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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Friday, March 14, 2003

Taiko picking up tempo of a trend

By Wayne Harada
Advertiser Entertainment Writer

 •  International Taiko Festival Concert

With Kenny Endo Taiko Ensemble

7:30 p.m. Saturday

Blaisdell Concert Hall

$19, $29

526-4400, 591-2211

Also featuring: Tao from Kyushu, Stuart Chafetz (timpani, percussion), Fred Lau (woodwinds), Ein Hunter (taiko, percussion, vibraphone), Hiroshi Tanaka (taiko, percussion)

Workshops: 9:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Sunday and 4:30-8 p.m. Tuesday, Kapi'olani Community College Annex. $15-$35. 949-2255

Taiko not only has surged in popularity since Kenny Endo started drumming in 1975, it's become a woman's thing.

"At that time," said Endo, whose name is synonymous with taiko here, "there were only three taiko groups outside of Japan, and they were all in California. Now there are 200 groups between North and South America, and 5,000 in Japan alone. In Hawai'i, there are 15 taiko groups. I would say it's grown quite a bit."

Endo will be part of the Fifth Annual International Taiko Festival Concert and Workshop this weekend at the Blaisdell Concert Hall and on the Kapi'olani Community College campus.

He said taiko continues to flourish because it's cultural, it's participatory, it's good exercise and it's hip. It has appeal for young and old, male and female, the physically skilled as well as the amateur out simply for good fun.

But the surprise: More women than men have discovered the taiko.

"In the U.S., we think that 60 percent of taiko players are women," said Endo. "Even in Japan, the ratio leans toward women and that's about the same in Hawai'i. I'm not sure why. I think it has something to do with the modern woman, who finds traditional arts for women a little refined and elegant, and, consequently, restrictive. A relatively new art form, kumi daiko, or ensemble drumming, is emerging. For women, it's an opportunity of empowerment, playing a drum and getting that edgy drum sound, something you'd think men would normally do."

Taiko has found its way to all kinds of folks.

"At our Taiko School of the Pacific, we have youngsters as young as 3 or 4 and as old as in the 80s," said Endo.

"People want to learn for different reasons — the cultural aspect is the largest," he said.

"But it's also a great form of exercise, a stress reliever, a form of musical art, and, surprisingly, a lot of people are getting into it because of the dance."

Taiko artistry is choreographed like a dance; it's not merely hitting on the drums. If you've got rhythm and precision and show some agility, you're halfway there.

Folks like the participation factor because it's a form of socializing.

Still, taiko drumming — unlike, say, 'ukulele-strumming, another popular musical and recreational instrument — requires a bit of physical strength and somewhat deep pockets.

"A medium-size taiko drum, a good one carved from one piece of wood in Japan, could cost between $500 and $5,000," Endo said.

Less-expensive models, commonly made from barrels, still cost $300 to $1,000.

While a smaller taiko, a hand drum called tsuzumi, will fit in the family sedan, a gargantuan number, often six feet in diameter, requires a truck or large SUV to haul it from one gig to another.

Endo has collected at least 20 taiko over the years, some of them stored in Los Angeles, so he doesn't have to be burdened with shipping costs. Of course, his are made in Japan — though his dojo, or school, uses barrel-originated instruments.

For Saturday's concert, Endo is collaborating with Tao, a group from Kyushu, to demonstrate the skills of an evolving ensemble. On one number, Endo will play the tsuzumi, customarily used in kabuki theater, with Tao handling the six-foot giant.

The Endo ensemble also will showcase traditional taiko pieces, with contemporary additives — vibraphone, African drum, Western flute. "And I have a guest, the head timpanist from the Honolulu Symphony, Stuart Chafetz," he said. The timpani-taiko duet "Symmetrical Soundscapes," a composition by Endo, strives for mirror imagery through sound.