Posts by Kodo Members
“Rehearsals for Kodo Interactive Performance in Bunkyo” by Kenta Nakagome
Here are some pictures from our rehearsals prior to the Kodo Interactive Performance held in Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo, on March 7.
Many thanks to everyone who came to see our performance!
Kodo Interactive Performances Schedule
http://www.kodo.or.jp/oet/index_en.html#schedule14b
“Uto Taiko Matsuri” by Yoshikazu Fujimoto
On Feb. 19, Motofumi Yamaguchi and I visited some TV stations and a radio station in Kumamoto to promote “Uto Taiko Matsuri.” We gave a mini live performance at each station.
We visited Kumamoto Castle on the way. I was very impressed.
I led a taiko camp from Feb. 20 (Fri) to 22 (Sun), and on the final day, the participants had a recital at Uto Taiko Matsuri to show everyone what they had learned during the camp. Each year, this recital is the first act at the festival. First, we sang “Hobashira Okoshi Ondo” and then we played a new piece called “Narukami, which means “Thunder God.” The ten participants, including three local high school students, had joined me there from all over Japan. I was really pleased that they all took part. Some of them were just beginners, but I had them play simple base rhythms and we were all able to play together.
Just before the performance with the Taiko Camp participants. We performed in pink “Uto Taiko Matsuri” t-shirts.
“In Preparation for ‘Michi'” by Tsuyoshi Maeda
Feb. 14, 2015
Kodo 2015 Special Concert “Michi”
This month we began our rehearsals for Kodo 2015 Special Concert “Michi,” which will be held at KAAT Kanagawa Arts Theatre in Yokohama on March 19 & 20. The programme is nothing but “Kodo classics.” We have taken the pieces that Kodo has honed over the past decades and let our current members recreate them.
For a couple of years, we have been working on all kinds of new challenges and taken a break from the fundamentals of Kodo to date, such as our signature pieces and costumes. With that distance comes new realizations about things until now that had never occurred to us before. It has been a period for us to find out about what defines us as “Kodo” beyond our name.
Now, at this particular point in time, we will hold this special concert, Michi, which means “road” or “path.”
Chonlima, Monochrome, Miyake, O-daiko, Yatai-bayashi. We have taken a look at an array of classic Kodo pieces anew. Personally, I deeply feel that a special Kodo aura radiates from within each of these “classic Kodo performance” pieces.
During our rehearsals for Michi, the senior members remind us about our stance, the nuance of each rhythm, how to approach the taiko mentally and emotionally, and they performed with us for the first time in quite a while. This really emphasized to me where my weaknesses lie, and it also made me realize just how high our seniors have set the bar with their own skills.
Rehearsing feels like I’m banging into a wall that I can’t climb over yet, and while I completely frustrate myself everyday, I can also feel a fire burning my belly ignited by motivation. In any case, I am learning a lot every day.
In Japanese, onkochishin is a phrase we use at times like these, which means “to attempt to discover new things by studying the past.” I can reaffirm what is important for Kodo, what Kodo must never lose, through these rehearsals for Michi. And I want to make a good use of what I learn in brand new creations, too.
▶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, Reo Kitabayashi, Masaya Koike, 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
“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]
“Martin’s BBQ” by Tetsumi Hanaoka
Our “Mystery” North America tour is going along well.
To tour and hold performances requires dedicated work by so many key people behind the scenes. On this tour, one of them is Mr. Martin Lechner, our lighting director. We affectionately call him “Martin.” He is a tall like a big bear.
One performance day, I thought I could smell something good… and it turned out that Martin was cooking meat and sausages! He made hotdogs and hamburgers for us! They were so delicious, fresh off the grill!
By the way, he said that when you cook them slowly on a low heat it’s called “barbequing,” and when you cook them quickly on a high heat it’s called “grilling.” I never knew that before!
We’ll use this BBQ fuel as energy for our upcoming performances!
“Kodo One Earth Tour 2015: Mystery” North America Tour
http://www.kodo.or.jp/oet/index_en.html#schedule13a
“A 15mm World” by Maya Minowa
The rehearsals for Kodo 2015 Special Concert “Michi” are well underway.
