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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, March 15, 2002

Balance helps taiko group thrive

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Editor

You might say that the members of Amanojaku, a taiko group from Japan, move to a different drumbeat: their own.

"In Japan, there is a saying that someone who doesn't listen to what other people say is an 'amanojaku,' " said Yoichi Watanabe, leader of the percussion ensemble. "For us, it is not a matter of not listening to what others say, but rather to pursue our own beliefs without being swayed by other people's opinions. We named our group Amanojaku to pursue the sound (taiko music) that we believe in."

Watanabe is here with two male colleagues, Naohito Watanabe and Makoto Baba; and three women, Mayumi Kawana, Hiromi Ogawa and Harumi Wakui. They will join Kenny Endo's Taiko Ensemble and the Portland Taiko Ensemble to perform Saturday at the Hawai'i International Taiko Festival at the Blaisdell Concert Hall.

Amanojaku was formed in December 1986 as a means to continue the Japanese taiko tradition but also "to pursue the ideal sound of the taiko in both traditional and creative taiko drumming," Ogawa said.

Women have emerged as taiko artists. "But a long time ago, it was unthinkable for women to play taiko," Ogawa said through interpreters.

Typically, Amanojaku gives five performances a month, Kawana said.

And playing taiko is all about expression and feelings, Yoichi Watanabe said. "In order to become a good taiko drummer, one must come to love the taiko and continue (playing) it."

It may be deceptive to think you just strike the drum. "We weight-train each individual muscle. We try to balance the whole body," Ogawa said, with emphasis on balancing the legs and hips and shoulder and arms.

The unusual sound is what grabs people, Watanabe said. "People like the vibration, too. In Japan, taiko sounds are said to shake up the spirit. People feel the breath of their life from the sound of the taiko. And people are affected by the visual beauty of a taiko performance."

Taiko requires special skins ("Japanese black-haired cows, which are 3 years old," Kawana said), with the body (wood) derived from a variety of sources, including zekova and cedar. Drums are vulnerable to moisture, which affect sound and tone, Ogawa said. "The only drum which we adjust is the shime daiko, a rope-lashed drum," she said.

How should one approach a taiko performance?

"More than listening with just your ears, we would like people to enjoy the performance with their whole body," Watanabe said. "And we want people to become empowered from the energy which we put out in our performance."

Chizuko Endo, Lynn Saito and Hiroshi Tanaka helped translate for this interview.