Chieko Kojima Solo Performance “Yukiai” in Morioka, Iwate
Sep. 13 Chieko Kojima Solo Performance
“Yukiai” at Go no Kai – Michinoku e
In 2013, Chieko Kojima took part in a “Gonokai” five-artist performance event at Sakaguchi Memorial Museum in Niigata. This year, that popular performance unit will take the stage at Nanshoso in Morioka, Iwate.
This will be the first “Yukiai” performance in Northern Honshu. If you are in the area or fancy a trip up north, please come along!
We are waiting for you!
“Mirai no Gakko Presentation on Sep. 12″ by Hirofumi Uenoyama
Presenting “Mirai no Gakko”(School of the Future),
A New Company Training Program
by Cornell University and Kodo Cultural Foundation
Aoyama, Tokyo on September 12
Kodo Cultural Foundation, the Cornell University Center for Sustainable Global Enterprise, and ifs Future Laboratory are working together to develop a program called “Mirai no Gakko,” which will nurture future leaders. Together, we are also planning projects that will take place on Sado Island from 2015.
“Mirai no Gakko” means “School of the Future.” On Sep. 12 in Aoyama, Tokyo, we will introduce the concept of this program and give people the opportunity to experience it in part through a taiko workshop led by a Kodo Cultural Foundation instructor.
The event is open to anyone, but please let us know in advance if you will attend.
Presenting “Mirai no Gakko,” a new company training system by Cornell University and Kodo Cultural Foundation
Date: Sep. 12 (Fri), 2014 14:00-16:00
Venue: WORK WORK SHOP at ifs Future Laboratory (CI Plaza 2F, 2-3-1 Kita Aoyama, Minato Ward, Tokyo)
Access: 2-min. walk from Exit 4a at Gaienmae Stn on Tokyo Metro Ginza Line
Programme: Introduction of “Mirai no Gakko,” greetings from “Miraino Gakko” supporters, taiko workshop.
To Apply: Email Sado Island Taiko Centre (Tatakokan) with your name, occupation, number of participants, and daytime contact/ mobile phone number. Email: info@sadotaiken.jp
Inquiries: Mr. Uenoyama, Sado Island Taiko Centre (Tatakokan) Tel. 0259-86-2320
“Kodo One Earth Tour: Mystery” Message from Yuta Sumiyoshi (Japanese)
The fall “Kodo One Earth Tour 2014: Mystery” Japan Tour begins this month. In this video, cast member Yuta Sumiyoshi talks about “Mystery.” (Note: This message is in Japanese)
Watch on You Tube▶http://youtu.be/Cv1EkQP4Zpo
Photos: Takashi Okamoto
“Valuable Lessons Performers Learn by Making Equipment” by Tomohiro Mitome
Sep. 1, 2014
This is Tomohiro Mitome, leader of taiko performing arts ensemble Kodo.
It is now September and little by little we can feel hints of autumn in the air. Actually, each year when the Ogi area falls quiet after the lively summer festivals, “Earth Celebration” and “Ogi Matsuri,” this calm feels like autumn has arrived all of a sudden.
This month, I would like to talk about my thoughts on making taiko drumsticks (bachi) and equipment.
I am constantly asked by taiko players, “Do you make your own drumsticks?” While it’s not every single pair, I do generally make my own drumsticks myself. This is connected to one of the core elements of Kodo’s Mission Statement: “Creating.”
When you become an apprentice and enter the Kodo Apprentice Centre, first you make your own chopsticks, then you make your own drumsticks. For the drumsticks, you use a saw to cut a square piece of timber to the right length, then using a plane you whittle the wood from a square piece into round sticks.
At first, you can’t make them well, but no matter how bumpy or oval your drumsticks are, they are filled with your blood, sweat and tears and you’ll be fond of them. And, it is a really huge shock when one of those drumsticks breaks. We really value them, so much so that we all keep our broken drumsticks for a special send-off, in the form of a lunar new year’s bonfire ritual each January.
Each pair of drumsticks is made from the same piece of wood, and if the sticks aren’t almost the same weight, the tone of the drum beats won’t be the same from your left and right hand. We are particular about our sound, so making drumsticks is very important to us.
In other words, for us, making drumsticks = making sound.
“Ogi Matsuri!” by Mitsuru Ishizuka
Aug. 29 Ogi Matsuri Daiko
Every year after Earth Celebration, the local festival “Ogi Matsuri” winds up the summer season.
During the festival, the Kodo members and apprentices take part by pulling a taiko cart around the streets of Ogi, going from house to house to play taiko as a sign of our appreciation to the townsfolk who look after us all year long.
