Named after the Wagakki instruments used in traditional Japanese folk music,
Wagakki Band is a Tokyo-based group whose music blends modern influences —
including hard rock, pop, and metal — with old-world instrumentation. Shigin
singer Yuko Suzuhana, shakuhachi instrumentalist Kaminaga Daisuke, and koto
player Ibukuro Kiyoshi began playing folk music together in Tokyo under the name
Hanafugetsu in 2012, before expanding their lineup to an octet — including
bandmates Machiya, Ninagawa Beni, Asa, Wasabi, and Kurona — and adopting a new
name in 2014. That same year, the band's debut...