Kaori Muraji was born in 1978 in Japan and began playing guitar at age three, initially taught by her father, before studying with Shinichi Fukuda from age ten. She furthered her studies in Paris from 1997 to 1999 under Alberto Ponce at the École Normale de Musique, having already given her debut recital at Tsuda Hall in 1993 and her orchestral debut with the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra in 1994.

Muraji became the first Japanese artist to sign an exclusive international recording contract with Decca Music Group, and her extensive discography (1993–2019) includes Green Sleeves, Concierto de Aranjuez, Transformations (with Sting collaborator Dominic Miller), and Kaori Muraji Plays Bach. She has recorded with ensembles including the New Japan Philharmonic and The Sixteen, and is widely regarded as one of the leading classical guitarists to emerge from Japan, credited with significantly raising the instrument’s profile in her home country.