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

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.

“Kodo One Earth Tour 2019: Michi” Japan Tour

Upcoming Performances

• Jun 22 (Sat), 2019 – Jun 23 (Sun), 2019 Morinomiya Piloti Hall, Osaka City　
• Sep 14 (Sat), 2019 Hanno Civic Hall Main Hall, Hanno, Saitama
• Sep 15 (Sun), 2019 Ecorma Hall, Komae, Tokyo
• Sep 16 (Mon), 2019 Yokosuka Arts Theater, Yokosuka, Kanagawa
• Sep 20 (Fri), 2019 Aichi Prefectural Art Theater Main Theater, Nagoya, Aichi
• Sep 21 (Sat), 2019 Kuragi Cultural Hall, Matsuzaka, Mie
• Sep 28 (Sat), 2019 Viva Hall, Yabu, Hyogo
• Sep 29 (Sun), 2019 Settsu Shimin Bunka Hall (Kusunoki Hall), Settsu, Osaka
• Oct 5 (Sat), 2019 Kan-onji Civic Hall, Kan-onji, Kagawa
• Oct 6 (Sun), 2019 Nanyo Bunka Kaikan Main Hall, Uwajima, Ehime
• Oct 10 (Thu), 2019 Arkas Sasebo Main Hall, Sasebo, Nagasaki
• Oct 12 (Sat), 2019 Ueno College Hall, Hiroshima City
• Oct 14 (Mon), 2019 Houzan Hall (Kagoshima Prefectural Culture Center), Kagoshima City
• Oct 16 (Wed), 2019 Uto Civic Hall Main Hall, Uto, Kumamoto
• Nov 20 (Wed), 2019 Amusement Sado Main Hall, Sado Island, Niigata
• Nov 23 (Sat), 2019 Kamisu-shi Bunka Center Main Hall, Kamisu, Ibaraki
• Nov 24 (Sun), 2019 Yachiyo-shi Civic Center Main Hall, Yachiyo, Chiba
• Nov 30 (Sat), 2019 Nagaoka Municipal Auditorium Main Hall, Nagaoka, Niigata
• Dec 1 (Sun), 2019 Niigata Prefectural Civic Center Large Hall, Niigata City
• Dec 6 (Fri), 2019 Chigasaki Hall Main Hall, Chigasaki, Kanazawa
• Dec 8 (Sun), 2019 Sagami Women’s University Green Hall Main Hall, Sagamihara, Kanagawa
• Dec 18 (Wed), 2019 – Dec 22 (Sun), 2019 Bunkyo Civic Hall Main Hall, Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo

Kodo “Legacy” Now Available on DVD!

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.

]]> https://www.kodo.or.jp/en/kodo_blog_en/posts-by-member/16073 Thu, 06 Dec 2018 04:39:55 +0000 https://www.kodo.or.jp/?p=16073

Four years have passed since I became a Kodo member. Looking back, I see that all I could focus on was myself for those four years.

Where was I?
Who was coming to see our performance that day?

I thought I knew where I was and who I had met, but looking back, I probably didn’t really understand it all.

I visited many different places and encountered new people, culture, scenery, and sounds in each town.

Each and every day, we experience each place and express the sensations we encounter as sound on stage.
I think the experiences we have in each place are a very important part of traveling with taiko like we do.

When I joined Kodo, I never imagined I would be given the chance to wear kumadori stage makeup or perform the traditional hair whip (kefuri) shown in the photo above! When I appear on stage in the role of shishi (beast), I perform each and every hair whip with great care.

Photo: Takashi Okamoto

Tamasaburo Bando x Kodo Special Performance “Yugen” (Japan)

Hello, everyone! This is Kengo Watanabe. It has been a while since my last Kodo Blog post.

Yesterday we arrived in Sakata City in Yamagata Prefecture. I visited Sankyo Soko, a rice storehouse that was built in 1893. It is still used today.

I also saw these great Japanese zelkova (keyaki) trees all in a row.

Today we have our final performance of Kodo Premium Concert “An Invitation from Tamasaburo Bando into the World of Kodo.” I look forward to seeing everyone at the theater!

Kodo Premium Concert “An Invitation from Tamasaburo Bando into the World of Kodo”

The climax of our new production with Tamasaburo Bando, “Yugen,” features five colorful beasts. Two Kodo members appear in this role alongside Tamasaburo Bando, Jusuke Hanayagi and a Hanayagi dancer. They are Kengo Watanabe and Kodai Yoshida.

The picture below is of Kodai Yoshida (Kodo), Jusuke Hanayagi (center), and Kengo Watanabe (Kodo), backstage at the Nagoya performances.

And here they are again, transformed into shishi (beasts).

They look forward to seeing you at the theater for “Yugen”!

Tamasaburo Bando x Kodo Special Performance “Yugen” (Japan)

We are pleased to announce that all five of the premiere performances of “Yugen” at Bunkamura Orchard Hall in Tokyo were sold out. Thank you very much to everyone who came along!
Next, we will share Yugen with audiences in Niigata and Nagoya. We look forward to seeing you at one of the theaters below very soon.

• 2017.05.26 (Fri) – 2017.05.28 (Sun) Niigata Prefectural Civic Center, Niigata City
• 2017.05.31 (Wed) – 2017.06.02 (Fri) The Theater, Aichi Prefectural Art Theater, Nagoya, Aichi

Sneak Peak at “Yugen” on Stage

Photos: Takashi Okamoto

Tamasaburo Bando

　Masayuki Sakamoto (Kodo)

Hanayagi-ryu Dancers with Kodo

Tamasaburo Bando with Hayato Otsuka (Kodo)

From left: Kodai Yoshida (Kodo), Masakatsu Hanayagi, Tamasaburo Bando, Jusuke Hanayagi, Kengo Watanabe (Kodo)

Tamasaburo Bando

Tamasaburo Bando x Kodo Special Performance “Yugen” (Japan)