Akiko Hirai is an ethnomusicologist and anthropologist who obtained her Ph.D. in Musicology from Sorbonne University in 2020 under the supervision of Professor François Picard. Her research focuses on the kagura, Japanese ritual theatre and dance, with particular emphasis on the ritual techniques integrated into dance choreography. She is currently preparing her postdoctoral dissertation in Religious Studies on the ensemble of ritual pieces featuring the old man masks called Shikisanban and their dissemination in folkloric theatre in the northwestern regions of Japan, at the École Pratique des Hautes Études in Paris, France. She is also a postdoctoral researcher at the East Asian Civilizations Research Centre.

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Akiko began studying piano at the age of 4. She obtained her Master of Liberal Arts and Humanities from Ochanomizu University in Tokyo, Japan, in 2004, majoring in Vocal Performance and Japanese Ritual Music Research. After graduation, she moved to France in 2008 to further her music studies with Hungarian opera singer Ms. Sylvia Sass. In addition to vocal lessons, she enrolled at Paris-Sorbonne University (Paris IV) in 2010 to study ethnomusicology and later earned her second Master's degree in Music and Musicology in 2013.

 

She is a member of the Society of Folkloric Performing Arts of Japan, the Musicological Society of Japan, and the French Society of Ethnomusicology.