In January, a fellow Niigata-based artist, Jo Kanamori, gave me his new book, Dance Company of Struggles. Mr. Kanamori is a dancer and the artistic director of Noism Company Niigata and this is his first book. I read it with great interest. Then in February, I went to see Noism’s new production, Der Wanderer. Mr. Kanamori’s artistic direction is always exciting. This time, he really brought the physicality of each and every cast member to the forefront while creating a sense of unity within the cast led by dancer Sawako Iseki. It was a wonderful performance. Having just read Mr. Kanamori’s book, I could feel even more color and depth as I watched them perform. That really stayed with me. This experience made me think a lot about the importance of recording our words.

Melanie Taylor, a member of our team who handles our English translation, has launched a project to share the book that Kodo published in 2011, Inochi Moyashite, Tatakeyo, with the world. This book describes Kodo’s history in a straightforward manner from various perspectives. For me, it’s an important book that I read over and over again as things crop up along our journey.

Melanie has been watching Kodo perform for years and years. She carefully weaves my words into English, bringing the true meaning of each word into her translation by checking the background and my intention. She is a trustworthy friend of mine, and I’m really looking forward to seeing her translation of this book take shape. I sincerely hope that many people will feel more depth and color when they watch Kodo’s performances after reading this book.

Over ten years have already passed since we published this book and I strongly feel the need to start preparing to publish the sequel—the next part of our history. For now, I am grateful that Melanie has kicked off this project to translate our first book. I really hope that many people will support this project.

Incidentally, in my Japanese profile it says my hobbies include reading and enjoying pro wrestling, Rakugo storytelling, and Takarazuka theatrical performances. I have a lot of books about my various interests, lining my bookshelves. When I learn all sorts of things about each group and each person, and their history and background, my feelings intensify and my enjoyment doubles.

Yuichiro Funabashi
Kodo Ensemble Leader
March 2023

■ Kodo Book Translation Project “Drum Your Heart Out” Crowdfunding Campaign on PledgeMe
https://www.pledgeme.co.nz/projects/7438-kodo-book-english-translation-drum-your-heart-out
This site’s currency is New Zealand dollars.

■ Kodo Book Translation Project “Drum Your Heart Out” Intro Video

The campaign video is fully subtitled in English and Japanese. If subtitles don’t appear, click the settings cog on YouTube and switch them on.

In April, I made a public appeal on behalf of Kodo for ongoing emergency support. Many people from many places sent us support and words of encouragement. I offer my sincere thanks to each and every one of you.

In light of the current global situation, this year Earth Celebration, the annual festival we host in tandem with Sado Island, was held entirely online for the first time in its 33-year history. We asked for your support by way of crowdfunding and I would like to sincerely thank everyone who answered that call for help. Your kind encouragement is the reason that our group was able to band together to tackle the new challenge of creating a diverse lineup to broadcast online. We reaffirmed the power of Sado Island and how wonderful it is to spend time with you all. It was a truly fruitful experience. I am already looking forward to the next time we are able to welcome you all to Sado Island again.

Since March, when our European tour was interrupted by the pandemic, almost all of our performances were canceled or postponed. However, from September, our School Workshop Performance cast will start touring again. They will be taking extra care with a range of infection prevention measures in place. This year, many school events were also canceled, so we hope the sound of taiko will touch the students’ hearts as it resonates within their school during these live performances.   

My own first tour with Kodo, twenty years ago, was a School Workshop Performance Tour that visited junior high schools here in Niigata Prefecture. Although junior high school students are full of emotions, they don’t always show their feelings on the outside. So on my first tour, I remember trying to gauge their reaction, which meant I didn’t have the headspace to enjoy our daily performances. But years later, sometimes adults who were junior high students back then come up to me at our concerts in Niigata and say that our school performance was an experience they will never forget. Those words make me feel the legacy of our school tours, and the joy I had trouble sensing in them back then feels doubled this time around.

The months we spent at home this year while our activities were on hold has been filled with new challenges, including holding Earth Celebration online. This period, along with what we have built up to date through our School Tours, are both valuable assets to Kodo. As these difficult times continue, each and every one of us will pool our energy to keep our activities alive. We will work hard every day, hoping that the reverberations of our taiko can offer some comfort and a much-needed energy boost to many people.

