These days people seem to be at the mercy of the stock market, pursuing stimulation simply for the sake of stimulation, bound by “common sense” and societal obligations, and drowning in a sea of information. There is much talk of the need to advance and the need to change, but no matter how much we profess our hopes and dreams, we never seem to find any solid answers.
We are happy if we can make superficial advances, but they are nothing more than a transient fix. The core of the problem persists, and our sense of fulfillment as human beings remains unchanged. People and information run together like a muddy whirlpool and we’re often lost, lobotomized by the smoke and mirrors of society.
It’s at times like these I recall the very first “Sado-no Kuni Ondekoza” concert I saw in 1978 and the impact it had on me. I was moved in an indescribable way, especially by the taiko performance of Ondekoza’s center man, Eitetsu Hayashi. After this encounter I was overcome by an impulse I couldn’t wrap my head around and couldn’t ignore; I made off for Sado Island immediately. I knew that I couldn’t play the drum and inspire people in the same way as the members I had seen on stage, but my desire for others to share in this experience is what has brought me to where I am today. Until recently, the root of this impulse has remained incomprehensible to me. After almost 30 years of being immersed in the world of taiko and performing arts, after all of the incredible encounters along the way, there is something that I have just now come to understand.
Though perhaps obvious, it is simply this; the taiko is a pure, primitive musical instrument. It embodies the wild soul of a newborn baby who comes into the world with the primal instinct to cry, to communicate. If we stand before the taiko with the purity of a newborn child, the drum will awaken this primal instinct in all of us, resonating with clarity it cleanses us, and touches a part of us that has lain dormant for eons. At least, that’s the effect it has on me.
Battered by the wind and rain, the flowers that spontaneously sprout up on the roadside somehow pull at my heartstrings. No matter how the rest of the world may change, these flowers are the same every time I look at them. They remain true to nature, living simply, and bloom every year with a radiance that inspires us all.
Kodo's focus is the taiko and its related performing arts, and I believe that through these arts it is our role to pursue a return to our origins. And through the commitment to this journey, I hope we will come closer to knowing the beauty of our true value as human beings.
It is my hope that our players can become one with the drum, free from the clutter of the outside world, and in doing so that they can help listeners to revisit their own primal roots, and remember the simple humanity which lies somewhere deep inside us all.
Takao Aoki, Kodo Managing Director
