Masayo Ishigure is a New York-based koto and shamisen player from Japan. She began her music studies at age five and later became a special research student at the Sawai Koto Academy. Known for blending traditional Japanese music with diverse genres, Masayo has performed at venues like Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall. She has collaborated with artists such as Yo-Yo Ma and Yitzhak Perlman and contributed to the Grammy-winning Memoirs of a Geisha soundtrack.