Kashiwa Hang

Kashiwa Hang is Iwao Mano, a Japanese handpan performer and teacher whose compositions connect travel, nature and collaboration.

Iwao Mano, known as Kashiwa Hang, trained in architecture before leaving that profession in 2016 and travelling to Taiwan with a handpan. Street performance helped sustain his travels and led to musical opportunities, including work with the group Moonchazar and a French tour in 2017. His debut album, Deep Sound of Handpan, combines solo compositions with collaborations developed during those journeys. Relaxing RAV Vast explores the steel tongue drum, while HANDPAN | Inspiration from Nature & Traveling brings together pieces written between 2019 and 2023, from solo handpan to djembe collaborations. Based around Kashiwa and Tokyo, he performs, supplies music for audiovisual projects and runs Studio Kashiwa Hang lessons. His concerts and hands-on workshops connect the recording work with opportunities to encounter the instrument directly. He also appeared at Tokyo HandPan Festival in 2023.