2007

• Performed with Assif Tsahar, Tatsuya Nakatani, Otomo Yoshihide et al at Pit Inn.
• Performed at "BrötzFest 2007 @ SuperDeluxe" with Peter Brötzmann, Toshinori Kondo, and Hideo Yamaki.
• Performed at Pit Inn with Paal Nilssen-Love, Peter Brötzmann, and Akira Sakata.
• Solo concert in Nimes, France, as part of "L'Experience Japonaise."
• Performed with Ayako Kato (dance) and Tetuzi Akiyama (guitar) at Koendori Classics.
• Solo and duo with Bugge Wesseltoft at Punkt 07, Kristiansand, Norway.
• European tour (Norway, Sweden, Holland, Hungary, Germany) with Peter Brötzmann and Paal Nilssen-Love.
• Performed compositions for koto by Carl Stone (premiere), Miyuki Ito (premiere), Michiyo Yagi (premiere), and Yuji Takahashi at Aichi Prefectural Arts Theater.
• Performed "power trio" gigs with Mitsuru Nasuno (bass) and Tamaya Honda (drums) as Talon.
• Session with Hans Koch/Martin Schütz/Fredy Studer at SuperDeluxe.
• Trio performance with Ingebribt Håker Flaten and Paal Nilssen-Love at Pit Inn.
• Session with percussion duo Buttercup Metal Polish (Nicolas Field & Alexander Babel) and Jacques Demierre (piano) at SuperDeluxe.
• Duo improvisations with Otomo Yoshihide (guitar) at In "F."
• Guest appearance with Håkon Kornstad (reeds) at Pit Inn.

2006

• Toured USA with "Music From Japan." Performed at Merkin Concert Hall in New York City, Middle Tennessee State University, Converse College in South Carolina, Freer Gallery in Washington, DC, etc.
• Performed with Kokoo at Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.
• Duo with Aki Onda (analog cassettes, electronics) at SuperDeluxe.
• Performed at the Japan Cultural Institute in Cologne, Germany as guest performer with the Ichiko Hashimoto Trio.
• Solo concert and trio concert with Paal Nilssen-Love (drums) and Peter Brötzmann (reeds) at the Kongsberg Jazz Festival in Norway.
• Performed with Knut Buen (Hardanger violin) and Bugge Wesseltoft (keyboards) at Tuddal Amfi in Telemark, Norway.
• Released Michiyo Yagi, Ingebrigt Håker Flaten, Paal Nilssen-Love / Live! at SuperDeluxe (Idiolect/Bomba).
• Performed at Grid605 with Tristan Honsinger (cello).
• Performed and recorded with the Norwegian jazz/improv trio MZN3 (Kjetil Møster, Per Zanussi, Kjell Nordeson) at SuperDeluxe.

2005

• Recorded with accordion player Coba for his album Dear Modest Man, (Victor Records).
• Performed with Norwegian musicians Ingebrigt Flaten (bass) and Paal Nilssen-Love (drums) under the name Subatomic Supertrio, and debuted the project Trance Koto Express with surround sound engineer AO, at SuperDeluxe.
• Solo performance at the Slovenian Agency for Cultual Affairs-sponsored Festival of Japanese Culture, Ljubljana, Slovenia.
• Presented and performed four-part "Nuit Japonesque II" at SuperDeluxe:
  • Trance Koto Express
  • Improv trio with Jason Roebke (bass) and Kiida Oikawa (live painting)
  • Duo with Shun Sakai (vocal)
  • Premiere of Yami no Hikari ("Light in the Darkness"), a collaborative piece with Sayoko Yamaguchi (dance, recitation) and Yasunori Ikunishi & Yasunori Kakegawa (visuals)
• Released Seventeen (Zipangu), the world's first album entirely recorded on the 17-string bass koto.
• Performed with actress Keiko Takeshita (recitation, performance) at the opening of Tokugawaen's Hosa Library, in a program entitled "Tradition as Challenge" (Final Chapter).
• Performed at SuperDeluxe with the New York-based electronica duo Vortex (Satoshi Takeishi [laptop, percussion], Shoko Nagai [piano, concertina]).
• Duo concert with Elliott Sharp (guitar, soprano sax) at Koendori Classics.

