Kristy “Aki” Oshiro (they/them) is a queer, trans and non-binary, 4th generation Japanese Okinawan-American professional taiko artist based in Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay Area with over 30 years of experience. Founder and Artistic Director of the Tsubaki Ensemble, Queer Taiko, and SOKO Taiko, Creative Director of Placer Ume Taiko, and instructor of San Mateo Buddhist Temple Taiko. Aki also teaches taiko drumming classes in many cities from Nevada City to San Mateo and is available for group performances, touring, collaborations, school assemblies, residencies, workshops, private lessons, original compositions, corporate team building, rearrangement work, and artistic consultation. (Photo Credit: Stacy Lee)

Original Composition: Earth & sky

Original Composition: Ha!

Performance with wiz khalifa and nana ouyang

Upcoming Performances

Coming to Toronto April 19 & 20 – Constant State of Otherness – by Unit Souzou, with guest performance by RAW Taiko.

Come take in the Canadian premier of Constant State of Otherness, an engaging, multi-layered performance work rooted in questions of identity and self worth – how we identify ourselves and how we label others. Through taiko, Japanese folk dance, song, and personal story, six performers guide the audience through a four-part journey inspired by experiences of isolation and displacement that come from not having an easy sense of home.

Rooted in ancestral wisdom and survival, Constant State of Otherness resists simplistic translations of language, cultural ways and the complicated emotions that otherness evokes. Weaving personal narratives from the ensemble with stories collected from diverse youth and adult community collaborators from across the country, Constant State of Otherness redefines whose stories are told, unpacking, unraveling, and acknowledging our stories to reveal the complexities and nuances of identity. By allowing stories to fractally unfold through the resonance of drum, voice and movement, Unit Souzou offers an invitation to find our shared longing to belong.

Showtimes: Friday April 19, 2024: 7pm Saturday April 20, 2024: 7pm + Q&A (45mins, beginning at 9pm)

Tickets: $25-45 CAD Sliding Scale (+HST)

Coming to Toronto April 19 & 20 – Constant State of Otherness – by Unit Souzou, with guest performance by RAW Taiko.

Come take in the Canadian premier of Constant State of Otherness, an engaging, multi-layered performance work rooted in questions of identity and self worth – how we identify ourselves and how we label others. Through taiko, Japanese folk dance, song, and personal story, six performers guide the audience through a four-part journey inspired by experiences of isolation and displacement that come from not having an easy sense of home.

Rooted in ancestral wisdom and survival, Constant State of Otherness resists simplistic translations of language, cultural ways and the complicated emotions that otherness evokes. Weaving personal narratives from the ensemble with stories collected from diverse youth and adult community collaborators from across the country, Constant State of Otherness redefines whose stories are told, unpacking, unraveling, and acknowledging our stories to reveal the complexities and nuances of identity. By allowing stories to fractally unfold through the resonance of drum, voice and movement, Unit Souzou offers an invitation to find our shared longing to belong.

Showtimes: Friday April 19, 2024: 7pm Saturday April 20, 2024: 7pm + Q&A (45mins, beginning at 9pm)

Tickets: $25-45 CAD Sliding Scale (+HST)

Upcoming Classes