I kindly ask all of you for your continued support and assistance.

Yuichiro Funabashi
Kodo Ensemble Leader

Call for Emergency Support

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.

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!

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.

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.

“Kodo One Earth Tour 2019: Michi” Japan Tour

Schedule

• May 24 (Fri), 2019 Tamashin Risuru Hall (Large Hall) [Tachikawa Civic Hall], Tachikawa, Tokyo
• May 25 (Sat), 2019 Saitama Hall Main Theater, Saitama City
• May 30 (Thu), 2019 Tokyo Electron Hall Miyagi, Sendai, Miyagi
• Jun 1 (Sat), 2019 Oshu City Cultural Hall (Z Hall), Oshu, Iwate
• Jun 2 (Sun), 2019 Akita City Cultural Center Main Hall, Akita City
• Jun 7 (Fri), 2019 Sapporo Cultural Arts Theater hitaru, Sapporo, Hokkaido
• Jun 9 (Sun), 2019 Coach and Four Kushiro Culture Hall, Kushiro, Hokkaido
• Jun 10 (Mon), 2019 Obihiro Civic Cultural Hall, Obihiro, Hokkaido
• Jun 22 (Sat), 2019 – Jun 23 (Sun), 2019 Morinomiya Piloti Hall, Osaka City　
• Sep.–Dec. information in English coming soon.
• Dec 18 (Wed), 2019 – Dec 22 (Sun), 2019 Bunkyo Civic Hall Main Hall, Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo

New Year’s Greeting from Kodo Ensemble Leader
Yuichiro Funabashi

Another new year has begun.
As 2019 starts, I would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your warm support that enabled our wide range of fulfilling work over the past twelve months.

We kicked off 2018 with the “Evolution” Europe Tour, then visited our 50th country to date: Egypt. In Japan, Kodo toured nationwide with “Michi,” performed at NHK Hall in a new collaboration with vocaloid Hatsune Miku, and fired up the main stage on Day 3 of Fuji Rock Festival ’18.

One of the year’s highlights was performing live music for new Kabuki work “Yugen” starring Tamasaburo Bando at Tokyo’s iconic Kabukiza Theatre. This month-long experience was a precious opportunity for us all.

2018 also marked a noticeable shift towards younger Kodo performers taking the creative reigns. We saw the directorial debut of Yuta Sumiyoshi with “MEGURU,” which premiered in November. Its inaugural tour in Japan ended on a high note with five days of concerts in Tokyo at Bunkyo Civic Hall. “Kodo Next Generation,” directed by Ryotaro Leo Ikenaga, ventured abroad for the first time for a summer series at Theatre du Soleil in Paris, France. Back at home, new School Workshop Performance and Kodo Interactive Performance programmes directed by Jun Jidai delighted school children and general audiences nationwide. These new directors from within the Kodo ensemble showed us dynamic power and their own unique flair, leaving us with a sense of Kodo’s future in their capable hands.

At the end of 2018, we all came together to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Kodo’s Yoshikazu Fujimoto’s taiko performance career with commemorative concert “Taiko Warabe Gojunen.” I was deeply moved on this special occasion, where I am sure we all felt the magnitude of Yoshikazu’s history firsthand, reinforced by guest performances by Iwasaki Onikenbai and Wachi Daiko Hozonkai that reminded us of the power and splendor of performing arts.

In 2019, we plan to enrich not only our performance activities but also to pour more energy into workshops. We’re also going to be creating and sharing new music and focusing on fostering broader, deeper activities that bring our group closer to our audiences. We are working on new initiatives that we hope will bring even more people to theaters to enjoy taiko with Kodo.

Kodo remains dedicated to our dear home of Sado Island, one of the reasons we are passionate about our annual, deep-rooted local events Earth Celebration and the Kodo Sado Island Performances in Shukunegi. I hope we can expand our activities on Sado to include more tour productions, school performances, and workshops. We always craft sound and rehearse at Kodo Village before setting off on tour: Sado Island is where each journey starts for Kodo. This year I want us all to hold a renewed awareness of that fact.

Of course, you could say the real starting point for each Kodo performer is our apprentice Centre on Sado. It’s an precious environment where each individual has their eye on one main goal, training alongside their comrades, living an intense, communal lifestyle. This year, I want us each to think about our time at Kodo Apprentice Centre and reflect on the unique experiences we all had there, which were only possible by living and training at this marvellous place. I want us to share our experiences far and wide through increased exchange, both face to face and via social media.

