Asano 400th Annivesary Opening Concert

I guess it was nearly three weeks ago, but on June 5th, we were able to attend the opening concert for Asano Taiko's 400th annivesary. It was quite an amazing concert featuring some of the taiko world's most famous artists. There were many people and groups whom I have seen perform in the past, such as Hono Taiko, Yamato, and Miyake Taiko, but there were also many groups I saw for the first time, like Tiffany Tamaribuchi, Tokara, Hachijo Jima and current/former members of Kodo and Ondekoza: Imafuku Yuu and Fujimoto Yoshikazu.

The concert venue was the Matto Gakushu Center Hall, which is a small hall attached to a city library. I can't imagine that it would hold much more than a few hundred people, but it was standing room only. One of the benefits of the small theater, though, is the intimate feel it creates. We got very intimate seats in the second row! The mood on the stage I felt from the performers was relaxed (not in a lazy way) and celebratory. Everyone, the performers and the audience, seemed to really enjoy themselves.

Miyake Taiko was powerful and impressive, (as it always is). The groups from outside of Japan, or featuring members from outside of Japan (Tiffany Tamaribuchi and Tokara) had a slightly different feel about them. In a subtle sort of way, they were more light-hearted, they almost had a more optimistic way of playing, if that makes sense to you. Not to say that they were better or worse than any of the other groups, they just had a different, can't-quite-put-my-finger-on-it feel to them. I do remember reading somewhere, though, that one of the Asano brothers commented once on how much N. American taiko players really seem to enjoy themselves while they are playing taiko.

Yamato also certainly seems to enjoy themselves on stage, but in a slightly different way. Yamato began Ogawa-san, the leader, thanking Asano Taiko for all they've done. He said, "If Asano did not exist, Yamato would not exist." This is probably true for most of the groups there that evening. Whether groups use Asano drums or not, Ondekoza/Kodo is probably one of the main reasons for the spread of Taiko around the world, and they have always played Asano drums. Yamato performed their song which features Katsugi Oke Taiko, "Rakuda". It's one of my favorites of theirs.

Another performance that I particularly enjoyed (as did my daughter) was from Imafuku Yuu, a native of Shimane prefecture and former member of Ondekoza (I think). Imafuku san uses elements of Kagura music in his taiko performance, which include singing and dancing. (There is a short clip on his homepage, it should play automatically) For this performance he used a small nagado and was accompanied by a shime taiko played with take bachi (bamboo sticks). He played and sang (he has a wonderful voice) a song about blessings and fortune and good luck. As he played, another performer came out, dressed as one of the Seven Lucky Gods of Japan, Ebisu. Ebisu is: The God of Good Fortune, the Ocean, and Fishing Folk
Also Deity of Honest Labor & Patron of Laborers. He looked something like this. Anyhow, Ebisu danced around on stage and pretended to go fishing. First he reeled in an old boot, which my daughter found amusing (well, okay, I did too). Then he finally caught a Red Snapper, or Sea Bream fish, which is symbolic of congratulatory wishes in Japan, appropriate for Asano's 400th annivesary.

Imafuku-san's nagado taiko was actually quite interesting. On one of the heads, there seemed to be a drawing of some sort. Although I was in the second row, I still couldn't figure out what it was supposed to be. My best guess was a pig. After the concert, I was backstage and Imafuku-san happened to be there with the drum, so I asked him about it. As it turned out, the picture wasn't a picture at all, it was very artistically written arabic. Someone had written it for him as a gift when he was in ... I think it was somewhere in Northern Africa. It said something like "Playing the drum is joy." (note to self: start writing stuff down that you want to remember).

Anyhow, it was a great concert, the performances, the atmosphere, everything. And it only cost 1000 yen. At the end of the concert, Asano Senmu (Akitoshi) stood on stage beaming with happiness, with his eyes glistening looking as if tears of joy were about to overflow. He expressed his thankfulness to all the performers and how wonderful the concert was. Just before he thanked everyone for coming and wished us a safe journey home, he said "I can't wait for the next 400 years!"

Miyake Taiko Workshop

There are so many things that happened last weekend at Asano Taiko's 400th Anniversary celebration. I learned so much, met so many new people, thought about a lot of things in a new light. If I tried to sum them up in one post, it would probably be either reeeaaaallllyy long, or too much information at once. Therefore, I will just try to write short reflections on the experiences and what I learned, as I have time and as they come to mind. Hopefully I can get down my most significant experiences before they slip my mind.

