Yumiko Tanaka

Yumiko Tanaka is a Japanese gidayu shamisen player and improviser who plays both traditional music and contemporary, improvised and cross-discipline work. Born in Fukuoka Prefecture, she studied musicology at Tokyo University of the Arts and trained in gidayu shamisen and gidayu-bushi under Living National Treasures, including Kinshi Nozawa IV and Juteru Tsuruzawa, debuting in 1981 and performing under the name Yumi Tsuruzawa.

Tanaka-san has received the Art Encouragement Prize from Japan’s Minister of Education, and is certified as an Important Intangible Cultural Property as part of the Gidayu-bushi Preservation Society. She has worked internationally across genres with composers, improvisers, orchestras, and theater artists while also releasing recordings and teaching.