This is a channel mostly about interactions with the physical word - music shared between players, records of events for future study, little moments of ethnology or autoethnography. I am a taiko player and anthropologist. If you've found these videos on the web, they're often part of a project or group study among people in interaction, so they may lack context. If they are of any use to you, though, I'm happy for that and I always enjoy hearing from people from around the world.
Great video and thanks for sharing. I was actually thinking about tackling this myself. Would you ming sharing where you got the black tacks that you hammered in around the drum?
Thank you! I have used tacks from the taiko manufacturers Miyamoto Unosuke Shoten (look for kaDON for US based affiliate) and from Asano Taiko. The tacks are called “byo” in Japanese if it helps with searching. It’s kind of a folk knowledge among taiko makers in the US that the most expensive part of the drum are actually the tacks. I’ve found this to be generally true in terms of raw cost. However, I think when you take into account treatment and time, the barrel itself may be more expensive. There are “furniture tacks” that people have historically used in the US, too, especially when it was not as easy to get the byo. These can be bought from hardware suppliers. They are often not black but can be painted black. These are sometimes cheaper options, but quality can vary. I’ve used these before, too, and they’ve work well but are often noticeable as a bit off. Best of luck with your project! There is a Facebook group called “Taiko Builders” that are pretty responsive to questions, too.
I was two months old when my family went to Poston AZ so mercifully I was spared the struggles after. The loss of freedom was bad but worse was the loss of property, farms, businesses, and opportunities with young people foregoing an education to work on the farm to help their family. Shikataganai, gaman.
It’s a division where we all play the same piece to be evaluated, though there’s room for interpretation. There’s another division for original compositions, too.
what an auditory and visual treat... I too was there, but to be able to revisit via "playback" makes it even that more memorable Chieko with Ken supporting this performance was pure bliss. Chieko is a Master of these times
Pretty good demo video. There are a few subtleties that could be added. One of the hozonkai's published a handbook for playing Chichi Yatai Bayashi, and it has some great footnotes on the way the rhythms are played in the traditional piece. One of the really difficult and unusual twists is that the Ji Uchi beat (and taiko intro) are not played with even hits. The rhythm is more like "Doro Doko" or "Tere Teke" rather than "Doko Doko" & "Teke Teke." It is pretty tricky to play those parts that way. There are a few other inflections in the rhythms that are interesting when played as they describe in their notes.
Thanks for sharing that information! Yeah, there is a lot of subtlety to the music not captured here, particularly compared to the actual festival music. This video was made a while back for my team, but I really hope anyone wanting to learn will consider the original sources and also what meanings the song has when played outside that context, and how those meanings evolve. I'll keep an eye out for that handbook, and hope others will use more than this resource to learn!
I started playing with Koshio Sensei's group in June and participated in this event, so I've been exposed to the piece and looked at it a bit on RU-vid. The algorithm, just this morning, led me to your video of the song being performed with turkeys. That made me think, "Hey, we just saw Kojima-san in Arizona! That's pretty cool!." Then, RU-vid showed me this video that you appear to have taken at AZ Matsuri. Had I commented on your Turkey video, it would have been redundant because you would have been like, "I know, I was there!" In future performances at this park, I think it would be worth seeing if we can get the Canadian Geese involved somehow.
Oh so crazy to have crossed paths! Looking forward to the Canadian Geese rendition. I really enjoyed the Koshio Gumi performances. I hope you keep enjoying taiko! Thanks for saying hi!
Great explanation and tutorial! Thank you!! They had this dance this year at the festival and it looked like fun! I can practice now and hope to join in next year!
This is a Kohala KP-C Concert Ukulele. It's a relatively inexpensive model using a geared tuner, which works great. It's probably below a professional tier, but works for me! If you're going to perform live, though, maybe consider one with a pickup - borrowed one for a set last weekend and that was fun!
thank you for sharing your experience and traditions and specially all imperfections at the end of the video, i have a barrel sitting in back yard for over a year and was hesitant to start the process , it is going to be my first attempt and lack of confidence just prevented me from doing anything other than collecting tools and parts... i think i am ready to start having seen all imperfections that are still making for perfectly playable drums, Thank you.
