In ancient Japan, the taiko (the traditional Japanese drum) was a symbol of community, used not only to keep a backbeat for local festivals and ceremonies, but also as a basic means of communication. The taiko could be used to call a meeting, to warn of danger, or to gather people in times of celebration.

Although indigenous to Japan, the taiko has taken on a life of its own in North America, and its role as a centerpiece for community continues. Since the early seventies, Japanese Americans and Japanese Canadians have been using the taiko as a voice for their community and an expression of their cultural identity. Today North America is enjoying a veritable "taiko boom", with thousands of players spanning all age groups and ethnic backgrounds involved in the taiko experience. The number of community-based taiko groups in North America is estimated to be over 150, and that number is growing.

Enter KASA: Kodo Arts Sphere America. KASA is a United States public benefit nonprofit corporation established to encourage, enable and support programs and opportunities for North Americans to study and understand the traditional and contemporary Japanese music of the taiko and its related performing arts.

Kodo Arts Sphere America is the brainchild of Toshio Kawauchi, the founding managing director of Kodo, a professional taiko ensemble based in Japan. Known to his friends as "Hancho", Kawauchi hoped that Kodo could some day help promote a cultural exchange between Japan and North America. He envisioned an American-based company which could work towards that goal. Hancho has since passed away, but his dream lives on in the spirit of KASA, a grass-roots organization whose board members are also members the North American taiko community.

In today's fast-paced world of computers and information super highways, it is easy to forget our past, and to concentrate on electronic connections rather than interpersonal ones. KASA believes that the power of the taiko, and of the arts in general, is the power to unite people regardless of age, race or cultural background. The beat of the taiko is a common language we all speak, and a primal expression that links all human beings.

Today, the roots of taiko and its spirit are being forgotten as new players circumvent its history and rush right into the performance side of the art. KASA hopes to bridge this gap by providing opportunities for North American players to work with instructors both from Japan and North America who teach history and awareness as well as technique. KASA also strives to be a hub of communication between taiko groups in America and Japan, and to provide opportunities for people not just to play taiko, but to examine its origins and discuss its significance within a community context. KASA believes that one of the major ways to achieve these goals is through sponsoring hands-on local workshops.

KASA looks forward to serving as a nonprofit umbrella organization whose mission is to facilitate communication among community taiko groups, both in Japan and North America. KASA is open to, and will strive to be accessible to, all groups who share our enthusiasm for the taiko and appreciate its inherent power to positively shape the world in which we live. KASA will provide the guidance and support required to understand and perpetuate the taiko tradition and all of its related art forms.