Information about Taiko

The unrelated word Taikō (太閤) is a title given to a retired Kampaku regent in Japan. In a narrow sense, taikō would refer to Toyotomi Hideyoshi, a more common usage.

Taiko (太鼓|, Taiko) means simply "drum" in Japanese (etymologically "great" or "wide drum"). Outside Japan, the word is often used to refer to any of the various Japanese drums (和太鼓, 'wa-daiko', "Japanese drum", in Japanese) and to the relatively recent art-form of ensemble taiko drumming (sometimes called more specifically, "kumi-daiko" (組太鼓).

Types of taiko

Japanese taiko drums, while having antecedents in Chinese and Korean Janggu drums, have been developed into a wide range of percussion instruments that are used in both Japanese folk and classical musical traditions.

Taiko, in general, are stick percussion instruments. With the exception of the kotsuzumi and ootsuzumi, all taiko are struck with bachi. They have heads on both sides of the drum body, and a sealed resonating cavity. Taiko are also characterized by a high amount of tension on the drums heads, with a correspondingly high pitch relative to body size. This high tension likely developed in response to Japan's wet and humid summers when most festivals take place. Many taiko are not tunable, and a drum with high head tension would counteract the slacking effects of humidity.

Taiko are categorized into two types of construction. Byou-uchi daiko (鋲撃ち太鼓) taiko have heads nailed to the body. Tsukushime-daiko (付締め太鼓) have heads sewn onto iron rings, which are then laced to each other around the drum body.

Byou-uchi daiko are typically hollowed out of a single piece of wood. The preferred wood is keyaki (欅) due to its density and beautiful grain, but a number of other woods are used, grouped under the generic term meari (目有). Byou-uchi daiko cannot be tuned, and their sizes are limited by the diameter of the tree they are made from.

The typical byou-uchi daiko is the nagado-daiko (長胴太鼓, long-body taiko). The nagado-daiko is an elongated drum, roughly shaped like a wine barrel, that can be shifted in many different ways that affect the sound of the instrument. The drum can also be played by more than one performer at the same time. This style of drum also signifies the family of drums that are made from a single piece of wood. Nakado-daiko are available in a variety of sizes, from 1.0 shaku (12" in head diameter), to 3.0 shaku in 1 sun increments. The chu-daiko is a medium sized nakado-daiko. Nagado-daiko over 3.0 shaku are also available, but they are referred to as ōdaiko (大太鼓　great drum). Smaller byou-uchi daiko such as the sumo-daiko and hayashi-daiko also exist.

One of the most defining drums of any Taiko ensemble would be the ōdaiko. The ōdaiko is the biggest drum in all of Taiko if not the entire world. Some of the drums are so large that they cannot even be moved so they’ve taken up residence inside of a temple or shrine. Made from a single piece of wood, some ōdaiko can come from trees that are hundreds of years old.

Tsukeshime-daiko (付締め太鼓) are available in a wide variety of styles, and are tunable. This style of taiko is typically tensioned before each performance. The tensioning system is usually rope, but bolt systems and turnbuckles have been used as well. Tsukeshime-daiko can either have stitched heads placed on bodies carved from single piece of wood, such as the shime-daiko and tsuzumi, or stitched heads placed on a stave-construction body such as the okedo-daiko.

The shime-daiko is roughly snare-drum sized, and is generally available in five weights. The lightest is used in classical music such as noh and kabuki. The heavier weights are used by kumi-daiko groups.

Not all of the drums in Taiko come from a single piece of wood. The materials to make such drums can be overly expensive or hard to find all together. So many Taiko players have created drums out of barrels or a variety of other cylindrical objects. The practice of making Taiko drums from barrels is especially more wide spread in North America, where Taiko is increasing in popularity. Most of the barrel made drums comes from one of two categories: okedo-daiko (桶胴太鼓, barrel-body taiko, often shortened to "okedo" or "oke") and taru.

Oke is used to describe the typical Japanese barrel drum. The drum is constructed from narrow staves and has roughly a cylindrical shape. It is available in the same size ranges as the nagado-daiko, and a taiko of okedo style is currently Japan's largest taiko. Depending on size, they can be set on a stand and played like other taiko, but they are also strapped to the body so the drummer can move and play at the same time. The taru, on the other hand, has a slightly different shape that the oke. It has a more tapered body, and is constructed with much wider staves than the oke. They come typically from wine and whiskey barrels.

Other Japanese taiko include the uchiwa-daiko (内輪太鼓、fan taiko), hira-daiko (平太鼓, flat taiko), o-daiko (大太鼓, big taiko), and a host of percussion instruments used in Japan's traditional noh, gagaku, and kabuki ensembles.

