Kagura

What Kagura does

KAGURA, developed by Shikumi Design Inc. (株式会社Shikumi Design), is a Japan-based privately held software company headquartered in Fukuoka that produces an augmented-reality musical instrument converting body motion captured by a webcam into music in real time. Its technology stack centers on proprietary computer-vision gesture detection — supporting standard web cameras plus Intel RealSense 3D depth cameras (F200, SR300, D415) — combined with a drag-and-drop Icon and Block authoring interface, a Creator Mode for arranging scenes and timelines, and a Player Mode for live performance. The platform includes full MIDI compatibility for synchronization with DAWs and external digital instruments, a quantize function for timing precision, and multi-display output for stage use; content includes curated preset audio files by sound engineer Seiji Toda and animation imagery by TriF Studio.

The commercial product line consists of two perpetual-license desktop editions — KAGURA Pro at $499 USD (full feature set, MIDI, RealSense, multi-display, premium support) and KAGURA Solo at $99 USD (personal-use core features) — plus the KAGURA Player mobile app on iOS for playback of KAGURA songs. Distribution is direct-to-consumer through the company's own e-commerce storefront (kagura.cc), with immediate digital delivery of license keys and a 14-day free trial funnel for Pro. GTM relies on content marketing, social sharing, artist collaborations (D.M.M.G., KAO=S, TAQ8 & BANVI, Daichi, among others), and an education vertical targeting music, dance, and programming curricula; the company requires Pro licenses for institutional or school use. The platform is available globally through digital download with no geographic restrictions noted.

The company has no disclosed institutional venture funding beyond an initial Kickstarter campaign, no M&A activity, and no recent disclosed funding or headcount signals. Founder-CEO Shunsuke Nakamura leads a small team that has won seven international awards (Intel Perceptual Computing Grand Prize, Sónar+D Startup Competition 2016, WIRED Audi Innovation Award 2016, Microsoft Innovation Award Samurai Prize, among others), establishing credibility in the niche AR-music category. Operating status remains active, with the latest documented product iteration being Ver. 2.7 in June 2019 and subsequent macOS Catalina compatibility work in October 2019.

Name

Kagura

Legal name

Shikumi Design Inc.

Website

https://kagura.cc

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

KAGURA, developed by Fukuoka-based Shikumi Design Inc., is an AR musical instrument software that converts body motion captured by webcam into real-time music. It serves professional musicians, dancers, educators, and individual creators via two perpetual desktop tiers and an iOS Player app.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

AR Music Creation Software

NAICS

Software Publishers (5132)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Live Performance & DJ Software (Playback, Mixing, Lighting Control) (MPAIAIAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

VR/AR Gaming Platforms (BPAMAKAG), AR/VR & Immersive Learning Content Development (EDAGAKAI)

Keywords

• AR musical instrument
• Motion capture music
• Gesture-controlled audio
• Music creation software
• Body motion synthesis

Headquarters

HQ city

Fukuoka

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Software License Sales: One-time perpetual license purchase model. Two product tiers: KAGURA Pro at $499 USD and KAGURA Solo at $99 USD. License key grants access to all product functions; one license valid per user account.
2. Free Trial to Paid Conversion: 14-day free trial of KAGURA Pro converts to paid license upon purchase. Trial period disables most functions except preset song playback after expiration.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

KAGURA is an AR musical instrument software that converts body motion captured by a web camera (or Intel RealSense 3D camera) into music in real time. Users arrange visual Icons and Blocks on screen via drag-and-drop, assign sounds, and trigger them with body movements to perform or compose music. The product is sold as perpetual software licenses in two editions — KAGURA Pro ($499) for professionals, organizations, and schools, and KAGURA Solo ($99) for personal use.

