Wadaiko from East to West: An Overview of Contemporary Japanese Drumming in the World Today

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Wadaiko from East to West: Contemporary Japanese Drumming in the World Today

The significance of wadaiko in today’s world: […] our music and message resonates with myriad cultures and ways of life. —Kodō, Japan Sticking to one task until the end. —San Francisco Taiko Dojo, USA To Beat with every muscle, bone and sinew in our bodies, with an open and joyous spirit. —TaikOz, Australia Limitless reverberation… —Mugenkyo, UK Power, passion, artistry and Oriental grace; Japanese taiko drumming is an amazing experience to behold. —Wai Taiko, New Zealand Freude, Kraft, Musik, Gruppe, Ausdruck, Ausdauer, Bewegung, Sport1 —Amaterasu-Taiko, Germany Religioso | Artístico | Militar | Comunal2 —Tesei Taiko Factory, Argentina

Introduction In recent years the world has witnessed a burgeoning of wadaiko [和太鼓] (or taiko /-daiko [太鼓])3 groups and activities across the globe. The success of wadaiko today is the result of a rather intricate combination of factors, intentions and needs. Today, many people from varied backgrounds and social standings are drawn to the modern rendition of traditional Japanese drumming, either by joining or forming groups, or appreciating the new art form as audience. This has consequently led to a myriad of diversified performances both in Japan and worldwide. While many groups maintain a somewhat distinctive ‘Japanese’ or ‘traditional’ style, others create new experiments with wadaiko by extending beyond. However it may appear to be, wadaiko now in fact caters for a diversity of people around the world with various cultural and social readjustments. It is not uncommon to see wadaiko being fused with diversified cultural elements. As for the question of it being ‘traditional’, wadaiko is still a

1 English translation: Joy, Power, Music, Group, Expression, Perseverance, Movement, Sport. 2 English translation: Religious, Artistic, Military, Communal. 3 The term taiko simply means ‘fat (big) drum’ and the prefix wa is attached to denote the

‘Japaneseness’. For clarification, the term wadaiko will be used throughout this paper to indicate ‘contemporary Japanese drumming’, except in citations.

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youthful product of the reinvention or renovation of traditional drumming. The popularity and success achieved by wadaiko are partly the result of trends in conserving traditional elements with modern interpretations and partly enhanced by recent waves of renewed Japonism.4 Drumming had never held a centre-stage role in musical performance until after WWII. Kobayashi Kenji, who heads the Asakusa-based drum-making establishment Miyamoto Unosuke Shōten [宮本卯之助商店est. 1861] indicates also in an interview that, ‘The long-body taiko [長胴太鼓] has only been recently recognised as a musical instrument. […] it is now in a transitional period, transforming from a tool [of communication] into a musical instrument […]’5 (Narabe 2004: 68). This paper will thus take a brief look at when and how today’s wadaiko came into being, and examine to what extent it has developed within today’s globalising world. Established facts about the creation of this modern culture will be briefly discussed in section 1 to provide a general look at the background. While a diversity of discussions and researches on wadaiko have hitherto been done both in Japan and in North America in the form of either academic writing, anecdotal personal accounts, or magazine and newspaper articles, most tend to focus only on a single region or the cultural exchange between that region and Japan. Through further research it became clear that wadaiko culture has permeated into many corners of the world. Part 2 of this paper, while not claiming to be comprehensive or conclusive, will present a general analysis of the roots of contemporary wadaiko culture and its extent of influence globally. 1. The (re)birth of wadaiko The origin of Japanese drumming, as commonly introduced, date back some 2,000 years. Nevertheless, today’s wadaiko culture spans only a little more than half a century; it is more a post-war creation than it is a direct offspring of traditional drumming. In order to attain an overview of how wadaiko was created and developed to reach its popularity today, an array of materials ranging from books, academic papers, articles from miscellaneous media, official websites, pamphlets to concert programs and email correspondence were used for reference. For the making of wadaiko we shall begin by examining the historical background in both Japan and North America. 1.1. Japan 1943 – The Rickshaw Man6 The earliest sign of the emergence of wadaiko in Japan has been traced back to the 1943 film The Rickshaw Man, as discussed by Mogi (2003: 140-44). The movie apparently made a profound impact on many Japanese people, so popular that it sparked several remakes in 1958, 1963 and 1965. The part of the film central to the discussion of this paper is that of a matsuri [祭り] (festival) scene featuring the protagonist Matsugorō playing the main taiko that was being carried among the many 4 Renewed interests in Japanese cultural aspects both in Japan and overseas. 5 English translation is my own; original Japanese text: 長胴太鼓が楽器として認められたのは最近のこと。 […] 今は道具から楽器への過渡期にあるわけで、[…]

6 Muhōmatsu no isshō [無法松の一生], directed by Inagaki Hiroshi [稲垣浩] and released by Daiei Studios [大映]).

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floats. As no one at the festival could play the Japanese drum, Matsugorō could not resist the urge to demonstrate how the drum was meant to be played. The image of Matsugorō’s vigorous performance became popular because it resonated in post-war Japan a sense of yearning for something Japanese and traditional, as opposed to the increasingly westernizing Japan under American occupation. The costume worn by Matsugorō and many other details pertaining to his playing of the drum are said to have left visible marks on the subsequent wadaiko groups that appeared between the 1950s and 1970s, paving way to the wadaiko culture as we know today and leading to further interest in both traditional and contemporary Japanese drumming thereafter (Mogi 2003: 138-142, Izumi lecture 2008). The apparently overwhelming success of the film and its later remakes led to the appreciation of drumming in two forms: the broadcasted traditional drumming on stage thanks to also the availability of the television in the 1950s7 and a number of pioneer groups that created contemporary wadaiko as we know today. According to The Asano foundation for Taiko Culture Research, 1946 was the year when Japan witnessed the revival of many matsuri daiko [祭り太鼓 festival drums/drumming] across the nation (20002: 40). Thereafter, numerous events sprung out subsequently and provided the Japanese more opportunities to experience the encapsulating effects of taiko drumming. Different strands of Japanese drumming culture that exist today can be generally classified as follows: I. Traditional — 1. Religious music [Buddhist and Shinto rituals and ceremonies] 2. Court music [Gagaku] 3. Stage music [Kabuki, Nō] II. Contemporary — 4. Creative drumming as stage performance For the fourth group, the subject of this paper, three further types can be defined as follows (Mogi 2003: 148): 1. Traditional drumming as stage performance; 2. Amateur Creative Drumming; 3. Professional Creative Drumming. It is rather difficult to place a distinctive categorization on any wadaiko group, as most groups today may include a mixture of elements from other strands; for instance, amateurs joining a professional group, member from a professional group detach to form another group to train amateurs, traditional groups catching on the new drumming styles or new groups incorporating traditional elements in their performance. It is also important to note that wadaiko groups influence one another and fuse various elements to enhance performance; even local drumming today has gained more attention thanks to the popularity brought on by the new drumming styles. Today it is difficult to find many wadaiko groups that can claim to be purely ‘traditional’ and ‘Japanese’, unless it is a traditional taiko group already established prior to WWII and/or one that strictly inherits local traditions, such as the

7 Mogi (2003: 147-150) discusses the influential effect of television, which gave traditional folk

cultures in Japan an opportunity for nation-wide exposure. For the first time, local cultures such as drumming, which is a diversified performing art with varied significance and styles across the archipelago, were being presented to the nation, thereby boosting the popularity Japanese drumming was already enjoying since the success of The Rickshaw Man.

