Image: Okura Museum of Art, Tokyo
The Ōkura Museum of Art in Tokyo has announced an 'Ōkurauro Trio Concert' for October 10, 2026, as part of Ark Hills Music Week 2026. The program centers on the 'Ōkurauro,' a hybrid metal instrument combining the shakuhachi and flute, which was devised and made in 1935 by Ōkura Kichitaro, the second head of the Ōkura zaibatsu and founder of Hotel Okura.
According to the museum’s event page, the instrument was created so that Western music could be performed with the timbre of the shakuhachi. Its name combines the Ōkura family name with 'aulos,' the ancient Greek word for a vertical flute. The museum describes the Ōkurauro as a metal, multi-hole shakuhachi that once drew attention through player training and regular ensemble concerts, but later fell into obscurity after the postwar dissolution of the zaibatsu made continued family support difficult.
The museum says renewed activity around the instrument began in 2011, ahead of the 50th memorial anniversary of Ōkura Kichitaro’s death. Since then, concerts, CD releases and the remaking of instruments have helped bring attention back to what the institution characterizes as a hybrid combining the expressiveness of the shakuhachi with the bright, clear tone of the flute. The page also notes that 'Ōkurauro' is a registered trademark of the Ōkura Cultural Foundation.
For the Ark Hills Music Week event, the museum says it has prepared new arrangements in addition to 'Autumn School Song Medley' and the original composition 'Seven Ritsu,' which was announced in spring. The concert will include well-known pieces such as 'Soshu Yakyoku' and 'Tokyo Boogie-Woogie,' performed in the instrument’s distinctive lineup and sonority. The museum describes the program as offering both nostalgia and freshness.
The concert is scheduled for October 10, 2026, from 6:45 p.m. to about 7:45 p.m., with doors opening at 6:15 p.m. It will take place at the Ōkura Museum of Art, and the listed performers are Akihisa Kominato on soprano Ōkurauro, Junya Okōchi on alto Ōkurauro, and Taku Motonaga on bass Ōkurauro. Admission is 3,000 yen, including exhibition entry, with cash payment only.
The museum’s notice says visitors may view the current exhibition, 'Beautiful Moments: Focusing on Bijinga,' during the daytime before the concert. From 5:00 p.m. to 6:15 p.m., the museum will be closed for concert preparation, then reopen for the performance at 6:15 p.m. Reservations can be made by phone or through the web form linked on the museum site.
