By: Allison Ballard, Fort Wayne Taiko Founder/Director
The mountains, the rivers, the fields, the gentle generosity of the Japanese people…my memory is etched with images from Fort Wayne Taiko’s trip to Japan during summer 2013. Four drummers left June 22 and returned July 15. While there, we visited Kyoto, Matsuyama and Hiroshima. In Kyoto, we visited the Taiko Center; we have ordered instruments and drum sticks from Taiko Center’s online store and were excited to see their inventory firsthand! We also enjoyed our first Japanese curry, shrines and temples, a Zen rock garden, a tea ceremony, a flea market, the geisha district, and our first exposure to cab drivers wearing white gloves!
From Kyoto, we traveled to Matsuyama where we met our teacher/guide Esther Vandecar who spent seven years living and studying taiko in Japan and now teaches taiko in Kalamazoo, Michigan. In Matsuyama, we lived communally in a guesthouse, shopped for tabi boots that would fit our American feet (!), visited the local castle, ate udon and ramen noodles and studied fue (Japanese flute) as well as taiko. We performed at a school, a university, and a community outdoor stage and took a weekend trip to Nomura-cho where we performed at a Sumo museum as part of an event that featured three other taiko groups from that area.
We then continued on to Hiroshima where we studied taiko with Munakata Sensei. We stayed with Sumiko, who lives on a mountain outside of Hiroshima. Each day we studied taiko and fue, learning the traditional taiko music of Hiroshima. Many nights we traveled into the city proper where we showed Munakata Sensei what we’d learned and played with other members of the dojo. We also saw the A-Bomb Dome and Peace Park Museum, visited Miyajime Shrime, ate okonomiyaki (famous Hiroshima pancakes), saw amazing butoh and taiko performances and visited the Asano Taiko showroom.
Throughout our trip, we were immersed in music and culture as we developed relationships with Japanese people and taiko communities. These experiences have forever changed our perspective of ourselves, each other and our music.
Ohayōgozaimasu…domo arigato!