We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Shinya Arasuna. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Shinya below.

Hi Shinya, thanks for joining us today. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?

My parents definitely influenced my musical career. My dad is a singer, although he had a full-time job, and my mom is a music lover. I started playing the piano at the age of 4.

I don’t know why my parents wanted me to play the piano—strangely, I’ve never asked them before. I only remember my mom asking me if I wanted to learn how to play, and I said yes. That’s how my musical journey began.

As I mentioned, my mom was a music lover, so I was exposed to many kinds of music, from classical to rock and pop. By the time I was around 10 to 12, I became more interested in rock music because she often listened to bands like Bon Jovi, Aerosmith, and Japanese rock bands such as L’arc ~en~Ciel and LUNA SEA.

Although I still loved playing the piano, I became more fascinated with the guitar. I asked my parents to buy me one, and finally, on my 12th birthday, I got my first electric guitar. From that moment, I fell in love with the guitar.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a jazz guitar player based in NYC. I was classically trained as a pianist from the age of 4 to 12 and am originally from Hiroshima, Japan.

I started playing guitar when I was 12. During high school, I formed a band and began composing my own music. Although I played in various bands, my high school band, Musical Pears, disbanded when we graduated and went to college. During this time, I explored a wide variety of music genres, including classical, jazz, rock, reggae, salsa, electronic music, blues, hip-hop, bluegrass, Indian music, and Arabic music. I discovered these through record stores, MTV, and the radio. While I enjoyed all these genres, I fell in love with jazz after accidentally purchasing Wes Montgomery’s The Incredible Jazz Guitar and Chet Baker’s Chet Baker Sings at Tower Records in Hiroshima.

Eager to learn jazz, I started playing jazz guitar little by little. However, none of my friends were interested in jazz at the time, making it difficult to find someone to play with or learn from. While attending university in Hiroshima, I decided to explore the local jazz scene and visited jazz clubs in the area.

It was at one of these clubs that I met my first jazz guitar mentor, Takeshi Saito. He was an incredible guitarist and very kind to me. I asked him if I could take lessons, and he agreed. Around the same time, I met one of my best friends, Takuma Matsumoto, a talented trumpet player. We were the same age and bonded over our shared passion for music and our dreams. Takuma introduced me to the vibrant local jazz scene, which was thriving in Hiroshima at the time.

I started attending jam sessions almost every night, learning how to play jazz from other musicians. I was fortunate to be part of such a supportive and talented community. Later, I met my second jazz guitar mentor, Kid Hamano, one of the most renowned guitarists in western Japan. I learned a great deal from his lessons as well.

My professional career began while I was still a university student. I was fortunate to have many opportunities to perform with Suetoshi Shimizu, a legendary Japanese saxophone player based in Hiroshima. Although he never explicitly taught me how to play, I gained invaluable lessons from playing alongside him.

After graduating from university, I moved to Tokyo to pursue my career. I attended numerous jam sessions to connect with other musicians. Over time, I formed my own quartet and began performing regularly at the legendary venue, Asagaya Manhattan.

The venue’s owner, Yasutaka Mochizuki, was incredibly kind and supportive. He encouraged me to compose and perform my own music, which became a turning point in my career.

From 2012 to 2013, I received several offers from a company to compose and record music. However, it was a challenging project because the timeline was extremely tight—I had to compose and record around 30 songs in just two to three weeks. Despite the pressure, I pushed through without overthinking, and fortunately, everything went smoothly.

To my surprise, the resulting album, Hawai Yasuragi Cafe, achieved the No. 1 spot on iTunes. This experience taught me an invaluable lesson: even if you feel unprepared, you should give it your all. Don’t overthink—just take action. You never know what incredible outcomes might come your way.

I also had the chance to collaborate with Nanny Assis, one of the most renowned Brazilian percussionists. The recording session was incredible; I was blown away by his musicality and groove. At the time, Nanny was based in NYC, and working with him inspired me to take the leap and move to New York City myself.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

. As a Japanese musician living in NYC, one of my goals is to blend my musical roots with American music. For the past 20 years, I tried to distance myself from my Japanese musical roots because I wanted to become a great jazz guitarist. To me, Japanese music and jazz felt completely different especially rhythm and groove, and I focused on absorbing as much as I could from jazz.

However, after moving to NYC, especially in the past three years, I’ve realized how much Japanese culture and music are appreciated in the United States.
In the past, I tried to suppress the natural musical sensibilities that come from being Japanese. But now, I’ve come to embrace them and want to express them more freely. I believe this will create a unique sound that only I can produce.

This has become one of my most important goals as a musician.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

For me, the most rewarding aspect of being a musician is that I can easily connect with other people. I consider my self as an introvert, however I have so many musical friends because of I play music. I think the music is universal language.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.shinyaarasuna.com/
• Instagram: @shinyaarasuna
• Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/@l7avion

Image Credits

Photo by Mark Tondi #1, #2
Mari Shiina #3, #4, #5, #6, #7