Today's topic: The Miyake Taiko Workshop with Mr. Tsumura and his three sons.


The above is a picture of me (the tall, white guy in the middle) along with the Tsumura family and on the left is Odaiko player, Yamabe Taishi, from Kurashiki　Tenryo Taiko in Okayama ken.　For some reason, all the women taiko players that I know get all dreamy-eyed and giggly when they are around these guys. From what I hear, they find them rather attractive.

Sunday was my second time to take this workshop from the Tsumuras. I also took it last year during Golden Week (first week of May). I wrote about it extensively in that post. Seeing as the content was pretty much the same, I won't spend a lot of time writing about it again. If you're interested, you can read about it in last year's post.

This year there were significantly more people in the workshop. This limited the amount of time we had and everything took a little bit longer. Last year, we had enough time to work on a variation in the ji-uchi (base rhythm) and also work on the "agari" (speeding up) at the end. This year, however, Mr. Tsumura gave a quick introduction on the correct form - leg positioning, movement of arms, proper grip of the sticks, etc. We each took a turn playing the ji-uchi and the melody four times through, stopping between each set to rotate players. After everyone played one set, Mr. Tsumura gave some general advice and suggestions before going on to teach us how to rotate from player to player without stopping. Last year the switching between players was kind of a challenge for me. I could never quite get the ji-uchi right. This year it seemed to be no problem, though.

After we had learned how to switch between players without stopping the music, we played the song continuously for about 45 minutes, rotating around the room. Mr. Tsumura and his three sons were at various spots around the room and would give advice to the workshop participants as they came around. At the end, we did some cool down stretches and that was it.

I think my muscles (legs especially) were a little more sore than last year. Last year I spent more time exercising so that my legs would be strong. Not that I haven't been exercising, but I haven't been spending much time on the muscles needed for Miyake, so the next day, they were a little sore.

With the increased number of workshop participants, Mr. Tsumura's strictness also came through a little bit more. Unfortunately, it had to come out at the expense of a couple of the younger attendees. It wasn't a type of strictness in the sense that he came across as a mean old man, but more that he was strict because he is very serious about learning and teaching taiko.

For the workshop there were four or five taiko set up. Since there were 20 or 30 participants, we had to be split up into groups. At one point, there were three young girls (8 or 10 years old?). Mr. Tsumura said, "One of you go over to this group." The three girls looked at each other and hesitated for a minute. Then they began playing "rock, paper, scissors" to decide which one of them should go (the loser would go). This is actually a common way to make decisions in Japan. In fact, I think they use it in Parliament fairly often, when they can't come to a consensus. Anyway, when they started the "rock, paper, scissors" game, Mr. Tsumura said, "No, no, no, we don't have time for games, just one of you move to the other group. Hurry up and do it, you're wasting time." After another short hesitation, one of the girls moved. Before moving on, Mr. Tsumura told everyone, "If you don't want to do what you're asked, or you don't want to be split up from your friends, it's okay. You don't have to take the workshop. You're welcome to sit and watch because there are a lot of people who wanted to take this workshop and weren't able to. I'm sure they'll gladly take your place. That kind of thing just wastes time and is a nuisance to everyone else."

Although I felt a little sorry for the girls, that they had to be "the example", I completely agree with what Mr. Tsumura said. If the teacher asks you to do something and you don't want to do it, or you make a fuss about doing it, you are just bothering the other people who are there and who are serious about practicing taiko, or basketball or music or whatever you might be learning.

At another point in the workshop, a young boy (4th or 5th grade?) was quietly tapping on the rim of one of the taiko while Mr. Tsumura was talking. He stopped and said, "Who's playing the drum? Who's making that noise? Whoever it is, stop it. These aren't your drums. You are borrowing them. You shouldn't play them until you are told to play them."

Like for the girls, it may have been slightly traumatic for the young boy, but Mr. Tsumura is correct again. I think it is especially important to make a point to young children about when it is appropriate and inappropriate to make noise on the drums. Small children are just naturally attracted to playing the drums. They can hardly resist playing them, but when someone is talking, it is certainly inappropriate. If small children are not taught to keep quiet (don't play) while the teacher is talking, it is nearly impossible for the teacher to teach. Have you ever tried talking over 10 or 20 drums? I've seen teachers try to do that before and it is painful to watch.

Once again, a "short" summary of a workshop is turning into a term paper. I guess I had better stop before things get too out of hand.

Check back soon for more stories from the Asano Taiko 400th Annivesary Celebration.

