuse Benten Treasure Hall Hakuja Festival Dedication Performance
・Tokyo Midtown Hibiya Hibiya Festival 2023
(Selected as a NEXT Artist 2023, with Miyamoto Amon and others on the judging panel)
・Tokyo Midtown Yaesu In-building Event "Night Market"
・Kabukicho Music Fes Art Prayer in the Plaza in front of Kabukicho Tower
・Tokyu Futako Tamagawa Rise Art Event "TRY ART PARK 2024" Live Painting Collaboration
・Shinjuku Kabukicho Tower In-building Event "FIRST STAGE"
・Akasaka Club Silvie Rakugo x Shakuhachi x DJ Collaboration Show
・Kashiwa City International Association "Kashiwa International Exchange Festa 2024"
・Nara Dedication performance at the 9th Kasugano Music Festival at Kasuga Taisha Shrine
・Minato Ward Takahashi Korekiyo Memorial Park Art Event "Night Park Museum"
・Shiki City Designated Cultural Property Former Murayama Kaisai Hall Art Event
・Paris, France "Japan Expo Paris 2025" Sorano Dai x DC
・Tokyo Midtown "Roppongi Art Night 2025" ...etc
Hibiya Festival 2023
(Tokyo-MIDTOWN Hibiya)
