Chieko Kojima

Tochigi Prefecture, Japan

Chieko Kojima first encountered Japanese folk dancing when she moved to Sado Island in 1976 to join Sado no Kuni Ondekoza. She went on to become one of Kodo’s founding members in 1981. In addition to her work with Kodo, she also has an active solo career that includes projects such as “Yukiai,” where she seeks out new encounters and collaborations with artists and taiko groups within Japan and throughout the world. Kojima is known for her original dancing style during Kodo’s taiko-based performances, which is best exemplified by her vivid portrayal of the goddess Ameno-uzume in the first season of “Amaterasu” in 2006. She became a Kodo Distinguished Member in 2012. In that same year, she traveled to Europe as a Japan Cultural Envoy from the Agency for Cultural Affairs. Kojima was the director of the annual concert series “Kodo Special Performances on Sado Island” for four years, starting from its inaugural season in 2012. She continues to ambitiously broaden her expressive outlets, as demonstrated by her productions based on the “Tales of Dojoji.” This story became the inspiration for her first photo book, ” Kasane no Kiyohime Monogatari: The Myriad Layers of Kiyohime,” a unique work created with photographer Maiko Miyagawa and released in 2015. In recent years, Kojima has been traveling the world to perform, collaborate, and lead workshops, sharing her extensive experience in dances that are deeply rooted in Japanese culture and powerful, feminine taiko drumming. She actively teaches her signature piece, Hana Hachijo, to taiko enthusiasts around the world, which combines dance and taiko into one graceful, powerful, uniquely feminine performance. In 2019, Kojima’s performance career 40th anniversary was commemorated with “Kodo Sen no Mai,” a spectacular concert where she took to the stage with the Kodo ensemble and special guest Shunsuke Kimura. This work was captured on DVD. In 2021, Kojima directed Kodo 40th Anniversary Special Event “Toki no Yui Ne.”