San Jose Taiko, a renowned ensemble with a 52-year history, will perform at the Comstock Community Auditorium on Tuesday, Mar 25th, at 7 PM as part of the Connecting Chords Music Festival. Cara Lieurance speaks with executive director Wisa Uemura about the tour and the history of the group.
San Jose Taiko, founded in 1973, is a contemporary taiko ensemble and one of the first established in the U.S. "We do consider ourselves a contemporary Taiko ensemble in that we do write our own music," Uemura stated. "We take inspiration from traditional Japanese Taiko and Japanese music, but then we also infuse it with the musical influences that we have as Americans here."
The ensemble incorporates various melodic instruments, including the bamboo flute (shinobue or taque bue), bells, and gongs with pitch and tone. However, the primary instruments are the Nagado Daiko, drums with cowhide stretched over a wooden body.
The ensemble's origins are deeply rooted in the Japanese American community and the experiences of the internment camps during World War II. "So the individuals who were put into the camps were primarily Ise and Nise [first and second generation Japanese Americans]," Uemura explained. "When they came out of those camps, the way it has been explained to me is that many of them felt shame about it and didn't want that to ever happen again. So what they did was hide the experience." The third generation, curious about their history and Japanese culture, began exploring their lost traditions through Taiko, among other things.
The ensemble's performance style is characterized by its energy, choreography, and a joyful approach to the art form. "We wanted to express that it's okay one to show emotion, to show joy and to be loud and proud of our cultural heritage," Uemura said.
Transporting the huge drums is a significant undertaking. "Over our 52-year history, we have designed some stands and equipment in a way that works for our program," Uemura said. "We hire a driver or we ship our equipment from San Jose to the first destination of our tour. From there, we fly in the performers and the lighting director, and we rent cars, passenger cars, as well as a box truck or van, and then we'll move our equipment from tour venue to tour venue until the last stop, and then we'll ship it back."
Tickets for the San Jose Taiko performance are available through the Connecting Chords website.
