The International Shakuhachi Festival Prague (ISFP) has long stood as a pillar of the vibrant and ever-growing European shakuhachi scene. Since its founding in 2007, the festival has served as an international platform for learning shakuhachi, an academic symposium, and a concert series featuring leading artists from Japan and around the world. Since 2017, ISFP has been held biennially, allowing more time for the preparation of a high-quality program. It is also the only event worldwide to regularly present works for shakuhachi and Western instruments in orchestral or large ensemble formats.
However, in early 2025, ISFP faced severe financial difficulties following significant cuts in public funding.
“At one point, we were looking at a deficit of close to €20,000. We seriously considered canceling the event altogether. Even with our own financial contributions and waiving our fees, the outlook was grim,”
says Marek Kimei Matvija, artistic director and co-founder of the festival.
“After intense internal discussions, we made the decision to restructure and commit to our artists and everyone who had joined us on this three-year journey of preparation,” Matvija continues. “We also reached out to the communities our festival serves—both domestic and international—and were overwhelmed by the kindness and generosity we received from around the world.
Thanks to the support of generous individuals, Japanese art lovers, and the Zeměkvět Foundation, the day is saved—we are a GO!”
Though the team has restructured and costs have been trimmed, the heart of ISFP—the learning opportunities and concerts—remains intact and uncompromised.
“As this will be the final edition of ISFP, we want everyone to make the best memories. The community deserves it,” Matvija concludes.
From Tradition to the Future
The ISFP 2025 program bridges the spiritual heritage of the shakuhachi with trendsetting contemporary music, offering a glimpse into the future of the instrument.
The festival’s headliners are The SHAKUHACHI 5, a world-class ensemble bringing together Japanese master players from different traditions. Members Akihito Obama, Reison Kuroda, Kizan Kawamura, Akihisa Kominato, and Ken-ichi Tajima are among the foremost shakuhachi artists performing today.
The ensemble has commissioned new works from top international composers—creating history in the process. ISFP helped sponsor their first commission in 2020, from renowned composer Dai Fujikura. Since then, SHAKUHACHI 5 has built a celebrated repertoire. Their debut album earned them a feature on the cover of Hōgaku Journal, Japan’s leading publication for traditional music.
Their performance of Akira Nishimura’s Sarasōju at the World Shakuhachi Festival in Texas earned a standing ovation and was widely regarded as the event’s highlight. At ISFP 2025, they will premiere a new work by award-winning Czech composer Miroslav Srnka at Prague’s prestigious DOX+ hall.
For Koto and Shakuhachi
Europe’s koto community is also on the rise, thanks to the efforts of Naoko Kikuchi and the late Makiko Goto. Kikuchi will lead three koto study groups at ISFP 2025—two of them in parallel with shakuhachi study groups led by Gunnar Jinmei Linder and John Kaizan Neptune. This provides a unique opportunity for players of both instruments to learn together and explore modern and traditional repertoire.
Kikuchi will also give a solo recital, featuring a newly commissioned work by Edward Mascall-Robson for koto and shakuhachi. The program’s centerpiece will be Takashi Yoshimatsu’s transcendent piece Within Dreams, Without Dreams, performed with Reison Kuroda.
From Bamboo to Sound
Since 2019, John Kaizan Neptune—jazz shakuhachi pioneer and master craftsman—has been a regular guest at ISFP. His musicality, humor, and scientific approach to shakuhachi making make his workshops a perennial favorite (this year’s making workshops are already sold out). At ISFP 2025, he will perform with Akihisa Kominato and the acclaimed Robert Balzar Trio in a special crossover concert.
Youth Looks Ahead
The final concert of ISFP 2025, titled Wakamono (“Youth” in Japanese), will be performed by the BERG Orchestra under the direction of conductor and dramaturge Peter Vrábel. Shaped by his artistic vision, the bold program features new compositions for shakuhachi and large ensemble by rising Czech composers Lucie Páchová and Michael Prokop, with soloists Kizan Kawamura and Ken-ichi Tajima. Works by Japanese composers Sachie Kobayashi and Naoki Sakata complete this forward-looking lineup.
Heritage and Inheritance
Founded by Christopher Yohmei Blasdel, Vlastislav Matoušek, and Marek Kimei Matvija, ISFP began as the Prague Shakuhachi Summer School, a small-scale camp for sharing essential shakuhachi skills. It quickly grew into an ambitious cultural festival centered on the shakuhachi’s aesthetics and cultural significance.
Over the years, ISFP has engaged with artists across disciplines, exploring themes such as sound environments, field recording, sound meditation, and aleatoric music—often blending the worlds of traditional Japanese music and contemporary sound art.
The most recent editions have explored the treasures of 20th- and 21st-century Japanese composition, bringing rarely performed works by Tōru Takemitsu, Malika Kishino, Maki Ishii, Ryōhei Hirose, and others to Czech audiences.
Through its unique blend of skill-sharing and cross-cultural exploration, ISFP has grown into a deeply rooted presence in Europe’s musical landscape. Now, as this great tree falls, its legacy will live on in the seeds it scattered—ideas, collaborations, and inspirations that took root in its shade and will grow in the years to come.