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About Akiko Yanagisawa

Akiko Yanagisawa – International Curator & Producer of Music and Performing Arts
Reframing Japanese traditional music and performance within the context of global festivals.

Based in the UK, she is the founder and director of Mu Arts, through which she promotes Japanese traditional music and performing arts worldwide. Growing up in a music-loving family and having been exposed to Western classical music from an early age, her creative practice is rooted in a deep understanding of musical structures and cross-cultural collaboration. She specialises in reinterpreting Japanese traditional music and Noh theater in modern contexts, fostering international exchanges through arts of diverse categories.

She holds a BA degree in Philosophy with a specialisation in Aesthetics from Gakushuin University, Tokyo  and a Master’s in Arts Management from City, University of London. After completing her studies, she returned to the UK as a Cultural Agency Overseas Trainee, where she researched the international promotion of Japanese culture.

Akiko has produced numerous performances by Japanese traditional musicians (playing instruments such as the koto, shamisen, sho, biwa, flute, and taiko) at major festivals, concert halls, and museums in over 40 countries. Since 2016, she has directed Noh Reimagined, a project that reinterprets Noh theater within the framework of international contemporary arts. Under her leadership, Noh Reimagined serves as a platform for cultural experimentation and fusion, where classical noh performances by top class noh performers are presented alongside innovative collaborations with contemporary artists. The project has been hosted at venues such as the Kings Place concert hall in London, with performances, workshops, and events held across the UK, Europe, and Japan. Yanagisawa has contributed to numerous cultural projects, research, and policy publications.  In 2022 Akiko was awareded Global Promotion Award from the Asian Art Fund, Edinburgh.

Major Projects in the Past Five Years：

  • May 2025: Takuya Taniguchi Taiko Solo Concert (UK Premiere)

  • November 2025: 5th Noh Reimagined Festival (Kings Place, London), featuring Noh plays Matsukaze and Basho, and the world premiere of Song of Rona Island

  • November 2025: Noh Reimagined performance in Barcelona (Liceu Conservatory), featuring Noh play Matsukaze and a performance blending Federico Mompou’s piano compositions with Noh dance

  • June 2024: 75th Oldborough Music Festival (UK), featuring the Noh play Sumidagawa

  • June 2024: 4th Noh Reimagined Festival (Kings Place, London), featuring Noh plays Sumidagawa and Kinuta

  • February 2024: Shunsuke Kimura & Koshirou Ono tour across Germany, Italy, and the UK (Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg, Rome Japan Cultural Centre, Cologne Japan Cultural Centre, Kings Place in London)

  • January 2024: Song of Rona Island for Noh Theater at Tessenkai Noh Theatre

  • December 2023: Noh Reimagined Residency in Tokyo

  • October 2023: Noh Reimagined UK premiere at Tessenkai Noh Theatre, featuring 12 Beats of the Sambaso

  • April 2023: Collaboration with contemporary artist Cerith Wyn Evans and Noh at Taka Ishii Gallery

  • 2022: 3rd Noh Reimagined Festival (Kings Place, London)

  • 2021–2022: Curated translation and publication of contemporary Japanese plays for the Japan Foundation, UK edition, included in The Methuen Drama Book of Contemporary Japanese Plays (featuring The Bacchae-Holstein Milk Cows, One Night, Isn’t Anyone Alive?, The Sun, and Carcass)