Yumi’s childhood dream was to become a scientist. After more than 10 years working at a genetics lab in Portland, OR, she now is pursuing her grownup dream, to be a musician. Music for her has been a way to educate and entertain herself and people around.

Yumi Torimaru founded a Portland based non-profit organization, TAKOHACHI (www.takohachi.org) in 2007, and has given hundreds of shows. She became an apprentice of Ryuhiro Oyama, and has received a 'natori' certificate from one of the biggest Tsugaru Shamisen Organizations, ‘Oyama Kai’ in Japan in 2019. She has given a stage name as KOTORI Oyama, and launched "KOTORI Japanese Music". While Yumi contributes to educate and entertain in the States with music as a Bilingual Japanese Cultural Edutainer, KOTORI Japanese Music offers a small Japanese musical unit with Kotori’s Shamisen, Taiko and Bamboo flute music featuring other fellow musicians. She also offers Tsugaru Shamisen lessons with Kotori Kai. Please contact Yumi via email for any inquiries: KotoriJapaneseMusic@gmail.com

Will she ever give up on her new dream? “Maybe. Where there’s a will, there’s a way. I sure have a big will, and keep going until it ends”