Born in 1980 Yamanashi, Japan, Akiko Hirai started the piano at 4, and the vocal music at 17.
She studied the vocal music at Ochanomizu University, where she made her Bachelor and Master dissertations about Sugisawa Hiyama Bangaku, Japanese ritual dance.
In 2008, she came to France to continue her study. In 2013, she got her second Master in Music and Musicology at Paris-Sorbonne University. Now she is in the doctoral course. She is member of the Musicological Society of Japan, the Society of Folk Performing Arts of Japan, French Society of Ethnomusicology.
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