10 Interesting Facts About “Kodo One Earth Tour: Legacy”

In early 2020, Kodo will tour with “Legacy” for the first time in Europe. This work focuses on preserving Kodo’s unique “DNA” by drawing on the iconic form found within classic Kodo pieces and carefully sharing the essence of those traditions with the next generation. Expect audience favorites coupled with new compositions and arrangements, infused with creativity and boundless energy.

Honed through extensive tours in 2018–2019, under its Japanese title “Michi,” this program showcases quintessential Kodo, past and present.

Before you come to the theater, check out the fun facts below to gain some insight to this eclectic programme.

1) Legacy features music from the soundtrack of “The Hunted”

This production includes two pieces that Kodo’s Motofumi Yamaguchi composed for martial-arts action thriller “The Hunted”: the eponymous track and Kirina’s Theme. In fact, Kodo performed the entire soundtrack for this film. You might be surprised to learn that this work links Kodo to Julia Roberts and Richard Gere—the script for “Pretty Woman” was written by J.F. Lawton, the director and writer for “The Hunted.”



2) The largest drum on stage is about two-thirds as heavy as a grand piano

The mighty o-daiko weighs around 300 kilos and measures 145 cm in diameter. To imagine lifting one onto its stand, picture lifting a grand piano onto a large, high table. You’d require a big team, right? Kodo lifts the drum onto a cart first, then onto a stand for its Legacy performances. So the members need strength just to get the drum into position, and then power, technique and energy to make it resonate. The cart and stand are assembled and dismantled before and after each concert.


3) Kodo will play an alternative version of its signature piece Monochrome for the first time in Europe this year.

You may know Kodo classic Monochrome, composed by the late Maki Ishii in 1976, but did you know that Ishii’s original composition had two versions? Version A with o-daiko (large drums) part way through, and Version B without o-daiko. Kodo has mainly performed Version B on its tours to date, so that version became recognized around the world. For Legacy, director Yuichiro Funabashi wanted to introduce the other variant of Monochrome, and Kodo worked with conductor Tatsuya Shimono to render the nuances of Ishii’s complex score as intended. Kodo will perform this alternative version in Europe for the first time in 2020.


4) Legacy has a cast of 14 performers, selected from the 37-strong ensemble

Kodo currently has 10 female and 27 male performers, ranging in age from 21 to 69 years old. While Kodo is based on Sado Island, there are no Kodo members from the island. There is one member from Niigata Prefecture, where Sado is located. And there are two members who hail from the USA. Every year, Kodo welcomes people to audition for its apprentice programme from all over Japan and abroad, although advanced Japanese skills are a must to undertake the training.


5) From start to finish, you’ll hear 90 instruments during the performance

There are 39 different types of instruments used in each Legacy performance, including 11 types of taiko drum. With 90 instruments in all, including 32 taiko, Kodo has to hire a large truck to carry this precious cargo all over Europe. Kodo has three sets of drums so it can ship drums by sea to and from other continents while it tours in Japan. It takes a lot of logistics for Kodo to deliver performances around the world!


6) Uchoten uses three instruments that Kodo developed especially for the stage.

Uchoten means rapture or euphoria. It’s a brand-new piece played on a range of portable drums that Kodo designed to use in their performances with the help of renowned taiko maker Asano Taiko. There’s the high-pitched Shime-jishi Taiko, which leads the ensemble; the world’s first taiko that you can tune each head to a different pitch, Kanade; and the rich, low-toned bass drum, Hibiki. The combination is sure to get your feet stomping to the infectious beat.


7) Kodo freely incorporates instruments that it encounters on its travels into its compositions

There are several examples of this in Legacy. One is found in “Kirina’s Theme”—the beautiful melodic piece that sets the scene in “The Hunted” where melancholic Kirina makes her entrance. In this production, “Kirina’s Theme” features a harp from the Amami Islands in Southern Japan. It’s a new arrangement created especially for this programme. On Amami Oshima, this harp is played to accompany shima-uta (island folk songs). When Kodo travels, it encounters many traditional arts and instruments. Rather than imitating those arts, Kodo takes inspiration from them. Later, the members draw on their travels, using innovation and imagination to create new soundscapes.