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400-year-old drum-making establishment Asano Taiko [浅野太鼓 est. 1609],8 yet even such establishments often adopt modern wadaiko elements as well.9 1951 – The birth of wadaiko The year 1951 may be considered as the birth year of wadaiko, in the sense that this was when Japanese drumming was reinvented as sōsaku-taiko [創作太鼓 ‘creative drumming’]. Although this creative drumming began by drawing heavily on traditional, local festival or ancient ritual elements, its purpose was both to extend traditional elements and search for new self-, musical and artistic expressions and possibilities. While numerous groups have attained world fame and become influential, it would not be wrong to attribute the foundation of today’s wadaiko to four groups: Osuwa Daiko [御諏訪太鼓 est. 1951 by the late Oguchi Daihachi],10 Ōedo Sukeroku Daiko [大江戸助六太鼓 est. 1967 by Kobayashi Seido],11 Ondekoza [鬼太鼓座 est. 1969 by Den Takayasu]12 and Kodō [鼓童 est. 1981].13 As commonly known, these groups have made great contributions to the development and decisive format of wadaiko. For instance, under Oguchi Daihachi’s direction, the Osuwa Daiko established the modern ‘group’ form of drumming performance, known as kumidaiko [組太鼓] or more technically fukushiki fukudahō [複式複打法], a method of combing multiple drumming styles performed by a group of drummers. This has become the basis of wadaiko today. Ōedo Sukeroku Daiko on the other hand, contributed to the slanted positioning of drums to facilitate stage performance, now a common, if not standard, setup for wadaiko. Meanwhile, Ondekoza was founded by the late Den Tagayasu [田耕 ], who envisioned the establishment of a four-year college training to nurture young professionals in traditional crafts. The group combines marathon as part of their training for their performances and has set the famous image of male members wearing nothing but a piece of loincloth, as a way to show the power and strength of the drum and its performer. The group later split, with one group remaining on Sado Island to form the much influential and internationally acclaimed Kodō; while the other group left the island to settle in Shizuoka, retaining the name Ondekoza. 1.2. North American wadaiko On the other side of the world a different strand of wadaiko culture was being created not long after the birth of wadaiko in Japan, under different circumstances and for different reasons, but converging also with the wadaiko from Japan. The history of North American wadaiko culture began with the first Japanese immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries (Varian 2005: 30), but it was not until the late 1960s when it began to attract popularity.

8 www.asano.jp 9 For instance, Asano Taiko makes traditional drums as well as new drums like the

Okedo-Taiko-Eitetsu designed by Eitetsu Hayashi, “who changed the traditional okedo-taiko for stage use.” (From Asano Taiko official website.)

10 www.h4.dion.ne.jp/~osuwa/ 11 www.oedosukerokutaiko.com 12 Ondekoza owes its naming and repertoire (which is inherited by Kodō and subsequently by many

innumerous groups influenced by these two groups) to the local traditional drumming ondeko (or oni-taiko if pronounced in standard Japanese, meaning devil drums). The current group calls itself ZA ONDEKOZA. www.ondekoza.com

13 www.kodo.or.jp

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1968 – San Francisco Taiko Dojo The history of wadaiko in North America began with Seiichi Tanaka, known as the Grand Master, a shin-issei [新一世] (post-war Japanese-born immigrant) after he moved to the U.S. in 1967. Having felt the lack of drumming at a festival that year, he borrowed a taiko drum from the local Buddhist Temple and performed drumming at the autumn festival the following year. Thereafter, he repeatedly visited Japan to learn more about taiko and finally established the San Francisco Taiko Dojo, the very first of its kind in North America, all in that same year of 1968. His name is mentioned in a great number of official websites of wadaiko groups, for he is a much-revered figure in the world of Japanese drumming in this part of the world. 1970s – The spreading of wadaiko in North America Wadaiko appears to have a significant role in facilitating Asian-Americans/Canidians’ in search of their identity within Caucasian North American societies, particularly centring around Japanese and/or Asian communities around areas like San Francisco and Los Angeles. Varian points out that after World War II many “downplayed their culture and language for fear of reprisal and assimilated into the American culture” with ‘[t]he taiko that had arrived in 1910 languished silent in a warehouse’ (2005: 30); thus for a period Japanese and other Asian-Americans lost touch with their roots (which is symbolised via the drum, itself a symbol of religious link back to traditional Japanese values) but later found immense possibilities to reclaim that identity through wadaiko. Professor Izumi of Doshisha University has conducted research to reveal more detailed history of the establishment of wadaiko culture in North America (2008: 139-168), which includes Kinnara Taiko [緊那羅太鼓est. 1971]14 in Los Angeles, with a pronounced Buddhist tone and San Jose Taiko (est. in 1973), which has seen eager participation from many Asian-American students. In Canada the first group Katari Taiko [語り太鼓]15 was founded in 1979 in Vancouver. These forerunners in wadaiko culture in North America subsequently helped inspire and create more ensembles that began to appear in a diversity of regions. Many temples and some colleges also have their own groups, though the former generally carry a religious overtone while the latter often act as club activities that promote team spirit. Today many North American wadaiko group members are still predominantly those with a Japanese or other Asian background, searching for a common or individualistic sense of Asian value and identity, sometimes also gender and racial equality. Meanwhile, many groups follow Seiichi Tanaka’s drumming way to place emphasis on traditional Japanese spirit which might remind one of the martial samurai [侍] seishin [精神] (spirit), incorporating absolute strict training of the body and the mind. 2. The extent of wadaiko culture The number of wadaiko groups has grown exponentially and continues to increase today. However, despite the overwhelming number of groups and associations, there still lacks an exhaustive listing of active groups today. From the many sources available, however, we know that there are ‘more than 8,000 effective Taiko groups in Japan’ (Rhythm Works [see 2.3 on UK]) and Sakamoto (2002: 7) who suggests in 2002 that ‘there are about 10,000 wadaiko performing groups in Japan and 250 in the

14 www.vbtemple.org/dharmarain/dr12_tai.htm 15 www.kataritaiko.bc.ca

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United States’16 and on average between 0-20 groups in other countries, with the exception of Germany, which boasts approximately fifty wadaiko-related establishments. The task of verifying the exact number and analysing the growth of wadaiko popularity by looking at the establishment dates is an endeavouring feat. Despite there being various listing of groups, workshops, soloists and other related organisations do exist, such information is often marred by the nature of the Internet, i.e. since websites are updated either due to the change of Internet provider or other reasons, often a small group would simply disappear from the web, sometimes rediscovered under a different address, sometimes simply impossible to verify its existence.17 Nevertheless, the estimated numbers given above should suffice as a preliminary indication of the percolation of wadaiko enthusiasm in the last fifty decades or so. For the reasons given, this paper shall concern itself with the overview, rather than an exhaustive listing of groups, of the extent of wadaiko in the world today. With traditional drumming being renovated and reinvented in various forms both in Japan and in North America, the pioneering wadaiko groups have spawned an avid interest in wadaiko among people that is unparalleled by other Japanese musical instruments or cultures. It goes without saying that this is in part owing to the fact that striking the drum requires no musical training as that of melodic instruments. But more than that, wadaiko today accommodates both group oriented and solo performances, allowing for artistically choreographed expressions both individually and as a group. It serves as an entertainment, waking or stimulating the senses inherent in people for their yearning for, and affinity with nature or primitive roots. But are these factors enough to clearly differentiate Japanese drumming from other ethnic drumming cultures? As is evident from the many sources used for this research, wadaiko is successful particularly in the West because it is Japanese. Japanese culture has a particular charm through its highly stylised forms of rather insignificant elements. Take tea ceremony for instance, while it is essentially ‘to enjoy tea’, it requires strict rules and utter respect, and not only is the tea savoured for its flavour, the bowl you drink it out from must also be appreciated. Then there is the wagashi [和菓子] confection that comes with it to compliment the tasting of the tea, which is so delicately created to befit both the season and occasion. Often, traces of budō [武道] (martial arts) and zen [禅] elements can also be discerned in other Japanese cultural aspects, including wadaiko, with the former providing disciplined physical exertion and the latter spiritual enlightenment. Wadaiko is the result of the styling of a cultural element through incorporating physical discipline and spiritual enlightenment; but unlike most traditional arts in Japan it is much easily and readily accessible. In the last twenty to thirty years there has been a remarkable surge in the number of groups and activities around the world; we see groups influencing one another or helping to create new ones, more books on wadaiko being written and published, schools incorporating wadaiko as a way to help students develop both physically and mentally. Many public performances, workshops and training sessions are being offered, while original CDs, DVDs and merchandise like T-shirts are promoted. It is