None of our diverse activities leads us down the easiest path. I want us to keep tackling each challenge carefully and sincerely as we seek even better sound and create performances brimming with joy.

I sincerely hope that this year will be another great year for you all. I kindly ask for your continued support and encouragement throughout 2019.

　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　
Yuichiro Funabashi
January 2019

As you probably already know, Kodo’s last performance this year will be “Taiko Warabe Goju-nen,” a special concert commemorating Yoshikazu Fujimoto‘s 50th milestone year as a performer.

The other day, we had rehearsals at Kodo Village and Yoshikazu showed all the junior members (which in this case means everyone!) his body and soul approach in practice.

“Your passion shows on your face AND your back.”

When I heard him say that, I felt the weight of those fifty years in his embodiment of those words.

For this performance, we will welcome Iwasaki Onikenbai Hozonkai (Iwasaki Demon Sword Dance Preservation Society), who have taught Yoshikazu Fujimoto and Kodo for many years, and Wachi Daiko Hozonkai (Wachi Taiko Preservation Society) from Yoshikazu’s hometown, Wachi, where his taiko journey began. Kodo will be there right alongside these special guests and Yoshikazu, giving our all to celebrate our most senior member.

I am really looking forward to this performance!

Kodo’s latest production MEGURU will be on stage at Bunkyo Civic Hall until Dec. 23, the day before “Taiko Warabe Goju-nen” on Christmas Eve.
I really hope you’ll take this opportunity to see Kodo’s depth and breadth as an ensemble through both of these distinct concert programs.

As I said in my New-Year greeting for 2018:
“(Yoshikazu Fujimoto) is a man who has stood apart as a pioneer in performing arts and remains in a class of his own. Watching over and raising the next generation is very important, and we have learned the magnificence of undertaking these tasks ourselves by observing many performing arts. As we celebrate the career of our group’s most senior member, we would like to express our gratitude for Kodo’s ability to carry out a wide range of activities each year. The Kodo Group looks forward to congratulating Yoshikazu along with the entire audience who gathers for this auspicious event.”

“Taiko Warabe Goju-nen”: Yoshikazu Fujimoto Performance Career 50th Anniversary Concert
Dec 24 (Mon), 2018 Bunkyo Civic Hall Main Hall, Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo

“Taiko Warabe Goju-nen” (Child of the Drum for 50 Years): Yoshikazu Fujimoto Performance Career 50th Anniversary Concert (Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo)

I would like to offer my sincere sympathy once more to all the people who were affected by this disaster.

While this day will remind them of many things, I pray that they will also find peace.

It’s a quiet Sunday at the Kodo Village rehearsal hall.

I will take a moment of silence at 2:46pm to remember Tohoku.

Heartbeat Project

Today marks eight years since the Tohoku Pacific Earthquake and Tsunami.

On behalf of Kodo, I would like to express our heartfelt condolences to everyone who was affected by this disaster.

We continue to pray for the recovery of the affected regions and hope the people there find peace.

We will not forget this day.
We continue to care.
We are traveling performers who still ask ourselves
What we felt and what we were able to do at that time.
We will continue to drum and share the sound of taiko.

Today, we will take a moment of silence at 2:46pm.

New Year’s Greeting from Kodo Ensemble Leader Yuichiro Funabashi

I wish you all a very happy new year!

I would like to express my gratitude to everyone who supported and appreciated our group’s work last year. It’s thanks to all of you that we were able to have a fulfilling year of activities. I would also like to offer my sincere condolences to the people recovering from the typhoons, flooding and other natural disasters that hit Japan and other parts of the world last year.

Looking back over 2019, Kodo kicked off the year with our “Evolution” North America tour. We also took this production to China, where we held our first tour there in 19 years. In Japan, we toured nationwide with “Michi” and our Interactive Performances.

In the summer, we returned to Tokyo’s Asakusa with “Iki,” a special program dedicated to the people of Asakusa. The locals helped us surprise the audience by bringing a slice of Asakusa’s annual festival to the performance. They joined us on stage carrying a portable shrine (mikoshi). It was a dream come true for us to share a taste of their traditional festival with our audience.