8) Legacy blends an array of Asian instruments into a sacred dance scene

Kodo doesn’t limit itself to using Japanese instruments. In Legacy, Hitotsu creates a mysterious realm by incorporating an array of sounds from other parts of Asia. One is the Ragdung from Tibet, which looks like a Swiss horn. The piece also features shawm-like suonas, Chinese cymbals, and gongs, which meld with taiko and voices to evoke a sacred scene where Eiichi Saito depicts the “Prince of Lanling” with a dance based on a 1200-year-old court dance. His costume is a combination of clothing worn for various sacred Shinto dances.

 



9) Kodo originally visited Miyake Island to hear a song, not a drum piece.

Miyake is Kodo’s arrangement of a taiko piece from a festival on Miyake Island. Kodo members learned to play Miyake Taiko when they visited the island on the way back from a trip to Hachijo Island in 1982. They originally stopped there to listen to a local folk song and instead encountered an art that would go on to become one of Kodo’s most recognized pieces. Mr. Akio Tsumura taught the members to play the taiko that leads the mikoshi (portable shrine) procession in the Kamitsuki area of Miyake Island. While the rhythm and playing style of Kodo’s arrangement differs from the original art, Kodo members learn to play both styles and honor the roots of the traditional art every time they play it.


10) Legacy features a workman’s song that connects Sado Island to Hokkaido

While many workman’s songs in Japan are related to taiko by means of their references to felling and hauling trees for lumber, Okiage Ondo hails from work at sea. It’s an arrangement of a herring fisherman’s song from Hokkaido. Back in the day, herring was one of Hokkaido’s main products. The fish exports were shipped along the Sea of Japan on trade ships (kitamaesen), which linked Sado Island and Western Japan with the far north.


That’s all ten. We hope you learned something new!
We’re really looking forward to sharing this programme with audiences around Europe!
See below for the production trailer on YouTube, our tour schedule, and box office details.

“Kodo One Earth Tour 2020: Legacy” Europe Tour

Schedules

“Ready for ‘Michi’ on Sado Island tomorrow!” by Kenta Nakagome

It’s almost time for our hometown performance of “Kodo One Earth Tour 2019:  Michi,” here on Sado Island!

We spend most of our time on tour away from Sado. Every time I come back to the island, the beautiful nature and scenery, the food and people, they always clear away any fatigue I brought back from the road. This place resets me.
The longer I live on Sado, the stronger I feel a sense of this island nurturing all of us at Kodo.

Our current touring work takes a look back at Kodo classics and gives us an opportunity to reflect on who we are right now. The cast ranges from veterans to newcomers, so it’s a chance for audiences to discover the appeal of a wide range of generations within Kodo today.

I am grateful to everyone on Sado Island who constantly supports our activities. I’ll put my appreciation into each beat at our performance here.
I hope you’ll join us there on November 20!

“Kodo One Earth Tour 2019: Michi”Nov. 20 (Wed), 2019 Sado Island, Niigata

“Excited to Share ‘Michi’ with You!” by Yuichiro Funabashi

It’s April and in Japan that means the start of a new business and school year. I’m sure many of you have had a fresh start in a new environment this month.

We’ve recently finished our North America “Evolution” tour and Interactive Performances in Japan and returned to Sado Island. Right now, we are busy preparing for our upcoming tours and concerts this spring, as well as future works.

From May, we’re going to be touring with “Kodo One Earth Tour 2019: Michi” throughout Japan for the rest of the year.

Photo: Takashi Okamoto

It’s going to be a soul-stirring, invigorating two-hour program featuring Kodo standards such as Monochrome, Miyake, O-daiko, and Yatai-bayashi. As director, I’ve also included some of my favorite classics like The Hunted and HITOTSU, and we’ve created some brand new numbers, too!

Photo: Takashi Okamoto

We’ve reworked and refined the content since last year, and we are already looking forward to seeing it evolve with each performance on tour.

Photo: Takashi Okamoto

The cast ranges from senior to junior Kodo members who all bring their own unique sound and energy to the stage. I really hope you’ll come along to see “Michi” at one of the many theaters on our tour to experience this rousing program firsthand.