16 Other sources on the other hand suggest different numbers, such as Wai Taiko from New Zealand

asserts that the numbers are ‘an estimated 5,000+ in Japan alone, as well as roughly 2,000 across the USA, Canada, Europe and Oceania.’ (Excerpt from the official website of Wai Taiko.)

17 All information on wadaiko that require referencing by accessing a website are current at the time this paper was written (as of June 2009).

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also very common today for groups to make their own drums and bachi [撥] (drum sticks). Collaboration between groups and musicians of different gender combination, cultural or social backgrounds are also common; often applying varied musical and artistic styles. The overwhelming number of groups in existence today in Japan and North America means that it is impossible to present an exhaustive listing of current ensembles in Japan and North America in this paper. An attempt will however be given to list all known groups and individuals related to wadaiko in the rest of the world. 2.1. Japan In Japan, contemporary wadaiko performance has given its traditional progenitor also a chance to gain more attention. The two combined to create a fusion of old and new ideas, styles and sounds. Many performance possibilities that were inconceivable previously are being experimented with, creating in its wake specific terms used today to label particular performance styles, such as ‘wadaiko sōsha’ [和太鼓奏者] denoting a solo wadaiko performer and ‘taiko unitto / dantai’ [太鼓ユニット・団体] for a wadaiko ensemble, in addition to kumidaiko mentioned above. These terms are testimony to the new performance culture built upon traditional drumming, separating it from conventional drumming practice. Sparked by the impressive performances showcased by the early groups led by prominent wadaiko players, an incredible increase of new drumming groups like the world-renowned Yamato [倭est. 1993]18 and Gocoo (est. 1997)19 have sprung out all over Japan; and along with this increase a great number of concerts, events and festivals. Today, wadaiko performances come in different flavours, some purely traditional (either a revival or an attempt to rejuvenate an ancient local drumming tradition), some utterly contemporary (by interlacing the drumming with dances and other unconventional additions for artistic expression), while others contain both traditional and contemporary elements. Solo drummers at the frontline of wadaiko culture like Hayashi Eitetsu [林英哲]20 and Leonard Eto [レオナード衛藤]21 present concerts that both demonstrate their solo drumming and introduce other artists or groups, often performing new compositions inspired by traditions and experimenting with new ideas such as combining jazz music,22 dances or ethnic instruments from other cultures. 23 Collaborations with non-Japanese drumming ensembles (either wadaiko or other ethnic drumming) or solo musicians of other types of instruments are also common practice now. The rise of wadaiko may also have help increase awareness in preserving local drumming cultures (太鼓保存会) as well as becoming the driving force behind other renewed appreciations of drumming and musical cultures

18 www.yamato.jp 19 http://japan.gocoo.tv/ 20 www.eitetsu.com 21 www.leoeto.com 22 Such as a concert with well-known Jazz pianist Yamashita Yōsuke [山下洋輔] held on 8 September

2007, held at the Katsushika Symphony Hills in Katsushika, Tokyo. 23 Such as incorporating Korean drumming (Leonard Eto), or Aboriginal sounds as presented at the

Daichi Senkyō [大地千響] concert I attended on 2 September 2007, which was the 17th National Theatre Special Concert held at the National Theatre at Hanzomon, Tokyo. This concert included the Australian wadaiko group TaikOz, featuring also didgeridoo player Matthew Doyle.

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outside ‘pure’ Japanese mainland traditions, such as the Ryūkyū-koku Matsuri Taiko [琉球國祭り太鼓est. 1982]24 from Okinawa. In addition, there has also been an increase in publications dealing with Japanese drumming. This is rather significant, since the subject was once scarcely covered in books that discuss traditional Japanese music and musical instruments. Today, there are guidebooks to help more people learn to play the various types of Japanese drums, with some focusing on teaching children either as part of school or extra curricula. There are also books dealing with the history of wadaiko and discussing what it means to the Japanese, while others are anecdotes of personal encounters and experience with wadaiko written by wadaiko performers or enthusiasts, such as by Eitetsu Hayashi, Oguchi Daihachi and so forth. Unlike books on traditional instruments and music that tend to focus on shamisen, koto, shakuhachi, biwa [琵琶] and uta [唄] singing, these new publications focus on Japanese drums and the contemporary wadaiko culture. There is also a even a monthly magazine titled Taikologii [たいころじい] (‘Taikology’) dedicated to everything and anything related to Japanese drumming: traditional, modern or hybrid. Leading Japanese groups such as Kodō have toured Asia and other European countries and received raving reviews. Distinguished soloists and groups have established special ensembles and festivals, such as Hayashi’s Eitestu Fū’un no Kai [英哲風雲の会 est. 1995], 25 a group of elite young drummers personally handpicked by Hayashi himself to create ultimate drumming performance, and Kodō’s annual Earth Celebration event held on Sado Island that ‘seeks an alternative global culture through musical and cultural collaborations with artists from around the world’ (Kodō official website). In the last few years, more and more interest in wadaiko has been raised through collaborations and performances. One recent performance worth mentioning is the event titled Taiko X African Beat, performed on 9 January 2009 in Shinjuku.26 This event exemplifies the trend to fuse wadaiko with different musical elements from from other cultures as an attempt for intercultural dialogue through new possibilities with rhythm, music, and even dance. Apart from soloists and humble-sized ensembles, wadaiko is sometimes performed in great scales. Prominent examaples of such are the annual Okaya Taiko Festa [信州岡谷太鼓まつりShinshū Okaya Taiko Matsuri] 27 held in Nagano Prefecture and boasting a 300-drummer performance; the Narita Taiko Festival [成田太鼓祭Narita Taiko Matsuri] 28 that showcases all types of wadaiko performance in a two-day event every year in April; and the 1,000-player celebration of Japan-Brazil Immigration 100th Anniversary in São Paulo, Brazil (Amanojaku [天邪鬼] 2008). 29 Another area where new musical and artistic expressions are being experimented with is that of new compositions for wadaiko, and sometimes accompanied by an orchestra, such as Maki Ishii’s Mono-Prism composed in 1976. But that is not the limit of what it has become. Wadaiko today caters to various socio-cultural needs and has been used for diversified purposes from pure personal entertainment to rehabilitation therapy. The popularity of wadaiko has led to the creation of the well-known arcade game series Taiko no Tatsujin [太鼓の達人] (known as ‘Taiko