2004

• Duo concert with Sachiko M (sampler) as part of the SuperDeluxe Improv Series, Tokyo.
• Performed with Billy Bang (violin) at SuperDeluxe, Tokyo.
• U.S. East Coast tour. Duo concert with Elliot Sharp (guitar) in New York. Trio concerts with Mark Dresser (bass) and Ned Rothenberg (reeds) in Brooklyn, New York, Washington, D.C, and at the 9th Annual Vision Festival, New York. Made a recording with the trio.
• Japan Foundation-sponsored Russian tour with Michiyo Yagi and Paulownia Crush.
• Dutch and Belgian tour with Kokoo.

2003

• Composed and performed music for the Masato Hara film Mi-Ta-Ri at Aichi Prefectural Arts Theater.
• Performed with Peter Brötzmann (reeds).
• Solo concert "Michiyo Yagi: Challenging Tradition" at Aichi Youth Cultural Center.
• Featured guest on NHK's international TV show Weekend Japanology.
• Performed original composition "Song of the Steppes" on BS Japan show Mid-life TV.
• Produced all-night club event "La Nuit Japonesque" at SuperDeluxe. Debuted Talon, a "koto power trio" featuring drummer Tatsuya Yoshida of the Ruins and bassist Mitsuru Nasuno of Altered States. Also performed with dancer/actress/model Sayako Yamaguchi, Paulownia Crush, etc.
• Japan Foundation-sponsored tour of Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgizstan with Kokoo.
• Duo concert with Ned Rothenberg (winds, shakuhachi).
• Hoahio's third album Peek-Ara-Boo released on Tzadik.

2002

• Toured Turkey with Kokoo.
• Appeared with Hoahio at the Festival Lieu Unique in Nantes, France.
• Recorded with pop singer Ayumi Hamasaki.
• Performed with bassist Mark Dresser.
• Recorded and toured with former Judy & Mary guitarist/singer Takuya.
• Performed with John Zorn (alto sax), Bill Laswell (bass), Hideo Yamaki (drums) at Shinjuku Pit Inn.

2001

• Nine performances throughout the U.K. as a member of the Japanorama Tour curated by Otomo Yoshihide.
• Appeared with Kokoo on the weekly TV Asahi show The Untitled Concert.
• Yural, the debut album of Yagi's multiple koto ensemble Paulownia Crush, produced by pianist Masahiko Sato and released on Sato's BAJ label.

2000

• Featured in "The Challenge of Young Japanese Musicians" concert sponsored by the Aichi Prefectural Arts and Culture Center.
• Performed at Festival Archipel 2000 in Geneva.
• Kokoo's second album Super-Nova released by King Records.
• Hoahio's second album Ohayo! Hoahio! released by Tzadik.
• Performed music composed to the silent film Bakudan Hanayome with Kokoo at the Tokyo Summer Festival.
• Appeared with Hoahio at the City of Women Festival in Ljubljana, Slovenia.

1999

• Released first solo CD, Shizuku, on Tzadik.
• Live performances with shakuhachi player Akikazu Nakamura, and Chinese traditional instrumentalists Jiang Jian Hua and Yang Bao Yuan.
• Trio concert with Mino Cinelu (percussion) and Akikazu Nakamura (shakuhachi); two duo concerts with Mark Sloan (bass); Kokoo concert with Nakamura and Miki Maruta (koto) in New York City.
• Founded Ringam, a duo with vocalist Mikako Mihashi.
• Released Kokoo's first CD, Zoom.
• HOAHIO (Haco, Sachiko M and Yagi) concerts at Festival International de Musique Actuelle de Victoriaville, Canada, and at Musique Action, Nancy, France.
• Shizuku Live, a monthly concert series with a guest at each concert, held at Lady Jane, Tokyo, from June to December.
• Performed with HOAHIO and Yoshihide Otomo's Miira ni Narumade at Music Unlimited '99, Wels, Austria.
• Performed in trios: with Eugene Chadbourne (guitar, banjo, vocal) and Seiichi Yamamoto (guitar); and with Mari Era (percussion) and Helge Hinteregger (sampler), at the Festival Beyond Innocence, Kobe.

