The photo below was taken at the “Living, Learning, Creating” exhibition that Kodo’s Yosuke Kusa curated at EC 2017. My handmade drumsticks were part of the display.

The three pairs of bachi (drumsticks) from the left side of the photo (o-daiko bachi, shime-daiko bachi, Yatai-bayashi bachi) are all my handiwork. Further along to the right are bachi made by Kodo’s Tomohiro Mitome, Yuichiro Funabashi, and Kenta Nakagome. Everyone who came to this exhibition was allowed to pick up the bachi. I wonder what they felt when they gripped our handmade drumsticks in their own hands.

Here’s a picture taken at the entrance to the exhibition at Tennanso, where everyone was greeted by cheerful volunteer Shiho Takano. Tennanso is directly opposite Shiho’s family’s liquor store, Takano-ya.

Today I also want to let you know about my upcoming “Body & Soul Workshop” series, which will be held this weekend on Sep. 2 (Sat) & 3 (Sun) at Taiko no Sato Kyowakan in Tokyo’s Meguro Ward.

• Sep. 2 (Sat) 15:30–17:30 Body & Soul: O-daiko Workshop
• Sep. 3 (Sun) 11:00–13:00 Body & Soul: Onikenbai Workshop
• Sep. 3 (Sun) 14:30–16:30 Body & Soul: Wachi Daiko Workshop

Inquiries & Reservations: Taiko no Sato Kyowakan Tel. 03-3714-2774 (Hours: 11:00–17:30) 


Also, on Sep. 4 (Mon) I will lead an “O-daiko Workshop” from 19:00–20:30　at Asano Taiko’s Shinkyokan in Hakusan, Ishikawa.

Inquiries & Reservations: Asano Taiko Tel. 076-277-1717

I look forward to seeing you this weekend at my workshops in Tokyo and Ishikawa!

Earth Celebration 2017 is just around the corner! Chihiro Watanabe and I will be the MCs at the “EC 30th Anniversary Celebration Concert” on Aug. 20, the final day of EC. We don’t usually chat with the audience when we appear on stage with Kodo, but we will do our very best to entertain everyone with our banter at this outdoor performance!

Also…guess what! All the members of Kodo are going to appear on stage during this performance! That is so rare, believe me!

The cast ranges in age from 20 through to 66 years old. We’re going to drum, dance, and sing our hearts out. Mitsuru Ishizuka has created a great setlist for your enjoyment.

Please join us this weekend for this one-night-only performance. We’re waiting for you all, drumming everyday on Sado to get ready for all the performances!

See you there!

This electric, energetic mid-summer performance with Yoshie Abe, Kenta Nakagome, and flamenco dancer Sanshiro is going to be hot, hot, hot!
Performing with this new drum will be an experiment and a world first. I don’t know how it’s going to go, which makes it all the more exciting! Come and witness this on-stage trial for yourself at EC. I’m looking forward to sharing this instrument and performance with you all!

▼ EC 2017 Special Fringe “The Electronic & the Primitive”
https://www.earthcelebration.jp/en/event/fringe/denshi/

Japan Trends | Roland creates world’s first electronic taiko drum

http://www.japantrends.com/roland-kodo-worlds-first-electronic-taiko-drum/

One of the events at EC 2017 this year is Kodo’s free-admission “Living, Learning, Creating” exhibition at Tennanso in Ogi’s main shopping street. Kodo performers and staff will share a range of things they made by hand, including stage props, instruments, and furniture, alongside photos they took while they were on tour with Kodo.

Today, I would like to share a sneak peek of some of the items that will be on display.

▼ Kenta Nakagome’s taiko bachi (drumsticks)

▼ Eiichi Saito’s suri-zasara, a percussion instrument made from bamboo that is played by rubbing a whisk-like beater along a long notched rod.

▼ Tomoe Miura’s coverall apron

▼ Photos by Ryotaro Leo Ikenaga (left) and Ryoma Tsurumi (right)

Yoshikazu Fujimoto, Tomohiro Mitome, and Yuichiro Funabashi will also have their handcrafted drumsticks on display. You will also see sashiko embroidery by Kiyoko Oi, an okedo-daiko made by Maya Minowa…and much more! We look forward to showing you a different side to Kodo than what you see on stage. Please come along!

▼ The exhibition will be held at Tennanso, which is marked “23” on this Ogi map.

Download (PDF *Japanese only)

*During EC, the shops numbered on this map will hold a special market-place event. We hope you’ll take the time to stroll along the shopping street and enjoy the special goods and delicacies the town has to offer.

Earth Celebration 2017 | Living, Learning, Creating Exhibition
https://www.earthcelebration.jp/en/event/exhibition/