24 www.ryucom.ne.jp/users/m-taiko/ 25 www.eitetsu.net/fc/index.htm 26 www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=40828884701&aid=6002233915041 27 http://okaya-taiko.jp/ 28 http://nrtm.jp/ 29 http://amanojaku.info/

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Drum Master’.30 The game proved to be so popular that it has been redesigned for portable and home game consoles, namely Sony’s PlayStation and Nintendo DS and Wii to accommodate personal entertainment—where one can now play wadaiko in the comfort of their home. From entertaining values the use of wadaiko takes a leap into the fields of medical care and physical training, providing therapeutic and healing effects for people with disabilities or injuries. Research and experiments, such as conducted by Ōkubo (2004: 134) and Gotō (2005: 163-188), activities by Baren Taiko [馬簾太鼓 est. 1991] 31 introduced by (Asano 1996: 41-59), a special report on a social welfare programs to help children with disabilities through wadaiko (Taikology 2008: 27-51), as well as the actual use of the ‘Taiko Drum Master’ game for rehabilitation 32 have demonstrated positive therapeutic effects the practice of wadaiko can offer. Wadaiko is also employed for enhancing the vitality and interactions between people in local communities, as well as being used as a tool for sport and physical exercise, such as the gym style TAIKO-LAB.33 2.2. North America Surprisingly, with the amount of interest and many groups in North America, Varian’s The Way of Taiko is still the only book34 in North America dedicated to wadaiko and its presence in North America. The book, with foreword by Seiichi Tanaka, the revered master of Japanese drumming, is tells the history of Japanese drumming and the origin of it in North America, the teachings of the way of wadaiko, as well as providing a list of glossary and contacts. Rolling Thunder, 35 an internet wadaiko resource also attempts to provide a listing of all known groups around the world, though it is still far from exhaustive. Academic researches have also been conducted on the subject, mostly discussing it from the viewpoint of Asian identity in a non-Asian environment, or wadaiko within ethnomusicology or music ethnography; such as Asai (1985: 163-172), Yoon (2001:417-438), Konagaya (2005: 134-156), Wong (2006: 87-95), Izumi et al (2006: 158-161) and Di Menna (2006: 92-93) and Powell (2008: 901-925) to name a few. Besides groups stemming from the teaching of master Tanaka and influences by prominent figures like Kenny Endo,36 a number of ensembles stem from Buddhist temples as part of the community activities offered by the religious establishments there. And, with Japanese and other Asian-Americans/Canadians shaping their identity within North American societies. On the other hand, many Japanese descendants try to link with their connections back to Japan through wadaiko, such as the group Gen Taiko [源太鼓est. 1995]:37

[…] the mission of Gen Taiko (GT) is to promote, preserve and present the Matsuri (festival) spirit in Japanese culture through taiko […], traditional folk dance and folk song forms. The meaning of Matsuri is deeply significant to Japanese American

30 A drumming game created by Bandai Namco, with the first edition launched in 2001 and the latest

(twelfth) edition in December 2008. See References for link to the official homepage (in Japanese only). http://taiko.namco-ch.net/

31 http://ameblo.jp/poohponchi/ 32 http://hustle-club.com/rt/product_taiko.html 33 www.taikolab.com 34 At the time this paper was written. 35 www.taiko.com 36 www.kennyendo.com 37 www.gentaiko.com

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heritage in its focus on maintaining one's connection with ancestors, nature and community. The kanji (character) for ‘Gen’ translates to ‘from the origin.’ […].

The spread of wadaiko popularity can be linked to regions and areas with a large Japanese (or Asian) population, such as in and around the Japantowns and Little Tokyo. Groups established in such areas tend to have the purpose of reinstating cultural identity and reinforcing the local community spirit, often in association with temples. One the other hand, other groups that fall outside of such areas and nature of performance (often non-Japanese/Asian oriented groups) tend to aim at physical exertion and soul searching with a combination of budō and zen concepts. This combination seems to be the driving force of the popularity of wadaiko in other Western cultures. It appears also that collegiate wadaiko groups have become popular after the foundation of the UCLA Kyodo Taiko38 in 1990. Some notable events and activities are such as the annual Taiko Fest presented by the Taiko Center of the Pacific in Hawaii, 39 the annual Stanford Taiko Spring Concert organised and presented by the Stanford Taiko collegiate group40 (est. 1992), the North American Taiko Conference 41 (organized by the JACCC) 42 and various festivals. Also worth mentioning is the Taiko Center of the Pacific Fellowship for a one-year scholarship to study wadaiko in Honolulu. 2.3. Europe Existing groups, schools, individuals and drum makers in the rest of the world, starting from German are listed below according to my own findings and data provided by several ensemble leaders via email correspondence.43 Germany Germany is the next region of the world that embraces wadaiko. If we consider the fact that Japan and German are often referred to as being similar in national traits and having close cultural relationship due to Japan’s proactive acquisition of German systems and ideologies after the Meiji Era, then it might partly explain why wadaiko has become comparably more popular in Germany than in other countries except in the U.S. and Canada. It is also important to note that, with Masa Daiko being a very Japanese group in nature, nearly most of the groups founded in Germany are headed by and consist of members that are German and/or non-Japanese/German. Wadaiko first appeared in Germany in 1978 with Ondekoza’s performance and in 1981 with Kōdo. German groups surfaced in the late 1980s with Tentekko, followed 38 http://members.tripod.com/~kyodo/ 39 www.taikoarts.com 40 www.stanford.edu/group/stanfordtaiko/ 41 www.taikoconference.org 42 The Japanese American Cultural & Community Center www.jaccc.org 43 In chronological and alphabetical order. Note that year of establishment is the official founding

year; many groups may have begun their activities prior to the official establishment year, with some groups providing workshops and classes before becoming an established performing group. The years given are confirmed with group staff or leaders and other sources at the time of writing; however, different references may provide slightly discrepant data. Also note that non-professional performing establishments and individual wadaiko drum makers are also included in the list. [?] denotes the establishment year was unverifiable at the time of writing. The same applies to subsequent listings hereafter. Group names written in Japanese/Chinese scripts used are also given. (Accessibility of all websites validated at the time of writing.)

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by Shin Daiko in 1995. Germany stands out as the only country in the world (apart from Japan and North America) to boast the highest number of wadaiko groups. Many groups are regularly featured at festivals in Germany, such as the annual Japanfest in Munich and Japan-Tag in Düsseldorf. Information resources concerning wadaiko like Taiko-News44 have also increased in the past several years and a general history of wadaiko in Germany can be found in the online PDF Informationsblatt V: Der Ursprung des Taiko in Deutschland.45 In the case of groups in Germany, it is common to see statements by leaders and participants concerning their fascination in wadaiko for the sounds of primitive nature it emulates, the physical exertion it provides (particularly pertaining to martial arts training), the spectacular visual and sound experience it guarantees, and last but not least, the way to self searching and the joy of attaining enlightened spirituality. The idea of the ‘way’ with the art of drumming is also often uttered by those immersed in wadaiko culture. Often, a group might combine other Asian cultural elements with wadaiko, such as exemplified by the Sen Ryoku group through their ‘Taiko meets Tai Chi’ concept. Bujin Taiko goes further to combine wadaiko with Shaolin Kung-Fu and Tai Chi, bringing rhythm, meditation and martial arts together in the form of wadaiko. Meanwhile, Taikoon, one of the latest ensembles, focuses on ‘progressive Taiko’ to experiment wadaiko with improvisations and sounds. Another interesting experiment with wadaiko is being undertaken by Harald Winter wherein he combines the singing of Japanese haiku poetry with wadaiko. As one of the prominent leaders of wadaiko in Germany, Peter SU Markus has contributed toward furthering the establishment of wadaiko culture in Germany. He is author of Taiko-do (the way of taiko), the only book in German to date. This book details his personal accounts of his search for rhythm and his thoughts on the significance of wadaiko, presenting to the reader his journey from his encounter with Asian arts to his embarkation upon the path of Japanese drumming (Markus 1997).

