Masayo Ishigure began playing the koto and jiuta shamisen at the age of five in Gifu, Japan and has created an extensive multi-faceted career that continues to stretch the limits of the koto, while maintaining a strong grasp of the tradition. After initial studies with Tadao and Kazue Sawai, Ms. Ishigure became a special research student in 1986 at the Sawai Koto Academy of Music. The aim of the Academy was to shed new light on koto music by incorporating everything from Bach to jazz Read more on Last.fm