“Spending Time with Young American Taiko Players” by Yuki Hirata
I met three sixteen-year-old taiko players who were born and raised in the USA.
They first encountered taiko through a community group when they were in elementary school.
They love taiko and all still play.
These young US taiko players were so interested to meet taiko players from Japan.
They asked us questions like:
“When and how did you get into playing taiko?”
“What kind of practice do you do?”
“Do you compose songs?”
“The way you use your body to play frisbee is similar to how you use it to play taiko, don’t you think? (This one was from a frisbee player)
At our exchange event
Most of our one and a half hour chat was a barrage of questions from them.
When I had the chance, I asked them, “What is it about taiko that you like?”
One of them answered, “The sound of our taiko makes the audience smile and feel happy. How cool is that? That makes me really happy. Also, I like the vibrations you feel in your body when you play.”
Then the three of them said, “Most of all, playing taiko is fun!”
Seeing them talking happily about taiko with a sparkle in their eyes reminded me that all taiko players have something important in common: that feeling of enjoyment when we play.
Taiko is fun!
Workshop in Boulder, Colorado
The appeal of taiko has reached places far away from Japan.
In completely different environments, taiko players around the world are hooked on the same instruments as us.
We’re all crazy about taiko.
At an exchange event
The taiko community is expanding around the world.
Let’s connect more and more, and make the good vibrations of taiko reach further and further.
