Harmony for a fragmented world
Bringing The Wisdom of Gagaku Into The World’s Intellectual Capital
A Cultural Diplomacy Initiative From Japan
ENSOPHIA
In the ancient world, music was more than entertainment.
It was part of statecraft — cultivated by those entrusted with governing.
“Listening” begins with how we understand ourselves in relation to others and to the situations we inhabit.
ENSOPHIA approaches this as a practical reorientation of the self.
Inspired by Gagaku, we explore Listening Leadership — coherence emerging without centralized control.
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At its core lies a philosophy we call Listening Leadership—the practice of creating harmony through deep listening, shared awareness, and the ability to integrate difference without domination.
This philosophy, which cultivates harmony between self and others, and between humans and nature, contains a remarkably forward-looking intelligence that resonates with modern theories of leadership, mindfulness, and organizational design.
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The spirit of Gagaku forms the foundation of Japan’s classical performing arts—Noh, Kyogen, Kabuki—and embodies Japan’s long-held tradition of pluralistic harmony, where Buddhism and Shinto, East and West, and diverse cultural influences coexist without erasure.
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ENSOPHIA is an independent cultural institution dedicated to revitalizing Gagaku’s Listening Leadership for the modern world.
Through cultural diplomacy, artistic collaboration, and leadership reflection, ENSOPHIA seeks to help global leaders listen across difference and tune people, organizations, cultures, and nations—past and future—into deeper harmony.
GAGAKU
Japan’s imperial Court Music
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Gagaku is one of the world’s oldest continuously performed musical systems, developed and preserved within the context of the Japanese imperial court for more than 1,300 years. In the ancient world, music was more than entertainment. It was part of statecraft — cultivated by those entrusted with governing.
Today, Gagaku continues to be performed at state occasions by musicians of the Imperial Household Agency, maintaining an unbroken lineage that offers a rare, living example of cultural continuity.
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Gagaku is one of the world’s oldest continuously performed musical systems, developed and preserved within the context of the Japanese imperial court for more than 1,300 years. In the ancient world, music was more than entertainment. It was part of statecraft — cultivated by those entrusted with governing.
Today, Gagaku continues to be performed at state occasions by musicians of the Imperial Household Agency, maintaining an unbroken lineage that offers a rare, living example of cultural continuity.
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Beyond its historical longevity, Gagaku is distinctive as a human coordination system.
It has sustained collective performance across generations without the use of a conductor or centralized command, relying instead on shared perception, timing, and relational awareness among performers.
Gagaku does not operate through a simple “leader and follower” structure, nor through individual expression alone.
Action is guided by attention to shared space rather than by assertion of individual intent.
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Musicians perform by situating themselves within a shared space that includes sound and silence, physical environment, ritual context, and temporal continuity.
This structure allowed Gagaku to integrate diverse cultural influences—many originating beyond Japan—without erasing difference or enforcing uniformity.
Over time, it became a foundation for other forms of Japanese performing arts, including Noh, Kyogen, and Kabuki, which inherited its emphasis on relational awareness and spatial coordination.
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It is this functional and perceptual structure—rather than its aesthetic or spiritual symbolism alone—that forms the basis of ENSOPHIA’s work.It is this functional and perceptual structure—rather than its aesthetic or spiritual symbolism alone—that forms the basis of ENSOPHIA’s work.
Activities
01 Gagaku Performance
A program of Gagaku performance—music, chant, dance, and ritual movement—presented as an arts and cultural diplomacy initiative. Through embassy receptions, corporate events, and international stages, ENSOPHIA communicates the wisdom of Gagaku—its philosophy of Listening Leadership—to audiences around the world.
（Arts & Cultural Diplomacy）
02 Gagaku Leadership
Experiential leadership programs grounded in the wisdom of Gagaku—a practice of Listening Leadership that cultivates presence, awareness, and the ability to harmonize across difference.
（Executive Education）
（Cultural & Aesthetic Experience Design）
03 Gagaku Luxury Brand
A high-end experiential brand that expresses the wisdom of Gagaku—its Listening Leadership—through fragrance, space design, sound, crafted objects, and immersive visual art. Developed in collaboration with leading hotels, museums, and global luxury brands.
