Onboard Activities

Profile

Fue (Japanese Bamboo Flute) / Wadaiko: Syuto Sakamoto
Born in Hyogo Prefecture, Syuto Sakamoto began his career performing with a taiko drum ensemble before becoming a dedicated performer of traditional Japanese flutes, including the shinobue and nohkan.
In 2025, he organized and presented a series of hall concerts that were widely acclaimed for their evocative portrayals of natural landscapes, expressed through the resonance of various instruments. He studied flute under Takao Tosha.
In 2022, he received the Award for Young Excellence from Hyogo Prefecture.
In 2025, he was granted the professional name “Tosha Kiei” by Living National Treasure Tosha Nao (second generation) and Takao Tosha.

Erhu: Mao Yamaguchi
Mao Yamaguchi began studying piano and violin at the age of three. At 16, inspired by the renowned Chinese instrumental ensemble Twelve Girls Band, she took up the erhu.
She has studied under some of China’s most distinguished performers and educators, including Min Huifen, a leading figure representing Chinese national music; Yan Jiemin and Ma Xianghua of the Central Conservatory of Music in Beijing; and Wang Yongde, Gao Shaoqing, Chen Chunyuan, and Duan Ai’ai of the Shanghai Conservatory of Music.
While researching regional musical traditions and performance techniques from across China, she also explores new possibilities for the erhu beyond traditional Chinese music, incorporating elements of classical, rock, and club music into her artistic expression.

Koto: Keiko Hashimoto
Keiko Hashimoto graduated from the Traditional Japanese Music Program at Osaka College of Music and completed its advanced performance course. She received the Highest Honors Award upon graduation.
Specializing in koto and shamisen, she performs traditional Japanese music while also engaging in collaborations with orchestras and ensemble projects alongside violin, flute, piano, and other instruments. She has appeared in numerous concerts both in Japan and abroad.
She was awarded the Gold Prize at the 4th National Hogaku Ensemble Association Competition.
In 2012, she was granted the professional title “Kikuyoshi.”
She is a member of the Tōdō Ongakukai (Public Interest Incorporated Association), representative of the Koto no Kai Toyonaka, a lecturer at the Osaka College of Music Music Academy, and a performing member of Osaka College of Music.

Profile

Masaki Fukuda
Masaki Fukuda was born in Chiran in 2000. After graduating from high school, he went on to Kagoshima Prefectural Agricultural College. After completing a one-year training program at the Tea Business Department of JA Kagoshima Prefectural Economic Federation, he began his career as a tea farmer. He is now the fifth-generation owner of Fukuda Ryokuen, producing high-quality tea in Ushirodake, a cool mountainous area in the northern part of the Chiran tea production region.