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“Kodo Sado Island Performances in Shukunegi 2022” by Jun Jidai

Kodo’s annual performances in Shukunegi first began in 2012, back when I was still a Kodo apprentice. The apprentices all joined the Kodo members, staff, and Shukunegi locals to get ready for the performances and it felt like creating something together from square one: spring cleaning the hall, hanging the back drops, cutting down bamboo and using it to put up the concert flags.

Photo: Takashi OkamotoPhoto: Takashi OkamotoKodo now has a decade’s worth of experiences at this place, and I feel so happy that we’re back here again this year.

There is so much going on right now all over the world, and here in Japan. It feels like we’re living our usual daily lives with chaos either close by, or all around us.

It makes me think…what can we do as taiko players?
What should artists share in times like these?

Tomorrow is uncertain, but I’ve made it to tomorrow each day thus far. So I want to keep creating and expressing myself as an artist, giving my all each day.

Photo: Erika

I want to express what it means to be born in this era, and what I’m doing with Kodo now.

I want to turn that into power that helps get us all through to “tomorrow” again.

I want to take all the moments when I laugh and feel excited and deeply moved, and pack them all into this performance with along with my gratitude.

I sincerely hope that our performances bring the joy of spring and the sounds of Shukunegi to many people.

Kodo Sado Island Performances in Shukunegi (2022)

Apr 29 (Fri)–May 7 (Sat), 2022 Shukunegi Community Hall, Ogi Peninsula, Sado Island, Niigata

Dates & Times

  • Apr 29 (Fri) 14:30 [O-daiko: Yoshikazu Fujimoto]
  • Apr 30 (Sat) 11:00 [O-daiko: Tomohiro Mitome]
  • Apr 30 (Sat) 14:30 [O-daiko: Yoshikazu Fujimoto]
  • May 1 (Sun) 11:00 [O-daiko: Tomohiro Mitome]
  • May 2 (Mon) DARK
  • May 3 (Tue) 14:30 [O-daiko: Yoshikazu Fujimoto]
  • May 4 (Wed) 11:00 [O-daiko: Tomohiro Mitome]
  • May 4 (Wed) 14:30 [O-daiko: Yoshikazu Fujimoto]
  • May 5 (Thu) 11:00 [O-daiko: Tomohiro Mitome]
  • May 6 (Fri) DARK
  • May 7 (Sat) 11:00 [O-daiko: Yoshikazu Fujimoto]
  • May 7 (Sat) 14:30 [O-daiko: Tomohiro Mitome]

Kodo Sado Island Performances in Shukunegi (2022)

#kodofebfilmfest

Enjoy Kodo at your place throughout February via a range of streaming platforms!

This month, there’s an exclusive lineup of online content on offer hosted by organizations in Japan and abroad.
We hope you’ll enjoy these Kodo performances and talks at your place!
Spread the word and share your watch party pictures and feedback with us using this hashtag:

#kodofebfilmfest

・Feb. 3–Mar. 7: Watch Kodo “Tsuzumi” on Selected Japanese Streaming Services in February –Pay to view/Kodo Performance (3-part)
・Feb. 5–Feb. 28: New Audiovisual Work by Filmmaker Toshiaki Toyoda “Shiver” by Ettō—Featuring Koshiro Hino and Kodo —Pay to view/Collaborative Performance
・From Feb. 13 for 72 hours: Kodo at Duke Performances Virtual Concert Series: The Show Must Go Online! —Pay to view/Kodo Performance
・All February: Kodo Heartbeat Radio episodes available on YouTube —Free to view/Japanese talk shows
・All February: Japan Live Yell Project—Niigata Prefectural Culture Festival Special Talk Series Part 3–6 (Part 1, Part 2 out now!)—Free to view/Japanese talk shows

 

Coming Up in Japan!

Kodo 40th Anniversary Concert Series
Kodo One Earth Tour 2021: Tsuzumi
Feel the reverberations of heaven and earth in harmony.

