Michiyo Yagi (八木美知依, Yagi Michiyo), a Japanese musician who studied koto under Tadao Sawai, Kazue Sawai and Satomi Kurauchi, and graduated from the NHK Professional Training School for Traditional Musicians. Between 1989 and 1990, during her tenure as visiting professor of music at Wesleyan University in Connecticut, U.S.A., she premiered numerous modern compositions for koto and came under the influence of maverick American composers such as John Cage, Conlon Nancarrow, and John Zorn. Her solo koto CD Shizuku was produced by Zorn and released on the Tzadik label in 1999. In 2001 she recorded "Yural" with her koto ensemble Paulownia Crush for the East Works label. Under the auspices of the Japan Foundation, Yagi toured Russia with this ensemble in the fall of 2004.
An eclectic musician, Yagi has frequently appeared on Japanese TV and has performed at the Moers Jazz, Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville, Archipel, Bang on a Can, Tokyo Summer, Vision, Punkt, Instal, Music Unlimited, Météo-Mulhouse, Born Creative, and Jazztopad Festivals. Yagi's koto has been featured in ex-Judy and Mary guitarist/singer Takuya's rock band, and she has recorded and appeared onstage with Ayumi Hamasaki, one of Japan's best-selling pop singers. Yagi was a founding member of the quartet Koto Vortex with fellow Sawai apprentices Yoko Nishi, Miki Maruta and Etsuko Takezawa,[1] as well as Kokoo, a trio which performs originals and progressive rock covers exclusively on traditional Japanese instruments. She was also one-third of the avant-pop girl group Hoahio which recorded two CD's for Tzadik.
Among Yagi's post-Tzadik recordings are Seventeen, entirely performed on the giant 17-string koto; Live! at SuperDeluxe, a trio session with Flaten and Nilssen-Love; Head On and Volda as a member of the trio Brötzmann/Yagi/Nilssen-Love; Reflexions, a duo album with guitarist Elliott Sharp; Ichi no Maki and Ni no Maki by Dōjō, her duo with drummer Tamaya Honda; and Into The Forest featuring Yagi on kotos and vocals, with instrumental support from members of her Double Trio.
Discography (as leader or co-leader)
1994: Koto Vortex I: Works by Hiroshi Yoshimura (Dainippon Katei Ongakukai / Paradise)
