This week sure has been a hectic one. I'd been MIA from almost all of my classes for the entire week due to preparing for the Intercollegiate Taiko Invitational that took place over Memorial Day Weekend. This post will focus on the prep that took place earlier throughout the week in its relation to research in the field.
I had previously mentioned in "Foray Into the Field" that I had attended a San Diego Taiko practice and reflected on what I had noticed there. Last Monday, I had attended a Naruwan Taiko practice, originally to give a brief talk for their "Culture Corner" - a short break during the 2-hour long practice about many things related to the art and history of taiko - about the Intercollegiate Taiko Invitational. What I didn't expect though was to participate in the entire practice. I remembered from the San Diego Taiko practice that observers are usually asked to join in on the practice if they have had taiko experience before, but I was certainly not prepared to practice wearing a button down shirt, slacks, and oxfords. Their practice focused on the style known "Yodan" deriving from the song "Yodan-uchi" of Oedo Sukeroku Taiko.
Yodan-Uchi:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkySDOwtWcw
Yodan is a style of playing where two drums are played on rather than just one, typically two naname/slant drums, or one naname drum with an Odaiko.
One interesting piece of information relating to Yodan-uchi, or rather many other songs within the repertoire of Kumidaiko is that it is not open-domain and therefore needs permission to teach and play it from a member of Oedo Sukeroku Taiko. I learned this piece however during the Naruwan practice; I am very interested in seeing if these sentiments of open/closed domain are still enforced. I found an interesting article titled Diasporas and Interculturalism in Asian Performing Arts: Translating Traditions. This is really interesting and may hopefully provide me with further research on this topic, especially for my own personal growth as a taiko historian as well as a player.
To get onto the focus of my research for this project, I want to look at how taiko especially in North American is not bound by race and ethnicity, nor age and gender, but is inclusive to all. Both Naruwan and San Diego Taiko have a very wide range of diversity amongst their members. Their songs have been influenced by both traditional forms from Japan (influences from Oedo Sukeroku, etc.) as well as influences from many other musical genres - in this time, Jazz and Hip-hop have cemented themselves within the art of Kumidaiko here in North America in terms of composition as well as playing styles. I love how this artform is not exclusive to only one race and ethnicity because it broadens the artform in so many different and unique ways. Perhaps the most notable example of a professional I can think of is Kris Bergstrom, an alumni from Stanford Taiko. His influence across the taiko community is very large and widespread and he has continued to inspire many young taiko players, including myself. He is also a great guy to work with.
Kris Bergstrom:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSQViimLkYw
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