Ainu arrived on U.S. shores this month, carrying not only a full music ensemble but a message of peace.
"I asked myself why I needed to come here," lead Ainu musician Oki said. "I can't ignore what's happening in the world. The reason I came was to introduce Ainu music (to America), but really my first priority was for the coming generations, the next generations, for peace."
Backed by his band, barefoot and dressed in traditional Ainu clothing, Oki entertained the audience with several original songs as well as traditional Ainu melodies at a packed Merkin Concert Hall in New York City recently, one of four stops on their first-ever U.S. tour.
Oki is famed for his revival of the "tonkori," a stringed guitar-shaped Ainu instrument.