{"id":180195,"date":"2026-10-08T10:34:02","date_gmt":"2026-10-08T01:34:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/?post_type=event&p=180195&lang=en"},"modified":"2026-10-08T14:00:52","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T05:00:52","slug":"yuri-kasparyan-comes-to-fukuoka-2026","status":"publish","type":"event","link":"https:\/\/www.fukuoka-now.com\/en\/event\/yuri-kasparyan-comes-to-fukuoka-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Kino Guitarist Yuri Kasparyan Comes to Fukuoka"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kino guitarist Yuri Kasparyan will appear at Fukuoka Art Museum on Nov. 27 for a special public event on Soviet rock music, organized by Dr. Helo\u00edsa Seratiuk Flores, Specially Appointed Assistant Professor at Kyushu University\u2019s Institute for Asian and Oceanian Studies (Q-AOS). The event grew directly from Flores\u2019s fascination with Kino and her efforts to trace a little-known connection between the Soviet rock band and Japan dating back more than three decades. Kyushu University lists Flores as the person in charge of the event. Kyushu University<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Kino

Photo by Yulia Gubina<\/p><\/div>\n

Titled \u201cYuri Kasparyan: Rock Music in the Soviet Union,\u201d<\/strong> the evening will include a screening of Rachid Nougmanov\u2019s 1986 short film Ya-Hha!, featuring Viktor Tsoi and Kasparyan, followed by a one-hour guided interview with Kasparyan and a one-hour open Q&A. The discussion will cover his experience as a rock musician in the Soviet Union, the role music played in building community, his career, and the influence of Japanese culture on his work. Asia Week Kyushu University<\/a><\/p>\n

For those unfamiliar with Kino, the story begins with Viktor Tsoi<\/strong>, the band\u2019s singer and songwriter. Emerging from Leningrad\u2019s underground rock scene, Kino became one of the best-known bands of the late Soviet era, while Tsoi developed into a major cultural figure whose influence continued long after his death. He also starred in Nougmanov\u2019s 1988 film The Needle (Igla), which brought Tsoi and Kino to a wider international audience. Tsoi was born in 1962 and died in a traffic accident on Aug. 15, 1990, aged 28. Central Bank of Russia<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Kino

Yuri Kapsaryan, Viktor Tsoi, Gustav Gurianov, and Igor Tikhomirov, from the band Kino, Leningrad, Russia, 1986. (Photo by Joanna Stingray)<\/p><\/div>\n

The film was shown at the Sundance Film Festival in 1990, where it attracted international attention. According to the account assembled by Flores through her contacts with people directly involved at the time, Japanese entertainment company Amuse Inc. became interested in The Needle, and discussions expanded into a possible music project involving Kino and Southern All Stars. Deseret News<\/a> News Article – English<\/p>\n

Tsoi subsequently visited Japan in the spring of 1990 and met Keisuke Kuwata<\/strong> of Southern All Stars. Plans were being explored for Kino to perform in Japan, with further collaboration between the two bands also under discussion. Photographs from the visit document Tsoi and Kuwata together, while Japanese accounts from the period also refer to Amuse considering a Kino Japan tour. Tuesday Breakheart<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Kino

Joanna Stingray, Japanese Pop musician Keisuke Kuwata, Viktor Tsoi, and Amuse Entertainment owner Mr Osato, Tokyo, Japan, 1990. (Photo by Joanna Stingray)<\/p><\/div>\n

Those plans ended abruptly when Tsoi died that August. What might have become a remarkable Soviet-Japanese rock connection remained largely a story of what could have been. News Article – English<\/p>\n

For Flores, however, the story did not end there.<\/p>\n

A longtime Kino fan, she began contacting people connected to Tsoi, The Needle, and the unrealized Japan project. That work led to the November 2025 Kyushu University Asia Week event \u201cSoviet Film: Connecting Asia through the Work of Viktor Tsoi,\u201d held at the university\u2019s Ohashi Campus. The Nov. 8 event brought together figures including The Needle director Rachid Nougmanov, producer Joanna Stingray, and Kiki Miyake, formerly of Amuse Inc., who had been involved in bringing the film to Japan. Kyushu University records 50 participants at the event. Asia Week Kyushu University<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Kino

Professor Kang Byoung Yoong, Rachid Nougmanov, Kiki Miyake, A. Professor Charl\u00e8ne Clonts, Lecturer Rieko Kamioka. Soviet Film: Connecting Asia through the Work of Viktor Tsoi event at Kyushu University, Ohashi Campus, 2025. (Photo by Maria Almeida)<\/p><\/div>\n

Flores\u2019s efforts also led her directly to Yuri Kasparyan. During a visit to St. Petersburg in 2025, she met the Kino guitarist and asked whether he would consider coming to Japan, a country he had long wanted to visit after hearing Tsoi speak enthusiastically about his own trip. After further discussions within Kyushu University, an invitation became possible, and Kasparyan accepted. News Article – English<\/p>\n

Now, 36 years after Tsoi\u2019s visit and the unrealized plans surrounding Kino and Japan, Kasparyan will finally come to Fukuoka.<\/p>\n

Rather than a concert, the Nov. 27 program offers a chance to hear directly from one of the musicians at the center of Kino\u2019s history. It also brings full circle a Japan connection that began in 1990 and was revived in Fukuoka through Flores\u2019s determination to find the people behind the story and bring them together again.<\/p>\n

\"Kino

Kino concert at the Luzhniki Stadium with 70.000 attendees, Moscow, Russia, 2026. (Photo by Yulia Gubina)<\/p><\/div>\n

Event Information<\/H4><\/p>\n