I was just so lucky that a friend told me about this incredible one-woman show. To introduce me to Sarah Jones’ work, my friend first sent me Sarah’s TED talk: I was sold immediately. What a talented actress! Sarah Jones’ play “Sell/Buy/Date” is about reevaluating our culture around sex and sex industry from a very […]
Sell/Buy/Date: Sarah Jones Reevaluates Sex and Sex Industry Read More »
As many of you know, the first day of the year is a big holiday in Japan. We have so many traditions leading up to it, and on the day. I always associate it with a special feeling of renewal, and quietly firm resolve and hope for the new year. It was really cold in
My Memories of Japanese New Year Read More »
I am writing a book on my 15-year-journey to understand and conquer my stage fright. In the process, I am starting to listen to my very old recordings, and read my journal entries as a teen. The earliest recording is from the three-year-old Makiko, before her first lesson. She is constantly singing, and laughing at
I am a writer, a dancer, an actress and a dreamer… Read More »
Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!! 2017 was an important year of milestones, and new beginnings for me. With the love, help, and support of many people, I finished my Doctoral Thesis “To See Music in your Mind’s Eye: The Genesis of Memorization as a Piano Performance Practice” and graduated Rice University with my Doctorate
Looking back at 2017. Read More »
I have amazing gift givers around me. They give me such thoughtful gifts that the thoughts behind the gift makes me tear up, as much as the usually-much-needed-gifts themselves. One such friend, my duo-partner, clarinetist Maiko Sasaki (with whom I co-founded ensemble MATIMA: http://matima.org/), gave me a page-turning pedal one year for my birthday. If
Gifts for Pianists. Read More »