Junko Ueda is a Japanese singer and satsuma-biwa player, presenting Japanese traditional biwa music (story-telling) and shomyo Buddhist chanting. A musical performance of Junko Ueda extends Japanese ancient sound into modern times.

The satsuma-biwa story-telling tradition is unique musical treasure which has been passed on from generation to generation. Heike Monogatari (the story of Heike) is the most well-known Japanese epic from 13th century recited with the accompaniment of biwa. The stories are based on the Buddhist idea of cause and effect and human life's impermanence.