Sho Asano

Asano was inspired by his grandfather to take up the Japanese drum at age three, and later began playing the Tsugaru-jamisen at age five. Then he was apprenticed to Sangen Odashimaryu Tokuo ODASHIMA the second.

At age seven, Asano was the youngest person to perform at the Tsugaru Shamisen World Convention held in Hirosaki, Aomori, and from the following year rewrote one record after another as the youngest winner at each level.

In 2004 when he was 14, Asano was the youngest person to win the highest rank A level of the Tsugaru Shamisen World Convention and won three consecutive years, 2004 thru 2006. As a result of Asano's musical acumen, he was inducted into Tsugaru Shamisen's Hall of Fame.

In 2007, Asano, then 17, major debuted for Victor Entertainment.

Asano has performed with a variety of artists such as Sayuri Ishikawa, Yosuke Yamashita, Kazufumi Miyazawa, and Taichi Saotome, in performance styles not confined to genres such as Classic, Rock, Jazz, Pops, Flamenco.

In his professional career he has worked with world-class musicians such as the great jazz bassist, Will Lee, jazz star drummer, Marcus Gilmore, and two-time Grammy award winner, clarinet player, Richard Stoltzman.

Asano maintains a busy concert schedule performing well-attended concerts in Japan as well as international concerts in the United States, Europe, Canada and other Asian countries.

He has also performed at various outdoor rock and jazz festivals. Asano was the first Japanese musical instrument player to perform at Japan's largest music festival, "MONSTER baSH", for three consecutive years.

In recent years, Asano has engaged in exploring and spreading information about Japanese culture. In 2019, Asano participated in Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs', Nippon Takaramono Project, as Japan spreads cultural heritage information with the efforts of "Japanese Heritage x Entertainment".

Asano continues to be an ambassador of Japanese culture by conveying the beauty of Tsugaru Shamisen instrumental music within Japan and abroad. His efforts are recognized by the Japanese government and is an approved participant of program "beyond 2020".

Asano is a proudly independent Tsugaru Shamisen solo performer who pursues spreading the charm of Tsugaru Shamisen to a boarder audience through original folk songs and classical arts.