About

Mao Sakurada

I am a performing artist working with Japanese folk music and movement traditions. My practice centers on biwa, shamisen, shinobue, and dance, and on the ways sound, movement, and storytelling come together.

I trained through a live-in apprenticeship in Japan, studying folk-based performance forms shaped by daily life, community, and labor. For me, the folk arts are not fixed artifacts of the past, but living practices that change as they move through time.

In my work, I strive to remain true to the core of these traditions while rearranging and recontextualizing them so they can speak to the present moment. I am interested in expressions that feel rooted and nostalgic—evoking a memory of something almost forgotten—yet alive—relevant to what we live and feel today.

Alongside performance, I tend to rice paddies and work the land as an embodied practice, exploring the shared rhythms between agricultural work, music and dance. I also teach and organize recitals, hoping to nurture interest and excitement around Japanese instruments and folk traditions. 

Looking ahead, I hope to expand my work through collaborations with artists internationally and in various mediums, creating performances that remain culturally specific while resonating across borders.