MAMINO UNRYU YORITA / 寄田 雲龍 真見乃 is a truly remarkable shakuhachi player and a prodigy of the highest order. In 2006, at the age of 15, she became the youngest woman ever to be awarded a Shihan by the Tozan-ryu. This extraordingary accomplishment was acknowledged by the press throughout Japan. Wanting to learn classical shakuhachi, Mamino began studying Kinko ryu honkyokuwith Yoshinobu Taniguchi soon thereafter. She has also studied with Living National Treasure Aoki Reibo and Katsuya Yokoyama, who referred to her as a "genius". Her remarkable accomplishments testify to this fact. In just one year, she passed the Dai shihan (Grandmaster) exam (Kinko-ryu) and in 2008, passed the Dai shihan (Grand Master) exam (Watazumido, Fuke Meian ryu, Koden classical shakuhachi and Azuma ryu). At the age of 18, even before graduating from high school, Mamino received the Meiyo Dai Shihan rank (Honorable Grand Master), an achievement that was totally unprecedented. In 2009, she gained admission to Tokyo Geijutsu Daigaku (Tokyo University of the Arts) where she presently studies shakuhachi.
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