Yoshino (40) is considered one of the world's finest harpists and has been brought to Dunedin in a collaboration between the sinfonia, the Embassy of Japan and the University of Otago.
"I was 6 years old when I started learning the harp and I knew it was for me right away," she said yesterday.
"Japanese Embassy minister Hidehiko Hamada said Yoshino was one of his country's premier musicians.
"This will be a very important and memorable occasion. She is the No 1 harp player in the world," he said.
"We enjoy a very good relationship between Japan and New Zealand and we wanted to enhance our cultural heritage. It's a heart-to-heart thing between our people."
The embassy organised eight concerts in New Zealand last year to mark the 55th anniversary of relations between the countries, Mr Hamada said.
However, this was the first occasion it had brought a musician to Dunedin.
"This time we did not want to miss the important city of Dunedin," he said.
Yoshino was born in London, but moved to Los Angeles, California, with her family when she was 6.
She was just 13 years old when she came second in the first International Harp Contest, before winning the contest in 1985.
Yoshino is now based in Tokyo, where she is in demand as a recitalist and chamber musician, but her engagements take her around the world.
Naoko Yoshino performs at 7.30 tonight in Marama Hall.