1998

• Recital at Studio Es in Meguro, Tokyo.
• North American tour as a member of Kokoo (previously spelled Cocoo).
• KOTO VORTEX concerts at the U.S. embassy in Tokyo and Studio Es.
• Performed with her koto ensemble at the Kuhmo Chamber Music Festival, Finland.
• Performed with John Zorn (sax), Zeena Parkins (harp) and Erik Friedlander (cello) at the Knitting Factory in New York.
• Studio solo recording in New York for the American label Tzadik.
• Duo concert with Lauren Newton (vocal) at Shogun in Tokyo.

1997

• Founded HOAHIO with Haco (vocal, guitar, etc.) and Sachiko M (sampler).
• Live performance with shakuhachi player Akikazu Nakamura, and Chinese traditional instrumentalists Jiang Jian Hua and Yang Bao Yuan.
• Performed at the Festival Beyond Innocence in Kobe.
• Released HOAHIO's first CD Happy Mail.

1996

• Appeared in the Internet Jazz Festival, produced by Kazumi Watanabe and Kozo Suganuma.
• Performed at the Now Music Festival in Sapporo.
• Performed at the Music Merge Festival in Tokyo.
• Live performances with jazz pianist Masahiko Satoh.
• Released Koto Vortex II.

1995

• Koto Vortex concerts--works of Elliot Sharp, Kevin Bollan, Moondog, and Yoshihide Otomo.
• Appeared in the Ravinia Festival in Chicago as a member of Cocoo, a trio led by shakuhachi player Akikazu Nakamura.

1994

• Founded the koto quartet Koto Vortex with Yoko Nishi, Miki Maruta and Etsuko Takezawa.
• Recorded the work of Hiroshi Yoshimura and released it in the CD Koto Vortex I, which became a bestseller.
• Played with the African band Mandinca on their CD Sobe.
• Appeared on NHK-TV and TBS-TV.

1993

• Performed in Japan with Iris Park and Du-yee Chang, Korean dancers residing in New York.
• Toured India as a member of the Min-on Ensemble; played in five cities including Delhi, Madras, and Bombay.
• Founded the duo Mika with flutist Rie Shimizu.
• Participated as a member of Mika in a contest organized by the Japanese Society for Contemporary Music; Mika was awarded third prize.

1992

• Performed in the "Bang on a Can" music festival in New York.
• Performed in Halifax, Canada, commissioned by the Canada Council.
• Performed at the jazz club Blue Note in New York.

1991

• Performed in the Vienna Festival.
• Toured the USSR as a member of the Kazue Sawai Koto Ensemble; played in L'vov, Kiev, Khar'kov, and Moscow.
• Performed at Wesleyan University and Florida State University, and in Boston as a member of the Kazue Sawai Koto Ensemble.

1990

• Performed in the "Bang on a Can" music festival in New York.
• Performed in the "A Sound Pleasure" music festival in Toronto.

1989

• Performed in the "Bang on a Can" music festival in New York.
• Performed at the Asia Society in New York.
• Performed in a concert sponsored by the Embassy of Japan in Washington, D.C.
• Held a one-year post as visiting professor of Japanese traditional music and koto at Wesleyan University in the U.S.

1988

• Performed at the University of Hawaii's East-West Center.
• As a member of the Tadao Sawai Koto Ensemble, participated in the ensemble's recording of the CD Koto, which was awarded top honors by Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs.

1987

• As a recipient of a Japan Foundation Grant, participated in a twelve-concert tour in Southeast Asia, Germany, Italy and England.
• Graduated from the Performance Course of the Sawai Koto School.

1986

• Graduated from the NHK koto performance course.
• Performed in the Japanese Cultural Event at the Tokyo Summit.

1985

• Admitted to the main branch of Sawai Koto School.
• Began studying in the Sawai Advanced Performance Program.
• Under Tadao Sawai and Kazue Sawai, began studying koto (both classical and contemporary) and traditional jiuta-style singing and shamisen.
• Passed the Sawai Koto School teaching license exam.
• Enrolled in the National Broadcasting Network's (NHK) one-year koto performance course.

1983

• Graduated from Aichi Junior College.

At the age of six, began studying Japanese traditional music on the koto under Satomi Kurauchi.

Born in Tokoname, Aichi prefecture.

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