Toyomi Iwata

🪔 About

Toyomi Iwata is a Japanese artist dedicated to the Indian classical dance form of Koodiyattam, specializing in mizhavu percussion and Nangiarkoothu performance. She graduated from the Percussion Department at Kunitachi College of Music, Japan. Iwata's passion for Mizhavu and Koodiyattam began in 2010. Her first visit to Kerala, India, was in 2011, and since 2012, she has regularly attended the Koodiyattam festival at Ammannur Chachu Chakyar Smaraka Gurukulam in Irinjalakuda, taking two-week vacations annually, except for the COVID interregnum. She has undergone extensive training under several esteemed gurus. Her training in Koodiyattam and Mizhavu was under Tomoe Tara Irino, with whom she also regularly performs as an accompaniment artist in Japan. Iwata pursued the Navarasa Sadhana Course of G. Venu at Natanakairali. For Nangiarkoothu, she trained under Usha Nangiar and Saritha Krishnakumar at the Gurukulam. Her mizhavu training was under V.K.K. Hariharan. Toyomi Iwata had her Arangettam in both Mizhavu and Nangiarkoothu in 2018. She performs solo and has been a regular accompaniment artist for Tomoe in Japan. In January 2026, she made history as one of three Japanese female artists to perform at the 39th Koodiyattam festival at Ammannur Chachu Chakyar Smaraka Gurukulam, where her mizhavu performance was particularly noted. She is also learning Sanskrit and Malayalam to deepen her understanding of the art form.