Product overview

KAGURA is an AR musical instrument software platform consisting of two desktop editions (Pro and Solo) and a mobile Player app. KAGURA Pro ($499) is the full-featured version with MIDI integration, multi-display output, creator mode for original music production, and Intel RealSense camera support. KAGURA Solo ($99) provides core functionality for personal use without MIDI or advanced features. KAGURA Player extends the platform to mobile devices for performing pre-made songs. The platform enables music creation and performance through body movement detection via web camera, with drag-and-drop interface for arranging visual icons that trigger sounds.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• KAGURA Pro: Full-featured version of KAGURA with MIDI support, multi-display capability, display inversion functions, Intel RealSense camera support, and ongoing feature updates. Price: $499 USD.
• KAGURA Solo

Products and services

• KAGURA Pro Full-featured AR musical instrument software for professional musicians, organizations, and schools, priced at $499 USD. Includes MIDI support, multi-display output, display inversion, Creator Mode (Scene and Timeline), Intel RealSense camera support, preset audio and animation libraries, visual effects, and premium support.
• KAGURA Solo Entry-level AR musical instrument software for personal use only, priced at $99 USD. Provides core KAGURA motion-to-music functionality but excludes MIDI support, multi-display, display inversion, Intel RealSense camera support, and new feature updates (bugfixes only). Companies and schools are required to purchase Pro licenses.
• KAGURA Player Mobile/tablet application for iOS that plays KAGURA songs (.kpl files). Licensed under Apple Media Services terms with a separate privacy policy from the desktop versions.

Quantifiable outcome

• KAGURA has attracted global attention winning multiple international awards and competitions

Named customers8 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

AI capability4 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Intel CorporationcoreTechnology or IntegrationIntel RealSense camera integration for depth-based motion tracking. KAGURA supports Intel RealSense cameras (F200, SR300, D415) and won Intel Perceptual Computing Challenge Grand Prize.
• Seiji TodaminorOthersSound engineer who created high-quality preset audio files included with KAGURA Pro.
• TriF StudiominorOthersDesign studio that created preset animation images included with KAGURA Pro.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Ableton: Maker of Ableton Live, the leading DAW and live-performance software for electronic musicians and performers. Comparable because KAGURA targets the same live-performance and music-creation workflow and integrates with Ableton via MIDI clock, competing for the same prosumer musician wallet.
• Cycling '74: Developer of Max/MSP, a visual programming environment for audio, video, and interactive performance. Comparable because KAGURA's drag-and-drop Icon/Block system for assigning sounds and creating compositions is a similar visual-programming approach to music creation aimed at experimental and live performers.

Emerging players

• Roli: Creator of the BLOCKS system and LUMI keyboard, expressive MIDI controllers focused on gesture, pressure, and motion input for music creation. Comparable because it occupies the same gesture-driven music creation niche as KAGURA, with overlapping pro/education customers.
• Artiphon: Maker of multi-instrument smart MIDI controllers (Instrument 1, Orba) that translate gestures, taps, and motion into music. Comparable because it pursues the same gesture-to-music value proposition as KAGURA, although as a hardware-first product targeting a similar niche of motion-based music creation.
• Bela: Open-source platform for ultra-low-latency audio and sensor processing, used to build gesture-controlled musical instruments and interactive audio installations. Comparable because it enables the same motion/sensor-to-audio use case that KAGURA targets, at the hardware/DIY developer level rather than as a consumer app.
• Reactable: Creator of the original tangible tabletop music interface where users manipulate physical objects to create music. Comparable as a direct conceptual peer in the gesture/tangible-music-creation space that KAGURA also occupies, though Reactable emphasizes multi-touch surfaces while KAGURA emphasizes body motion.

Broad incumbents

• Reason Studios: Developer of Reason, a DAW and Rack Extension plugin ecosystem. Comparable as an established music-creation software peer with similar pro/semi-pro customer segments and MIDI-based performance and composition workflow.
• Native Instruments: Large established music-software and hardware company (Massive, Kontakt, Maschine, Traktor). Comparable because it serves the same electronic-music creation and live-performance segments and overlaps with KAGURA on MIDI/DAW-integrated performance tools, though at much broader scale.
• Serato: Long-standing leader in DJ and live-performance software (Serato DJ, Studio). Comparable because it serves the same live-performance and music-creation use case as KAGURA's Player mode, even though Serato focuses on traditional DJ decks rather than AR gesture input.
• Image-Line (FL Studio): Developer of FL Studio, a widely used DAW for music creation and live performance. Comparable as a music-software incumbent targeting the same beat-makers, producers, and performers that KAGURA addresses with its gesture-based performance layer.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/kaguramusic
• Facebookfacebook.com/kagura.cc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Kagura