Keiko Haruno

Keiko Haruno

KEIKO HARUNO was born in Tokyo but spent her preschool years in Texas. After graduating from the prestigious Tokyo University, she trained and auditioned as an actor and singer and soon achieved success as a TV talent, but found it unrewarding. Inspired by her exposure to rokyoku, Keiko burst into the dressing room of the great Yuriko Haruno II (1929- ) after a performance and begged to be taken on as her full-time disciple. Undaunted by rejection, Keiko regularly commuted by night bus the six hours between her home in Tokyo and Yuriko's training studio in Osaka, until she was accepted as full disciple in 2003. Keiko Harunomade her rokyoku debut in 2006 and since then has been blending conventional rokyoku performances with progressive projects incorporating other young traditional artists to reach new audiences. Keiko works tirelessly to broaden rokyoku's audience base and bring this exciting form of drama into the post-modern period.