September 21, 2025 marked the end of Reverend Hibiki Murakami's time a the Los Angeles Betsuin as he will be gaining more responsibilities as the head minister for 3 temples in Northern California.  Arriving right before the COVID pandemic struck, the normal social interactions were upended but he seemed to manage well and thrive.  We thank him for his hard work and dedication to our temple and sangha.  He will be sorely missed.

We played to a terrific crowd in Sawtelle on July 26 and 27.  This feels like our 2nd home whenever we come here and the Obon festival always has great food, fun dancing, entertainment, people.  We didn't get too many photos this time but you can check out our sets in the "Our Music" page.

Our Obon Carnival was a 1-day event this year, and held from noon to 6PM due to concerns of protest activity in DTLA.  We performed in the Kaikan from 2:10 to 3:45 (with a short break), right after our amazing LA Taiko Ichiza.  These fantastic photos are courtesy of friend of the band Daryl Kobayashi.

The "Summer Jam" senior bureau concert originally scheduled for June 26, was postponed to July 3 at the Nakaoka Community Center in Gardena, CA.  We had a great time playing at this event.  Thank you City of Gardena.

Photos courtesy of Daryl Kobayashi.  Thank you Daryl!

These photos are courtesy of Daryl Kobayashi, cousin to Ann.

Photos courtesy of Glen Tao

This started as a rainy day but things improved as the event started.  We managed to play two sets of roughly 45 min each.  Enjoyed performances by WLA Taiko, Cosmos Gakuin Children's group, Magician Daisuke Seo, and the Ho'Aloha Polynesian Dancers. 

We were very happy to be able to play at the Shinnenkai (New Year Party) at West Los Angeles Buddhist Temple.  We were preceded by a Minyo Japanese Folk Song Group L.A. Chikureikai who performed traditional tunes from various regions of Japan.