Marin Naruse is an Amami shima-uta musician and researcher. Raised on Amami Oshima, an island in southern Japan, she grew up immersed in shima-uta and the sanshin. She currently serves as a Minyo Ambassador for the Japan Minyo Association and has developed a distinctive practice as a “performer–researcher,” moving fluidly between performance and academic research. Marin works across genres and cultural traditions, collaborating with orchestras, jazz musicians, Tsugaru shamisen performers, rakugo storytellers, and traditional musicians from around the world, and has performed and presented her work in diverse academic and cultural settings in Japan and abroad. Currently pursuing an MPhil in Japanese Studies at the University of Oxford, Marin explores ways to bring greater visibility to voices and stories from Amami and beyond through research and performance.