The Aomori region is famous for the Nebuta festival where huge okedo are played by many people while carted through the streets. The Okedo has its own betta stand which was invented by Hayashi Eitetsu.

Again, like the nagado-daiko, the okedo has a rim sound, called "ka." When playing the rim of an okedo, however, it is important to only hit the outermost metal ring and not the actual rim of the drum body. The thin, light wood of the okedo is particularly susceptible to denting and will quickly deteriorate if hit.

The early history of taiko

The story of the early beginnings of Taiko is one that is shrouded in mystery. What is known is that some of the earliest recorded uses of the Taiko drums were on the battlefields of ancient Japan during the Warring States Period. These massively sized drums served many purposes to the Japanese fighting on the battlefield. Firstly, the drums were massive in size and could sound a loud boom that could echo across every expanse of the battlefield. This would scare the opposing side’s soldiers providing a very useful advantage. However, along with the moralizing effects of the drums, the fact that they had such and ability to cover long distances with their rolling sounds, many army generals used the drums to aid in commanding their men over wide open battlefields. An example of a typical battlefield style Taiko drum would be a large drum that was more than likely carved from a single log, with several precisely drilled holes along the sides of the drum to maximize the thunderous sounds they produce.

Along with the martial use of the Taiko drums, they also held a strong foundation in the court style music called Gagaku. You would expect to find this style of music held in the castles and shrines across ancient Japan. Gagaku alone is one of the oldest styles of court music that is still being played in the world today.

As the use of the Taiko drums began to expand in popularity across Japan they found a place within the two major religions of Japan: Shinto and Buddhism as well as use in villages as communication devices. Taiko drums were commonly used in villages to signal residents of the danger of oncoming storms, or when the beginning of a new harvest was to start. The use of drums persisted in the villages for a long time and over time were held to be inhabited by a god. Due to the religious framework being built around the drums it became customary that only holy men were allowed to play them. Many of the drums that were used for holy ceremonies and rites remain inside the shrines and temples to this day. In fact, many of the drums are so large that the temples have been modeled around them and there is no way to remove them without structurally altering the temples. It was in the depths of the religious practices of the Taiko that the modern framework was built around the rhythms provided by the various rites and ceremonies, for example the Buddhist summer Bon dance, which features a Taiko drum performance.

Modern taiko

Modern taiko is recognized as having been established in 1951 by Daihachi Oguchi. He is credited with forming the first actual Taiko ensemble referred to as kumi-daiko and starting the modern popularity of Taiko performances. Daihachi Oguchi was originally known for his jazz drumming performances. As the story goes, he was going to play a drumming piece for one of the local shrines and decided to add somewhat of a jazz style flare to the piece. Coming from a jazz background, Daihachi Oguchi speculated why the Taiko drums had never previously been played as an ensemble before. From this simple idea Daihachi Oguchi put together various Taiko of all different shapes, sizes, and pitches to be included in his ensemble. The drums were also arranged in the same type of manner that a jazz drum set would be expected to look like. Since an actual Taiko ensemble had never really performed together and the people he had playing with him were in no way professional musicians, he based the rhythms of their performance on the simplistic arrangement of the shrine music that had been previously played; which allowed for nearly any person with the interest in Taiko could play along. It was from the foundation of the first Taiko ensemble that Daihachi Oguchi continued on to lead the successful Taiko group named Osuwa Daiko.

Around the same time as Daihachi Oguchi’s Taiko ensemble was beginning to take off, another pioneer in the field emerged. Sukeroku Daiko essentially set the original performing standards of many of the Taiko groups today. Their performances consisted of speed, fluidity, and power. They also brought flashy choreography and solos too. Despite the group’s eventual break up, one it’s members, Seido Kobayashi, went on to form the group Oedo Sukeroku Daiko; which is credited for being the very first professional Taiko group.

Another Taiko ensemble that set the framework for one of the most popular groups began on Sado Island. The group Tagayasu Den was founded in 1969 by a man named Za Ondekoza. He set out to make Taiko more than just entertainment but a way of life. He collected a group of youths from rural areas across Japan so that they would be uninfluenced by the big city way of life. With this mindset, the students practiced a very rigorous training regime that typically consisted of marathon running and communal living. It was from these initial students that they went on to form the Taiko ensemble Kodo, after splitting off from Za.

Kodo has gone on to be one of the worlds most popular and recognized performance ensembles. The group consists of about twenty members who tour all over the world. They typically spend about a third of their year at their headquarters in Sado Island. The other two thirds of their year are spent touring the rest of Japan and the world. Since 1988, the group has also hosted the Earth Celebration International Music Festival, which brings music enthusiasts from all over the world to their headquarters.