1991

Tentekko-Taiko [てんてっこ太鼓]46 Shimosen Holzart47

Düsseldorf Uelzens

1995 Shin Daiko [震太鼓]48 Düsseldorf-Heerd 1996 Masa Daiko [正太鼓]49 Bremen 1997 Haguruma Daiko Deutschland e.V.50 Duisburg 1998 Akatora Daiko[赤虎太鼓]51

Oliver Boldt52 Trier Hamburg

1999 Kurinoki Wadaiko [栗の木和太鼓]53 Frankfurt/Main 2000

Shakti-Daiko [寂太鼓]54 Tenma Daiko [天馬太鼓]55 Wadokyo Taiko [和同響太鼓]56

Duisburg Stuttgart Düsseldorf, Cologne

44 www.taiko-news.de 45 http://prescher.net/images/05-informationsblatt.pdf 46 www.tentekko-taiko.de/tentai.htm 47 www.simonsen-holzart.de/taiko_taikobau.html 48 www.shin-daiko.de/ 49 www.masa-daiko.de/ 50 www.hagurumadaiko.com/ 51 www.akatora.de/ 52 www.oliver-boldt.de/taiko/ 53 www.kurinoki.de/ 54 www.tanzatelier-shakti.de/ 55 www.tenma-daiko.de/

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2001 Sen Ryoku Taiko [泉力太鼓]57 Tengu Daiko [天狗太鼓]58 TenRyu Daiko [天竜太鼓]59

Wadaiko Narukami [和太鼓鳴神]60

Meschede Hamburg Hungen Dietzenbach

2002 Okumikawa Daiko61 Laufen 2003 Bopp-Art Matsuri Daiko

Shakti Miya Daiko62 [first kids group in Europe] Taiko-Gruppe Mondbären63

Boppard Duisburg Braunfels

2004 KiBo Daiko64 Yo Bachi Daiko65 Taiko-Connection Berlin [太鼓組合]66

Arnsberg-Neheim Hamburg Berlin

2005 Ookamidaiko [狼太鼓]67 Sakura No Ki Taiko [桜の木太鼓]68 Sandaiko [三太鼓]69

Wolfsburg Frankfurt/Main Korschenbroich

2004 Daiko Factory70 Laufen 2006 Aiki Daiko71

Amaterasu-Taiko [天照太鼓]72 Arashi Daiko Harald Winter73 Kion Dojo74 Sokudo Taiko75 Tama Daiko[玉太鼓]76 Tennogawa77 Wasabi Daiko78

Prüm, Eifel Oberhausen Gelsenkirchen Buxtehude Hamburg Großaitingen Hamburg Kaiserslautern Berlin

2007 Deutschen Taiko Foundation e. V. 79 Fulda Taiko Dojo [フルダ太鼓道場]80 Haguruma Daiko Fulda81 Haguruma Daiko Pfalz82 Haiku Daiko (Haiku-Suite Project) Tatsuno ko Daiko [竜の子太鼓]83 Todoroki84

Duisburg Fulda Fulda Gommersheim Buxtehude Leisel Würzburg

56 www.wadokyo.de/ 57 www.sen-ryoku.de/ 58 www.tengudaiko.de/ 59 www.tenryudaiko.de/ 60 www.deutsch-japanischer-kulturverein.de/Taiko/Taiko.htm 61 www.okumikawa.de/Okumikawa/Okumikawa/index.html 62 www.tanzatelier-shakti.de/ 63 www.taiko-hessen.de/ 64 www.kibodaiko.de.ms/ 65 www.yo-bachi-daiko.de/ 66 www.taiko-connection.de/ 67 www.ookamidaiko.lima-city.de/start.html 68 www.dong-xi-taiko.de/ 69 www.sandaiko.de/indextaiko.html 70 http://home.arcor.de/daikofactory/ 71 www.aikidaiko.de/ 72 www.amaterasu-taiko.de/ 73 www.winter-musik.de/html/taiko.html 74 www.kion-dojo.de/ 75 www.kampfcenter.de/sokudo_taiko.html 76 www.tamadaiko.de/ 77 www.judo-kl.de/html/taiko.html 78 www.wasabidaiko.de/

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2008 Banzai Daiko [万歳太鼓]85 Bujin Taiko [武人太鼓]86 Hibiki Daiko e.V. [響き太鼓]87 Shinobi Taiko88 Taiko-Baden89 Taikoon90 Taikonauten Seevetal91

Hünfeld Düsseldorf Chemnitz Elsterwerda Oberkirch/Baden Hamburg Seevatal-Meckelfeld

[?] Bopp-Art-Taiko-Projekt der Helene-Pages-Schule Taiko-Thüringen

Boppard Thüringen

UK In the UK, wadaiko also enjoys a fair amount of popularity. While the number of adult performing groups and workshops does not match that of Germany, there is a visible trend of bringing wadaiko into schools and companies, apart from the usual workshops, trainings and concerts. Kagemusha Taiko, in particular, focuses on teaching wadaiko to children as ‘core curriculum (musical Futures) or as an extra-curricular activity’, as well as introducing it to companies to ‘make valuable contributions to business organisations, sometimes with the focus on teambuilding, sometimes as part of change management or leadership development programmes.’ (Kagemusha Taiko official website.) Rhythmworks on the other hand, is solely established with emphasis on teamwork improvement through ‘principles of a stage performance’. In addition to such foci, groups also produce their own wadaiko teaching materials, including books and DVDs. Meanwhile, Mugenkyo goes beyond Japanese drumming to compose their own wadaiko pieces and choreograph their own stage performances in an attempt to create wadaiko as a new European culture. Worth mentioning here is also Mugenkyo’s achievement in receiving the Japan Festival Award both in 1996 and 1999 for their efforts to bring further understanding of Japanese culture in the UK. Kagemusha on the other hand talks about their vision of ‘looking forward to a time when there’ll be a taiko group in every town’ and that ‘Kagemusha Taiko Group will be recognised for its unique, distinctive English style.’ (Kagemusha official website) There is also an annual UK Taiko Festival92 celebrating its fifth year in July 2009 and prominent figures like UK-based Japanese percussionist and composer Joji Hirota and James Barrow (who, among his efforts to spread the art, also set up the

79 http://deutsche-taiko-foundation.org/ 80 www.fuldaiko.de/ 81 www.hagurumadaiko-fulda.de/ 82 www.hagurumadaiko-pfalz.de/ 83 www.trommelnde-drachenkinder.de/ 84 www.salon77.de/index.php?nav=40&mod=ar&bc1=Taiko 85 www.heimbrodt.com/privat/taiko/banzai.htm 86 www.bujin-taiko.de/ 87 www.hibiki-daiko.de/ 88 www.shinobi-taiko.de/ 89 www.taiko.prescher.net/ 90 www.taikoon.de/ 91 www.katja-nill.de/ 92 www.taiko.org.uk/Festival/index.htm

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first wadaiko group in Reading in 1993) are helping influence the wadaiko scene with their extensive experience and expertise in the art.

