“Ebisu Daikoku” by Ryoko Iwamoto
Ebisu Daikoku
“Ebisu Daikoku” is a new unit that brings together former “The Blue Hearts” drummer Tetsuya Kajiwara and Kodo’s Yosuke Oda. Their pulsating performance is making its way to Shibuya, Tokyo, this weekend.
Mr. Kajiwara came to Sado Island for from days, from Feb. 23 to 26, to prepare for the performance. I will show you some pictures from their rehearsals.
They created a storm of sound, rhythm, and beats in the large hall as they rehearsed. They demonstrate that there are far more possibilities than you’d think when it comes to drums and taiko. I am sorry that I cannot do their explosive sound justice in pictures.
Please come to Shibuya to feel their sound in person.
See you on March 8 for “Ebisu Daikoku” live!
Ryoko Iwamoto (former Kodo apprentice, staff member since Feb. 2015)
Mar. 8 (Sun), 2015 Yosuke Oda “Ebisu Daikoku” Performance (Shibuya Ward, Tokyo)
http://www.kodo.or.jp/news/20150308ebisudaikoku_en.html
“The Year 33 (2014-2015) Apprentices Commence Their 2nd Year” by Michiko Chida
Feb. 21, 2015
Year 33 class of Kodo Apprentices finished their 1st year of our programme in January and started their 2nd year in February. They used to rely on the apprentices in the year above for all kinds of things, but those senior apprentices have left the nest, so now there are just eight of them living here: 7 males and 1 female. The number of apprentices has halved, so they have to cooperate more than ever and figure out how to live together comfortably, as a new team. Otherwise, they will not be able to concentrate on their studies nor improve as a class.
On top of those changes, a powerful, relentless cold wave hit Sado during their transition period. It was the first winter on Sado for the new 2nd year apprentices, so they looked nervous to find out just how cold it would get. One night, when it was forecast to reach a low of -4℃ , one of the apprentices anxiously asked me:
“Is is going to get even colder?”
I said, “No, no, this is the coldest it gets on Sado. It won’t get any colder than this, so you can wear your warmest clothes now. You’ll be all right, you will survive!”
They had a dance practice day on one of those freezing cold days in February.
Ohara-bushi Dance Practice
While teaching them Ohara-bushi, a Tsugaru dance from Aomori Prefecture in Northern Honshuu, Chieko Kojima looked outside and happily exclaimed, “Perfect! It really looks like Aomori!”
Onikenbai (demon sword dance) Practice
Yasuhiko Ishihara, the head of the Apprentice Centre, teaches them demon sword dance Onikenbai, which is a traditional performing art from Iwate Prefecture, also located in northern Japan. He told them, “The locals practice this dance outside at this time of year…”
The Year 33 apprentices must have become both physically and mentally stronger since last year…
I hope they will have grown even more by the time the new 1st year apprentices join them in April.
“The Road to ‘Michi’–Part 3″ by Mitsunaga Matsuura
As the performers rehearse, it feels like each beat creates a “pellet” of sound.
The rehearsal hall is filled with sound pellets, fired from every instrument.
▶YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1N2ME9rH4E
Kodo 2015 Special Concert “Michi”
Mar. 19 (Thu)–20 (Fri), 2015 Yokohama, Kanagawa
http://www.kodo.or.jp/news/20150319michi_en.html
Director: Motofumi Yamaguchi
Performers (TBC): Eiichi Saito, Tomohiro Mitome, Yuichiro Funabashi, Mitsuru Ishizuka, Kenta Nakagome, Tsuyoshi Maeda, Rai Tateishi, Maya Minowa, Ryosuke Inada, Masaya Koike and Mizuki Yoneyama
Programme (TBC): Zoku, Jang-Gwara, Chonlima, Michi, Shamisen, Monochrome, Miyake, Sankan Shion, Yamauta, O-daiko, Yatai-bayashi
“The Road to ‘Michi’–Part 2” by Mitsunaga Matsuura
Kodo 2015 Special Concert “Michi”
This programme is filled with moments to let each individual shine, showcasing their own uniquely honed skills.
▶Watch on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1N2ME9rH4E
Kodo 2015 Special Concert “Michi”
Mar. 19 (Thu)–20 (Fri), 2015 Yokohama, Kanagawa
http://www.kodo.or.jp/news/20150319michi_en.html
Director: Motofumi Yamaguchi
Performers: Eiichi Saito, Tomohiro Mitome, Yuichiro Funabashi, Mitsuru Ishizuka, Kenta Nakagome, Tsuyoshi Maeda, Rai Tateishi, Maya Minowa, Ryosuke Inada, Yuki Kajiro, Masaya Koike and Mizuki Yoneyama (Cast subject to change)
Programme (TBC): Zoku, Jang-Gwara, Chonlima, Michi, Shamisen, Monochrome, Miyake, Sankan Shion, Yamauta, O-daiko, Yatai-bayashi
“We’re in Texas!” by Yui Kawamoto
Feb. 19, 2015
We are now in Austin, Texas, on the “Mystery” North America Tour.
We will perform at the Paramount Theatre tonight. When we arrived backstage, we found autographs by the Kodo members who came here on tour in 2007!
Takeshi Arai and Masayuki Sakamoto were on that tour 8 years ago and they told us all kinds of stories from 2007, reliving their memories as they looked at each name on the wall.
We still have many more performances to go on our current tour throughout the USA and Canada!
