Born in Obihiro, Hokkaido, Honya is one of Japan’s most highly regarded ocarina artists, appearing in concerts and on television and radio. Since 1993, she has released 14 original CDs.
At the invitation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, she has given solo performances in Korea, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Panama, Dominican Republic, Peru, and Bolivia. She has also given numerous performances in Italy, Spain, Brazil, Taiwan, and other countries. She is highly regarded for her serene tone worldview and has many fans in Japan and abroad.
She has published CD books “Four Seasons of Ocarina” (2018), “Ocarina Journey” (2019), and “Honya Micaco’s Ocarina Mood” (2020) from Shinko Music, and plans to publish the fourth book in the series in summer 2024.
In 2022, she wrote the lyrics and composed the school song for Obihiro Municipal Ozora Gakuen Compulsory Education School.
In 2023, Honya Micaco original model was released by Haneul ocarina in Korea.
She is a special tourism ambassador for Kochi Prefecture, Takamatsu City, Tottori City, Tsumagoi Cabbage Ambassador, and Asama Geopark Special Ambassador.
She made her debut on Toshiba EMI in 1994. Her performance of the song Tanpopopo for a television commercial featuring Meg Ryan for the Suntory Beverages bottled tea, Nohohon-cha, enjoyed great popularity, resulting in frequent uses of her music in media spots, and ensuring a place for this talented melody-maker as one of the sparks that led to a boom in the popularity of ocarina music.
For two years, she played the flute-playing fairy La-La in the NHK Kyoiku television program, Tutu Ensemble.
In the 2001-2 period, she made a pilgrimage to Shikoku, visiting 88 sacred locations on foot as part of the creation of a work on the theme of “prayer.” Her one year and nine month journey was broadcast by Nishi Nippon TV as the documentary, “Kaze ni dakarete: Honya Micaco no Shikoku Junrei” (Embraced by the Wind: Micaco Honya’s Shikoku Pilgrimage). The documentary was later released as a 6-video series.
At a performance in Italy in 2007, she was awarded a gold medal in recognition of her “contributions to traditional music culture” by the governor of Lombardy. She also authored the book, “Kaze ni dakarete: Honya Micaco no Shikoku Junrei” (Embraced by the Wind: Micaco Honyas Shikoku Pilgrimage).