For over a quarter century, Japan's Kitaro has been an internationally recognized icon and globally acclaimed composer and musician. Influenced early on by American rock and R&B, Kitaro began experimenting with synthesizers and a rainbow of unconventional sounds in the mid-'70s. His pioneering fusion of electronic artistry, traditional Japanese forms, and pop-inflected Western idioms created a lush, harmonic, and poetic sound that won the now legendary artist a huge international following. 1980's Volume 1 in the revered Silk Road series is considered an all-time masterpiece, with subsequent volumes only adding to its luster. '87's GRAMMY-nominated The Light Of The Spirit, a collaboration with Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart, exceeded sales of two million in the U.S. alone, elevating Kitaro's presence Stateside to an unprecedented degree. 1992's transcendent Dream, made with Yes' Jon Anderson, was also a smash, and other highlights are too numerous to single out.
2000's Thinking Of You, which online music bible allmusic.com called "one of the most beautiful CDs of all time," won a GRAMMY for Best New Age Album, and Kitaro is universally acknowledged as a founding architect of the genre. That being said, Kitaro's atmospheric, powerfully emotive, and multi-textured music truly defies the constraints of any genre, epitomizing what Domo Records founder Eiichi Naito identifies as the label's guiding principle"To provide a home for both the creators and aficionados of quality music beyond the borders of categorization."
Most fundamentally, at its heart, Kitaro's music is always about sending a profound message of peace and spiritual development, both personally and globally. With Sacred Journey Of Ku-kai Volume 2, the artist's lifelong vision coalesces into an elegant and wondrously integrated master work. The first in an important series, it offers a beautifully expressed and richly resonant experience through which to contemplate our changing world.
What is Sacred Journey of Ku-Kai series?
Shikoku ("four countries") is the smallest (225km long and between 50km and 150km wide) and least populous (4,141,955 as of 2005) of the four main islands of Japan, located south of Honshū and east of Kyūshū island. Shikoku is also famous for its 88-temple pilgrimage of temples associated with the priest Kūkai. Most modern day pilgrims travel by bus, rarely choosing the old-fashioned method of going by foot. They are seen wearing white jackets emblazoned with the characters reading dōgyō ninin meaning "two traveling together".
Shikoku Pilgrimage
The Shikoku Pilgrimage (Shikoku Hachijūhakkasho) is a pilgrimage of eighty-eight temples on the island of Shikoku, Japan. It is believed all eighty-eight temples were visited by the famous Buddhist monk Kūkai, who was born in Zentsūji, Shikoku in 774. However, Kūkai only mentions visiting two of them in his own extant writings. In addition to the eighty-eight "official" temples of the pilgrimage, there are over 200 bangai - temples not considered part of the official eighty-eight. In order to complete the pilgrimage, it is not necessary to visit the temples in order; in some cases it is even considered lucky to travel in reverse order. The pilgrimage is traditionally completed on foot, but modern pilgrims will use cars, taxis, buses, bicycles, or motorcycles. The walking course is approximately 1,200km (750 mile) long and can take anywhere from 30 to 60 days to complete. Pilgrims who visit all of the temples are known as o-henro-san and are often recognizable by their white clothing, sedge hats, and walking sticks. Many pilgrims begin and complete the journey by visiting Mount Kōya in Wakayama Prefecture, which was settled by Kūkai and remains the headquarters of the Shingon sect of Buddhism. The 21km walking trail up to Koya-san still exists, but most pilgrims use the train.
In addition to the main pilgrimage on the island of Shikoku, there are miniature versions of the pilgrimage north of Takamatsu on the island of Shōdoshima, and on the grounds of Ninna-ji Temple in Kyoto.
Kitaro Discography
Ancient
Ancient Journey
Best of Kitaro 2
Cirque Ingenieux
Dream
An Enchanted Evening
Gaia Onbashira
Kojiki
Live in America
Mandala
Peace on Earth
The Soong Sisters
Tenku
The Light of the Spirit
Thinking of You
Daylight Moonlight Live in Yakushiji
Best of Silk Road
Sacred Journey of Kukai Vol. 1
Sacred Jpurney of Kukai Vol.2
Spiritual Garden
The Essential Kitaro
Kitaro "Love and Peace Tour"
November 25, 2007
Taiwan
Indoor Stadium
November 30, 2007 & December 1, 2007
Malaysia
Arena of Stars
December 3, 2007
Indonesia
Candi Prambanan / Prambanan Temple
December 6, 2007
Singapore
Indoor Stadium
December 8, 2007
Thailand
Sanam Sua Pra
December 15, 2007
Singapore
Star Cruise Thatre
50th GRAMMY Awards Nomination
Kitaro has been nominated for the New Age Category on this
50th Anniversary of the Grammy Awards.
The nominated album “Sacred Journey Of Ku -Kai, Volume 3”
is literally 3rd album of Sacred Journey Of Ku -Kai series.
Volume 1 and 2 were nominated the Grammy Awards, too.
By the way, this is twelve times nomination for him.
Thank you for your support!!
Special Kitaro’s Site
Here is a special site of Kitaro’s nomination for Grammy!
You can listen to nominated album’s songs.
Also, there is Kitaro’s nominated history and
you can figure out what the Ku-Kai project is.
I’m sure you can enjoy on the page!
http://www.domo.com/grammy.html
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