1993 Akatsuki Daiko (Gyosei College) Reading 1994 Mugenkyo93 Lanark 1995 Gyosei Taiko School Reading 1999 Kagemusha Taiko94

Kagemusha Festival Group Kagemusha Junior Taiko

Exeter Exeter Exeter

2000 Rhythmworks95 Bucks 2001 Taiko Meantime96

Tekno Taiko (project) Taiko Wales (until 2002, became Taiko West) Tamashii Daiko

Greenwhich Shropshire Machynlleth London

2002 Taiko West97 Shropshire 2003 Tamashii School of Taiko98 London 2007 iSSHO99 Glasgow [?] Joji Hirota & The Taiko Drummers100 [London?]

Belgium Belgium groups appeared in the 21st century, with the first group AraUmi Daiko founded by Grete Moortgat, who is also currently a professional player with the Germany group Wadokyo. Wadaiko Tawamure and Tátake! Taiko were later established by Moortgat’s former students. Email correspondence with wadaiko enthusiasts like Ghislain van Rossem (Tawamure) and Saskia Rock (one of the founding members of the Taiko Federatie) point to a growing amount of interest toward wadaiko in Belgium. Belgium

2002 AraUmi Daiko VZW [荒海太鼓]101 Taiko Academy of Belgium (part of AraUmi)

Tervuren Tervuren

2003 Wadaiko Tawamure VZW102 Vlaams-Brabant 2005 Taikidokis (student group, part of AraUmi) Tervuren 2007 Feniks Taiko103

Taiko Federatie104 Tátake! Taiko105

Tervuren [Internet] Vlaams-Brabant

93 http://taiko.co.uk/mugenkyo/ 94 www.taiko.org.uk/ 95 www.rhythmworks.com/ 96 www.mark.alcock.com/taiko-meantime/ 97 www.taikowest.com/ 98 www.taikoschool.com/ 99 www.myspace.com/isshodrummers 100 www.jojihirota.com/en/taiko.html 101 http://users.skynet.be/araumi/mhome.htm 102 www.tawamure.centerall.com/ 103 From AraUmi and TaikiTenbe (est. 2002).

www.fenikstaiko.be/ 104 Not an official organization; serves as a link to Tatake! members)

www.taikofederatie.be/ 105 www.taiko.be/

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The Netherlands The Netherlands has a less active wadaiko scene, though the first wadaiko activities appear to date much further back than those in other European countries. The latest addition is a new centre for teaching the art of contemporary Japanese drumming associated with the oldest wadaiko establishment CIRCLE Percussion in Montfoort, in the province of Utrecht. The Netherlands

1973 CIRCLE Percussion106 Montfoort 1993 Taiko Group Hanadon Amsterdam 2008 Dutch Taiko Centre House of Circles107 Montfoort

Switzerland In Switzerland we find mainly a fusion of Asian musical elements represented through wadaiko. The duo Sibylle Raths and Fabrizio Perini have experience with various Asian cultures, such as Korean drumming and Tai Chi. Their duo establishment Blue Flower is a combination of wadaiko, Korean drumming and Chinese philosophy.

2003 Takenoko (~2008) [?] 2004 Mokusei Daiko108

Mushin109 Taiko Generation110

[?] Aesch Basel

2005 Re Mi Taiko [礼実太鼓]111 Wadaiko Genève [和太鼓ジュネーブ]112

Geneva Geneva

2007 Tanoshimi113 Münchenstein [?] Blue Flower114 Zurich

France While there are by far much fewer wadaiko establishments in France or Francophone regions, correspondence with Fabien Kanou (founder of the first performing group Heiwa Daiko) and Yuka Fukushimato (representative of the organisation Wadaiko Makoto) have revealed their plan to promote wadaiko in France and interchange with groups from other countries. They are dedicated to create a wider recognition and reception of wadaiko. Kanou makes his own drums, teaches the art and has his own group, Heiwa Daiko; while Wadaiko Makoto, a Japanese group, has been teaching and performing many years before officially becoming an association.

2004 Kagamidaiko Nice 2007 Heiwa Daiko115

Taiko Kanou116 Moingt Moingt

106 www.circlepercussion.nl/ 107 www.houseofcircles.nl/ 108 www.taiko-generation.ch/mokuseitaiko.html/ 109 www.taiko-generation.ch/mushintaiko.html/ 110 www.taiko-generation.ch/ 111 www.wadaiko.ch/remitaiko.html 112 www.wadaiko.ch/ 113 www.taiko-generation.ch/tanoshimi.html/ 114 Fusion of Asian musical elements.

www.blueflower.ch/

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2009 Wadaiko Makoto [和太鼓真]117 Malakoff Other European countries Elsewhere in Europe we find less presence of wadaiko and the following are what could be found and verified at the time of writing. Italy

1994 Taiko Do Rome 2005 Kyo Shin Do [和太鼓「響心道」]118 [?]

Sweden

1992 Stockholm Taiko Club Taiko Kai (part of Stockholm Taiko club)119

Stockholm Stockholm

Hungary

2000 Kiyo-Kito Taiko [清帰途太鼓] 120 Budapest Austria

2004 Daikijin-Taiko Mödling 2.4. Oceania: Australia and New Zealand Australia Motoyuki Niwa, who leads Batari in Queensland, appears to have been the first person to begin local wadaiko activities in Australia in 1994. Since then, there has been a steady increase of wadaiko groups in Australia, where the new drumming art provides a chance for community participation, as well as unlimited new possibilities for music and stage art creation through fusing native, ethnic and modern elements. Like in the UK, it is also being introduced to schools and featured at various cultural festivals, not only Japanese festivals. And while no particular emphasis is placed on using wadaiko in companies for teamwork building, corporate gigs are apparently common. Terry Ashman, leader of Taiko no Wa, a group formed with the assistance of the most prominent group in Australia, TaikOz, believes that, while a subtly non-traditional Japanese aspect exists, there is a ‘concerted effort to remain closer to its Japanese origins’. Fusion with other musical instruments and genres, as well as dance has also been experimented with.121 Original pieces are also being composed,

115 The performing group created by Fabien Kanou.

www.taikokanou.com 116 Drum-making by Fabien Kanou.

www.taikokanou.com 117 www.wadaiko-makoto.org/ 118 www.kyoshindo.org/ 119 www.taiko.se/ 120 www.taiko.hu/ 121 Mostly by TaikOz, some examples are performances with didgeridoo player Matthew Doyle

(various concerts); Maki Ishii’s Mono-Prism with the Sydney Symphony (premier in 1999, with the latest in 2009); “Winners” by Italian composer Andrea Molino with the Brisbane Symphony Orchestra (2006); and Shakespeare’s “Pericles” with Bell Shakespeare (2009).

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while many of those involved in wadaiko are accomplished musicians who have attained their education and training at various music conservatoriums.

