Kaoru Tanaka
Wa-Guitarist / Composer
Kaoru Tanaka is a Japan-based guitarist and composer exploring contemporary guitar expressions rooted in Japanese musical sensibilities.
Using electric, acoustic, and fretless guitars, he reconstructs and expands techniques, phrasing, and concepts found in traditional Japanese music—such as Tsugaru shamisen—within a modern guitar context.
Based on his performance practice, he organizes and articulates these techniques and ways of thinking into a reproducible system, currently developed as the Modern Wa-Guitar Method.
Alongside his solo work, he is active in bands and ensemble settings and continues composing original works, seeking ways for the spirit of Japanese music to resonate naturally in contemporary sound.