Akamine sisters
About Us
The Akamine Sisters — Natsuko and Maki — are a Tokyo-based performing duo dedicated to Ryukyuan classical dance, originally from Naha, Okinawa. At the age of six, both sisters began their formal training under Chikako Maeda, the head (iemoto) of the Hachiyo-ryu Yoine-no-kai school of Ryukyuan dance. After years of rigorous study, they each received the school's highest license, performing at some of the most distinguished stages in Okinawa, including Shuri Castle and productions organized by the National Theater Okinawa.
With the tagline "the world's slowest dance," the Akamine Sisters have carved out a distinctive presence in the performing arts world — one that bridges the ancient and the contemporary. Their artistry is shaped by the unique sensibility that only siblings can share, expressed through the meditative grace of Ryukyuan classical forms. Their excellence has been recognized with both the top prize and the encouragement prize at the Okinawa Times Arts Award in the Ryukyuan Classical Dance category.
Their international career began in 2018, when they were invited as headline guests to Japan Festival Canada, earning acclaim from audiences and critics alike. Their solo concert history reflects a steady trajectory of artistic ambition: 師情の舞 Shinasaki no Mai (Kioi Hall, Tokyo / National Theater Okinawa, 2019), 返照 Hansho (Ginza Oji Hall, Tokyo, 2024), and in 2025, a landmark sold-out performance at Carnegie Hall, New York — marking their full-scale debut on the American stage.
Also in 2025, the sisters performed 志shimai舞 Shimai at Zojoji Temple in Tokyo — a landmark Buddhist temple founded in the 14th century and the family temple of the Tokugawa shoguns — a program that resonated deeply with audiences for its fusion of classical spirit and contemporary vision. With a growing international profile and an unwavering commitment to the living tradition of Ryukyuan dance, the Akamine Sisters continue to bring this extraordinary art form to the world.
Akamine Natsuko
赤嶺 奈津子（姉）
Born in Naha, Okinawa, Natsuko became a disciple of the Hachiyo-ryu school founder, Chikako Maeda, at the age of six. She received the top prize in the Dance category of the 2009 Okinawa Times Traditional Arts Competition and was awarded a Ryukyuan Dance Hachiyo-ryu teaching license in 2014. Natsuko studied opera at the Showa Graduate School of Music, and through her experience performing as an opera singer on the domestic and international stage, she cultivated a fine artistic sensibility and powerful expressiveness that informs her Ryukyuan dance performances. Blessed with an exceptional ability to perform not only carefree, dynamic pieces such as “Ze” and “Hatomabushi” but also works such as “Nuhabushi” and “Hanafu” that demand deep emotional expression, the elder sister’s appeal lies in the lightness and elegance that emanate from her lithe core.
1989 Born in Naha, Okinawa.
1995 Becomes a disciple of Chikako Maeda, head of the Hachiyo-ryu school.
2004 Wins the Best Young Artist Award in the Dance category of the Okinawa Times Traditional Arts Competition
2006 Wins the award for Excellence in the Dance category of the Okinawa Times Traditional Arts Competition
2009 Moves to the Tokyo area to study opera at the Showa Graduate School of Music, where she will receive her master’s degree.
Wins the top prize in the Dance category of the Okinawa Times Traditional Arts Competition.
2014 Receives teaching license (no. 17) from the Hachiyo-ryu Yone-no-kai.
2020 Youngest recipient of the Encouragement Prize in the Traditional Dance Division, Okinawa Times Arts Awards
Akamine Maki
赤嶺 真希（妹）
Born in Naha, Okinawa, Natsuko became a disciple of the Hachiyo-ryu school founder, Chikako Maeda, at the age of six. She received the top prize in the Dance category of the 2015 Okinawa Times Traditional Arts Competition and was awarded a Ryukyuan Dance Hachiyo-ryu teaching license in 2017. After attending Aoyama Gakuin Women’s Junior College, she studied abroad in Toronto, Canada. Capable of employing her handsome features to display a soul-stirring vigor in Young Men’s Dances such as “Menuhama” and “Nubuikudochi”, she can also express endearment and transience through controlled movements in Women’s Dances such as “Shudon”. The younger sister’s appeal lies in the wide range of her expression, which moves freely between stillness and motion.
1992 Born in Naha, Okinawa.
1998 Becomes a disciple of Chikako Maeda, head of the
Hachiyo-ryu school.
