ASANO TAIKO: THE TEXT

Moshimoshi everyone. Today, I had the unique privilege of touring the Asano Taiko factory in Hakusan, in the Ishikawa Prefecture. This morning began at 8:30 when Professor Takagi, her husband (Noda Satoru), and their three-year-old son picked me up in Kyoto and took the three-hour trip to Hakusan. (Side note: Mr. Noda is a member of Shien; if you look at the photographs from the performance of October 22nd, he is the one on the left). It goes without saying that Professor Takagi and her husband went well out of the way to assist my research; although, she did need to bring a drum of her own to the factory for repair. I cannot reiterate how grateful I am for all of their help: they (and everyone at the University of Kyoto, for that matter) have created so many special research opportunities and otherwise wonderful life-experiences throughout my time in Japan.

Before I go in the details of my experiences at Asano Taiko, I would like to give you all some more background information on the company. As I have written in former posts, Asano Taiko is the crème de la crème of Japanese percussion. The company was founded in 1609 by a drum crafted named Saemongoro, who had been commissioned to produce drums for the local prince - think about how long that was; that predates the Declaration of Independence by 167 years!

For the past 398 years, Asano Taiko has been pasted down generation to generation, father to eldest son. In fact, many of the administrators, directors, and coordinators are related to Saemongro, making Asano Taiko truly a family business. Although it is a family business, it is not some small “mom-and-pop” company: the Asano Taiko complex is three main buildings: a museum (with office rooms), the shop (with practice rooms), and, of course, the factory itself. There are also five warehouses for storage, a few blocks from the main complex.

In their brochure (which, is more like a magazine, as it is almost thirty pages!), the company emphasizes the sacred essences of using only natural materials in the drums: if a taiko is made from synthetic materials, something is lost. Thus, the spirit of nature is in the sound of each drum: “Gripping the earth with their powerful roots, trees receive all the bounty and energy of nature as they grow, and then pour their spirit into that beautiful and powerful sound. That sound then becomes an eternal capable of reaching the deepest parts of all us.”

The brochure also has several pages on how they “bring the materials to life,” including the process of the selection of the woods used for the shell and prepping the leather for the heads. The brochure reads, “Throughout the generations, the sound of the taiko has been the thread that connects the hearts and skill of Asano Craftsmen with that of the performers to the present day. By loving the spirit of trees, and by communicating with the wood, Asano Taiko has continued to spin that thread.”

We arrived in Hakusan just before noon. We were greeted by the head executive of Asano Taiko, Yasuo Asano. Unfortunately, Yasuo did not speak English; however, fortunately, Professor Tagaki was able to translate for me. First, we ate lunch – a traditional sashmi bento box with miso soup and fresh fruit. After talking with Yasuo (I would write, “Mr. Asano,” but that would just get too confusing, I feel), I meet Sumiyo Asano, the rental coordinator of Asano Taiko. She is a cousin of Yasuo, and is in her mid-twenties: she studied at Michigan University, and was fluent in English, which was a tremendous help.

After lunch, Sumiyo took me to the Taiko Crossroad Museum, which had an array of Japanese percussion instruments, and an internationally collection as well, mostly from Indonesia, India and various African countries. One display had Japanese drums used in Buddhist and Shinto rituals; my favorite of which was the gaku-daiko (I will post a picture labeling it). Of course, there were two massive taiko drums, called odaiko: I was able to play both of them! Also of interest, there was a neat collection of drums and crafting tools from the olden days.

After the museum, Sumiyo took me to the factory. The factory had absolutely everything in it, from power sanders to the lacquer stations to the painters…well everything you would need to make a drum if you only had a tree trunk! One of the drums that there were working on was almost seven feet in diameter and, top to bottom, was probably about ten feet tall!

Everything was really interesting to learn about, but I really enjoyed learning about how the heads are made. After the leather is cured, it is stretched for twelve hours on each side, and then applied onto the shell. When I asked Sumiyo about how the pitch of each drums is perfected, she told me that it is first done by ear, but also there is a special computer that reads the pitch and determines if it is perfect or not. A pretty cool marriage of tradition and technology, indeed.

Taiko is a complex genre of music because it is used in both religious and non-religious settings. For the most part, taiko is a cultural art; not necessarily performed as a “religious” endeavor. Yet, taiko drums are used in Buddhist and Shinto rituals and ceremonies. I had always assumed that the same drum would be used in a religious or non-religious performances, but I learned that taiko drums used in the temples are almost always painted. The temple will provide a specific pattern and color sequence; only blue, red, yellow, white and black are used. Also, gold leaf is often used to wrap the drum, which makes the drums that much more beautiful.

(I would like to clarify something I should have said a long time ago: in Japanese, “taiko” means drum, so when I use the phrase “taiko drum,” it is redundant; but, I do think it makes writing about the field of taiko a little bit less confusing).

After I turned the factory with Sumiyo Asano, Yasuo Asano (the head executive) showed me the five storage warehouses, which was actually really fascinating. Three of the warehouses had countless taiko shells in every size imaginable. The last two warehouses were, by far, the most interesting: one had an absolutely massive tank to chemically dry the timber used for the drums. Yasuo then showed me the last warehouse: it was a smoke room, to dry the wood naturally. He asserted that smoking the wood is “much better” than using the timber-dryer. According to the brochure, “Asano Taiko naturally dries the rough carved bodies from 3 to 5 years under close supervision in a moisture controlled environment.”

I debated purchasing a drum from Asano Taiko, but it actually turns out that every order is completely custom, and there is a one to two month minimum wait anyway. As these are the finest taiko drums in Japan, they are very, very expensive; but, the precision in the craftsmanship is worth every penny. Undoubtedly, Asano Taiko has mastered the art of drum crafting.