What Did We Buy at the Asano Taiko Sale?

Unfortunately, we didn't have any luck in the Asano Taiko drawings this weekend. We got about 10 raffle tickets, but we didn't win anything. A couple people I know did win 10,000 yen gift certificates, though.

We might not have had any luck in the drawings, but in another sense, we did have some luck. We had a certain budget for the drums we could purchase and it so happened, that there was an Ohirado Taiko that didn't go over our budget too much. For the Odaiko of our group, we had decided on getting a large Oke daiko. It is the type that is tightened with ropes and is much lighter, compared to an Ohirado Taiko. There were two reasons we had made that decision. One was price and the other convenience. The price was half of what a Keyaki Ohirado would cost, and since there are only two of us at the moment, we thought it would be easier to move it around. But when we saw this Ohirado on sale for just a little bit more than the same size Oke daiko, we couldn't pass it up. Here it is. Our very own Ohirado Taiko.

It's 3.5 Shaku. 1 shaku is about 30 cm, or 1 foot, so that makes this drum 105 cm, or about 3 1/2 feet in diameter. It's just the size I wanted. Of course, it looks cool to have an even bigger one, but anything much bigger than this starts to get impractical. It's too heavy to move around, you need a bigger truck to transport it and sometimes it won't fit through doorways. So this is just right for us.

One reason it was so much less than we had expected is because it is not made of keyaki (Zelkova), the preferred wood for taiko drums. Most Odaiko, or Ohirado Taiko are made out of either Keyaki or Bubinga (from Africa). The one we are buying happens to be made of Bubinga. Actually, it is hard to even find Keyaki trees large enough to make the really big Odaiko. Besides, I honestly like the grain of Bubinga wood a little better than the Keyaki for this type of drum. Just look at the beautiful patterns:

Right now we don't have any place to store it so Asano is holding it for us until we can clean out our closet. (Oh yes, and until we pay for it, also). So I guess we were lucky enough this weekend. I'm sure I'll write more about the various events and workshops in the days to come. (but first I have to finish my taxes.)

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!