1994 Batari / Batari Taiko Ensemble122 Murasaki Daiko [むらさき太鼓]123

Wolvi (QLD) Melbourne

1995 Ataru Taru Taiko Goodwood (SA) 1997 TaikOz124 Sydney 1998 Wadaiko Rindo [和太鼓竜胆]125 Melbourne 2002 Taiko Drum (from TUUTS) [太鼓虎夢]126

TUUTS127 (See TTUTS) Sandy Bay

2004 Burnie Taiko [光太鼓]128 Burnie (TAS) 2006 Hikari Daiko [光太鼓]

Matsuriki (from TUUTS) Taiko Chan (from TUUTS)

(TAS) (See TTUTS) (See TTUTS)

2007 Chotto Chigau Kaze No Ko [風の子太鼓]129 Taiko No Wa130 Western Port Secondary Taiko

NSW Perth Sydney Hasting (VIC)

2009 GCTC (Gold Coast Taiko Club) Gold Coast [?] Kin no Taiko

Huntingdale Taiko Group (primary school) Warriro Daiko (primary school)

Adelaide (VIC) (VIC)

New Zealand The first drumming group in New Zealand was established in 1990, but subsequent groups did not appear until a decade later. At the time of writing, there were eight ensembles,131 with the first Taiko Festival NZ132 (organised by Wai Taiko) held in 2008. The first research paper on wadaiko culture in New Zealand was also written, linking wadaiko in New Zealand to Japan’s ‘growing influence in New Zealand’ and noting a range of mutual cultural exchanges that subsequently led to the increasing awareness of and interest in wadaiko, indicating also the ‘Japanisation in New Zealand’ (Johnson 2008: 115-116). Michael Wells, manager of Tamashii in Auckland also states that wadaiko has been growing quickly in terms of public awareness and his group is often requested to perform at corporate events, for product launches and on radio and television (email correspondence). The wadaiko culture there is still relatively young but for that reason it has vigorous vitality. As observed by Johnson (2008), community awareness and participation through wadaiko as a means of socialisation also play an important part in the success of wadaiko in New Zealand. Wai Taiko, in particular, has been avid

122 www.mufarm.net/ 123 http://members.iinet.net.au/~shimbo87/ 124 http://taikoz.com/taikoz/default.aspx 125 www.burnietaiko.com/ 126 www.taikodrum.com/ 127 Tasmania University Union Taiko Society 128 www.burnietaiko.com/ 129 www.kazenoko.com.au/ 130 www.taikoz.com/TaikOz/TaikoNoWa.aspx 131 The number is currently unverifiable and even some of the groups were not able to provide definite

verification. The list below provides the names of groups that are or have been known up to now. 132 http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=334071282

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promoter of the art form by organizing the Taiko Festival, ‘Ichigo Ichie’ concert and the ‘A Taste of Japan’ event. Lianne Stephenson, who co-founded Wai Taiko, notes that the group develops its own style ‘in accordance with what we think looks and sounds good’, but style can depend on ‘whether the groups are Japanese run or [K]iwi run’ (email correspondence).

1990 IPC Kodama Palmerston North 2000 Wai Taiko133 Hamilton 2004 Haere Mai Taiko Auckland 2006 Rotorua Racco [ロトルア楽鼓] Rotorua 2008 Tamashii [魂]134 Auckland [?] Mukume

Raijin Taiko Za (Taikoza)

Raumati [?] Wellington

2.5. Asia Taiwan Taiwan, where Japanese culture is generally well received and fervently followed, seems to also harbour some interest in wadaiko, though often it is impossible to detect whether the drumming activities there are purely Chinese/Taiwanese, or inspired by wadaiko. The group U Theatre does not explicitly mention any connection to Japanese drumming nor does it talk about being inspired by it. However, the connection is hinted by the Quarterly YAM (2008: 4), a quarterly publication of Taiwanese American Foundation of San Diego,135 specifically connecting this group’s drumming with wadaiko. The group also performed for the new Hong Kong/Taiwan movie The Drummer, which features Chinese ‘zen drumming’ (much like wadaiko, being a contemporary redesign of traditional drumming). Other prominent activities in Taiwan are for instance the Taipei Counnty Sinjhuang International Drum-Art Festival (2008), featuring various ethnic drumming performances which included wadaiko or elements from it. The department store Shin Kong Mitsukoshi [新光三越] organises an annual Taipei drum festival [臺北鼓樂祭], featuring Taiwanese/Chinese traditional drumming, as well as Taiwanese and Japanese wadaiko groups. Fan He Junior High School in Taipei has also embraced wadaiko, infusing also local Taiwanese drumming and modern musical elements, to nurture learning skills of its students and create a characteristic curriculum. Most other drumming establishments inherit local Taiwanese or mainland Chinese culture. Taiwan

2003 Taipei Chi Drum [台北極鼓撃]136 Taipei 2005 Yu Gu Fun Taipei 2006 Fang He Guo Zhong Gu Yue Tuan [芳和國中鼓樂團] Taipei

The rest of Asia

133 www.waitaiko.com/ 134 www.tamashii.co.nz/ 135 www.taiwancenter.com 136 www.taiko.tw

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Apart from quite a number of groups in Singapore, the rest of Asia does not appear to be fervently following the wadaiko trend. Korea, for instance, has an annual Drum Festival but it does not necessarily cater only to Japanese, Korean or Asian drumming. The lack of wadaiko’s presence may actually be attributed to the fact that this region is covered by stronger Chinese or other ethnic historical and cultural influences, having in most cases already their own particular drumming culture. For this reason, to sell the idea of wadaiko to such countries like South Korea, for instance, would reap little success, for the Koreans have their own drumming culture that is in their own right equally entertaining as wadaiko, having also developed traditional drumming into stage performances, most prominently represented by the Samul-nori [사물놀이 or四物놀이], which developed from P’ungmul (or Poongmul) [풍물] in the late 1970s. Similarly, other ethnic or indigenous peoples would least likely to become fervent fans of wadaiko; it is not entirely ignored or shunned in countries outside of the Western cultural realms however, it just has to compete against existing local ethnic drumming cultures to have any significant reception. Singapore

1988 Suwa Daiko of Singapore Japanese Cultural Society137 1997 Kampong Chai Chee Community Centre Daiko138 [?] Singapore Polytechnic Japanese Taiko Drum Team

Yio Chu Kang CC (WEC Taiko) Tampines East CC Japanese Drum Group ITE College East Daiko Team139 School of Daiko140

Malaysia

[?] Kumpulan Rebana Sri Resak Johor Darul Ta’zim 2.6. Latin America Brazil Wadaiko in countries like Brazil is often practiced by the Nikkei [日系 ] Japanese-Brazilians, while in other cases it would simply be for the purpose of cultural understanding and exchange. Okinawan drumming groups can also be seen in local areas like Brasília.

1992 Ryukyu Koku Matsuri Daiko Brasil [琉球國祭り太鼓] Vargem Bonita 1993 Shindō Daiko141 Vitória 1995 Godaiko São Paulo 2002 Wadaiko Shō [生]142

Setsuo Kinoshita Taiko Group (Wadaiko Shō) São Paulo São Paulo

2003 Ishindaiko Londrina 2005 Choodee Uchinaa-daiko (Okinawan drumming)

Hikari Daiko [光太鼓] Brasília Brasília

137 www.geocities.com/ang_san/Daiko/ 138 www.ekampong.com.sg/DAIKO/aboutdaiko.HTM 139 http://scweb.ite.edu.sg/cca/student/ProgramDescription.asp?tid=1007&pid=161 140 www.school-of-daiko.blogspot.com/ 141 Part of the Associação Nikkei de Vitória.

http://shindodaiko.blogspot.com/ 142 www.taiko.com.br/

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Miyako Daiko Brasília [?] Requios Gueinou Doukokai (Okinawan drumming) Brasília

Argentina In Argentina wadaiko also appears to have won relative popularity, with some activities related to the Nikkei community there. The first book and a comprehensive guide to wadaiko in the Spanish language was written by local wadaiko drum maker Christian Tesei and published in Argentina in 2008 under the title: Taiko. Introducción al arte de la percussion japonesa.

