Article Contributed by GreenHouse Publicity
Published on 2026-05-11
Back by popular demand after his sold-out 2022 tour, Japan Society proudly presents the return of Ainu musician OKI (Oki Kano) for a one-night-only blowout concert with his OKI DUB AINU BAND.
OKI’s band performs a globally praised trademark fusion of reggae, African rhythms, electronic dub, and folk music of the Ainu, Japan’s northernmost indigenous people. Resurrecting the tonkori, a five-string instrument native to the Ainu and originally used by shamans to commune with the spirits of the natural world, OKI has traveled across five continents on his quest to share reconstructed sounds from Hokkaido that were nearly lost to the world. This show marks the group’s full band debut in the U.S.
This performance will be followed on June 5 with a separately ticketed conversation with Oki Kano. OKI, an avid storyteller and one of the most prominent performers of Ainu folk music in the world, will share Ainu lore, insight into the traditional music of the tonkori, stories from his forays into film directing, and experiences from his ongoing efforts to preserve and promote the unique culture of the Ainu people.
Oki Kano’s relationship with his own indigenous identity is inextricably linked to his time living in NYC. While working as a special-effects technician on film productions in New York during the late 1980s, Oki befriended several Native American activists and became involved with the UN Working Group on Indigenous Populations. This New York-based engagement was directly responsible for Oki’s commitment to Ainu cultural preservation.
After returning to Japan, Oki discovered the tonkori while exploring his Ainu heritage. Tonkori performance as of the 1990s was effectively extinct prior to Oki’s resurrection of the instrument, which required significant research and salvage of the tradition among its indigenous practitioners. Since mastering the tonkori and writing some of the first new music created this century for the instrument, Oki and his band have traveled across five continents to spread the word—and the sounds—of this tradition.
Following his Japan Society show, OKI will also perform at PS21’s Center for Contemporary Performance in Chatham, NY.
Tickets for OKI DUB AINU BAND’s performance on June 4 are $32 for Japan Society members and $43 for the general public. Tickets for Talk Story, a live conversation with OKI on June 5, are $20 for Japan Society members and $28 for the general public.
Visit japansociety.org/performing-arts for more information or contact the box office at 212-715-1258. The box office is open Monday through Friday, 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
Japan Society is located at 333 East 47 Street, between First and Second Avenue, accessible via the 4/5/6 train at Grand Central Station or the E train at Lexington and 53 Street.
