Audio & video

Photo: Torsten Olafsson

On 25th January 2007, I played the solo shakuhachi part in Takemitsu Toru’s November Steps for shakuhachi, biwa and orchestra. The orchestra was Odense Symphony Orchestra led by conductor Lanshui, biwa player Ueno Junko.
http://www.kikuday.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/01-November-Steps-KikuDay-Odense-Symf_MP3.mp3

Kiku Day’s YouTube series on shakuhachi

I have now a video series about the shakuhachi. I will do interviews with players from whom we can learn about the shakuhachi with all its variations in approach of history, repertoire, instruments etc.

Have a look at my YouTube channel. The interviews are linked here below.

https://www.youtube.com/kikuday

Ikigai 生き甲斐 – what is that?


I was interviewed by Nick Kemp, who has devoted his life to ikigai – after he had read my paper on shakuhachi and meditation.
I speak about what shakuhachi is for me and how it is my ikigai source.

https://ikigaitribe.com/podcasts/podcast53/

Kiku Day speaks with Mizuno Kohmei, chair of Chikumeisha

Kiku Day speaks with Asai Seifu head of Seifu kai

Kiku Day speaks with Araki Kodo VI

Kiku Day speaks with Professor in Buddhist Studies Max Deeg about the Fuke Sect

Interview with IZUMI Takeo, art historian

In this interview Izumi Takeo will tell us about how shakuhachi history looks like when researching paintings.

Interview with the heir of Ueda Ryū, TANABE Houei

The first video in the series is an interview with the heir of Ueda Ryū, Tanabe Houei. A written version of the interview was published in the latest ESS Newsletter Autumn/Winter 2020. You can find the newsletter on the ESS website.


I was interviewed by Mike Zellers for the Overlin College and Community Radio. Oct 2020.


http://mikezellers.com/theflutureisnow/Kiku_Day.mp3?fbclid=IwAR3vpT9uA2UxZ-_CndKQlXVavHGUqKKW6xCjdA0FCE-s_ainVVqVcWZiy4g

Roxanna Panufnik’s Wild Ways

A short excerpt from a concert with the choir Coro Casa da Música playing Roxanna Panufnik’s Wild Ways, directed by Paul Hillier in Porto, Portugal 23 March 2014.

Shakuhachi performance at the finissage of Khlora exhibition

Shakuhachi performance by Kiku Day at finissage of Khlora exhibition by Georg Jagunov. Sabsay gallery, Copenhagen, October 29th, 2016.


Structured improvisation played at the Prague Shakuhachi Festival.

This structured improvisation features innovative shakuhachi breathing techniques, resulting in sounds produced from both inhaling and exhaling. En kort en lang explores the undreamt-of possibilities of the shakuhachi.

Improvisation with Henry Kaiser

Playing with guitarist Henry Kaiser

More tracks from Zen Kaiju with Henry Kaiser

From the recording session of Roxanna Panufnik’s Zen Love Song

Recording session with the amazing choir Voices 8

A track you are supposed to play along with 🙂

Concept by Jon Raskin from ROVA Saxophone Quartet. Everybody on this CD has recorded a track knowing it is meant for someone else to improvise alongside the music and thereby giving space for the second musician. At the CD launch we all played with each other’s tracks. What a wonderful idea!

Improvisation with Anne LeBaron (harp) and Kanoko Nishi (koto)

Interview by Laurent & Ayako

Kiku Day, chercheuse et joueuse professionnelle de Shakuhachi

I played a concert together with Brian Tairaku Ritchie back in 2005.

Here we play Kyorei as a duet in octaves. It was my very first time to play Kyorei and I am sight reading. Since then I have played Kyorei a lot.