{"id":10215,"date":"2024-09-12T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-09-12T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.domomusicgroup.com\/blog\/?p=10215"},"modified":"2025-07-07T23:00:52","modified_gmt":"2025-07-07T23:00:52","slug":"kitaros-zen-live-in-katsuyama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.domomusicgroup.com\/blog\/2024\/09\/12\/kitaros-zen-live-in-katsuyama\/","title":{"rendered":"Kitaro’s Zen – Live In Katsuyama"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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At an incredible 17 meters tall, the Echizen Daibutsu Giant Buddha at Daishizan Seidai-ji Temple in Katsuyama City, Fukui Prefecture is the tallest seated Buddha statue in Japan. It is the image of Birushana Nyorai, one of the earliest Buddhist deities to arrive in the country in the 6th<\/sup> Century. The Buddha is flanked by four standing Bodhisattva statues which are surrounded by more than a thousand smaller stone statues. Each day, for just one hour after the temple gates are opened and one hour before closing, an artificial sea of clouds is generated, creating an enchanted atmosphere for all visitors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

At this sacred location in November 2023, internationally acclaimed, Grammy and Golden Globe winning keyboardist\/composer and new age music icon Kitaro and his ensemble celebrated the 35th<\/sup> anniversary of the temple\u2019s founding. They created an electrifying, soul-stirring performance of some of his most beloved and renowned compositions, several rarely played classics, and a powerfully hypnotic new original titled \u201cPrayer for Mother Earth,\u201d featuring the artist playing the taiko drum. \u201cTaiko drumming has always had a special connection to me,\u201d says Kitaro, a native of Toyohashi, Aichi, Japan. \u201cThe sound the Taiko drum created as it reverberated throughout the temple was otherworldly. It seemed the best way to begin the concert.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For the hundreds of thousands of Kitaro fans worldwide who were unable to attend this special event, the two disc CD\/DVD set Zen: Live in Katsuyama<\/em>, puts listeners and viewers at the heart of the ever-fascinating visual and sonic action. While the physical CD includes 12 tracks, the Deluxe Edition released to streaming outlets includes the additional pieces \u201cMonks Prayer\u201d and \u201cKoi\u201d which are also included on the DVD. In addition to Kitaro\u2019s dynamics filled performance before the Great Buddha statue, the DVD contains stunning footage of the temple and its surrounding grounds, including a five-story pagoda, the tallest in Japan. The package marks his 30th<\/sup> anniversary on Domo Records, a span that began with the release of his Grammy nominated label debut Mandala<\/em> in 1994.   <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Echizen Daibutsu Giant Buddha at Daishizan Seidai-ji Temple<\/mark><\/em>, Fukui, Japan<\/em><\/mark><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Heavily influenced by American rock and R&B, Kitaro\u2019s revolutionary fusion of electronic artistry, traditional Japanese music and song forms and pop-flavored Western styles evolved into a lush, poetic, alternately intimate and expansive sound. In 1984, a year before entering into a worldwide distribution arrangement with Geffen Records, he toured in Asia as the first ever Japanese-born musician who performed in Taiwan and China. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Testament to his ability to transfix his live audiences since launching his recording career in the late 70s with the release of Ten Kai<\/em> (later re-released on Geffen in the mid-80s as Astral Voyage<\/em>), Zen: Live in Katsuyama<\/em> is Kitaro\u2019s ninth live album. It\u2019s an amazing run that began with In Person\/In Person Digital<\/em> (1980) and most recently includes Symphony Live in Istanbul<\/em> (2014), recorded with a 38-piece symphony orchestra and his five-member band, which earned Kitaro his 17th<\/sup> Grammy nomination for Best New Age album. That concert opened with a 14-minute performance of his Golden Globe winning score from the 1992 Oliver Stone film Heaven & Earth<\/em>. While still creating an epic sound, he takes a more intimate approach on the new collection. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI performed the Live at Katsuyama<\/em> concert with three other musicians,\u201d Kitaro says, \u201cand it was an exciting challenge to find a way to create many of my sounds that a larger ensemble would traditionally do for a performance like this. My band included Shizuka Kashima on violin, Norimaru on percussion and Hiroshi Araki on guitar. I have a long history with Hiroshi Araki, who has performed on my albums Kojiki,<\/em> The Light Of The Spirit<\/em> which featured Mickey Hart from the Grateful Dead and Dream<\/em>, the one I did with Jon Anderson in 1992. I have performed with him live since the early 1980\u2019s. Yurika Shibano was the Butoh dancer that visually interpreted the performance for us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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Left: Kashima Shizuka, Top Right: Hiroshi Araki, Bottom Right: Norimaru<\/mark><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

After the opening pieces \u201cPrayer For Mother Earth\u201d and \u201cMonks Prayer\u201d \u2013 which Kitaro explains as \u201csaying a prayer in contemplation and appreciation\u201d \u2013 he launches the heart of the program with the solo flute piece \u201cMercury\u201d (from his 1999 Grammy winning album Thinking of You<\/em>) and stops along the \u201cSilk Road,\u201d an epic, nearly eight minute journey that has been a foundational element of Kitaro\u2019s ever-evolving artistry for over 40 years. He wrote the score to a groundbreaking 1980 documentary series titled The Silk Road: The Rise and Fall of Civilizations<\/em>, which revealed how ancient Japan was influenced by the Silk Road trade route; the music was commercially released as Silk Road, Volume 1 and 2<\/em>. \u201cSilk Road was a song that connected me with many cultures and nations around the world,\u201d Kitaro says. \u201cI will always appreciate the many positive ways this song has connected me to so many people and so many people to each other.\u201d  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following the dreamy, lyrical, violin highlighted \u201cAqua\u201d (from Kitaro\u2019s third solo album Oasis<\/em>), he performs the exotic, sweeping, synth-orchestrated \u201cRequiem,\u201d a highlight from the fourth recording in his five-volume Domo Records series Sacred Journey of Ku-Kai<\/em>, which extends from 2003 thru 2017. It is a series of peace-themed albums inspired by the Shikoku Henro Pilgrimage \u2013 the travel of the beloved monk Kukai more than 1100 years ago. Each track contains samples from ancient Japanese temple bells (Peace Bells) from 88 sacred temples on the island of Shikoku, Japan. In conjunction with the Ku-Kai series, Kitaro launched a \u201cLove and Peace World Tour\u201d which found him sharing his goal for world peace everywhere from Greece and Mexico to India, China, Jakarta and Uruguay.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Butoh Dancer Yurika Shibano<\/mark><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Domo Records will soon be releasing another live album entitled Kukai 1250<\/em>, from a show Kitaro performed with Hiroki Okano at the Zentsuji Temple in Shikoku, Japan. It commemorates the 1250th<\/sup> anniversary of the birth of Kukai in the place of his birth. The recording features songs individually composed by Kitaro and Hiroki, in addition to several collaborations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The core of the Zen \u2013 Live in Katsuyama<\/em> experience are five pieces from his Grammy nominated #1 Billboard New Age hit album Kojiki<\/em>, which was released in 1990 and featured the string section from the Skywalker Symphony. These include the mystical \u201cHajimari,\u201d the intricate, beautifully melodic \u201cSozo,\u201d the dramatic adventure \u201cOrochi,\u201d the explosive, empowering \u201cMatsuri\u201d and the dreamy, symphonic closer \u201cReimei.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAll of these are songs I enjoy performing live,\u201d Kitaro says. \u201cAnd I enjoy performing the compositions that my fans love to hear and have a special connection with.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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