This event is part of the Conference on Performance and Japanese Literature, and features the first-ever appearance outside of Japan by HAYAKAWA Yoshio, a legendary figure in the history of Japanese popular music. Hayakawa first emerged into the public eye in the 1960s as leader of the seminal underground folk-rock band, The Jacks. Critical darlings but commercial failures, The Jacks released two classic albums of original songs that probed the existential angst of Japanese youth in the 1960s. After the band’s break up, Hayakawa went on to release a critically acclaimed 1969 solo album, switching from guitar to piano as his primary instrument of choice. In 1994, he released a celebrated new studio album and has been performing live and releasing new recordings regularly since. In his Chicago performance, Hayakawa will be joined by SAKUMA Masahide, another key figure in Japanese popular music history. Sakuma debuted in the early 1970s with the folk group Yonin Bayashi, later achieving widespread fame as a member of the new wave band The Plastics, which regularly appeared in the U.S. and Europe in addition to Japan. Since leaving that band in 1981, Sakuma has been one of the most in-demand producers in Japan, working with many of the most popular Japanese rock bands while continuing his own activities as a performer and songwriter.

This event is free and open to the public.

Presented by the Global Voices Performing Arts Series, the Association for Japanese Literary Studies, and the Center for East Asian Studies.