I’m writing this quite a while after our recent “Matsurine” performances with Miyake-jima Geino Doshi-kai on June 1 in Minami Ozawa and June 2 in Yokohama. They both went very well and I want to truly thank everyone who came along.

Almost a month has passed since those performances but I can still feel those good vibrations echoing throughout my body. I’m used to back-to-back concerts on our usual tours, but I poured absolutely everything into these two days and I couldn’t move for several days afterwards… haha.

Every single moment of every scene was packed with excitement, but I think the greatest pleasure of this programme was being able to experience how fun it is to play just one taiko drum with simplicity, whether I was out on stage or in the wings.
When we all took turns playing one taiko, it was clear that each person’s sound is different. I’m sure we were able to show even the first-time audience members just how simple yet captivating taiko can feel.

During the programme, there were three pieces that featured one Kodo member and one Doshi-kai member paired up to play together. I got to perform with Hidenori from Doshi-kai.

We didn’t get to rehearse with Doshi-kai until two days before the performances, so we honed the pieces by sending videos back and forth between our groups.

I thought it was going to be difficult to convey the musical phrases as we created the pieces, but they really understood what we said. And I was really happy that I got to feel the trust that Doshi-kai and Kodo has fostered to date.

Through these performances, I became an even bigger fan of Miyake-jima Geino Doshi-kai.

Doshi-kai x Kodo collaborations evolve with every performance.
I’ll keep beating the drum with all my might so I can show more growth next time, too.

Next, we’ll perform together on July 14 at Hakusan International Taiko Extasia 2024! I’m looking forward to it and seeing Doshi-kai again there.