Later in the year, we had two wonderful opportunities to share the sound of Kodo with enormous audiences: the opening ceremony of the Rugby World Cup and the opening event for Japan National Stadium, home to the upcoming Tokyo Olympics.

The grand finale of our 2019 activities was Kodo “Sen no Mai,” a performance celebrating the 40th anniversary of Chieko Kojima‘s performance career. The work featured Chieko along with a cast of Kodo’s next generation. Under Chieko’s direction, they conjured a grand, beautiful realm on stage that enveloped the entire audience. It was a truly joyous production.

This year, first up for us is our “Kodo One Earth Tour: Legacy” tour in Europe. Back at home, we will visit schools and communities throughout Japan with our Interactive Performances. In May, we will premiere our long-awaited new work directed by Robert Le Page: NOVA.

Following our celebrations of Yoshikazu Fujimoto and Chieko Kojima’s performance careers, we are planning further commemoratives works to mark the milestones of other senior Kodo members who forged the foundations of our current activities.

Of course, we look forward to welcoming you all to our homeland, Sado Island, in 2020. We’ll be hosting our springtime Kodo Sado Island Performances in Shukunegi, and summer festival Earth Celebration. We’re working hard to make these events better than ever. Wherever we go, we share the sound of Kodo that was inspired by this wonderful island, and created at Kodo Village. We look forward to sharing the spirit of Sado Island with you, at home and on tour.

I sincerely hope this year is a great year for all of you. I kindly ask for your continued support and encouragement.

Yuichiro Funabashi
Leader
Kodo Taiko Performing Arts Ensemble

Photo: Takashi Okamoto

New Year’s Greeting from Kodo Ensemble Leader
Yuichiro Funabashi

I wish you all a joyous new year.

I’m sure last year was a difficult one for everyone due to the effects of COVID-19.
For Kodo, the harsh circumstances caused by the pandemic are ongoing. While we were able to resume our touring in Japan, with meticulous measures in place to prevent the virus from spreading, we were forced to put our international tours and other plans on hold until the global pandemic situation improves.

It’s been a very challenging situation, which has led Kodo to search for a range of forms of expression. We have developed the strength to tackle new challenges and rediscovered the charms of Sado Island, the power of taiko, and the joy of being able to perform in front of audiences. Throughout the past unprecedented year, we received aid and encouragement from many people. I would like to take this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude to all of you for cheering us on.

This year, it’s Kodo’s 40th anniversary. Our history is a force that keeps us together and drives us forward. We will strive harness the power of the past four decades, using it to share the resounding sound of taiko from our home, Sado Island, for the next fifty years, century, and beyond.
I pray that the COVID-19 pandemic will end very soon, and that 2021 will be a great year for all of you.

I kindly ask for your ongoing guidance and encouragement throughout the year ahead.

Yuichiro Funabashi
Leader
Kodo Taiko Performing Arts Ensemble

New Year’s Greeting from Kodo Ensemble Leader Yuichiro Funabashi

I wish you all a very happy new year!

We celebrated Kodo’s 40th anniversary last year. We were really pleased to be able to hold commemorative tours and school tours, along with special events including “Inochi” with Tokyo Symphony Orchestra, and concerts at Bunkamura Orchard Hall.

Being able to share our sound with audiences in person again made 2021 a joyous year for us, despite the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Your support and encouragement gave us strength, and I want to sincerely thank all of you for cheering us on.

Last year we released new albums and DVDs, and shared our sound and spirit with the world through a range of offerings online including Kodo Taiko School, digital streaming, and our Heartbeat Radio series. While travel was restricted, we were so happy to connect with people far and wide in through these projects.

2021 was a milestone year, marking four decades of history for Kodo. We felt the immense power of that history throughout the year. It will drive us forward as we step into the next decade, heading towards Kodo’s 50th and 100th anniversaries. In 2022, we will continue to broaden the possibilities of taiko expression as we tackle new challenges head on.

We look forward to sharing time and space with you all this year. We also look forward to learning more here on Sado Island, and bringing the sound of Kodo to people all over Japan and around the world.

I sincerely hope that 2022 is a great year for each and every one of you.
I kindly ask for your continued guidance and encouragement.

Yuichiro Funabashi
Leader
Kodo Taiko Performing Arts Ensemble