Deep Hanging Out

Over the course of this quarter, we've been preparing for our spring concert in Taiko. it is essentially "tech week" the entire time for us having rehearsals on individual songs every night, trying to perfect them for this performance.  These song practices have provided great opportunities for 'deep hanging out,' a term coined by anthropologist Clifford Geertz in 1998. Geertz describes deep hanging out as an anthropological study that entails "immersing oneself in a cultural, group or social experience on an informal level."

Our run-throughs consist of running the entire production whilst in full costume. These costumes, or Happi coats as they are commonly called, are synonymous with Japanese and Japanese-American culture and have a very distinct appearance to them. They are also often seen in Japanese restaurants, being worn by sushi chefs. These uniforms were originally worn in festivals and were later adopted by merchants and in other public domains, often with crests on the back of the coats to display their business or organizations.

These images are two example of happi coats. The first image (left) is of the professional taiko group KODO. The second image (above) is an example of happi coats typically worn during festivals known as Matsuri and also Obon.

The way my group treats and handles these costumes in relation to performance is very interesting. Because taiko is a performance art, the costumes often contribute greatly to the visual aspects of the performance - coordinated colors and designs can add flare to a particular song, especially if the colors and design reflect the mood of the piece. 

Our group's view that the audience we play for desires to see us perform in these 'authentic and traditional' costumes contributes to the exoticism of the art and the performance because we are a Japanese group. Now, what I find more interesting is that there are members within the group who are very surprised or shocked upon learning that there are other groups who perform without happi, either because they choose not to, or simply do not own them and they view this as wrong or unusual; however, I find this is somewhat contradictory when we ignore a part of the uniform because people don't like it. This is because the origins, history, and cultural uses for the uniform itself are not taught within our group, and members therefore do not understand why we wear them. My fear is this lack of knowledge and understanding will lead to parts of the tradition dying out, not because I think we are becoming 'less Japanese,' but because people are taking for granted what equipment and luxuries the group has while forgetting that the older generations worked so hard to give us these things. It is really frustrating, and I find it very disrespectful.

These are a few of the things I have noticed and learned from these 'deep hanging out' sessions.

Deep Hanging Out can be found here:

Clifford Geertz. Available Light: Anthropological Reflections on Philosophical Topics. "Deep Hanging Out" p.107-117. Princeton University Press, 2012.
http://books.google.com/books?id= ZEXrndTWc4C&lpg=PA107&pg=PA107#v=onepage&q&f=false

Unfortunately, not all of the pages are accessible, so you might have to find alternatives or buy the book if you would like to read further.

Moving Forward

I've set up some appointments for interviews and performances with groups in the local San Diego area, those being both Naruwan Taiko and San Diego Taiko as I had previously mentioned in a post. I have been to their practices before in the past and I have had a blast, but I am looking forward to be able to look at practices from a different perspective - looking at the dynamics between the members and their interactions with the drums, their colleagues, their repertoire and so on and so forth.

I'm also in the process of setting up interviews (formal or informal) with some very distinguished taiko masters who have had very long professional careers. That won't happen until Memorial Day Weekend, which is the date of the 19th Annual Intercollegiate Taiko Invitational which we are hosting for the very first time. There's a lot of stress going into an event that costs $40K to run - especially since it's our first time. You all should check it out, there are free concerts on Saturday and Sunday featuring collegiate groups from around the country.

Enough of my personal shenanigans though. I'm very excited for this event because I can get a chance to talk to a lot of people who share similar interests and I can get a lot of perspective on aspects like authenticity and the concept of traditional in repertoire as well as the connection to Japanese culture that the group and individual may have. Also, if there's a difference for those who are of Japanese American heritage and those who are not. There are many things that I can talk about with everyone. Also, I have found out that one of the Taiko masters has a degree in ethnomusicology, which I find particularly awesome!

Things I've noticed

Today we performed for the Collegiate Wushu Tournament hosted by UCSD's Wushu club. It was a very good performance that took place at the main gym on campus - we received the most applause and cheers that I have ever experienced as my time as a performer. I took note of a few things: we were performing for a half time show for a Chinese martial arts tournament, we are a Japanese music group but not all of us are Japanese - however, not every competitor was Chinese either.

I think what was the most interesting thing was the reception of audience, especially from the fact that there were schools from the entire country there who are all ethnicities, coming from all walks of life. Wushu is a performance martial art, more flashy moves and choreography (in my opinion), but that doesnt  Deep down, it doesn't change the fact that they all work very hard at what they do and that they are all performers at heart. In the end, it doesn't matter that we're two different groups of two different ethnicities, or anything like that. We are all performers at heart, and being able to share this through music and martial arts-like movements (taiko is like elements of martial arts set to music in my opinion)transcends the barriers of race and ethnicity.

Late Start

I have decided, for the time being, to go with my first option for the project. With Taiko Drumming being one of my main reasons of wanting to study all forms of Japanese music, I feel as though I will be able to talk about things and topics that I find very relevant to the artform itself. I do know that there is a decent community within the San Diego area with two groups that actively perform: Naruwan Taiko and San Diego Taiko - so attending events and talking with the performers and directors should be no problem there.

There many ways in which I can address the topics. Perhaps I can address a bit of the history of the artform but maybe discuss and find out how the artform is different here in America from drumming over in Japan. Perhaps relating the differences to the predominant Japanese-American culture and the young Japanese American generations participating in these groups.

That is what I have thought of so far. I think that if I can stick to it, I shall have a blast with this project.

Step One: New Beginnings

Thursday's class was pretty intimidating; thinking [rather... attempting to think] of music with a deeper understanding has always been something I've done but never in a discussion with other people. I'm not a fast thinker on my feet, people talk really fast, and the combination of those two make it hard to participate without making stupid or mundane comments. Aside from that fact, it was a very interesting discussion and I look forward to hopefully participating in the next sessions without getting totally steamrolled by those who regularly participate.

As far as the project goes... I've been having some difficulty in choosing what I would like to do where I can conduct field research within the greater san diego area. I have a few music choices:

• Traditional and Modern Japanese music predominantly focusing on Kumidaiko (Taiko Drumming) within the San Diego area. - Currently looking for ways in which I can relate this to some ethnomusicological concept; maybe the increasing scope of the musical artform itself to reach out across racial and ethnic boundaries - - okay this is long winded and I am talking too much.
  
• Irish and Celtic music in the modern day - I had taken MUS111 one year ago and I really found this enjoyable and I do know that there is an Irish and Celtic music scene in San Diego so that shouldn't be too hard to do.
  
• Western Art Music and the modern day performance practice for both the performer and audience - As discusses in class about the dynamics and forces that go on relating to the musicians in their dress attire, the audience and the standard of silence and apathy to a great performance (no clapping after movements end), among other interesting topics relating to this. I do know that there is a great community for western art music (practically anywhere and everywhere) so I am not worried about reaching out in that respect.

Eh, there is still a very brief amount of time to decide, so not all is lost. It's only the first step to a very exciting and fun yet also hectic project.