Hokuto Ikema (koto) is a master of Ryukyu Dento Sokyoku (traditional koto music) of the Ryugen-kai Association. He trained under Sadako Matayoshi and received a bachelor's degree in Ryukyuan performing arts from the Department of Music, Okinawa Prefectural University of Arts. He completed the National Theatre Okinawa's inaugural Kumiodori Training Program. His recent credits include: "Kumiodori: Nido Tekiuchi" at the National Bunraku Theatre in 2018; "Kumiodori: Hedo no Ufunushi" and other Ryukyu dance pieces as part of the celebratory program, "30th Anniversary of Emperor Akihito’s Reign & 300 Years of Kumiodori & 15th Anniversary of Opening of the National Theatre," held at the National Theatre in Tokyo in 2019; "Kumiodori: Chushin Migawari no Maki" on sanshin at the National Theatre Okinawa (2019); and "Traditional Performing Arts of Asia and the Pacific Region" presented by the Agency of Cultural Affairs of the Government of Japan in 2020. He received the 25th Japan Traditional Cultures Foundation Award and the Grand Prize at the 24th Kenjun Kinen National Sokyoku Competition, for which he was the first Okinawan to participate and first to win a prize. He is a member of the Ryukyu Traditional Kumiodori Preservation Association and the Ryukyu Buyo Preservation Association.