The Blue Grass Story Tour in Japan: Christopher Henry and Kaz Inaba

Guest Contributor
August 11, 2026

Event Details

Final jam with Christopher Henry and Kaz Inaba at the Asakura Public Hall in Imabari (6/26/26) – photo courtesy of Kaz Inaba

This report is a contribution from Japanese bluegrass artist Kazuhiro Inaba about his recent tour of his homeland with American mandolinist Christopher Henry.

The Blue Grass Story Tour 2026 with Christopher Henry was a pleasant and impressive tour for me. Christopher and I talked about many bluegrass stories and shared some of them at our shows. When I do shows, I like to share the background of the songs we play and sing, and some untold unique characters of the artists we have loved. I believe some of those stories would add some flavor to the music.

Here are the list of the dates/gigs and the names of the musicians we had during the tour.

June 19 – Rocky Top – TOKYO

Our first gig of the Blue Grass Story Tour 2026 was held at Rocky Top, one of the oldest bluegrass clubs in Japan. We had a full house show with some special guests, Akio Okayama (guitar), Shinichi Murai (banjo), Nash Grier (8-year-old fiddler from Nashville), Yoshihiro Arita (banjo), my daughter, Alisa Inaba, and her singing partner, Miu Shiina (vocals). Tomohiro Kondo accompanied on the bass.

June 20 – Armadillo – NAGOYA

Finally, Christopher and his wife, Brooke, got to see their son, Gryphon, who attends Nagoya University, at the venue.

The Inaba Brothers sang some duets on the second set. Masatoshi Inaba and Takayuki Nakamura sat in with their mandolins, and Hiroyuki Momiyama (fiddle) and Cain (banjo), an exchange student from South Carolina, joined us at the end of the set. Hiroshi Yasuda and Tokuharu Nonoyama of All That Grass joined us singing harmony on White Dove as the encore.

June 21 – moss ARIMATSU – NAGOYA

Masatoshi Inaba coordinated the mandolin workshop by Christopher Henry.

The attendees enthusiastically listened and tried the lesson patterns Christopher showed them.

June 23 – 5^th Street – OSAKA

Yuji Ishihira played the bass with us.

One of Christopher’s old Japanese friends, Shin Akimoto, joined us with his mandolin for a couple of songs, Can’t You Hear Me Callin’, Jerudalem Ridge, and Cry Cry Darling on the second set.

Tact Yamada (fiddle) and Johnny Saito (guitar) sat in as well and played St. Anne’s Reel, Kentucky Waltz, and Wheel Hoss.

June 24 – Sakura FM – NISHINOMIYA

Christopher joined the live radio show, Kazuhiro Inaba’s Music Journey, and we both enjoyed playing guitars.

June 25 – FortwortH – NISHINOMIYA

A couple of guests joined my ‘solo’ gig, Lassie (a husband and wife duo), Junzo Tanimura (mandolin), Takeshi Sugata (vocal) and Christopher on guitar and mandolin.

June 25 – Shukugawa Public Hall – NISHINOMIYA

Junzo Tanimura of Mando Gym coordinated the mandolin workshop by Christopher Henry.

The attendees enjoyed the workshop, and one said, “I feel like I’m a better player already!”

June 26 – Asakura Public Hall – IMABARI

We hit the road from Osaka in the morning for Imabari City on the Shikoku Island. I worried about the approach of a typhoon, but the concert went well and was successful without any problem.

Junichi Iwasaki and folks at Asakura Bluegrass Club made all the arrangement and made it happen, and we enjoyed our friendship and jam session until 2 o’clock in the morning.

June 27 – Guitar Trailer – KURASHIKI

Driving two hours back to the mainland in Okyayama, Scott Chadwick, the owner of Guitar Trailer and a mandolin and guitar player, joined us as a guest. Motohiko Ikeda sat in and played the hot mandolin as well. We really fell in love with the old historical town of Kurashiki while we were walking around.

June 28 – Honky Tonk – KYOTO

Our final gig of the Blue Grass Story Tour 2026 was wrapped up at Honky Tonk in Kyoto, one of the oldest country music clubs in Japan.

Minoru Tanaka sat in with his guitar and we played triple guitars on a few songs.

Yuji Ishihira played the bass once again.