History of Taiko

The Birth of Taiko

In Japanese, taiko literally means “drum,” though the term has also come to refer to the art of Japanese drumming, also known as Kumi-taiko. Taiko has been a part of Japanese culture for centuries. Centuries ago, taiko was used predominantly in the military arena. As it evolved, Japanese Buddhist and Shinto religions gradually began to take it on as a sacred instrument. Historically, it has existed in a multitude of other environments, including agrarian, theater, and the imperial court. The art of Kumi-taiko, performance as an ensemble, originated post-war in Showa 26 (1951). It was created by Daihachi Oguchi, a jazz drummer who serendipitously stumbled across an old piece of taiko music. Wondering why taiko was never played together, he broke with tradition by forming a taiko drum ensemble. More recently, taiko has enjoyed not only a resurgence of interest in Japan, where there are over 4,000 taiko ensembles, but also transplantation and evolution in North America.

The period from the 1970s to 1990s in Japan seemed to be the Renaissance of taiko music. The activities of Osuwa Daiko and other early Kumi-taiko groups in the 1960s, and the taiko performance at the Tokyo Olympic in 1964ignited the phenomenal taiko boom for the next decades. People started to pay attention to their local cultural heritages, which were almost vanishing away. Many municipal organizations took action on preserving them and, consequently, a lot of hozonkai (municipal preserving organizations) was born here and there in Japan. Adding to that, the government promoted those activities with a vast sum of subsidies in the 1980s. The end result is that approximately 4,000 taiko groups have been formed in Japan since then. An important renovation in education was also enacted recently. The music education in Japan had focused on western classical music and disregarded traditional Japanese music in modern times. The educational renovation in 2002 required schools to use Japanese traditional instruments including taiko as teaching materials. It is sure that the new generation will reactivate taiko music in the 21st century.

A Japanese local Taiko group, Kodo consists of artists, musicians, and performers based on Sado Island located 250 miles north of Tokyo. Their activities on Sado Island began in the 1970s. At the time, issues related to the island’s youth leaving the island became an increasing concern. In hopes of attracting young people to the island, they began their work in Sado with the goal of setting up a university for the study of traditional Japanese arts and crafts. To raise the necessary funds to build such a school, they planned to travel around the world playing taiko concerts. Currently, with taiko as the focus of their performances, Kodo is one of the few Japanese performing arts groups with such a long and prolific history of international touring.

Eventually, their plan became a reality. They have their base, Kodo Village, as well as the creation of the Kodo Cultural Foundation, a non-profit organization devoted to the research and re-creation of traditional Japanese culture. Their original goals have been realized. Nestled in its diverse natural surroundings and nurtured by the vitality of its thriving performing arts community, Kodo has benefited immensely from its long association with Sado Island.

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