Biography
Naomi Mikami started to study Koto when she was 9 years old. She studied Koto 9 years under the guidance of Senya Watanabe (渡辺千也) and Hisaya Watanabe (渡辺久也) who are masters of Kyoto Toudou Kai (京都當道会) and presidents of Miyabi Kai (み也美会).
In 1984, she was granted “Ura Yurushi” (裏許 Advanced certification) from school.
In 2006, she restarted her study and practice Koto and Sangen under Mayumi Ono
(小野真由美) who is the master of Miyagi Kai (宮城会) and president of Mionokai JAPAN (地唄箏曲美緒野会). She performed at several concerts held by Mionokai JAPAN including performing at the National Theatre of Japan in Tokyo. She also joined the concert tour in Saint Petersburf (2007), Shanghai (2010), Croatia and Slovenia (2015). In 2015, she was granted “Kaiden” (皆伝 Full mastership) from Miyagi Kai and she started to teach Koto as assistant teacher of Mionokai JAPAN.
She moved to Asheville, North Carolina in the spring of 2018. She established the Mionokai Asheville chapter to hold concerts, workshops and school.
Association of Classical Japanese Arts: Director / Branch chief of North America