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Thank You, Wadaiko Yamato

On Saturday I went over to Asano Taiko to take part in the 400th Annivesary activities. Wadaiko Yamato had performed at the Friday night opening concert and I knew they would be at Asano on Saturday as well. I thought I would wear one of my Yamato t-shirts, so I chose one from their 2001 (?) tour. I have worn the shirt quite a bit and it shows. The image is in pretty rough shape and the color is very faded.

After arriving at Asano, I saw some of the members. I greeted them and told them I had enjoyed their performance the night before. Then one of them looked at my shirt and said, "Brian, what are your wearing? How old is that thing? Don't you have a newer one?"
"It's not so bad," I said, "It's just been well-loved."
"Brian, we'll send you a new shirt. What size is that?"
"I think it's XL, but it's a little big," I said.

It wouldn't be the first time they have given me t-shirts. But I thought they meant the next time we visited them in Asuka mura, or perhaps the next time we come to one of their concerts. Yesterday, we got a package in the mail. It was five, brand new Wadaiko Yamato T-shirts, Size L.



Thank you, again, Wadaiko Yamato, for your generosity and kindness to us.

Katsugi Oke Taiko Workshop with Hayashida Hiroyuki

Today (Sunday) is the last day of the 400th Anniversary Celebration at Asano Taiko. Today I will take the Miyake Taiko Workshop, and a singing workshop with Yoshikazu Fujimoto, one of Kodo's oldest members. He'll be teaching the song "Kiyari" which is sung along with Miyake Taiko.

Yesterday I had one workshop and my wife had two. My wife took a workshop on Hachijo Jima Taiko and a Chappa (cymbal) workshop from Ryutaro Kaneko (a former Kodo member). My workshop was with Hiroyuki Hayashida, also a former Kodo member.

From the picture, perhaps you can guess that he is known for Katsugi Oke Taiko playing. In fact, he is one of the first people to play Oke Taiko in that style and is credited with developing and refining Katsugi Oke playing. I took the basic/beginner Katsugi Oke Taiko workshop from him, seeing as I have not really played or learned that style before. We actually didn't get to play that much, but I was impressed with his teaching and I could tell that his philosophy about practicing is very similar to mine. For example, some of the advice he gave us: practice a lot of drills like stick control drills, accent drills, paradiddles, and so on. In fact, he said that you should spend most of your practice time on drills, not on practicing songs. (I completely agree) He also scolded taiko players (in a friendly way) who do not use a metronome during practice. He said the metronome is your best friend. Also, in some of the handouts he gave us, it had more good advice, like "practicing 30 minutes a day is better than practicing three hours once a week." Of course, if you grew up taking music lessons all this is common sense. But one of the nice things about taiko is that it tends to attract a lot of people who do not have much of a musical background, so perhaps it is good to remind people of it from time to time.

The workshop was scheduled for 90 min, but it ended up being more than two hours. Hayashida san said usually his Katsugi Oke workshops are seven hours! So he was challenged to try to fit all of that into 90 minutes. We didn't get a lot of playing time, but I still feel as if I learned a lot. Not only about playing Katsugi Oke, but about the care and treatment of the drums as well. What was the biggest thing I learned? That I need to practice a lot more before I will feel comfortable playing Katsugi Oke Taiko.

Today, my wife will also have a Katsugi Oke workshop from Hayashida san, but she is taking the intermediate level. My workshop was for beginners.

I Wonder How Lucky I Am?

Tomorrow is the big day. Tomorrow morning at 9 AM Asano Taiko will kick off their 400th anniversary celebration. It is three days of taiko workshops, live performances, and a huge sale, 400 years in the making! Well, maybe not 400 years in the making, but it's a pretty big deal, especially because sales at Asano are pretty rare.

It was 400 years ago, back in 1609, that the Kaga clan, invited taiko maker, Saemongoro from Harima (Hyogo Prefecture) to found Asano Taiko in Fukutomi, Ishikawa Village, which is now called Fukudome Town in Hakusan City. Since then, Asano has been producing top quality, hand-crafted taiko drums and other traditional products. (Read a short history of Asano Taiko)

What else was going on in the world in 1609? Well, not a whole lot of significant events. But the children's rhyme, "Three Blind Mice" was published in London. That's worth something.

