Hokuo Bayashi Project
北欧囃子プロジェクト
Hokuo Bayashi (Nordic Festival Music) is a cultural exchange project exploring the meeting point between traditional Japanese festival music and Nordic folk culture. Organized by Maki Kobayashi and Stockholm Taiko, the project invites Japanese artists Ryo Shiobara (taiko, ritual dance) and Kazumi Aren (shinobue) to Sweden for a two-week residency from September 11–24. During their stay in Stockholm, they collaborate with local musicians, dancers, and artists to experiment with new forms of rhythm, ritual, and storytelling inspired by both Japanese and Nordic traditions. Through concerts, workshops, and artistic collaborations, Hokuo Bayashi seeks to create a contemporary dialogue between cultures while honoring the deep roots of festival music and community celebration.
Where Nordic Folklore Meets Japanese Festival Culture
The idea for Hokuo Bayashi grew from a surprising resonance between Nordic folklore and traditional Japanese worldviews. In both cultures, nature is not simply a backdrop but a living presence — mountains, forests, rivers, and unseen beings are woven into stories, rituals, and seasonal celebrations.
In Japan, festival music known as ohayashi accompanies rituals, dances, and communal gatherings that connect people with the rhythms of the natural world. Similarly, Nordic folk traditions carry echoes of ancient mythologies, pre-Christian rituals, and storytelling rooted in the landscape.
Hokuo Bayashi explores this shared sensibility. By bringing together Japanese instruments such as taiko and shinobue with Nordic musical and cultural influences, the project seeks to create new expressions of festival music — not as a simple fusion, but as a dialogue between two traditions that both listen closely to nature, memory, and rhythm.
Hokuo Bayashi
Hokuo Bayashi
Hokuo Bayashi 北欧囃子 | with Ryo Shiobara, Maki Kobayashi & Kazumi Aren | Filmed by Dane Christensen
Swedish Bagpipes, Hurdy-Gurdy and Willow Flute - Stockholm Taiko | Nordic Hayashi 北欧囃子創作に向け北欧伝統楽器を学ぶ
