araki kodo vi

In April of 1988, at the age of 17, Hanzaburo Araki picked up the instrument of his father and grandfathers for the first time. Four months later, at a sold-out concert in Shimonoseki, Japan, before contemporaries and enthusiasts, he made his debut to the exacting standards of his father, Araki Kodo V.

For the next four years he played and instructed extensively in Japan, both privately and at Keio University, during which time he was named Baikyoku IV, setting him in line to continue the family tradition.

Upon returning to the United States he continued to play and teach at several prestigious institutions. A panel leader and workshop host at the Seattle Folklife Festival, Araki has performed every year from 1998 to 2012. He has also performed for the Gates Estate, Seattle Art Museum, Seattle Asian Art Museum and at the Japanese Gardens (Seattle and Portland). In 2009, he was named Araki Kodo VI by his father in a small ceremony in Tokyo.