Taiko performance

There are four different styles of Taiko performance.

(a) Multi-drum, multi-player (複式複打法) It is also called Kumidaiko (組太鼓). Two or more drummers play more than one type of Taiko. This style of performance is popular nowadays.

(b) Multi-drum, one player (複式単打法) One drummer plays more than one type of Taiko.

(c) One drum, multi-player (単式複打法) Two or more drummers play only one type of Taiko.

(d) One drum, one player (単式単打法) One drummer plays only one type of Taiko.

Taiko ensembles

Taiko ensembles are groups that are nearly completely drum instruments, with a couple of exceptions. Each from the drums plays a very specific role to the overall aspect of the ensemble. Of the many different styles and shapes of Taiko drums, the most common drum found in an ensemble would likely be the nagado-daiko.

Drums are not the only instruments played in the ensemble. They also incorporate a wide variety of other Japanese instruments to their ensembles. Common string instruments found with many different Taiko groups would be the biwa, koto, and the shamisen. Of the woodwinds used, the bamboo flutes known as the shakuhachi and the shinobue are popular items.

Elements of basic taiko rhythms

From the earlier years of the more simplistic Taiko rhythms, to the complex bastions of modern performance groups like kodo, a more basic look at the framework of these rhythms. The most common rhythm seen in a Taiko performance would is called ju-ichi. The ju-ichi is somewhat of a bouncing beat that is similar to what you might expect to hear from a riding jazz cymbol. Another rhythm that is typically played on top of the ju-ichi rhythm is o-uchi. The o-uchi is essentially the phrasing of the combinations of rhythms, like the ju-ichi for instance. This phrasing is considered to be more natural when counted in eight beats than the traditional four that we’re used to. This also allows the Taiko players to syncopate their sticking to do more interesting things within these rhythms as well.

The last element of many Taiko performances is the kakegoe. The kakegoe is simply a verbal shout that takes place at a precise time during the performance. In the martial arts realm, they use a similar style shout called a ki-ai. However, there is a great difference between the kakegoe and the ki-ai. The ki-ai is more of a spontaneous action, where the kakegoe is placed in a specific place and time. It is typically used to mark a change in the beat or tempo, and can be used for a variety of other transitions. Another common placement of the kakegoe is the call and response method that is used in countless other music and cultures.

Even from its early beginnings on the battlefields of Japan, Taiko has always been a powerful dynamic of the Japanese culture. Now that Taiko has made it across the oceans to places all over the world, audiences can see the dedication and depth the performers provide on the stage.

Uses of the taiko in warfare

In feudal Japan, taiko were often used to motivate troops, to help set a marching pace, and to call out orders or announcements. Approaching or entering a battle, the taiko yaku (drummer) was responsible for setting the marching pace, usually with six paces per beat of the drum (beat-2-3-4-5-6, beat-2-3-4-5-6).

According to one of the historical chronicles (the Gunji Yoshu), nine sets of five beats would summon an ally to battle, while nine sets of three beats, sped up three or four times is the call to advance and pursue an enemy.

Related terms

Bachi

the wooden sticks used to play taiko drums. (See separate entry for additional details.) ; Ji : also called Jiuchi, is a basic rhythm used to support the main rhythm, or the O-uchi. It can also be described as the meter or feel of a piece (being in a straight duple meter or having a swing feel). Some of the more common rhythms for ji are don doko, don ko, or don go (swing pattern). A Jikata is a performer who plays the ji rhythm. ; Kizami : straight simple meter. ; Ukare : "swung" compound meter. ; Ma : a Japanese term that can mean "interval" or "space" (i.e., 'a' tto iu ma; the space it takes to say 'a'; compare to the English saying "in the blink of an eye"). It is used in music to describe a period of silence. In taiko music, ma is the period between hits on the drum. It is important to appreciate this silence when playing taiko, just as you would appreciate the sound of a hit on the drum. Since ensemble taiko is focused on rhythm, the ma of a piece is critical to adding drama, excitement, and tension. Ma can be a rhythmic rest, or an extended silence, to be broken at the player's discretion. If the player concentrates on hearing the ma between each hit, in addition to the hits themselves, he or she will create a much more effective and satisfying sound. A good example of how ma is used is in oroshi. ; Oroshi : is characterized by a series of hits on the taiko. The player starts out slowly with lots of ma. Gradually the ma (space) between each hit becomes shorter and shorter, until the drummer is playing a rapid roll of hits.

Bibliography

See Taiko bibliography.

See also

• Music of Japan for some history of taiko.
• Kuchi shoga, a system used to 'pronounce' taiko sounds.
• (aka Taiko no tatsujin) is a drumming game for the PlayStation 2

External links

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