
Yogetsu Akasaka is a Zen Buddhist priest, live-looping artist, and meditation musician whose work bridges ancient traditions and modern soundscapes. Combining ethereal handpan melodies, rhythmic beatboxing, and Buddhist mantras, Yogetsu creates transformative, improvised live-looping music that embodies the Zen philosophy of treasuring each moment as a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
His performances guide audiences on a journey of self-discovery and inner peace. During the pandemic, Yogetsu gained international recognition when his Heart Sutra Beatbox Remix went viral on YouTube, reaching millions of viewers worldwide. This success propelled his global career, leading to performances at renowned international festivals, including Wonderfruit (Thailand), Shambala (UK), Colors of Ostrava (Czech Republic), and SXSW (USA). In 2023 and 2024, he was featured as an official SXSW artist, where he notably guided the audience at NASA’s keynote speech on an “inner space journey.”
Yogetsu has also shared his unique fusion of music and mindfulness at global wellness conferences, offering live sessions and workshops such as Voice Meditation and Active Meditation. Each workshop integrates breathwork with transformative, improvised music, created spontaneously in the present moment. This invites participants to tune into the here and now, reconnecting with themselves and experiencing the profound therapeutic power of the human voice and movement, inspired by the Zen practice of mindful presence.