Kunimoto Takeharu was a prominent Japanese shamisen player and roukyoku singer.
In addition to performing and recording traditional music, he was also the only prominent shamisen player to perform and record bluegrass music; he spent some time in the early 2000s in the bluegrass program of East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tennessee. He also performed and recorded in a rock music-influenced style.
At the age of 14 Kunimoto attended a Bill Monroe concert in Tokyo and shook his hand. Kunimoto credited Bill Monroe's influence with why he devoted himself to becoming a bluegrass player.
Kunimoto Takeharu passed away at the age of 55, following an illness.
