Yatsuhashi Kengyô
Born: 1614, Kyoto, Japan
Died: 1685, Japan
Nationality: Japanese
Yatsuhashi Kengyō was a Japanese musician and composer from Kyoto. The name Kengyō is an honorary title given to highly skilled blind musicians.
Yatsuhashi, who was born and died in Japan, was originally a player of the shamisen, but later learned the koto from a musician of the Japanese court. While the instrument was originally restricted to the court, Yatsuhashi is credited as the first musician to introduce and teach the koto to general audiences. He is thus known as the "Father of Modern Koto."
He changed the limited selection of six pieces to a brand new style of koto music which he called kumi uta.
Read more at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yatsuhashi_Kengyo