Mitsune to bring their reimagined Japanese folk songs to the UK on debut British tour

Mitsune, a Japanese neo-folk fusion band based in Berlin, will soon begin a 7-date tour of England, starting with Huddersfield on July 24 and finishing in Cheltenham on July 30, while also playing in Bristol, Liverpool, Manchester, London and Falmouth.

The group specialise in a brand of Japanese folk music infused with influences from around the world, including Eastern blues, jazz, dance and film music. At their heart is the Tsugaru shamisen, a 3-stringed Japanese lute, was made popular by blind Japanese musicians in the early 20th century. Mitsune both honours and modernises shamisen tradition, conveying folkloric imagery, personal and cultural stories, and raw emotion through this ancient instrument.

The group have three female shamisen players, as well as percussion and double bass, with band members hailing from Japan, Australia, Germany and Greece. They formed in 2018, with their most recent album, Hazama (2022), being given a Top of the World in Songlines #176 with our reviewer calling them an “ensemble with an ocean of creative potential.”

They will release an EP to support shows across the UK and EU. On stage, they promise a “visual and sartorial feast”, where the traditional meets the avant-garde, and say that their shows are spliced with an “ever-present sense of joy and fantasy.”

Mitsune will be on tour in the UK from July 24 to July 30. For full details of the shows and tickets visit mitsune.de/performances