Rajasthan’s Spiritual & Folk Music Comes Alive in Japan

The Malang Folk Foundation has announced the Osaka Kabir Yatra, an international edition of India’s longest travelling folk music festival, the Rajasthan Kabir Yatra. From July 5 to 12, 2025, this special event will take place across Osaka and Kyoto, organised in collaboration with the Indian Ocean World Studies (INDOWS) programme at the University of Osaka.

The Yatra celebrates the soulful poets and mystics of India, bringing their timeless songs of Bhakti and Sufism—featuring legends such as Kabir, Meera Bai, Bulleh Shah, and Shah Latif—to Japanese audiences. Led by the acclaimed Manganiyar vocalist Sakur Khan and his ensemble from western Rajasthan, the event aims to foster cultural dialogue through music and shared spiritual reflection.

Throughout the week, visitors will enjoy vibrant concerts, insightful student seminars, and interactive workshops exploring themes like love, surrender, and spiritual unity. Highlights include a public Sufi Evening on July 5 at Osaka University’s Minoh Campus, free for all, followed by a series of engaging talks, music sessions, and instrument demonstrations—mainly for students.

The festival culminates on July 11 with a Satsang concert at Kyoto’s Utano Youth Hostel, open to the public and free of charge, offering a moment for shared listening and reflection. Partnerships between the Malang Folk Foundation and the INOWS programme highlight a shared commitment to cultural exchange and spiritual dialogue.

“This unique cultural odyssey brings the timeless wisdom of India’s mystic saints—Kabir, Meera Bai, Bulleh Shah, and others—across the seas to Japan. Through soul-stirring Sufi music performances and reflective sessions, the tour carries the living oral traditions of India to new shores. It’s about awakening deeper questions through music that has lived for centuries on the tongues of wandering saints,” said Gopal Singh Chouhan, Founder of the Rajasthan Kabir Yatra and Malang Folk Foundation.