Anyhow, we have been looking forward to this event for quite some time. It couldn't have come at a better time for us. We will start by attending the concert tomorrow evening, which is full of world-renowned taiko performers and tickets were only 1000 yen (about 10 USD). It's an amazing deal! Saturday we will continue with workshops in Katsugi Oke Taiko, Hachijo Taiko and a chappa workshop. There will be several 30 minute mini-live concerts interspersed during the day. Sunday, we'll continue our workshops with Miyake Taiko, taught by the original creators of Miyake, Mr. Tsumura and his sons, more Katsugi Oke and finish off by learning the song, "Kiyari", which is often sung before playing Miyake Taiko. Sunday will also feature short live performances throughout the day. The workshops are also an amazing deal. Almost all of them are only 1000 yen. So I will get three workshops which would normally cost 3000 - 4000 yen each, for only 3000 yen (about 30 USD).

But it's the sale that is the most timely for us. Regular readers of our blog know our plans to start up a taiko group in Michigan sometime in the beginning of next year. Of course, you can't have a taiko group without taiko and if you're going to buy Asano drums, there probably will be no better time to buy them than this weekend for the next 400 years. Several hundred taiko drums will be on sale for 10%, 20%, 30% even 35% off the normal prices. When you're talking about drums that are at least 1 or 2,000 USD for even the cheapest ones, even 10% or 20% off is saving a huge amount of money.

Today I learned another juicy tidbit, though. It's not just going to be a weekend of live performances, workshops and a sale. There will be drawings too. Each day, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, anyone who bought something will be entered into a drawing at 3 PM of that day. Apparently, there are some pretty nice prizes. There will be two drawings a day: one for people who spent less than 50,000 yen, and one for people who spent over 50,000 (about 500 USD) There is even the possibility of a prize of a ....are you ready? ... 3.5 shaku Ohiradaiko!!!! That's a 105 cm "flat" Odaiko! Here's a picture of what I'm talking about:

These things are not cheap. We originally were thinking of buying one, but they are extremely heavy. It takes at least 3, preferably 4 people, to move one around. And they are extremely expensive. Just for a 3.5 shaku drum, costs around 35,000 USD!!! Add in the stand and case and it could be another 7 or 8,000! The combination of the weight and the cost convinced us to wait on purchasing one of these. Although a few weeks ago, I had a chance to play on an extremely nice one, and I again toyed with the idea of getting one anyways, but in the end, the cost was just too much.

BUT ...

Now there is a chance that I could win one. We'll definitely be spending more than 50,000 yen this weekend, so we ought to have at least a chance to win it. And that is why I wondered in today's title, "How Lucky I Am?" Obviously, it's not the kind of luck, like having a loving family, having a job, enough to eat, being healthy, etc. I know that I am "lucky" in those respects. I am talking about pure luck, pure chance. It is a raffle and the next guy who spends 50,000 yen at Asano will have just the same chance that I have to win that beautiful drum. I sure hope it's me, though. Oh, I would so much love a drum like that!

Quick Updates

Has it really been ten days? I apologize. It really has been too long. Recently, I've been hit with several things that take up a lot of my time that I usually use for writing blog posts. One being income tax... yes, it's after April 15, but when you live overseas, you get an extra two months to file.

Unfortunately, today I cannot write much either, but just to let any of you loyal readers know that I am still here, I'll just make it a quick update. Let's see, maybe I'll do this in a list form.

Got $300 plus from the Japanese govn't for their form of a stimulus payment. Technically we're supposed to spend it, not save it, so I guess I'll be making a trip to the Asano Taiko shop to pick up some bachi, chappa, and so on.

I joined Kinoshita Chieko san's (Hono Taiko) Super Beginner class with my daughter two weeks ago. I joined it because my daughter is only 5 (almost 6) and might have trouble on her own, but as it turns out, it is a great learning opportunity for me as well on many different levels.

Mayumi (me wife) also joined a new class with Kinoshita san as the instructor. It is called "Basic" and is also kind of intended for beginners, but there are still a lot of experienced players in the class. As the name suggests, it focuses on learning and polishing up basic skills. Mayumi will likely be working on her Odaiko basic skills.

This Wednesday, the last holiday of Golden Week, JIGEN will get to play at Asano's 400th anniversary pre-event on Wednesday. (Here's my blog post about it, and here's a link to the Asano flyer about it) I'm not sure if we are playing once or twice, but the live performances are at 1:30 and 3:00. We'll be playing the song, Raigun (雷郡) at one or both of them.

I'd like to write more, but now I need to get ready to go to work. After tomorrow I'll have four days off, though, so I suppose I'll be able to find some time to write a proper entry at least once during that time. Until then...