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While the Japanese music industry is largely dominated by J-pop, a musical genre in which one would almost never suspect the use of a ukulele, one artist is the exception. This is Ayano Tsuji, a Japanese performer and composer who combines J-pop and ukulele, and who fascinates with her mastery of the instrument.

Who is Ayano Tsuji?

Ayano Tsuji is a Japanese artist and composer. Other than that, Ayano Tsuji is both a writer and a performer. Ayano Tsuji was born on January 6, 1978 in the city of Kyoto, Japan. She is currently among the most notable artists with a talent for the ukulele. It is moreover the choice and the use of this musical instrument which makes the originality of the Japanese artist. It was during the year 1998 that Ayano Tsuji began his career. She is still active until now, pursuing her career as a J-Pop and vocal jazz artist.

Ayano Tsuji, an exceptional artist

It is thanks to the ukulele that Ayano Tsuji stands out in his musical genres, in particular Japanese pop (J-Pop) and vocal jazz. Indeed, this instrument of Hawaiian origin does not seem, at first sight, adapted to these musical genres. Especially since in J-Pop or vocal jazz, it is not very common to see an artist accompanying himself with a ukulele.

The beginnings of the Japanese artist with this instrument seem to explain this particular choice. While still in high school, Ayano Tsuji showed a lot of interest in folk music. However, the young Japanese artist was unable to play the guitar, because her hands were too small. This is how she decided to take up the ukulele, which suited her hands well, but also her musical talent. Ayano Tsuji quickly got attached to her ukulele. She continued, and continues until today to make her music and to demonstrate her talent with this instrument.

If the J-pop singer has distinguished herself in her music, it is not only thanks to her choice of instrument! Indeed, apart from his amazing ability to accompany his voice with a ukulele in a musical genre where it would seem very unlikely, Ayano Tsuji is also characterized by his insistence on excluding any Western and Americanist influence from his words and his music.

Achievements

Since his debut and his first album " uraraka in 1998, Ayano Tsuji released 11 albums in total. Among his achievements, 15 singles (including the famous " Kaze Ni Naru in 2002) and 2 DVDs. Despite being little publicized, Ayano Tsuji is also present on YouTube, where she publishes her music. She currently has more than 12 subscribers on this platform, and her talent is admired by fans all over the world.

In 2002, Studio Ghibli released the Japanese animated film “Kingdom of Cats”. It is by interpreting the main theme of this work, the song " Kaze Ni Naru that Ayano Tsuji was the best known, and became a bit more famous in Europe. Although she is not highly publicized like other contemporary artists, Ayano Tsuji is gifted with great talent and is one of the best artists playing the ukulele.