1994 Mukaito Taiko [夢海渡太鼓]143 Buenos Aires 1998 Ryushin Rosario Taiko [流心ロサリオ太鼓]144 Rosario 2001 Tesei Taiko Factory [手製]145 Buenos Aires 2002 Medetaiko [芽出太鼓]146 Buenos Aires 2005 Buenos Aires Taiko147 Buenos Aires

Conclusions The purpose of this paper was to cast light on the history and extent of wadaiko, not only in Japan, but also around the globe. While it was impossible to list all existing groups, organisations and individuals related to wadaiko in Japan and in North America, where the culture is most enjoyed, promoted and studied, an attempt was made to provide as much as possible an exhaustive listing in other regions around the world. To introduce all wadaiko related establishments and individuals, as well as activities and socio-cultural significances in the world would necessitate a hefty volume of writing. This paper merely aims to present a general global view of wadaiko culture, rather than focusing solely on one region only, as has been commonly dealt with up to now. Wadaiko does not so much present an inherited tradition as draw upon traditions and ancient rituals. There is no melody to speak of to either please or taunt148 a non-Japanese ear; nor are there generally any strict prerequisites or rules to obey in order to be initiated into the culture; it does not require its audience or performer to be Japanese in order to participate and enjoy. As Eduard Peters says, ‘Taiko is neither limited by age nor gender and it requires no prior musical knowledge’149 In addition, with popular meditation and physical practices such as Tai Chi and zen, religious philosophies and martial arts, as well as ethnic elements and modern expressions being added to the formula, wadaiko promises an unlimited world of possibilities. There is already a trend to establish wadaiko culture and foster better recognition and knowledge concerning this new drumming art around the world. Europe and Oceania (New Zealand and Australia), in particular, may see further increase of interest in wadaiko. A recent performance by the Japanese wadaiko ensemble 143 www.mukaitotaiko.8k.com/ 144 www.ajr.org.ar/taiko.htm 145 www.teseitaiko.com.ar/ 146 www.ajr.org.ar/taiko.htm 147 www.buenosairestaiko.com.ar/ 148 Early visitors to Japan gave accounts of having to endure strange sounds produced by the singing

and playing of instruments of the Japanese (Eppstein 2007: 217-238). 149 From his official website. English translation is my own; original German text: Taiko ist weder alters- noch geschlechtsgebunden und es sind keine musikalischen Vorkenntnisse

erforderlich […]

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Wadaiko Akari [和太鼓あかり] in Madrid for the annual all-night cultural event La Noche En Blanco150 (White Night) in 2008 demonstrates the indispensible role of wadaiko today in cultural events, since there are still no wadaiko groups in Spain and yet a non-Japanese event has included it in the program. In a sense, wadaiko has become indispensible in promoting (inter)cultural events, so much so that it could even be considered a new cultural ambassador, not only between Japan and other countries but also between non-Japanese cultures, as we can already see with many of the international wadaiko event. Regardless of the varied views on what wadaiko is and how it should be, it is indisputably true that it is above all a new culture that transcends gender, race, age, culture, time and space to provide unlimited new possibilities of artistic and individual expression, enhances community and teamwork spirit, as well as improve physical and heighten spiritual well-being. The journey of this new ‘traditional’ ‘Japanese’ ‘musical’ culture has but only just begun.

150 http://lanocheenblanco.esmadrid.com/lanocheenblanco/es/evento/165

1

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Japanese music’. Japan Forum 19 (2):191-216. Gotō Masahiro. 2005. ‘Cultural-Historical and Applied Psychological Research

Study Regarding Therapeutic-Oriented Activity through the Use of Taiko Drums (wadaiko)--The Possibility of Taiko Therapy’. The Study of Applied Sociology 15: 163-188.

Izumi Masumi. 2008. ‘The Pioneering of Taiko Drumming in the United States : An Examination of Three Distinct Routes’. Doshisha Studies in Language and Culture 11 (2): 139-168.

Izumi Masumi, Kym S. Rice and Benjamin Filene. 2006. ‘‘Big Drum: Taiko in the United States’’. Journal of American History 93 (1): 258-161.

Johnson, Henry. 2008. ‘Why Taiko? Understanding Taiko Perfromance at New Zealand’s First Taiko Festival’. Sites: New Series 5 (2): 111-134.

Ōkubo Yūko. 2004. ‘Shūdan Seishin Ryōhō ni Okeru ‘Wadaiko’ Puroguramu no Kōka’ (The Effects of Wadaiko Program in Group Psychological Therapy). Nihon Geijutsu Ryōhō Gakkai-shi (Japanese Bulletin of Art Therapy) 35 (1,2): 134.

Powell Kimberly. 2008. ‘Drumming Against the Quiet’. Qualitative Inquiry 14 (6): 901-925.

Yoon, Paul Jong-Chul. 2001. ‘ ‘She’s Really Become Japanese Now! ’ : Taiko Drumming and Asian American Identifications’. American Music 19 (4): 417-438.

Magazine / Newspaper Articles Jackson, Paul. 2001. ‘Arts Weekend: Eitetsu Hayashi: A Living Cultural Asset’. The

Daily Yomiuri 13 December: 7 (Edition A).

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Quarterly YAM. 2008. ‘Culture and History Lecture Series (XXXIV)’. Quarterly YAM Winter Issue: 4.

Sakamoto Tatsuya. 2002. ‘Lens on Japan: Wadaiko – Drumming to a popular Beat – Lasting Tradition’. The Daily Yomiuri 7 January: 7.

Conference Papers Chang, Eddy Y. L. Wadaiko: the Roots and socio-cultural roles of modern Japanese

drumming. ASCJ 2008, 22 June 2008, Rikkyo University, Tokyo. www.meijigakuin.ac.jp/~ascj/2008/index.html Concert Programmes Earth Garden. Kodō:Shibuya:Live! Concert held on 21 September 2007 at CC

Lemon Hall, Shibuya, Tokyo. Katsushika Symphony Hills. Hayashi Eitetsu, Yamashita Yōsuke Duo Concert.

Concert held on 8 September 2007 at Mozart Hall, Katsushika Symphony Hills, Katsushika, Tokyo.

Kokuritsu Gekijo Eigyōbu Sendenka. Daichi Senkyō (Great Land, Thousand Echoes) — 27th National Theatre Special Concert, held on 1-2 September 2007. Tokyo: Dokuritsu Gyōsei Hōjin Nihon Geijutsu Bunka Shinkōkai.

Tokyo Dagekidan. Wadaiko Senpū (Wadaiko Whirlwind). Concert held on 12 October 1996 in Kunitachi, Tokyo.

Other Resources *All files and linked re-accessed in June 2009 for verification of availability. Amanojaku. 2008. One Thousand Taiko Drummers Celebrate Japan-Brazil

Immigration 100th Anniversaryin Sao Paulo. http://www.isakukageyama.com/file/press/english/press_release/celebrate.pdf

Discover Nikkei www.dicovernikkei.org

Japan Taiko Association www.taikojapan.com

Kuni’s HomePage www.kuni-net.com/index.html

List to Wadaiko around the World http://wadaikoworld.net/taikolinks.html

Nippon Taiko Foundation www.nippon-taiko.or.jp

NPO Wadaiko-Bunka Kenkyūkai www.wadaiko.or.jp

Portland Taiko. 2002. Portland Taiko Unplugged! www.portlandtaiko.org)

San Jose Taiko www.taiko.org San Jose Taiko. 2004. School Outreach Curriculum Guide. www.scribd.com/doc/8918803/Study-Guide-San-Jose-Taiko Taiko Hikari Daiko. Information of group www.nippobrasilia.com.br/entidades/taiko/taikohikaridaiko Taiko Center www.taiko-center.co.jp Taiko Dojo

www.drumdojo.com/taiko.htm