Tag Archives: performers

Makoto Taiko at Pasadena’s Art Night
By OnikazeKenta

On March 9th, 2012, I went to watch Makoto Taiko perform at the annual Art Night in the city of Pasadena.  Makoto Taiko performed three songs, every hour from 6-10pm, and I watched their last two performances at 8:15pm and 9:15pm.

"Art Night" Program

 

The pieces they performed were called: Shobayashi, Yattai Bayashi, and Revelation.

According to a Makoto Taiko member, “Shobayashi was composed by Imafuku Masaru from Ondekoza” and the song was first performed by the Shumei Taiko Ensemble (Makoto Taiko’s previous name).

Makoto Taiko performing "Shobayashi"

 

Yattai Bayashi is another piece composed by a member of Ondekoza and is a well-known piece performed by Ondekoza and Kodo.  Yattai Bayashi is based on a drumming style called Yattai, where the drummers sit on the ground and play the taiko drum while supporting the drum between their legs (as you will see in the photos below).

Getting ready for "Yattai Bayashi"

Switching from the Yattai to the Shimei (smaller drum)

Member playing on the Yattai drum for "Yattai Bayashi"

These players must have strong abs in order to play on the Yattai like this

 

Revelation was composed by the current chief instructor: Nakamura Koji.

Makoto Taiko performing "Revelation"

 

The chief instructor of Mokoto Taiko, Nakamura Koji, trained with members of Ondekoza before establishing the Shumei Taiko Ensemble; so it is not surprising that Makoto Taiko performs pieces written by Ondekoza members.

Overall, the performance and acoustics of the room were great!  I heard many audience members praising the performance after it had ended and seemed very impressed.  Taiko drumming is definitely something you must experience in person.  Seeing Makoto Taiko has not disappointed me and I look forward to seeing more taiko performances in the near future!

If you are interested in more information about Makoto taiko, you can go to their website at:  http://www.makototaiko.org/

I heard that Kishin Daiko from West Covina is performing at the annual Cherry Blossom Festival at the East San Gabriel Valley Japanese Community Center on March 31st. Here’s a link to their site:  ESGVJCC’s Cherry Blossom Festival

I’ll definitely be there and will post more about taiko!  =)

In the mean time, enjoy the coming of spring!

-Onikaze

“Arigato from Japan”
By OnikazeKenta

On March 2nd, I went to the “Arigato from Japan” appreciation concert in Los Angeles, presented by the Consulate-General of Japan in Los Angeles and the Japan Foundation, where we watched performances by the Tohoku Folk Performance group and the world famous Ondekoza taiko group and other musicians.

I’ve always wanted to see Ondekoza perform, ever since going to Kodo’s “One Earth Tour” concert.  The original Kodo members were all part of Ondekoza at first, until they split from Ondekoza to make their own group.  Kodo remained in Sado Island, while the founder of Ondekoza moved to Shizuouka prefecture to continue Ondekoza.  So seeing the roots of Kodo was very exciting, especially watching the performers playing on their Oodaiko (large taiko) on their well known yagura (the platform that the oodaiko is played on).

Below, you can see both Ondekoza’s and Kodo’s Oodaiko on their Yaguras.  They may look the same, but the Chouchin (Lanterns) have the name of each group written on them.

Ondekoza's Oodaiko on their Yagura

Kodo's Oodaiko on their Yagura

 

In addition to the awesome taiko drumming, there was a nice clip that was shown at the beginning of the concert.  The clip summarized the devastating events that occurred on March 11th, 2011 and then showed the progress Japan has made since the disaster.  It’s a nice heartwarming clip, especially for those who have contributed to any of the relief fundraisers for Japan.  I’ll post a link to the clip below and hope you all enjoy it.

I love taiko drumming and there will be a performance by Kishin Daiko coming up at the end of March at the East San Gabriel Valley Japanese Community Center’s annual Chery Blossom festival, so expect more posts about taiko from me soon!  =)

Happy March everyone!