Miwazow

Miwazow (Kogure) is a "Ching-Dong" (Japanese traditional marching drums) drummer, singer and Koto player.
She started playing Koto at the age of 3, and became a master at the age of 11.

In 1996, she graduated from Meiji University's Faculty of Letters, Department of Theater Studies.
Her graduation thesis was about Yiddish theater.

In 1997, she started her musical career as a Ching-Dong drummer for "Soul Flower Mononoke Summit".

After that, she continued to perform both in Japan and abroad with groups such as "CICALA-MVTA" led by Wataru Okuma and "Jinta-la-Mvta" which she started with him.
Our musicality is borderless, transcending genres and borders, and is full of a festive feeling.

In 2015, Miwazow and Wataru Okuma were invited to perform at "Kulturfest NYC," a music festival celebrating the 100th anniversary of the founding of Folksbiene, the oldest Yiddish theater still standing in New York, and made our debut on the global Klezmer scene.
Since then, they have been invited to perform in Germany, Canada, the United States, Poland, Brazil, and other countries.

As a singer, she started singing in 2012 with Bertolt Brecht's songs and Yiddish songs, and now she became a rare singer in Japan who sings a variety of songs in multiple languages, folk songs, Bon Odori songs, and more.

In 2021, she successfully performed "Miwazow Sings Threepenny Opera" in which she sang almost the entire "Threepenny Opera" by herself, playing five different roles, male and female.
This unprecedented feat has caused a great stir, especially among researchers of musicology and German literature.

As a Koto player, in 2015 she joined "Half the Sky", the avant-garde rock unit with Chris Cutler, Dagmar Krause, Yumi Hara, and she resumed her playing Koto career.
She is the first in the world to fuse Koto with Klezmer and Yiddish songs, bringing out the charm of both Jewish music and Koto.

In the summer of 2022, she played the semi-leading role in "TIME the 4th SEASON featuring MIWAZOW" produced by Socalled (Joshua Dolgin) in Hamburg, Germany.

In the fall of 2023, she won the top prize at "Bubbe Awards", a music award sponsored by Jewish culture festival "Kleztival" in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Major appearances: Min Tanaka's "Solo Dance" (2006), "Kuchu Cabaret (Aerial Cabaret)" (2011), "Totto TV" (NHK 2016), "ETV no art, no life/Moriyama Naotaro, Furukawa Kotone" (NHK 2022), " Constellations/directed by Brett Bailey" (2022), "Jazz Daimyo (Yokohama KAAT/2023)".

Ching-Dong drummer

Ching-Dong is a Japanese percussion and the old fashioned modern street music which combined old traditional street
music with western brass band.
Miwazow plays various music with Ching-Dong drums,
Rock, Klezmer, Balkan, Prog-rock, Japanese trad (Minyo),
Funk, Punk, etc.. mainly in the bands, "CICALA-MVTA" and "JINTA-LA-MVTA".

about Ching-Dong in Wikipedia (in English)

videos (click the photos)

"Sherele ~ Artigiana" Jinta-la-Mvta

"Lively & Happily / Lebedik un Freylekh" Jinta-la-Mvta

Chig-Dong marching in Warszawa
SPACER Z ZESPOŁEM JINTA-LA-MVTA (XV Festiwal Warszawa Singera, 31.08.2018)

"El derecho de vivir en paz" Jinta-la-Mvta special band at Wataru Okuma festival

Singer

Singer:
Miwazow started singing after Great East Japan earthquake in 2011
to encourage all the people in the world and make this world peaceful.
She sings mainly Brecht's songs, Kurt Weill, Yiddish songs, various
protest songs, Japanese trad (Minyo) and so on in multipul languages.
Miwazow has sung all the songs of "Die Dreigroschenoper
(The Threepenny Opera)" in Japanese playing a quituple role,
Macheath, Polly, Jenny, Peachum and Frau Peachum.
In 2023 the somg "inem land fun mayne zeydes" she composed won
the top award in Yiddish song category of KLEZTIVAL's Bubbe Awards.
***

"A most wonderful performance of Die Dreigroschen Oper from Miwa, Wataru and the entire ensemble.
Miwa is such a wonderful singer and I loved the arrangements.
You are all brilliant and what a labour of love to have translated the entire work into Japanese.
I would say it is of cultural significance."

Dagmar Krause(Slapp Happy, Henry Cow, Half the Sky)

videos

Trailer of "Miwazow sings Die Dreigroschenoper"

"Seerauber Jenny (Pirate Jenny)" - Miwazow sings Die Dreigroschenoper

"Prolog" Die sieben Todsunden in Japanese - Miwazow sings Brecht]

"Ale brider" Miwazow sings Yiddish songs

"Zog nit keyn mol" - Miwazow with Jinta-la-Mvta

Koto player

Miwazow started playing KOTO when she was yet 3 years old and became a master of KOTO at 11.
She plays Klezmer music, Yiddisn songs, Turkish music and Prog-rock
(Lindsay Cooper, ex Henry Cow), and so on.

videos

Time the 4th SEASON featuring MIWAZOW by Socalled/Joshua Dolgin

"Yismechu" Jinta-la-Mvta with ALK

"Araber Tants" MIWATARU QUARANTINED

HALF THE SKY plays the music of Lindsay Cooper
(Dagmar Krause, Chris Cutler, Yumi Hara, Wataru Okuma and Miwazow etc.)