Konnichiwa! Welcome to Motoko’s homepage!

Great News!

• The BOOK is here!
• Motoko and Eshu headlining Connecticut Storytelling Festival
• Motoko featured at the 2011 National Storytelling Festival

The long-awaited Second Edition of A Year in Japan: Folktales, Songs and Art for the Classroom is finally available!

Expanded from the 1st Edition, the book includes:

• New stories
• New art projects
• New CD including all songs in Japanese and English
• New section with updated information on elementary schools in Japan
  For more information and sample pages, click here.
  For order information, click here.

Motoko and Eshu will be the featured headliners for the 31st annual Connecticut Storytelling Festival in New London, CT on April 28, 2012! They will premier their latest joint program, “Chicken-Fried Sushi: Stories to Nourish the Soul.” Don’t miss this special day! Check http://www.connstorycenter.org/festival.htm for more info

Motoko’s appearance at the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, TN in 2011 as a Featured Ghost Story Teller was a smashing success! Everyone got a BIG CHILL from her rendition of Lafcadio Hearn’s classics such as “The Corpse Rider” and “The Death Grip”! She thanks the International Storytelling Center for their continued advocacy for the art of storytelling!

Motoko’s new CD is finally available! Like a Lotus Flower: Girlhood Tales from Japan is a collection of Motoko’s personal and family stories set in a rich tapestry of contemporary Japan. Listen and discover the charm of a public bathhouse, what a “barcode” means for Japanese men, and how Motoko and Eshu can turn Cherry Blossom song into a rap! (It's called SakuRAP:) (Click here)

The National Storytelling Network awards the 2009 J.J. Reneaux Mentorship Grant to Dustin Loehr of Arizona, with Motoko serving as his mentor! Motoko is thrilled to take on this new and exciting role. The Grant is designed to “help a gifted young teller (18-30 years of age) develop performance skills by working with a seasoned, well-respected teller.” Check www.storynet.org for more info.

Motoko’s debut CD “The Promise of Chrysanthemums” is a 2007 National Parenting Publications Awards (NAPPA) Honors Winner! The NAPPA is one of the most prestigious awards in children’s learning and entertainment. (www.parenthood.com)

Motoko’s lovely voice and enchanting music lead listeners through a wonderful selection of Asian folktales. ---NAPPA

Motoko’s appearance as a New Voice Featured Teller at the 2007 National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee, was a smashing success! It has led to many Festival engagements across the U.S. such as.....(Read more.)

The combination of skill, talent and ability to translate emotion to motion created entertaining and exciting imagery. Motoko puts the audience on an emotional roller coaster. She takes you up, down, upside down and lets you off feeling exhilarated and charged up…Her show was a winner.
Massachusetts Daily COLLEGIAN

Parents’ Choice Award-winning storyteller Motoko enchants audiences of every age with her weaving of ancient lore, original tales, lyrical movement and traditional music. Her repertoire includes Asian folktales, Zen tales, comical tales from rakugo (a Japanese traditional style of storytelling), funny mime vignettes, as well as personal stories from her childhood in Japan and her life as an immigrant in the U.S. Motoko also offers K-12 classroom workshops and residencies on Japanese culture, creative writing, and storytelling. Her one woman mime program, “The Girl in the Mirror: Mime for Teens” addresses issues relevant to the lives of middle and high school students. She can also be booked together with her partner Eshu Bumpus, a nationally-known storyteller of African folktales.