Four Days of Hitsujibungaku, UA, STUTS, and ROTH BART BARON Performing with Traditional Music! J-WAVE Provides Planning and Production Support for the "KAIMoN Music Festival" at "MoN Takanawa" [Includes Comments]

Radio station J-WAVE (81.3FM) is providing planning and production support for the "KAIMoN Music Festival – Open the MoN–." This music festival will be held over four days from May 19th (Tue) to May 22nd (Fri) at "MoN Takanawa: The Museum of Narratives," an experimental cultural museum that opened at TAKANAWA GATEWAY CITY on March 28th. The festival celebrates the "opening of the gates" of MoN Takanawa while presenting a new live experience where contemporary music intersects with traditional Japanese performing arts and physical expression.

Each day of the festival will feature artists with deep ties to J-WAVE—Hitsujibungaku, UA, STUTS, and ROTH BART BARON × Taro Ishida—performing in a daily rotation. Centered on their respective musical styles, they will collaborate with performers of traditional Japanese instruments and traditional movements/physicality. Rather than simply reproducing existing songs, these performances will be one-night-only stages created specifically for this time and place. The production employs real-time synchronization of sound, lighting, and video, presenting the entire stage as "visualized sound." The hybrid composition, where digital and analog melt together, combined with a three-dimensional sound design that envelops the audience in music, creates an immersive, full-body experience.

<Performers> Hitsujibungaku (May 19) [Hitsujibungaku TOUR 2026 "Su---Ha---" | Nov 10-11, 2026 | Yoyogi National Gymnasium First Gymnasium, Tokyo]

● What is your image of "Japanese traditional expression"? ―For example, I was taught while creating these arrangements that even just saying "Japanese instruments" covers a long history, and there are various instruments used depending on the branched-out genres. Personally, I have been drawn to Mugen Noh, which I read about in a book recently. It is said to be one of the main forms of Noh that depicts the space between dreams and reality, and I would love to see it once.

● When do you feel that the "gate of sound has been opened"? ―Watching live performances, I sometimes feel, "This person has the god of music on their side." It was a performance where they trusted the music and surrendered themselves to it. It was very beautiful.

● What kind of stage will it be on the day of the "KAIMoN Music Festival"? ―It looks like we will be able to have a special performance in collaboration with Japanese instruments! Look forward to it. (Hitsujibungaku)

UA (May 20) ● What is your image of "Japanese traditional expression"? ―I think it is a rare art form that the world can be proud of. I believe it is an expression that should be valued more than ever and receive support from the government.

● When do you feel that the "gate of sound has been opened"? ―I felt a sense of bliss at the ringing of my soul when my latest album "NEWME" reached completion.

● What kind of stage will it be on the day of the "KAIMoN Music Festival"? ―While featuring new songs from NEWME, I will also be delivering updated versions of older songs. I am also planning three collaboration songs centered on the UA band and Gagaku instruments, and I am very excited. Please look forward to it! (UA)

STUTS (May 21) [STUTS 10th Anniversary "Alone with" | Nov 7, 2026 | Nippon Budokan, Tokyo]

● What is your image of "Japanese traditional expression"? ―It is something I have seen and heard since I was a child during events like New Year's and festivals. When I listen to it again, I find it familiar, and I feel it has a richness different from the Japanese culture influenced by the West that I am accustomed to.

● When do you feel that the "gate of sound has been opened"? ―It happens occasionally, and I feel very happy when it does. Listening to various types of traditional Japanese music for this project, I thought it was very interesting.

● What kind of stage will it be on the day of the "KAIMoN Music Festival"? ―This is my first time doing a full-scale collaboration with Japanese instruments. I hope to present the music I have created, mixed with traditional Japanese instruments and live instruments, in arrangements performed for the first time at this event. Please come and join us. (STUTS)

ROTH BART BARON × Taro Ishida (May 22) ● What is your image of "Japanese traditional expression"? ―It is something that has always been in our daily lives, yet many Japanese people have forgotten it. However, I think it is a timeless expression that continues to evolve and live on in places we cannot see.

● When do you feel that the "gate of sound has been opened"? ―Living with music, I have started to hear things I couldn't hear before, and I have a feeling that the world of sound is expanding more and more, which makes every day very fun.

● What kind of stage will it be on the day of the "KAIMoN Music Festival"? ―It is a chemical reaction between old Japanese music and new Japanese music. There is a term I learned during conversations with Mr. Ishida: "Nakaima" (the middle of now). It is said that ancient Japanese people had a sense that eternity existed first, and they were just drifting in the middle of it. We, who have become accustomed to a Western sense of time, don't really have a sense of being inside eternity, even if we think, "cherish this moment." It is too vast and unfamiliar by modern standards. Borrowing this sense of "Nakaima," I think this will be a live performance that creates Japanese music on a grand scale that no one has ever heard before. (ROTH BART BARON)

[Tickets Now on Sale!] Tickets are currently on sale to the general public. Please enjoy a live experience that can only be had here. Official Website Ticket Details: https://montakanawa.jp/programs/kaimon_music/

[Event Overview] KAIMoN Music Festival – Open the MoN– Dates: May 19 (Tue) – May 22 (Fri), 2026 Time: Starts at 19:00 each day (Doors open at 18:00) Venue: MoN Takanawa: The Museum of Narratives Box1000 (Directly connected to JR Yamanote Line Takanawa Gateway Station) Ticket Prices: 1st Floor Standing: 7,500 yen / 2nd Floor Reserved: 8,000 yen / May 22nd only All Reserved: 7,500 yen (Drink fee separate) *All prices include tax Organizer/Planning & Production: MoN Takanawa: The Museum of Narratives Planning & Production Support: J-WAVE Performers: Hitsujibungaku (May 19), UA (May 20), STUTS (May 21), ROTH BART BARON × Taro Ishida (May 22) Event Site: https://montakanawa.jp/programs/kaimon_music/

[What is "MoN Takanawa: The Museum of Narratives"?] An "experimental cultural museum" with the mission of "connecting culture to 100 years into the future." Through seasonal themes announced twice a year, it develops a wide variety of programs that combine the latest technology with Japanese culture such as traditional performing arts, manga/anime, music, and food. The opening commemorative seasonal theme is "Life as Culture." It will hold a total of 9 programs, including the "Guru-Guru Exhibition: The Ever-Evolving Story of Humanity" and "MANGALOGUE: Phoenix," a live-format experience of Osamu Tezuka's "Phoenix: Future Chapter."

The building consists of three basement floors, six floors above ground, and a rooftop, with the exterior design handled by Kengo Kuma & Associates. It features the "Box1500" exhibition space of approximately 1,500㎡, the "Box1000" theater space with LEDs installed across the entire stage, a "Tatami" space of approximately 100 tatami mats for activity experiences, as well as labs, a footbath terrace, restaurants, and cafes.