Tsugaru-Shamisen Oyama-kai was founded in 1963 by Mitsugu Oyama (presently Mitsuou), the pioneer who helped to popularize the Tsugaru-Shamisen.

In 1957 when the Tsugaru-Shamisen was merely a traditional performing art in the Tsugaru region, Mitsugu Oyama, the first Grand Master of Oyama, moved alone to the capital city, Tokyo, and then went on to popularize the Tsugaru-Shamisen from there and to the rest of the country.

In 1987, Mitsuru Oyama succeeded the Grand Master “Mitsugu Oyama.” He greatly helped Oyama-kai to grow in terms of the content of performance and, in recent years, has frequently held major ensemble concerts with more than 300 members. The incomparable ensemble, believed to have changed the direction of the Tsugaru-Shamisen, stood unrivaled in this field; the ensemble consecutively won first place more than twenty times in the National Kyodo Min-yo Society Competition. In the First Tsugaru-Shamisen Festival held in Hirosaki in 1988, forty Oyama-kai members played as guests and received rave acclaims.

In the 1999 Tsugaru-Shamisen Festival at Tokyo Dome, as many as one hundred Oyama-kai members performed and the Master Mitsugu Oyama had a solo performance. Oyama-kai has appeared in numerous TV shows, radio programs, and TV commercials, as well as events for school education and international cultural exchange. A number of music companies produced Oyama-kai records and CDs. Currently, Oyama-kai members abound throughout Japan; Oyama-kai has grown into one of the best performing arts groups in Japan, which is proud of its tradition, achievements, and organization. Today, both at home and abroad, a large number of Oyama-kai members actively perform the Tsugaru-Shamisen while continuing to train apprentices with much enthusiasm.