Aki Wraps With Solo Budokan Show

Aki’s piano was set up in the center of the arena, with all 14,000 fans positioned 360 degrees around her. Aki made history in 2006 when she became the first musician to play the legendary venue without a band or backing vocalists.

The Aug. 4 show climaxed her 44-date tour. Aki is taking an indefinite hiatus to study music formally in the United States, where she will soon move with her husband and 2-year-old son.

Aki was born on the rural island of Shikoku and raised by a Japanese father and American mother.

She moved to Hawaii when she was 15 to attend high school and then studied political science at George Washington University in Washington D.C., where she also started playing music in small clubs.

Eventually, she moved back to Japan and started playing a mix of English language and Japanese language original songs.

Her first album, One, released in 2005, was the biggest selling indie record in Japan that year, which lead to a contract with Epic/Sony. Her first album for the major sold 500,000 copies.