Message from Yuichiro Funabashi
Kodo Ensemble Leader, Kodo Cultural Foundation Board Member. Kodo Apprentice Centre Director

 

 

I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank you for your ongoing support of the Kodo Group.
I continue to serve as Kodo Ensemble Leader and a director of Kodo Cultural Foundation. From April 1 this year, I have also taken on the role of Kodo Apprentice Centre Director. I kindly ask for your continued encouragement and guidance.

Today, I would like to announce some changes on the horizon in regards to our apprentice programme.

Apprentice Intake Pause

Since 1985, Kodo has welcomed young hopefuls who dream of joining the ensemble on stage, accepting them as apprentices and offering them tailored training. This year marks the 40th anniversary of our apprentice system, which has been based at a schoolhouse in Kakinoura—formerly Iwakubi Junior High School—since 1996. That’s a considerable part of Kodo’s history: four decades of training apprentices and almost three decades of renting our current training facility.

Kodo apprentices live immersed in rich culture and nature on Sado Island, learning and honing their skills while leading a structured communal lifestyle with their peers. We believe this experience will be truly valuable for them and society in the future.
Every year in June, Kodo Cultural Foundation announces the Kodo Apprentice Centre application guidelines for the following year. However, we have deemed it necessary to take time to improve the environment where our apprentices live and learn so the programme can continue into the future. As a result, we have decided not to carry out our usual annual apprentice intake in 2026.

It is not easy for Kodo to suspend this intake process for the first time in forty years, but we know it is necessary. The Apprentice Centre’s buildings are over 70 years old and we need to address their deterioration, and make improvements to cope with rising summer temperatures. The Centre has supported our group for many years from the ground up. We will pause, review, and improve this place of learning so that it can keep underpinning Kodo’s activities in the decades ahead. I want to use this time to re-examine the apprentice curriculum, maintain and repair the facilities and instruments, and make the apprentices’ environment better than ever before.
I kindly ask for your understanding and support of this decision.

Reform Plans and Call for Support

In 2026, we will only have 2nd-year apprentices—the current first-year cohort. As we continue their training, we will involve them in discussions to improve the curriculum as we prepare to re-open applications for the 2027 intake.

Kodo apprentices live on Sado Island, learn through a range of new encounters, and nurture their creativity surrounded by lush nature. This experience of personal cultivation is essential for them, laying the groundwork for their expression to blossom on the Kodo stage.

We introduced our current two-year apprentice programme in 1997 when Kodo Cultural Foundation was established. Ever since, we have been collaborating with residents of the neighbouring villages and invited instructors from Sado Island and further afield to develop a truly diverse curriculum. Every aspect of the apprentice course is important, but as the curriculum has evolved, we have reached a point where there is not sufficient time to study everything during the limited apprenticeship timeframe.

I am currently in the process of taking over the role of Centre Director from my predecessor, Yasuhiko Ishihara. I’ve also started discussing our plans and the future with the locals in the nearby villages and the Apprentice Centre instructors based on Sado. As I listen to them share their feelings, thoughts, and expectations of Kodo and our Apprentice Centre, I am reaffirming the value of this unique place of learning.

The Apprentice Centre curriculum isn’t solely focused on honing the taiko playing skills and expressiveness required to perform on the Kodo stage. The course gives the apprentices solid foundations, developing their physical strength, spirit, sensibilities, understanding of culture, etiquette, and more. We are proud of the capable individuals who emerge from this programme.

As you might expect, some have returned to their hometowns and launched taiko groups, gone on to become solo taiko performers and instructors, or shinobue [bamboo flute] or other Japanese instrument performers. We also see many of our graduates draw on their experience to enter new fields, such as learning and upholding folk performing arts and working in theaters, on productions, and in the food, agriculture, forestry, and service sectors.

During the months ahead, we will do our best to share updates with you on our current apprentices and our Apprentice Centre and curriculum reform efforts. The Centre nurtures Kodo’s next generation of performers and staff, that goes without saying. But for us, it serves the world beyond our group by helping people unlock their potential for other unique paths here on Sado Island, in Japan, and around the world. I sincerely hope you will support our decision and mission to improve Kodo Apprentice Centre through this upcoming reform.

Proposed Plan

2025	Start curriculum review
2026	Work on curriculum renewal, facility repairs, etc. Open applications for 2027 intake
2027	Launch new curriculum

Kodo Apprentice Centre to Date

1985–2025 (40 years) Number of apprentices who entered the programme (short course included): 350 Number of apprentices who became Kodo members and junior members: 115 1997–2024 (27 years) Number of apprentices who completed the two-year apprenticeship programme: 193 April 2025 | Members of the Kodo Group who graduated from Kodo Apprentice Centre 30 Kodo members, 5 junior members 14 staff members