太鼓

The instruments

Japanese drums are usually sorted by how the heads are fixed. In the byō-uchi-daiko the heads are tacked to the body. The best known is the nagadō-daiko, or miya-daiko, a barrel-shaped drum traditionally carved from a single trunk of zelkova (keyaki) and left to dry for years. It comes in sizes from the small ko-daiko through the chū-daiko, which often carries the main rhythm, to the great ō-daiko, which keeps the steady pulse. In the shime-daiko the heads are laced with rope, or today often with bolts, and the tighter the tension the higher the pitch. The okedō has a lighter body of vertical staves, and the hourglass tsuzumi belongs to the same rope-tensioned family. Heads are usually cowhide.

Drums for gods, temples and festivals

A clay haniwa figure of a drummer shows that drums were played in Japan by the sixth century. Where they first came from is unclear, though Chinese and Korean influence is widely suggested. Over the centuries taiko signalled troops in battle, accompanied the noh, kabuki and gagaku theatres, and sounded at festivals and Bon dances.

Drums are common in Shinto kagura and in the festival music of matsuri bayashi. In Buddhist temples they accompany chanting: the Nichiren schools beat the fan-shaped uchiwa-daiko, and Shingon temples use drums during sutra recitation, a world gathered on the Buddhist chant page.

A short history of ensemble taiko

Kumi-daiko is usually credited to Daihachi Oguchi, who in 1951 began arranging drums of different sizes for a single group, Osuwa Daiko. This moved taiko from ritual to the concert stage. Ondekoza, founded on Sado Island, made rigorous training part of the art, and some of its members went on to form Kodo in 1981. Players pay close attention to kata, posture and movement, and use shouts called kiai to encourage each other and signal changes.

The form also spread abroad. Seiichi Tanaka founded San Francisco Taiko Dojo in 1968, and by the mid-2000s there were about two hundred groups in the United States alone.

Start with

For the ensemble style, try Tampa Taiko's Enrai (Distant Thunder) or their Ōdaiko, both from 2012, and Uzume Taiko Ensemble's Tsu Don. For drums in their older settings, listen to the prayer drums at the Mount Tsukuba shrine or drumming and chanting at Zenkō-ji. More is gathered in the collection Taiko near and far.

Questions

What is a taiko drum?

Taiko is the Japanese word for drum. It names a family of drums with wooden bodies and skin heads, from the large barrel-shaped nagadō-daiko to the small rope-tensioned shime-daiko, played with wooden sticks called bachi.

When did taiko ensemble drumming begin?

Ensemble taiko, or kumi-daiko, is usually dated to 1951, when Daihachi Oguchi began arranging drums of different sizes for his group Osuwa Daiko. Groups such as Ondekoza and Kodo later spread the form internationally.

What are taiko drums made of?

The traditional nagadō-daiko body is carved from a single trunk of zelkova, and the heads are usually cowhide. Shime-daiko heads are laced with rope or bolts, and okedō drums have bodies built from staves.

Where are taiko played in Japan?

Taiko are played at Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples, in festival music, in noh, kabuki and gagaku, and in concert by ensemble taiko groups.