Yasuo Watani (born in 1960) is a Japanese chromatic harmonica player. He was born in Kyoto, Japan and had his first harmonica lessons with Tadao Kobayashi in 1966. After graduating from Doshisha University (Faculty of Commerce) in 1984 with a degree in Economics, he studied the chromatic harmonica with Helmuth Herold at the Hohner-Konservatorium Trossingen in Germany from 1984 to 1988. He also learned the harmonica from the Canadian harmonica soloist Tommy Reilly. Watani was invited to stay on as a Lecturer at the Hohner-Konservatorium and taught from 1988 to 2002. Since 2005, he is a Music Professor for harmonica at Senzoku-Gakuen College of Music, Japan. He has been invited to judge at many harmonica competitions and festivals, including World Harmonica Festival and Asia Pacific Harmonica Festival.