Rumiko Asahara, born in Akita, which locates in the northern part of Japan, started the clarinet at the age of 13 in a student wind orchestra of her junior high school. She continued playing in her high school wind orchestra as well.

After graduation from the school, she moved into Kanagawa prefecture where is nearby the Tokyo area, to work as an office worker. However, she kept playing in amateur wind orchestras and participated in some competitions for amateur musicians. At this term, she had private lessons from Shotaro Ito, a former clarinet player of the TokyoPhilharmonic Orchestra.

After more than a decade, Rumiko made up her mind to become a professional player and to go to The Netherlands for studying.

In 2014In 2018, her trio got prized by the conservatory and performed Brahms's clarinet trio op.114 at Concertgebouw together with Camillo Cabassi (vc) and Peter Sulijs (pf). This trio invited to a Dutch TV program, Podium Witteman and performed for its live show. (https://www.npostart.nl/VPWON_1283723)(at around 0:30:00)

Rumiko graduated from Utrecht Conservatory in June in 2018 and came back to Japan. She is now active in the Kanagawa area as a clarinetist and educator.

Rumiko has an aspiration that she changes the Japanese classical music scene much happier with her lesson, lectures, and performances.

She also would love to work for young students in school winds orchestras.

Rumiko studied the clarinet with Céleste Zewald, and about the bass clarinet with Cécile Rongen, learned chamber music mainly under Martyn van den Hoek and Joyce Tan. 

Rumiko has had masterclasses with Charles Neidich, Ayako Oshima, Andrew Simon, Nicholas Cox, Ilian Iliev, and Herman Braune.