At this performance, I will become the first-ever female Kodo performer to play Monochrome on stage.
We have to use such precision when we practice Monochrome… you could cut through the tension in the rehearsal hall with a knife.
The pianissimo parts in this composition are played in a tiny 15mm world. We have to control our drumsticks to make strokes within this minute range. Eiichi Saito says, “Don’t move your sticks up and down, just let them fall from your tanden (core/abdomen).” But this drumming technique is far more difficult than I had ever imagined. (Apparently, in the old days, Kodo members would light a candle and practice drumming like this until it had burned down completely.)
My practice for this piece is rather stoic and subtle and it makes me connect an array of nerves that I never had to think about before.
I hope you will join us for Kodo 2015 Special Concert “Michi” next month.
▶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
“A Breath of Fresh Air” by Mariko Omi
A new female member joined us for our current “Mystery” tour. Her name is Tomoe Miura and she is a brand new junior member.
She has only just finished her apprenticeship, but right off the bat she has been exposed to so many challenges: life overseas, jet lag, difference climates, various theaters, hotel life, and giving performances in front of actual audiences.
Her eagerness and determination provide a breath of fresh air on this tour, which inspires us and makes us take a good look at our own mindsets, too.
As we perform and rehearse the various pieces, new ideas emerge and shape the programme in new ways. You can see the individuality of each cast member developing in each piece as we progress on this tour. The “Mystery” production had its final Japan performance last year, but it is now undergoing a renaissance as we perform it on tour in North America.
“Kodo One Earth Tour 2015: Mystery” North America Tour
Announcing the New 2015 Kodo Junior Members
“Our Visit to Asano Taiko U.S.!” by Tetsumi Hanaoka
Feb. 7, 2015
Our Visit to Asano Taiko U.S.
Today we visited “Asano Taiko U.S.” in Torrance, California, on the way from Santa Barbara to San Diego during our “Kodo One Earth Tour 2015: Mystery” North America Tour.
Asano Taiko has helped us so much with our current tour. We visited their store, studio, and Kato Taiko‘s workshop next door to Asano Taiko U.S. They told us that the studio holds workshops almost every day and that the U.S. taiko population is rapidly growing, along with the level of technique. We need to keep up with them!
We will continue to do our best on this tour!
“Kodo One Earth Tour 2015: Mystery” North America Tour
http://www.kodo.or.jp/oet/index_en.html#schedule13a
“Seeking Participants for My Upcoming Taiko Camp in Uto, Kumamoto!” by Yoshikazu Fujimoto
Seeking Participants for My Upcoming “Taiko Camp in Uto”
This year will mark my third “Taiko Camp in Uto” in Uto City, Kumamoto Prefecture. It is my pleasure to teach others about my own personal stance and mindset for playing o-daiko (the big drum), using the unique, traditional Uto o-daiko drums. The pieces we will work on this time differ from those I shared at the first and second camps.
So… please, please come along and join me to experience the thrill and excitement of playing o-daiko!
The venue staff and I are really looking forward to seeing you there!
Taiko Camp in Uto with Kodo’s Yoshikazu Fujimoto
Yoshikazu Fujimoto will head back to Kyushu in February to offer another energetic taiko camp in Uto City, Kumamoto, which is home to 26 keyaki o-daiko (large taiko drums made from Japanese zelkova). This three-day/two-night workshop is designed to allow people to come and experience “taiko life” through Yoshikazu’s character, rather than to learn specific skills. We hope you’ll join him there!
Feb. 20 (Fri)–22 (Sun), 2015 Uto Shimin Kaikan, Uto, Kumamoto
Instructor: Yoshikazu Fujimoto (Kodo)
Fee: 40,000 yen (Accommodations and drumsticks included)
Inquiries:”Kodo Uto Tokubetsu Koen” Staff, Uto Shimin Kaikan Tel. 0964-22-0188
Email: utobunka@nifty.com
http://www.kodo.or.jp/news/20150222uto_en.html
Note: Workshop instruction will be in Japanese only, but everyone is welcome!