Sakurai Makiko studied piano at Nara Temple and at Osaka University of the Arts.
Since 1986 she has studied Shomyo,an ancient(Heian period ,781-1192 AD) from of chant associated with the Tendai sect of Buddhism,with teachers Genshin Nakayama and Ryoshu Kamiya.
Sakurai Makio in its pure,unaccompanied from,she occasionally combines it with gagaku(medieval court music),and has adapted it for contemporary settings of her own and by Japanese composer Mamoru Fujieda and Ayuo ("The Night Chant"and "Izutsu",both released on the Tzadik label).
She is the performer of female folk music and dance of Heian era.
She has also studied Gagaku,the japanese bamboo flute called Ryuteki and Javanese gamelan in Surakarta,as well as Yemanite ritual and chant an Jerusalem,and Navajo language in New Mexico.She has been in residence at the Wurlitzer Faoundation in Taos,creating music and dance with children at Taos Pueblo in 2000.
| Source | Title | Author | Label | Order No. | Year | Sample |
| CD | Insei-Amidakyo | SAKURAI Makiko | Bamboo | BCD-001 | 1993 |  (Insei-Amidakyo) |
| CD | The Night Chant | Mamoru FUJIEDA (For Vocal) | TZADIK | TZ-7003 | 1995 | - |
| CD | IZUTSU | AYUO (For Vocal) | TZADIK | TZ-7227 | 2000 | - |
| CD | Water's Female Performer | SAKURAI Makiko | Bamboo | BCD-035 | 2001 | (Kaikotsu) |
| CD | REAL JAPANESE UNDERGROUND 2006 | V.A. (For Tsuku-yori) | LOST RIVERS PRODUCT | LRP015-017 | 2006 | (Iza Tachinamu) |
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E-mail:Sakurai Makiko |