Tadao Sawai has been played on NTS in shows including The Early Bird Show w/ Spirit Blue, featured first on 10 November 2021. Songs played include In Bloom (Mankai) and 磯節 Iso Bushi.

Tadao Sawai (沢井忠夫) was born in Aichi Prefecture, Japan in 1938. His father was a shakuhachi performer and at around the age of 10 Sawai began to study the koto. In 1958 he graduated from the traditional music department of Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music. In 1959 he was chosen by the Japanese national broadcasting company NHK as the best new performer, and from that time forward he began…