I'm glad you found it useful - even if just to see that you don't need to be perfect to make something of value. Good luck with your first drum! I hope you find it rewarding and that the sound of the drum will make many people happy!
I appreciate the share of such instructive information as well as the way (point of view) this video has been shot (i would personally had lowered a bit more my camera to the drum)! Many Thanks !🙏 Greetings from Algeria 🇩🇿
Thanks for that feedback for the greetings! Love and peace to our friends worldwide! I’m about to teach this again, so that is helpful to me. Thanks so much!
Ei Ja Nai Ka (ええじゃないか) means "isn't it good?" I guess the "Ei" might be "ee" but it's kind of a regionalization of "Ii," I think. So "good." As a musical phrase, "eijanaika" references lyrics from Awa Odori, which in the full context is kind of like "So why not dance?" Eijanaika references a historical folk dance movement around the transition from the Edo to Meiji periods, in which working-class (farming class) populations had large and wild celebrations, despite resistance from the upper class. Contextually, in this song, I think it carries both a bit of joyful celebration and resistance/persistence connotations.
@@gregory_wada Gregory, thank you so much for details! So interesting. That will add even more charm to the song/dance whenever I see it performed, thanks to your explanation! You are very knowlegable, it's so cool. (How did you learn all that additional knowledge? Just through your taiko groups and senseis? Or did you study things by yourself? Like taiko history, songs roots, etc) PS: I also watched your video on composing in Garageband. Your piece is very nice! Some parts reminded me the 'vibe' of some Kodo songs, another part - something from African rhythms. It was interesting to experience that feeling. The world music is intertwined, I think, which is amazing :) /Natalie
@@JulyTotoro I've been going to San Jose Obon for about ten years now, which really let the song sink in over time. San Jose Taiko and the Betsuin bring out collegiate taiko teams every year, which I think is so great for bringing young players into these meaningful community spaces. I have had the privilege of learning from PJ and San Jose Taiko over the years, too. I took a deeper dive into this song and Bon music through personal study as part of protest work we did with Tsuru for Solidarity in 2020 - kind of following a vein of moving in community as a way to build solidarity and celebrate Asian American joy and belonging. My academic background is in Anthropology, and I'm interested in Ethnomusicology, as well. So kind of just the intersection of art, study, and life. Thank you for your interest! This video was initially for other participants at a protest we did, but I'm glad it has reached other audiences. I do want to uplift PJ as the author (and Yoko Fujimoto as the lyricist), though! I am indebted to them!
@@gregory_wada Gregory, I see! It makes sense. It's amazing how everything has connected in your life! It's great. I love how enriched the taiko community environment is in the U.S. I hear you - I also have and had great teachers, very grateful to them for skills and knowledge that I've learnt thanks to them. I share your feeling of appreciation and gratitude. Thank you again for making this video and for all the details! It's interesting and I already learned something new :) I found you through the Taiyo's Odaiko fundraiser. I'm glad I went to have a look. Maybe I need to say thank-you to Taiyo too :) Thank you! Maybe we will meet one day. It will be a pleasure to talk to you. Ethnomusicology sounds interesting! I will google more on it. I feel it might have something that I wanted to learn more about but just didn't know how that thing is called :) Thank you! :) / Natalie
@@JulyTotoro Haha, Taiyo and I played in college together, and we were roommates for a while. Yeah, likewise, it was nice to meet you. Thank you for saying hello from Australia. Wishing you the best on your journey, and hopefully we’ll cross paths again.
@@queserasera3 not that I am aware of~ We’re the Wada from Orange County Buddhist Church. Thanks for asking. I really love the San Jose community, but I’m not originally from NorCal. Love it, though!
Not sure why anyone would give a thumbs down. This is one of the clearest and easiest to follow instructions of Ei Ja Nai Ka I have seen. Great job and thank you!
Oh, thank you very much! I hope it was helpful. I think since our event, I've had better insights on the modifications for mobility, too. So always room to improve. I hope you continue to enjoy Obon dancing, and thank you for your comment!