Photo: Takashi Okamoto
May–July 2021 Tour Information in English coming soon.

“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

[Kodo MEGURU] “Miyake” by Kenta Nakagome

Naturally, I have a real soft spot for playing O-daiko (the big drum).
But recently, I realized that Miyake (Miyake Taiko) is also very important to me.

Photo: Erica Ueda

Back when I had just become a Kodo member, I made it on to my first big tour because I was given the chance to play Miyake. For a time back then, all I played was Miyake and I didn’t practice anything else, which meant I didn’t get to perform much else.

Perhaps I realized that when I was playing a Miyake solo, I could let myself “explode,” let myself go wild.

When I was new to the group and couldn’t do anything well, Tomohiro [Mitome] and Yosuke [Oda] used Miyake as a tool to open my eyes.

Photo: Erica Ueda

Later on, there was a time when I felt a sense of failure, and wasn’t sure which way to turn. Kazu (Kazuhiro Tsumura) from Miyake-jima Geino Doshikai, who was in the same Kodo apprentice cohort as I, said “Come on, let’s play Miyake together.” And with that invitation, I went to see the Tsumura family. While I was there, drumming like crazy, I started to feel better, and more and more positive.

I also felt reawakened by the Tsumuras’ explosive sound.

Anytime I am not feeling good physically, playing Miyake makes me feel better again.

Photo: Erica Ueda

And anytime something new is about to begin, the chance for me to play Miyake seems to arise out of nowhere.

I heard Yuta [Sumiyoshi] was going to direct a production for the first time. He said to me , “Let’s do something together,” and he asked me to arrange and play a new arrangement of Miyake. That arrangement became a whole new piece, Saien, which we created as our own take on Miyake.

Photo: Takashi Okamoto

When I look back on my journey, taiko has trained me and guided me to where I am today.

Photo: Takashi Okamoto

I feel fresh and new as we create this brand new work, “MEGURU,” but at the same time I can feel Miyake on my mind and in my bones.

Photo: Heday Masuda

Photos: Takashi Okamoto, Heday Masuda, Erika Ueda

 

MEGURU (Japan Tour)

Schedules

[Kodo MEGURU] Message from Director Yuta Sumiyoshi

Photo: Takashi OkamotoI am so happy to share Kodo’s new production “MEGURU” with audiences throughout Japan this month and next.
MEGURU means to revolve or come full circle. Based on that theme, I carefully crafted this programme from all new pieces, each created with a focus on conjuring scenery with sound.

All things in nature loop, there are no exceptions.
The sun and moon, water and life, they all revolve without exception.
All things that begin come to an end, then begin again. Beyond space and time, over and over again.
This phenomenon extends to spiritual things, too, such as souls and people’s feelings.

Photo: Koichi Kinoshita

Such cycles have turned for thousands of years, and perhaps the tales people hand down through time have influenced us unknowingly.
I’ve come to think that if people from different countries or cultures can imagine scenery in the same way, then an individual’s own memories or knowledge aren’t the only things that shape their perceptions.

So, what do we have in common?

Throughout time, I think we humans have always sought an understanding of the senses shared by all human beings, and this pursuit has continually led us into contact with the arts.
There are various artistic activities, such as art and music, but none of them are necessities for humans to live their lives.
Even so, humans throughout time have foregone sleep to draw pictures and to create music.

I too have moments when I only want to create music.
I get this feeling of wanting to give shape to something that lies somewhere within me.

I want to hear my soul’s voice.

That kind of impulse is like a tale in itself that has come around and around again. It’s also what I want to depict through this work.

I hope MEGURU will take us on a journey together in pursuit of that soul, a journey that circles imaginary scenery evoked by Kodo’s sound.
We will cherish each and every sound as we perform to facilitate this quest with our audience.

Photo: Riu Nakamura

MEGURU (Japan Tour)

Schedules


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