Since I left the Kodo Village dormitory to live in Ogi, every year the Kodo cart also stops by my house to play taiko. As the thunderous roar of Kodo’s taiko gets closer and closer to my house, it makes my heart beat louder, and it’s a bit heartstopping, too… our sound certainly packs a punch!
In any case, our summer ended well again this year, thanks to everyone in Ogi. THANK YOU!!!
“Farewell Taiko” by Kenta Nakagome
Farewell Taiko on Aug. 25
Thank you very much for coming to Earth Celebration 2014. We had three days of feel-good performances surrounded by wonderful nature here on Sado Island.
We all went to the port to see the first ferry off after EC with heartfelt Okuri Daiko (“Farewell Taiko”), sincerely hoping to see you all again next year!
See you all again!
Photos: Mizuho Hasegawa
Thank You for Coming to Earth Celebration 2014!
Earth Celebration 2014
We would like to thank you for joining us for Earth Celebration 2014!
Next year, Earth Celebration will be held from Aug. 21 (Fri) through Aug. 23 (Sun). Further details will be announced in May 2015. We hope to see you all here again next summer on Sado Island!
There is an online EC questionnaire form on the official EC website. We would really appreciate your feedback on the festival this year. Thank you in advance!
Earth Celebration | http://www.kodo.or.jp/ec/en
Photos from EC 2014 Shiroyama Concert “UMI / OCEAN” on Aug. 22, 2014. (Photos: Maiko Miyagawa, Takashi Okamoto)
“Fundraising for Urahama Folk Performing Arts Center” by Michiko Chida
Sorry for this late announcement.
Kodo set up collection boxes in the exhibition corner at Asakusa Public Hall during the “Mystery” performances in July. The total of the donations collected was 10,406 yen.
We sent the donations to Urahama Nenbutsu Kenbai & Kanatsu-ryu Yanagawa Shishi Odori, telling them that it was from Kodo’s audience. Thank you very much to everyone who generously donated to this cause.
We would appreciate it if you would tell your friends about this project, too.
Kodo is still collecting donations for this project via a collection box at the Sado Island Taiko Centre (Tatakokan). If you visit the Centre, please bring some coins or notes and show your support!
YouTube▶http://youtu.be/mjzANRusHKo
In the video above, you can see how the area looked in 2011 after the Tohoku Pacific Earthquake.
It talks about what they lost, and why they needed to keep their traditions alive, especially at a time when life became difficult and everyone faced so many obstacles.
YouTube▶http://youtu.be/e_CxP-LjeLs
This video is from March 2014, three years on from the Tohoku Pacific Earthquake. It shows Shishiodori and Kenbai, which were performed to pray for the lives lost in the disaster. And you can see the local children who are the future of this area. This building will help uphold the traditional performing arts of this area, so they will be passed down to future generations. It will also be a place for exchange, bringing together people connected by the natural disaster.
We really appreciate your support and generosity.
About Fundraising for Urahama Folk Performing Arts Center (in Japanese)
Kodo Website | Heartbeat Project
“Kodo Apprentice Recital: Okinawan Dance ‘Muribushi'” by Michiko Chida
Aug. 1, 2014
Kodo Apprentice Recital: Okinawan Dance Muribushi
The 2nd year apprentices spent one month learning Okinawan dance Muribushi, during this hot summer season. Today, they performed it for all the Kodo members and staff.
Okinawan dance expert Mitsue Kinjo has been teaching our apprentices for the last twenty years. By learning this unique, traditional Okinawan dance style, the apprentices are taught a fundamental attitude towards learning things. This is a timeless lesson.
“When you aim to create something new, first you have to take something in and absorb it within yourself. Then, something will be created from that. A new creation will come from something that takes root inside you and breathes. It is not something that you try to show or make decorative.”
Mitsue works hard with apprentices, actually, even harder than the apprentices, using her body and voice to passionately show and convey to them the importance of creating your own core.
I am sure that when the Kodo members, and the staff who were formerly apprentices, watch this annual recital that are reminded of their own time practicing as apprentices, frantically trying to use their bodies and minds well.
So, how were they today?
“Your hearts were all together, as one. You really did your best.”
After gruelling practices, Mitsue’s warm words echoed in the apprentices’ hearts. No one was selfish at all, and as individuals they all pulled together to perform together, which created such great power. Maybe today they understood the true meaning of Muribushi at last, which translates as “a group of stars.”
Collection for Hiroshima Landslide Disaster Victims
Collection for Hiroshima Landslide Disaster Victims
During EC 2014, the Earth Celebration Committee collected donations to help victims of the Hiroshima landslide disaster on Aug. 20. The funds collected will be sent to Hiroshima via the Japanese Red Cross Society.
Thank you very much to everyone for their kind support. We are all praying for the swift recovery of the area.