Makoto Oka (Conductor of the Echigo-Tsumari Kapukapu Orchestra; tenor saxophone, flute)
He made his debut on the jazz scene while still a student at Hitotsubashi University, performing with groups such as Takaaki Miyanoue & Smokin’ and the Yoshio Ikeda Quartet. In 1990, he received a scholarship to study at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, USA. After studying there for two years, he moved to New York and lived in the United States for a total of four years.He returned to Japan in 1994 and resumed his activities in the country. Currently, in addition to performing with his own band and Saxophobia, he also participates in “Shige-chan Ichiza,” led by Shigeru Muroi and Yoshifumi Hasegawa. In 2013, he launched the “Music Waterwheel Project,” working on the creation of mechanical musical devices powered by waterwheels and instruments made from old farming tools.
Through this project, he won the Runner-up Prize at the Kobe Biennale 2013 “Music & Art on Stage Competition.” Since 2014, he has organized the “Tobigamori Waterwheel Music Festival” every September in Senmae-cho, Ichinoseki City, Iwate Prefecture.He has participated in the “Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale 2022,” “Nakanojo Biennale 2021,” “Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale 2024,” and “Setouchi International Art Festival 2025.”
The permanent installation *Farming implements as instruments!*, installed at the performance venue, the “Echigo-Tsumari Kamigo Clove Theatre” in Echigo-Tsumari, can be viewed on the day of the performance.

Together with musician Jun Oka, we create instruments using farming tools and folk artifacts found in the local area, and perform music using those instruments. The members were recruited from various regions with the stipulation that “no musical experience is required.” We do not use sheet music during rehearsals; instead, we primarily use vocal cues such as “don-don,” “da-da-ta,” and “kapu-kapu.” Based at the Echigo-Tsumari Kamigo Clove Theatre, we are active year-round.