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the Silk Road ensemble
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Silk Road Concert Commemorating the 400th Anniversary of Jissōzan Shōgaku-ji Temple
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New Year Gagaku Concert 2026 at Amanemu Hosted by Aman Resorts
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A Lecture-Concert at the National Gallery of North Macedonia
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A Performance by Lake Ohrid, Macedonia
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A Lecture-Concert at Sofia University, Bulgaria
Founders
Yoshika Sawairi
Founder
Professional & Artistic Background
She began her career at the Asian Productivity Organization, contributing to development projects in Indonesia, India, and South Africa, and later joined the World Economic Forum Japan Office, where she helped establish the office and led cultural and arts engagement with Japanese artists, spiritual leaders, and emerging young leaders. For nearly 20 years, she has studied traditional dances across Asia and the Middle East—including China, Korea, India, Central Asia, Persia, Turkey, and the Arab world—alongside Japan’s classical performing arts such as Noh, Gagaku, and Miko ritual dance, deepening her understanding of the cultural and spiritual landscapes of the Silk Road.
Leadership & Mission
She offers dedicatory music and dance at shrines and temples as prayers for peace, and her work embodies a commitment to cross-cultural connection through the universal language of artistic tradition. Motivated by this vision, she founded ENSOPHIA to cultivate harmony across cultures and to advance cultural diplomacy through music, ritual, and the performing arts..
Shō and Ancient Vocal RepertoireJumpei Ohtsuka
Artistic Training & Education
He studied music culture theory under Junichi Konuma at Waseda University, and later graduated from the Tokyo University of the Arts (Gagaku Program). After graduation, he trained extensively in shō, Right Dance (Ubugaku), wagon, and ancient Gagaku vocal traditions under Hideaki Toyohide (former Chief Court Musician of the Imperial Household Agency).).
Performance & Creative Work
He is active across classical Gagaku, contemporary music, improvisation, and cross-genre collaborations. He has participated in major projects including Miyamoto Unosuke Shoten’s “Iyasaka Project” and violinist Ikuko Kawai’s “Orchestra Hibiki.” He has also appeared in and provided musical coaching for NHK Taiga Drama productions. In recent years, he has deepened his work in ancient Gagaku vocal repertoire, and his rōei singing was featured in a special exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (2025).
Board of Directors
Director & Executive Director
CEO, Global Samurai Advisory, LLC
Takashi Kawamoto
Former diplomat at Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, later serving in Deloitte Strategy and the United Nations (EUHeadquarters) on rule-making for the Sendai Framework. Held leadership roles in global strategic communications as aDirector at Brunswick Group (U.S.), and in corporate strategy as Head of M&A Strategy & Governance at Kansai Paint.Founded Global Samurai Advisory LLC in 2025. Across diplomacy, consulting, the UN, and corporate leadership, he hasfocused on bridging Japan and the world and connecting culture, business, and society.
Shoukei Matsumoto
Director
Industrial Monk・CEO, Interbeing Inc.
Member of the World Economic Forum Young Global Leaders. Advisor to the DBJ Co-Creation Advisory Board; VisitingProfessor at Musashino University; Director of the Future Temple Management School. Graduate of the University of Tokyo(Philosophy) and Indian School of Business (MBA).Author of “The Monk’s Guide to Mindful Cleaning”—published in over 17languages. Translator of “The Good Ancestor”. Publisher of the “Hōjō-an” note magazine and host of the daily podcast TempleMorning Radio. Named one of Forbes JAPAN’s “100 Hopeful People Shaping the Future of the World” (2023).
Mihoko Kashiwakura
Director
Japan Resident Representative, Gates Foundation
Kazumi Terada
Director
CEO, Global Grace Link Japan, Inc.
Graduated from University of the Sacred Heart. Led international executive programs at an HR consulting firm, hostingnearly 100 global leaders including Mikhail Gorbachev and Al Gore. Founded Global Grace Link Japan, Inc. in 2008,following the launch of the Japan Office for one of Monaco’s three royal-sponsored grand balls. Recent work includesprograms with Singularity University Japan, support for young artists backed by HM King Charles III, and assisting theJapan launch of the Nobel Sustainability Award. As CEO, she leads an international consulting and production companysupporting new business development, product creation, PR, leadership training, media and cultural initiatives—linkingdiverse sectors to help build a world filled with grace, hope, and human potential.
Japan Country Director, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation since 2017, following roles in investment banking, ESG analysis,
and the World Economic Forum. Graduate of Keio University and the University of Cambridge (MBA); licensed U.S. CPA.
Founder of Adachi Kids Café, providing food support for single mothers, and Co-Founder/Board Member of the non-profit Choifull. Board Member of the Gojō Foundation.
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