Jazz in Japan | Nat Geo Photo of the Day
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TL;DR
Shoji 'Swifty' Sugawara runs Basie, a famed Tokyo jazz club that popularized the 'kissa' concept for focused music listening. The club closed during the pandemic but reopened for a National Geographic feature in 2026.
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Jazz in JapanShoji SugawaraBasie jazz clubkissaTokyo music scene
Jazz in Japan
Shoji "Swifty" Sugawara (center) holds court at his legendary Tokyo jazz club, Basie. Sugawara popularized the "kissa" in Japan, a café or bar dedicated to listening to music in the company of others with reverent focus—and minimal talking. Basie has been closed since the pandemic and is no longer open to the public, but Sugawara agreed to open it for a story in National Geographic's March 2026 issue.
Tim Davis, National Geographic Image Collection