Kozo Kanatani was born in Kobe in 1966 and began the guitar at age 10 under the direction of
Katsuo Kobayashi and Ichiro Okamoto. He went to France in 1984 where he studied at the
Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris under Alexandre Lagoya and Carel Harms,
and at the Université Musicale Internationale de Paris under Michel Sadanowsky. He also
participated in Leo Brouwer's masterclasses.
During his studies abroad, he appeared on Radio France's modern music program and was
involved in the performance of many new works.
With a wide repertoire spanning music from the Baroque, Classical, and modern periods,
Kanatani is highly acclaimed for his aesthetics of sound and for his refined artistic expression, both tools which he uses for communicating his great love for music.
Since 2011 he has started performing on the 11string guitar to explore new soundscapes.