Conservatory of Music

Ayako Kurahashii was born in Osaka, Japan. She studied Osaka style traditional Koto from her childhood under her mother Ms Reiko Maeda, and later studied Kyushu styled traditional Sangen under the renowned master Ms Shizue Sasagawa. As a student of Kobe College (Kobe Jogakuin Daigaku), she belonged to the Contemporary Koto Club instructed by the Sawai School. After marrying Yoshio Kurahashi, she taught Koto and Sangen at Osaka City University.

Her performances include concerts with Yoshio Kurahashi at the University of Oklahoma; the Museum of Fine Arts of Houston, sponsored by Japan's Consulate General of Houston; and the Museum of Natural History of Washington DC, sponsored by the Smithsonian Association.