GOCOO (pronounced gokuu) is a Japanese Taiko Drum band that, while playing more than 40 Japanese drums, creates the sound and beat of mother earth. The band consist of 7 female and 4 male members who generate their original sound that cannot simply be categorized as traditional, folk or rock music. The sound is more primitive and trance-like and it is beyond nationality and music genre. The core of the band is its leader, Kaori Asano, who possesses the enchanting power of a modern shaman.
Ms. Asano brings her sticks down with full power as she swings her long hair as in a shishi lion dance.
Ms. Asano has said: “On stage, there comes a moment when daily affairs are stripped down to nothing but “love” and “gratitude” - the most genuine feelings of our souls.  I think this must be what was originally intended by the idea of having a “festival”.   I am often told that I am expressing something new but in truth, the newest things are intimately connected with the oldest things”
  The band was formed in 1997 and GOCOO is highly regarded in Japan as well as in other countries.  They have performed more than 100 shows abroad, including Europe. Their music was used in the movie, Matrix. GOCOO also performed their music at the opening of the Earth Summit in 2008 as an Asian representative.  

Shinji Lake is located between Matsue and Izumo districts in Shimane Prefecture. The lake  is a known a‘brackish-water lake’, because it has a   mixture of both fresh and seawater. Also, it is said that it was formed 10,000 years ago. The word Shinji evolved from the word ‘Swine’s pathway’. It is the 7th largest lake in Japan. Moreover, the lake is a habitat of viand fishes, both fresh water and seawater varieties. In this sense, it is also known as the number-one fare spot for Corbicula japonica. The corbiculidae shellfish plays an important role in the loch. It clarifies the water by swallowing plankton and expelling clean water. It is possible, with the present quantity of shellfish, to purify 5 times the amount of water in Shinji Lake. In winter, over 20,000 birds, including swan, goose and duck, come to the lake. The abundant fish and shellfish that depend upon the lake’s eutrophication (natural enriching with nutrient), a feature of brackish-water, become the prey of the birds. Photographers also gather around the lake to catch the mystery of nature on film.