Artwork by Kowji Miyabe
Photography by Minoru Ichige, "Lake Baikal"

"Utsuho" was originally released in January 1999. This is Kazuya Nagaya`s first ambient music album.

The sound of bells, sometimes deeply reverberating. The sound of gongs, of the kind ceaselessly heard in the temples of Tibet, or Bali, or Japan. The two CD albums of Kazuya Nagaya released on the AME label -"Utsuho" and "Illuminations / Pluto " -- convey a sound-world altogether unique. It is a world of sounds slowly echoing together, melding into one, and then reverting to an inner silence. It is a sound-world that invites the listener into deep meditation. In his music one can feel the effusive flow of Esoteric Buddhist meditation or grand traditions in the vein of Zen.

Kazuya Nagaya`s music takes the listener into the silent realm that lurks within his or her own being. It is a realm of holiness that lies within each of us, the abode of our spirit. His music is the vehicle (yana) that guides us to that realm.

"Utsuho," literally "a tree hollow,"
is a word associated with Utsuho monogatari,
a 10th-century japanese novel.
It related the tale of a child of noble background raised in a tree hollow.
As a young boy, he receives songs of esoteric power passed down by his mother.
He grows up to become a master player of the koto,
a stringed instrument akin to the harp or zither.

Utsuho A hollow filled with magical powers.