The History of Taiko

by Ikuyo Conant, 2000

The word Taiko literally means “big drum” or “broad drum.” Since ancient times, Taiko has been associated with many aspects of Japanese culture. Taiko has been used for religious ceremonies, Noh and Kabuki music accompaniments, farming, festivals, fishing and for signaling time. In the past, Japanese people believed that their ancestors lived in taiko drums, and thus treated them as sacred objects. Even today, for many Japanese, Taiko is considered a sacred voice.

Taiko probably came to Japan around the fifth century from China and Korea, with their theatrical arts and belief of Buddhism. The Japanese Court Music (Gagaku), which has maintained traditional styles since earlier times, uses drums. Many regional forms of Taiko were developed based on local religious festivals.

Taiko performances popular today are a very modern form. The contemporary style of group drumming is called Kumidaiko, and it is almost 60 years old. A jazz drummer, Oguchi Daihachi, who is the leader of Osuwa Daiko in Nagano Prefecture in central Japan, invented this performance style. He thought the traditional drumming music was rather monotonous. To make Taiko music more musical, he created “Multiple Rhythmic Patterns.”

Contemporary Taiko is a post WW II phenomenon. The US occupied Japan after WW II. During the late 40’s Gen. Mac Arthur began to turn over more decision making power to Japan. The Korean War in 1950 to 1953 made the U.S. view Japan not as an enemy, but as an ally. The American policy to keep Japan politically and economically weak changed to allow Japan to become strong to hold up against communism. The United States started giving Japan economic aid. In 1955 the Liberal Democratic Party re-gained their political power and world wide economic expansion during the 50’s motivated Japan to expand economically. In 1962, the American Congress passed “The Trade Expansion Bill” and this allowed Japan further economic growth.

Japan’s growing economic prosperity was manifested in the Tokyo Olympic Games of 1964. The preparation for this international event started to create a strong consciousness for the traditional arts in Japan; the presentation of traditional Japanese culture such as Noh, Kabuki, traditional songs, folk dances and Taiko became issues for the success of the international celebration. New taiko groups were asked to perform for the Olympic games. Oguchi Daihachi was invited to demonstrate “Art of Japanese Culture” as represented in taiko drumming for the Olympics, and later at the International Exposition in 1970.

Economic growth and westernization brought to Japan a cultural Renaissance in the late 60’s; people scrutinized their own culture to re-discover the essence of Japanese ethos. New Taiko became one of the art forms people identified as a traditional art. In 1969, Ondekoza was formed by Den Tagayasu to create an art community on Sado Island. Later this group split into two groups -- Ondekoza and Kodo. Ondekoza and Kodo toured in Japan and took Taiko to the international stage, and have helped to create an awareness of Taiko both inside and outside of Japan.

Japanese economic growth brought with it the marginalization of rural communities. Many communities (especially in the northern part of Japan) suffered with the young migrating to the cities, leaving the elders to tend to the seasonal agricultural needs of these isolated villages. As these culturally rich, but economically poor areas started to fail, the national government stepped in to help revitalize the economies of these regions with grants to support the development of locally unique festivals and overall tourism. In 1975, the national government passed the Amendment of the Cultural Artifacts Preservation Law, which allowed local government a means to obtain financial support from the central government to put on local festivals.

In the 80’s the central government started to provide aid to local governments to promote community development, and these local governments generated financial support for creating festivals. Taiko ensembles became ever popular for adding excitement in these festivals. The Japanese government was able to help local communities preserve local cultural traditions, and this further encouraged the modern development and popularization of Taiko in Japan.

Taiko is a powerful cultural asset in Japan. It is an ancient form, yet a new invention. In many regions festivals are celebrated throughout the year based on seasonal changes. People enjoy these festivals for they provide an escape from the daily obligations they must endure. These festivals also draw people together. The community helps to make the festival a success, and each person is valued as an important member of the community. The new style – Taiko Ensemble—created by Daihachi Oguchi, provides a means for large numbers of people to participate in taiko performances.

Taiko in the United States

There are more than 400 taiko groups in North America today, and the number of taiko groups is increasing each year. Taiko is one important way for Japanese Americans to express their cultural heritage.

Japanese in the United States had difficult times during and after World War II. The interment during the war created economic difficulties and psychological scars in Japanese Americans and their communities. Japanese heritage such as marital arts, tea ceremony, flower arrangement, Bonsai were taught to train individual discipline and to maintain cultural identity. When people were in a situation of oppression, the approach to train their inner skills by practicing traditional Japanese arts was very important for Japanese Americans.

The establishment of closed communities, however, saw the light of opening up to the outside during the civil rights movements of the 60’s. The turmoil that followed in the 70’s and 80’s, which were in large part due to people asserting their rights against imperialism, had profound effects on modern industrial nations. Throughout these nations the young became aware of their cultural identities, and found ways to assert these identities.

After World War II the world was changing rapidly. People struggled to replace the old colonial order and chaffed against the established notions of racism and exploitation. The invisible people both home and abroad became visible. The civil rights struggles gave impetus to a new consciousness with a much broader view of the world. From this view came public awareness of segregation and discrimination based on race and sex. In the midst of the racial and the gender equality movements, Beat Generation of poet and novelists, evangelical awake movements, and interest in Asian religions emerged. Buddhist ideas of non-materialistic life styles and humanism seeped into the Counter Culture population, and Zen Buddhism became ever more popular. The number of non-Asian conversions to Buddhism peaked during the 60’s and 70’s.

In 1965 immigration law changed, and this has allowed a large flow of Asians into the states. Large cities rapidly became more culturally diverse. This gave rise to a wider interest in activities and cultures outside of our own. Such interest was reflected in ethnic art communities, which promoted ethnic arts in the schools and at community events. Eventually such activities carried over to private and government sponsorship of these diverse community activities. American Taiko would flourish in this new appetite for world community.

In 1968, Master Seiichi Tanaka opened San Francisco Taiko Dojo. In 1969 Kinnara Taiko was established at Senshin Buddhist Temple in LA, and San Jose Taiko was established in 1973. Many Buddhist Taiko groups were established in the early 80’s with the help of Kinnara Taiko, and non-religious taiko groups became visible in late 80’s. Since then, the number of taiko groups has been increasing. Taiko fever resulted in several successful North American Taiko Conferences. Through these conferences groups have had opportunities to exchange information about many subjects, from creating music to drum making techniques.

One very important element in the history of the establishment of taiko groups in North America is the process of drum making. In North America, a taiko group starts with the making of taiko drums. The price of taiko drums in Japan is outrageous, and it is very hard to purchase drums for a newly established group. Therefore, people who want to have a taiko group need to start with making there own drums. Since Sensei Masao Kodani from Kinnara Taiko introduced drum-making techniques using wine barrels, the number of taiko groups in the United States and Canada jumped in a short time. Creating new taiko drums requires many new ideas. Taiko groups in the States and Canada are constantly searching for new ideas for better Taiko and taiko equipment making.

References

“The Thundering World of Taiko” by Takeshi Takata (Taikology 1997)
“The Study of Osuwa Taiko “ by Akitoshi Asano (Taikology1995)