Showing posts with label Extasia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Extasia. Show all posts

2009-04-14

More Kaga Taiko and Asano Taiko's 400th Annivesary Concert

I don't have any connecting theme or topic to write about today. Actually, I haven't had any major topic or theme for a couple weeks now, which is why I haven't been writing as much as usual. Sorry, I'll try to fix that. For now, though, I'll just share several updates with you.

I returned to the Ichikawa Juku (Kaga Taiko) last Sunday after an absence of several weeks. Aside from all the second-hand smoke, it is an enjoyable experience. It is quite different to be instructed one-on-one from a master like Ichikawa sensei. (The difference being the one-on-one instruction, our other instructors from Hono Taiko are masters as well, of course.) Ichikawa sensei told me that next Sunday they will be going to visit a nursing home to play Kaga Taiko there and he invited me to come along. I am assuming that I will get to play a little bit as well. It should be an enjoyable experience. In college, my and a group of friends would gather every Saturday evening to play folk music together. Every once in a while, we would show up at a convalescent center and ask if we could play there. The people there really enjoyed it, and we did too. Every now and then, members of that folk circle will gather for an "Old Man Roscoe" reunion. The last time they got together was last June and I, unfortunately, could not be there, but they did post some video of it:

But I digress, I always enjoyed sharing music at the nursing home and am looking forward to it again.

Also, on a Kaga Taiko note, my daughter was with us at our lesson on Sunday and she expressed an interest in learning/playing Kaga Taiko. So, she had her first lesson on Sunday. Having learned taiko at Asano in the Kid's classes for a year and a half helped her to pick up the rhythms quickly. Ichikawa sensei taught her three simple rhythms: don don don (rest) do do-n don (rest) doko doko don (rest)
Here is about 30 seconds of her lesson (which only lasted about 3 or 4 min altogether anyhow).


I was impressed by well Ichikawa sensei teaches children, as well as adults. Perhaps it helps that his granddaughter is the same age as Karen.

The other update I have is regarding Asano's 400th Anniversary Celebration (June 5, 6, 7). On Friday evening there will be a concert featuring at least 12 different performers/groups. Apparently there were so many groups that wanted to be a part of it, they were unable to accommodate all of them. Here is a list of most of the performers who will participate:
Hajijojima
Fujimoto Yoshikazu (Kodo)
Imafuku Yu
Miyakejima Geino Doshikai
Kaneko Ryutaro (Former Kodo member)
Hono Taiko
Wadaiko Yamato
Tokara (Art Lee)
Uruki (Machiko Asano's group, played at 2008 Exstasia)
Tsurugiji Yahata Taiko (Taiko from Noto Penninsula)
Tiffany Tamaribuchi

And there is one more name that I cannot read. I'll have to investigate further and then get back to you.

The concert is Friday night (5.June) starting at 6:30 PM at the Hakusan-shi Matto Gakushu Center and it only costs 1000 yen!

I have more updates to share, but now I must get ready to go to work. More coming soon.

2008-05-24

Promotional performance

A couple weeks ago, we went to a mall near our house, where Asano Taiko was doing a PR performance for the upcoming Extasia Taiko Festival on July 27th. The group performing is Sasuke, consisting of all junior high or high school age students. Earlier this spring, they took part in the All Japan Youth Taiko Competition as a representative of Ishikawa Prefecture, and they received an award (not the top prize, though). Furthermore, I just learned yesterday that they have been selected to compete in another national contest in Tokyo later this summer.

2007-07-29

Extasia Ecstasia taiko festival concerts

This past Sunday we were able to enjoy nearly four hours of taiko performances. The day was split into an afternoon concert and an evening concert. Following the afternoon performance, my wife and I simply looked at each other. We were literally at a loss for words, other than "wow". Anything we could have said would have taken something away from the experience. At several points, we were nearly moved to tears. We found out later, when the town mayor gave some opening remarks for the evening concert, that he also had been moved to tears.

I also feel that a "play by play" description of the groups and their performances would be a disservice to them. Taiko of this caliber cannot be described, it must be experienced. Perhaps there are a few aspects of the afternoon and evening, which I can share, however. I was rather ... "excited" ... that the first performance of the afternoon featured three genuine Geisha. Many people outside of Japan seem to be aware of Geisha, but I would venture to guess that their ideas regarding them are most likely inaccurate, especially if they are based on somewhat recent movie, "Memoirs of a Geisha". Unfortunately, this movie, was not an accurate portrayal of Geisha. In fact, many Japanese were offended that in making a movie about something so closely associated with Japanese identity, that no Japanese actresses were cast in lead roles. (not to say that the Chinese actresses are not attractive). At any rate, a geisha is a skillfully trained in many traditional arts, such as music, dance and other things. It is rare to see geisha, even in Kyoto. At least during my two years living in Japan and my subsequent yearly visits, I never saw a real Geisha until Sunday. Some may believe they have seen Geisha in Kyoto, especially around the Kiyomizu Temple area, but these are often tourists who pay to have a formal picture taken in Geisha/Maiko dress, and then take some time stroll around the tourist areas following the photo.

Anyhow, I have strayed a bit from the topic. What I mean to say, is that seeing as how Geisha are a rare sight, I felt privileged to be able to enjoy their dance at Ecstasia.

Another group that played was from Kagoshima, in the south west area of Japan. It was made up of all girls (maybe about 20) between around 4th or 5th grade through high school. Their performance was one of those that nearly brought tears to my eyes, simply because of their passion in playing the drums. I think one of the rules of this group contributed a great deal to their moving performance and stage presence. The rule is: "You can't accomplish anything on your own". I'm certain this idea has formed their mentality and helped them to have a feeling of unity as they learn to play taiko together. In order to achieve their performance level, everyone must rely on each other, help each other. If one person struggles, the whole group struggles. If one member performs poorly, it reflects on the whole group. I suppose it's sort of like the saying, "A chain is only as strong as its weakest link". I think this may be a very Japanese idea, or way of thinking. Westerners, maybe Americans especially, like to be in the spotlight and strive to be a standout in the group, or on the team, but I think the result of this unified thinking is much more impressive.

