A citizen of the Land of the Rising Sun, Akira Takeguchi, fell in love with the magical sound of the Kazakh dombra and traveled to Almaty to immerse himself in the culture of the Great Steppe. His dream is to meet the legendary kui master and composer Seken Turysbekov to learn the art of playing the dombra firsthand.

The first chord of the Kazakh instrument captured Akira’s heart eight years ago, and since then, the dombra has become his faithful companion. Through the internet, he studied the kuis of Seken Turysbekov, carefully analyzing every note. However, he felt that truly understanding the soul of the music could only be achieved through a personal meeting with the master.

In Almaty, Seken Turysbekov introduced Akira to the State Chamber Orchestra Ak Zhauyn, which warmly welcomed the guest by performing several folk compositions for him. Seken-aga admitted that he was deeply moved by Akira’s sincere love for Kazakh music and recalled how, during tours in Japan, audiences repeatedly requested encores of Könil Tolqyny and Ak Zhauyn.

“Kuis do not require translation—they must be heard with the heart and felt with the soul. Seeing someone who is genuinely in love with Kazakh music brings me great joy,” shared Seken Turysbekov.

Akira first saw a dombra in Turkey, where he learned to play from Kazakh students. Today, his repertoire includes more than twenty kuis, including Adai, Saryarka, and Balbyrauyn. At a music competition in Japan, he won the Grand Prix by performing Aqqu by Nurgisa Tlendiyev.

“I now live in Almaty, eager to deepen my understanding of Kazakh traditions and learn the language. Meeting Seken-aga has been the most significant event of my life. I am happy to be learning from a great master,” says Akira Takeguchi.

This meeting became a symbol of true art and spiritual harmony, demonstrating how the dombra unites hearts across distances and cultural differences.