The New York run of YOAH, which I created and perform in as Artistic Director, will finally begin in mid-March.
Since last year, we’ve been holding numerous online meetings with the New York team, and as we entered 2026, the discussions have really started to heat up.

YOAH features two diabolo artists, myself included, and this time I’ll be performing together with Akira Fukagawa, who was the original diabolo cast member of the production.
You can find more information about him here:

We’re the same age, and we’ve been rivals ever since our first year of high school.
He’s now mainly based in Germany.
Having a rival—and companion—you can keep challenging over the years is truly something to be grateful for.

There are tricks he can do that I simply can’t beat, and areas where I have the upper hand as well.
Our performance worlds overlap, but they’re also a little different: he’s firmly rooted in circus and theater, while I move between circus, events, and street performance.
Each of our ways of living seeps into our performance, and that depth becomes richer in your thirties.

That’s what makes the idea of the two of us performing diabolo together so dramatic—and so exciting.

Rehearsals have finally begun.
The video was taken during a rehearsal at the Itoshima General Sports Park Gymnasium in Itoshima City, Fukuoka Prefecture. (Personally, I think this gym is among the best environments in Japan.)
Six diabolos are flying through the air. It may look simple, but it’s extremely difficult and requires perfect timing and trust between us.
There aren’t many people in the world who can do this.

Will it all come together in New York?
I honestly can’t wait.