I've often thought of this regarding sports teams as well. We like to see the star players perform, it's entertaining and impressive to watch, but one or two star players can easily be beaten by a good all around team.

Hono Taiko was the finale for both the afternoon and evening concerts. It's kind of funny that I mentioned the Mitsu uchi style taiko in my last post and said that it wasn't really performed any longer. At least that is what Mr. Mogi, who gave the lecture said. Wouldn't you know that Hono Taiko performed the Mitsu Uchi style for one of their selections in the afternoon concert. Perhaps it will be revived after all.

There were many more groups, but as I mentioned, to try to describe them all here does not do them justice. I just have to recommend that someday you come to Matto to see Ecstasia for yourself. It's worth it.

Now we move on to plan for our trip to Sago Island to visit Kodo's Earth Celebration on the 17th and 18th of August. In the meantime, we will start taiko lessons at Asano Taiko this Thursday. Stay tuned for more updates.

2007-07-28

Taiko Lecture

This afternoon is the Ecstasia Taiko Concert in Matto. We are looking forward to attending the performances all afternoon and evening. There will be many different groups from all over Japan performing this year. As the event is sponsored by Asano Taiko, Hono Taiko will naturally be headlining the afternoon and evening concerts. I am looking forward to seeing them perform again. I have not seen their performance since 2000, I guess. Since then, I suppose I have only seen Yamato's live performances.

Yesterday we were able to attend a pre-event lecture and mini-performance. Jige-san of Hono Taiko even sat right next to us. The lecture was at least 90 minutes and all in Japanese, of course. I was rather pleased with myself that I was able to understand enough to follow the main points of the presentation. Having not lived more than a few weeks at a time in Japan for seven plus years, I honestly did not expect to be able to follow an academic lecture.

The lecture was given by Mogi Hitoshi and was titled 「伝統と創作、それが太鼓の生きる道」 Which translates to something like "Tradition and Creativity, That is the Way of Taiko". The majority of the lecture dealt with the history and traditions of taiko in Japan. The last half hour or so, he spent talking about some of the creative styles that developed out of those traditions, such as Ooedosukeroku taiko (大江戸助六太鼓) and Mitsu Uchi (三つ打ち) style. The Mitsu Uchi Style seems to have been influenced from the traditions of Gojinjodaiko (御陣乗太鼓) from the Noto peninsula. It is a very flashy style using many fast rhythms and sticks decorated in red and white, which are twirled and flipped often during the performance. Apparently, this style has died out, though, and is not really performed any longer. The Sukeroku style, however, is still often used. Many North American taiko groups have adopted this style of playing.

When looking back at the traditions, from which these styles developed, there is quite a big difference. "IN THE BEGINNING" drums in Japan were not used for entertainment. It was almost always for more pragmatic purposes. In fact, it wasn't until the latter half of the 20th century that they were even considered as a possible entertainment vessel. Long, long ago they were used for purposes such as defining village boundaries. The boundaries were as far as the sound of the drum would carry. They were also used for scaring away pests from fields, homes and villages, or for calling for rain. Mr. Mogi actually spent quite a bit of time discussing taiko being used to call for rain. As one can imagine, the taiko sound was associated with the sound of thunder. Since the sounds were similar, people believed that the taiko would call the rain. So it makes sense that the Japanese image of the god of thunder would also have drums in it. He showed several graphics of the god of thunder (you can see one of the graphics here: http://www.emuseum.jp/cgi/pkihon.cgi?SyoID=2&ID=w307&SubID=s000 ) Notice the small drums surrounding the god on the left.

Taiko were also used in festivals and other events as an offering of sorts to the gods and spirits. Sometimes this was in a festival setting. One festival, of which he showed a short video clip, I thought was particularly interesting. It was held in the middle of the night. There were probably about 20 or 30 people with staffs and bamboo poles striking the ground in a steady marching type of rhythm. Behind this group, a huge taiko drum was being pulled along on a cart, while priests (I think) on either side of the drum were striking it with a "bat bachi" (basically, a drum stick shaped like a baseball bat). It was struck probably once every few seconds or so. No complicated rhythms, but the sound must have been quite moving.

He also spent a bit of time discussing taiko in Gagaku music. This is Japanese classical music. There seem to be two taiko which are always part of this, one representing the sun, and the other the moon. The drum representing the sun is on the left (east) and the drum head is decorated with a mitsudomoe (like a yin yang design with three parts) and the drum on the right (west) is representing the moon and is decorated with a futatsudomoe (yin yang design). Gagaku music, I believe, was also a sort of offering to the gods, or perhaps the Emperor, who was/is also considered a god.

I think what struck me the most was how far the taiko that is prevalent today has come from its roots and traditional uses. I don't mean to say that it has strayed from its foundation. The traditions from which these newer styles developed are still evident. But the beginnings of taiko, or at least what I saw yesterday, are much simpler than modern taiko.

Although there is more to say, it is now time to depart for Ecstasia. With my limited understanding of yesterday's lecture, I hope that I have done justice to what Mr. Mogi wanted to say. I do not believe I have given any false information, but I may have given incomplete information. I did purchase his book yesterday, "An Introduction to Japanese Taiko". As I read through the book, I will come back to this post and edit, correct, add as needed.

Stay tuned, hopefully an entry regarding this afternoon and evening's concert will soon follow.

 
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