“Kodo One Earth Tour 2015: Mystery” North America Tour
http://www.kodo.or.jp/oet/index_en.html#schedule13a
“The Road to ‘Michi’–Part 1” by Mitsunaga Matsuura
Kodo 2015 Special Concert “Michi”
Even though these are such familiar pieces, they filled the rehearsal hall with a wave of fresh air.
▶Watch on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r1N2ME9rH4E
Kodo 2015 Special Concert “Michi”
Mar. 19 (Thu)–20 (Fri), 2015 Yokohama, Kanagawa
http://www.kodo.or.jp/news/20150319michi_en.html
Director: Motofumi Yamaguchi
Performers: Eiichi Saito, Tomohiro Mitome, Yuichiro Funabashi, Mitsuru Ishizuka, Kenta Nakagome, Tsuyoshi Maeda, Rai Tateishi, Maya Minowa, Ryosuke Inada, Yuki Kajiro, Masaya Koike and Mizuki Yoneyama (Cast subject to change)
Programme (TBC): Zoku, Jang-Gwara, Chonlima, Michi, Shamisen, Monochrome, Miyake, Sankan Shion, Yamauta, O-daiko, Yatai-bayashi
“Kodo Cake” by Tetsumi Hanaoka
We are all doing well, traveling around the U.S. with “Kodo One Earth Tour 2015: Mystery.” We are very surprised at the climate here, which is so different to winter in Japan. It was hot enough to get sunburnt in Las Vegas.
At each theater, there is always a “Green Room,” where we have meals and refreshments, hang out, and sometimes watch a TV monitor to check what is happening on the stage.
On our performance day in Dallas we found a….(drumroll)…. “Kodo” cake in the green room at Music Hall at Fair Park!
We were so grateful to Rick, who prepared all our meals that day, for bringing this cake for us!
Of course, we all enjoyed this delicious treat together. Thank you, Rick!
We have been on tour for two weeks now. It’s the timing on a long tour when we feel physically tired, so this surprise cake gave us a real boost!
“Kodo One Earth Tour 2015: Mystery” North America Tour
http://www.kodo.or.jp/oet/index_en.html#schedule13a
“Motofumi Yamaguchi’s Appearance on FM Niigata” by Yuki Nakagawa
Feb. 16, 2015
Motofumi Yamaguchi’s Appearance on FM Niigata’s “FIGUEROA”
On March 27, Kodo will appear at a special event at Ryugon Hotel in Minami-uonuma, Niigata. Motofumi Yamaguchi went to mainland Niigata to appear on FM Niigata to help promote the event, which is called “Kodo x Hakkaisan x Ryugon.”
He was joined on air by Mr. Utsugi from Ryogon Hotel, Mr. Sato from Hakkaisan Brewery and shamisen player, Fumiyoshi. It will be the 6th annual event, so they all know each other well and the recording took place in a very relaxed manner.
We hope you will come along for this special event at Ryogon Hotel on March 27.
Special Event “Kodo x Hakkaisan x Ryugon”
Mar. 27 (Fri), 2015 “Kodo x Hakkaisan x Ryugon” at Ryugon Hotel, Minami Uonuma, Niigata
Appearing: Kodo (Motofumi Yamaguchi, Yuichiro Funabashi, Mitsuru Ishizuka, Kenta Nakagome, Tsuyoshi Maeda, Rai Tateishi, Maya Minowa, Ryosuke Inada), Fumiyoshi (shamisen)
Inquiries: Ryugon Event Desk Tel. 025-773-2222 (9:00 – 18:00)
“EXADON” by Tsugumi Yamanaka
EXADON
In the near future, apparently one in five people aged 65 & over in Japan will be likely to suffer from dementia. To combat this, Sado Island Taiko Centre and Sado City Senior Citizens Welfare and Care Insurance Division launched “EXADON” in 2014, which is a course that teaches people about playing taiko as a way to prevent dementia.
“EXADON” is a word created by dementia specialist Mr. Yoshinori Morimoto (Shiosai Clinic) from these three words: “Exercise” + “Sado” + “Don (the sound of a taiko drum).”
Last year, the “EXADON 2014 Supporter Training Course” was held to teach supporters (future EXADON facilitators). This innovative project has been expanding on Sado Island ever since. There were 30 participants in this course and they came to Sado Island Taiko Centre twice a month for three months. At the beginning of the course, their sound was very weak, but at the end of it, they all enjoyed playing taiko so their sound got much bigger and really powerful. Over the course of those 3 months, they had all become taiko enthusiasts.
Recently, the first EXADON workshop was led by some of the EXADON supporters at a lecture about dementia prevention. It went really well.
Warm-up exercises
The EXADON supporters took the reigns to lead workshops for the first time.
When the EXADON supporters were too serious, Shinchan-sensei gave them this adivice: “Don’t forget to smile!”
When the workshop participants smiled and laughed, the EXADON supporters really enjoyed themselves, too. They all had a great time together.
Everyone played a new piece, “EXADON Song,” together.
This happy couple smiled non-stop. They made us smile, too.
With the EXADON supporters
“Another Side of ‘Mystery’: Ake No Myojo” by Yosuke Oda
Ake No Myojo
This piece shines a light on Kodo’s female performers.
They perform this piece on stage with dynamic choreography and mood lighting. For the “Mystery” album recording, we aimed to recreate those visual elements with sound by adding that feeling of movement to the rhythmic part and expanding the vocal parts.
Thanks to a year of honing this piece on stage, I think we were able to capture feel-good sound on this recording with ease. I hope you will enjoy this unique audio version of Ake No Myojo.
[Purchase on CD]
Kodo Online Store | Mystery [CD]
[Purchase Download Version]
