I wish you all a very happy new year.

On behalf of Kodo, I would first of all like to offer our sincere condolences to everyone who was affected by the Noto Peninsula Earthquake one year ago. Please know you are in our thoughts as you continue to deal with its after-effects.

Looking back over the past year, we were fortunate to be able to have a wide range of performances throughout Japan, overseas, and here on Sado Island. These concerts included collaborations with guest artists NAKIBEMBE EMBAIRE GROUP from Uganda who joined us at our summer festival Earth Celebration, and Korean drum (Janggu) performer Choi Jaechol who joined us for our year-end touring production, “Mountains.” When we travel, connect with people, get together, eat and play music together, we feel joy and reaffirm what’s important to us. I really felt that firsthand throughout 2024.

In the past few years, Kodo’s solo projects have been on the rise. I can see our members broadening their expressive range through these opportunities. Collaborations and exchange in different fields, such as sports, theater, and dance to name a few, invigorate and inspire us, and teach us a lot. They sometimes make us feel uneasy or scared, and can make us feel conflicted, too. But going outside your own community and putting yourself into another one creates time for you to understand your own abilities and where you are at right now. Also, you get to experience how taiko and music connect and resonate between people, showing that genres and borders pose no obstacle. These experiences bring depth to our group. If I liken Kodo to the human form, I feel these experiences serve as leg and core training, strengthening us from the ground up.

In 2025, we look forward to bringing the sound of taiko to you all, starting in mid-January with our North America tour. In recent years, we’ve been enjoying more opportunities to perform on Sado Island, too. I hope you’ll come and spend some time on the island and immerse yourself in the lifestyle and culture that surrounds us here—the place we call home, where every Kodo performance takes shape.

I hope this year is filled with joy for all of you. We will do our very best to cheer you on throughout the year with the resonant sound of our taiko.
I kindly ask for your continued guidance and encouragement.

Yuichiro Funabashi
Leader
Kodo Taiko Performing Arts Ensemble

January 2025

I wish you all a very happy new year.

Kodo celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2021, and it feels like we are four years on from that milestone in the blink of an eye. It’s a turbulent, unsteady time right now, globally speaking, but Kodo has been able to carry on with its activities thanks to your unwavering encouragement and support. I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank you for cheering us on.

During periods of intense change, you turn all your focus onto dealing with change and sometimes risk losing sight of the constant essentials. The other day, I had the chance to rewatch a 1985 NHK TV special feature Taiko yo Chikyu ni Hibike! Sado no Kuni Kodo no 20-nin (Taiko, Resonate Throughout the Earth! The 20 People of Kodo on Sado), which is how I first learned of Kodo back in the day. Near the end of the programme, the TV announcer’s narration had a part where they said “After the Kodo members gave it their all, sometimes it was the simple sound of one taiko beat echoing out—DON—that counteracted everything.” That phrase is from 40 years ago, but I heard it as if it was our own message today.
That long DON sound, its echo permeates throughout your body and soul, and as its resonance fades, so too does any noise or commotion, conjuring stillness. If you sit in that stillness for a while—within you, within your team, or even within society—you’ll start to hear the soft voices of important things that you couldn’t hear before.
It’s not easy to constantly think and share your thoughts, but to me it feels harder to stop, stand still, and really tune into the sounds and voices around you. I want Kodo to remain dedicated to playing heartfelt beats that conjure resonant sound that helps people. Sound that brings people stillness, followed by a fading echo that helps people tune into the essential sounds and voices that are always around us, needing to be noticed and heard.

I kindly ask for your continued encouragement and support throughout the year ahead.

Takuro Susaki
President
Kitamaesen Co., Ltd.

January 2025

I wish you all a happy new year.
Thank you very much for always showing the Kodo Group such great support and kindness. I am truly grateful to you all.

When I look back over 2024, I think of the New Year’s Day earthquake and the difficult year in its wake for the people affected on the Noto Peninsula and its surrounding areas, including Niigata Prefecture. I offer my heartfelt condolences to everyone that has been dealing with the effects of this natural disaster ever since.

For the most part, it feels like the waves of COVID-19 have finally settled down and life has been returning to normal. Japan has been experiencing a massive influx of overseas visitors and we see the return of international exchange events nationwide, too. At Earth Celebration on Sado last summer, we saw the numbers of inbound attendees return to almost the same numbers as before the pandemic.

Last year, the announcement of Sado Goldmine’s registration as a World Heritage Site gave the area a boost and brought about an increase in visitors to the island. To keep that energy and momentum going, I think people here need to get creative and share more of the many wonderful things Sado Island has to offer. I believe that Sado’s traditional performing arts and Kodo’s way of shining a light on those arts continue to play an important part in drawing people to this special place. Kodo Cultural Foundation’s key role here is to learn more about traditional culture and use that knowledge to plan events that promote performing arts culture. We will also continue to devise initiatives that work towards regional revitalisation—ones that foster international cultural exchange and make good use of local resources. I think our work and these events are truly needed right now.

The world today has a lot of chaos and conflict, and the severity of global environmental problems is intensifying. I think we need something that brings harmony, something to counter the chaos and conflict. Taiko performing arts create vibrations that resonate within people and connect them to one another. I want Kodo to really harness that power by further honing its craft. I want Kodo to pray for everyone’s inner peace as we strive for world peace and stability. And may we all coexist harmoniously with our environment as we push ahead.
These are the goals I intend to work towards along with the entire Kodo Group, this year and beyond.
I kindly ask for your continued support.

Minoru Ikarashi
Chairperson
Kodo Cultural Foundation

January 2025