2006 Wins the Best Young Artist Award in the Dance
category of the Okinawa Times Traditional Arts
Competition
2008 Wins the award for Excellence in the Dance category
of the Okinawa Times Traditional Arts Competition
2011 Moves to Tokyo to study English Literature at Aoyama
Gakuin Women’s Junior College.
2014 Travels to Toronto, Canada for language study.
2015 Returns to Japan.
Wins the top prize in the Dance category of the
Okinawa Times Traditional Arts Competition.
2016 Starts performing with Natsuko as the Akamine sisters.
2017 Receives teaching license (no. 21) from the Hachiyo-ryu
Yone-no-kai.
Carrying Ryukyuan Dance on their Shoulders
Commentary by Tatsuro Wajima, Associate Professor in the Department of Contemporary Liberal Arts, Aoyama Gakuin University
Since becoming disciples of Chikako Maeda, head of the Hachiyo-ryu school, the Akamine sisters have worked hard and matured together while making Ryukyuan dance a part of their lives. As adults, they have continued to grow and inspire each other in a spirit of mutual respect while developing their own abundant talents, and though still in their twenties, they have a commanding air about them that belies their age. In the Akamine sisters one sees nothing of the frivolity that is common among up-and-coming “sister units” trying to make their mark. The Akamine sisters’ performances have a beauty and impressiveness that can only be achieved through the inheritance of a traditional art that has been mastered through strict training and discipline. There is a perfect harmony between them that comes from having studied together from a young age, and a physical resonance between them that would not be possible if they did not have an intimate understanding of each other down to their flesh and bones. The Akamine sisters’ rendition of the classical dance, “Takadera Manzai”, exists in a realm that is inimitable. (The original ensemble dance, called “Manzai Tekiuchi (Vengeance Fulfilled)”, is a performance by two brothers, Jana nu Shi and Keiun.) The Akamine sisters are destined to carry on their shoulders the tradition of Ryukyuan dance to future generations.
Results and schedule
Akamine Sisters: Past and Upcoming Performances
Past performances
2003 Manabipia Okinawa Festival
2004~2009 “Invitation to Dance”, Shuri Castle
2007 “Yukibarai”, National Theatre Okinawa
2010～2013 “Okinawa Mensore Festa”, Ikebukuro Sunshine
2010 “Evening of Ryukyu Dance”, Sangenjaya Manmarunoki
“Path to Inheritance”, National Theatre Okinawa (Okinawa Times)
2013 “Urizun no mai”, National Theatre Okinawa
2014 Cultural exchange in Sofia, Bulgaria
“Ryukyu Dance Performance”, Hamura City, Tokyo
10th anniversary ceremony commemorating the opening of the senior facility in
Ise City, Mie Prefecture
Green Party held at Aoyama Gakuin Women’s Junior College
“Ryokudenkai”, Aoyama Gakuin Alumni Association
Cultural exchange in Toronto, Canada (while studying abroad)
2015 Katsushika Shobu Festival
Japan-Taiwan cultural exchange meeting held in Taiwan
2016 Asia Electronic Organ Art Festival
“Akemodoro no mai” performance held by the Tokyo branch of the Hachiyo-ryu
Yone-no-kai at Curian Hall
Performance in Hawaii commemorating the establishment of the Hawaiian branch
of the “Ryukyu Soukyoku Hozonkai”
2017 “Diversity of Japanese Culture”, hosted by the Dokkyo University Parents’
Association
Aoyama Gakuin University Open Seminar
Okinawa Fair, Aeon Shinagawa Seaside Store
“An Afternoon of Shamisen and Ryukyu Dance”, Aoyama Gakuin Women's Junior
College Alumni Association
2018 8th Ryukyu Classical Music Gathering
Okinawa Entertainment Association 50th anniversary commemorative
performance
2019. "Shinasaki no mai"Solo performance at Kioi Hall
"Shinasaki no mai" Solo performance at the National Theatre Okinawa
2022 "Akamine Sisters dinner show"at Yokota Air Base
"Ryukyu no Ayaoto" Uchisaiwaicho Hall,
2023 "An Evening of Ryukyu Buyou" Okura Shukokan Museum of Fine Arts
Luncheon party hosted by the Japan-America Women's Club
2024 "Hansho" Solo performance at Oji Hall Ginza
2025 "Shimai" Solo performance at NY Carnegie Hall, Zojoji temple Tokyo
