ANOTHER TAIKO PRACTICE

Last Thursday night, I attended another taiko practice at the university. This time, however, I participated! I must admit that playing taiko is tremendously difficult. The mechanics of the sticking are completely different that of playing Western-style drums: rather than using your wrists and fingers, the taiko stick requires the use of your entire arm. Thus, physically, it is a much more taxing exercise.

Furthermore, so much of what makes taiko drumming so special is syncing the of your motions with the motions of the other players: that is to say, there is an insane amount of coordination among all the players. When you watch the videos, it is apparent that all of the drummers are in perfect unison.

I must admit that after twenty-five minutes of playing I had blisters on my fingers! As difficult as it was, it was a truly awesome experience.

Also, on Thursday afternoon, I went to the Kyoto National Museum to see a special exhibition of the Kano school, traditional Japanese art from the mid-16th Century. Not surprisingly, my favorite painting was entitled, “Emperor Xuanzong Hits a Drum and Makes Flowers Bloom.” Unfortunately, photography was prohibited; you can probably imagine what this painting looked like (the title says it all). In the permanent collection of the museum, there were a several display cases of drums from the 17th and 18th centuries: some of the drums had pretty cool paintings on them, including ones with designs of maple leafs, dragons and clouds.


A view from the university.













Outside the museum.