Photo: Erika Ueda

“Kodo One Earth Tour 2019: Michi” Japan Tour

Schedule

“The Excitement I Felt Back Then” by Kengo Watanabe

Photo: Takashi Okamoto

Miyake is a very important piece to me. My life as a taiko player wouldn’t be the same without Miyake.

Photo: Takashi Okamoto

It was watching Kodo play Miyake that made me want to join Kodo.

I first saw Miyake when I was a high school student. I watched the performers push themselves to their limits, brimming with masculine fighting spirit. I thought they were beyond cool!
I’ll never forget that sensation of trembling with excitement from deep within.

Now, I’ve been given the opportunity to play the center position in Miyake.

The excitement I felt way back then… I wonder if our audiences feel like it now.

I really want to give them that sense of excitement, so I will practice harder and harder. I’ll keep giving it my all.

Photo: Erika Ueda

Photo: Takashi Okamoto

 

“Kodo One Earth Tour 2019: Michi” Japan Tour

Upcoming Performances

Kodo “Legacy” Now Available on DVD!

Photo: Erika Ueda

We hope you’ll add this performance to your home theater collection.

It’s a complete non-stop concert experience, all 94 minutes! So sit back and enjoy it as if you’re right there in the audience.

Released: May 24, 2019
Price: 4,860 yen (tax incl.)

See here for details.

Available now at Kodo Online Store in English and at Kodo performances in Japan.

“My Last Tour” by Maya Minowa

We’re over halfway through our “MEGURU” Japan Tour.

Photo: Takashi Okamoto

This is my last tour with Kodo.

Ten years has passed since my first encounter with Kodo, in Brazil in the spring of 2008…

Photo: Takashi Okamoto

Since then I’ve made so many one-of-a-kind connections.

Photo: Taro Nishita

Maya as a Kodo apprentice

Photo: Taro Nishita

Maya as a Kodo apprentice

Photo: Taro Nishita

Maya as a Kodo apprentice

Photo: Takashi OkamotoPhoto: Takashi OkamotoPhoto: Takashi Okamoto

ロシア・日本平和友好フェスティバル(岩田守弘氏共演)

(C)テレビ朝日

Photo: Maiko Miyagawa

Photo: Takashi Okamoto

I am filled with gratitude to have found Kodo and for all the connections I’ve made ever since that first encounter. I’ll do my very best on stage for the remaining performances of the tour.

Photo: Takashi Okamoto Photo: Takashi Okamoto

 

MEGURU (Japan Tour)

Dec 15 (Sat), 2018 Chofu-shi Green Hall (Large Hall), Chofu, Tokyo
Dec 16 (Sun), 2018 Fussa Shimin Kaikan Main Hall (Mokusei Hall), Fussa, Tokyo
Dec 19 (Wed)–Dec 23 (Sun), 2018 Bunkyo Civic Hall (Main Hall), Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo

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#鼓童 #kodo 鼓童特別公演2018「道」 #蓑輪真弥 #カーテンコール #アンコール Kodo Special Concert 2018 “Michi” Japan Tour 公演スケジュール 7.14(土) 栃木県宇都宮市 栃木県総合文化センター 7.16(月) 山形県山形市 シベールアリーナ 7.18(水) 宮城県仙台市 東京エレクトロンホール宮城 7.20(金) 岩手県大船渡市 大船渡市民文化会館 リアスホール 7.26(木) 北海道札幌市 わくわくホリデーホール(札幌市民ホール) 7.29(日) 青森県八戸市 八戸市公会堂 8.01(水) 福島県いわき市 いわき芸術文化交流館(いわきアリオス)中劇場 8.03(金) 茨城県ひたちなか市 ひたちなか市文化会館大ホール 8.04(土) 群馬県伊勢崎市 伊勢崎市文化会館(大ホール) 8.05(日) 東京都小平市 ルネこだいら 大ホール https://www.kodo.or.jp/performance/performance_kodo/6786 鼓童 道 で検索! #taiko #太鼓 #drummers #wadaiko #drum #instagood #japaneseculture Photo by @takashi_okamoto on Instagram #kodomichi

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