Hawaii Matsuri Taiko and the amazing Mrs K, Someii Taiko, Okinawan musicians and dancers, Riley Lee’s Yatai-bayashi class and of course Kenny Endo- more taiko than I thought possible on a little island!
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rriving in Oahu…
rriving in Oahu…So this morning I was having a leisurely breakfast in the hostel that had started to feel like a home, and a few hours later, I’m sitting in outside the Taiko Centre of the Pacific’s dojo, on a different island. I was thinking how lovely it was to have this network of islands all with taiko connections, as I was sitting by the side of the road in the sunshine, when Kenny Endo walked up the road, smiling. This is someone I had heard about, and been very keen to meet – I was also terrified that I had asked to have one-to-one sessions with him…I was under-qualified for this honour, that’s for sure.
One-to-one with Kenny Endo
Our first session was great…we talked a bit about our schedule and what we wanted to achieve, he demonstrated some Kabuki sounds, we went through some Odaiko basics with me, and even covered some drills to use in personal practice. It was really strange to actually play taiko again after what has seemed a really long time, but I know that in the next 10 days, I’ll be playing plenty…I had better warn my muscles and try to get them out of island/scooter/eating mode. So now I’m watching a family taiko class, to be followed by 2 adult classes, the trainee’s session and topped off with the Ensemble rehearsal. So, there’s plenty of taiko to watch today, and it’s strangely comforting to be here with a lesson going on in the background…I can’t wait for the taiko intensive week to come.
Dancing Obon
A couple of weeks ago, I had never experienced Obon, and now I even recognise a few of the songs and dances. After the temple Obon in Aeia I was talking with one of the women who had taken the role in her community of keeping these dances alive, practising them with others throughout the year so that the tradition can be passed on to others for years to come. Watching her dance was wonderful…every movement so delicate and precise, but full of joy and celebration rather than the energy of a staged performance. The dances are there to be learned and enjoyed by all, whether you know them or not. It’s not long until someone asks you to join in, and as long as you travel in the right direction and don’t tread on anyone, it seems that everyone’s ok with you just doing your best, whatever that is.
Bringing all generations together in this way is something really special; lanterns swinging around in the evening breeze with live music coming from the top of the tower and people around dancing, and if they’re not dancing they seem to be either eating, or talking about the food that seems to be as much a part of the occasion as anything else.
Someii Taiko, and talks about different sensei-styles
I’ve had some great conversations with Shuji, who after playing with Hawaii Matsuri Taiko (his mother’s group), studying with Tosha sensei (I’ve been there just for one session!) and then playing with San Francisco Taiko Dojo, he now runs Someii Taiko from his temple, and is passionate about teaching not only the drumming parts of taiko, but the whole taiko culture, encouraging youngsters to teach as well as play. It’s a system that clearly works well…I had the pleasure of watching the youngest group all the way through the classes to the performing group, which was only the start of a fantastic evening that ended with my first experience of Okinawan song and dance. I was so interested in the music that Shuju showed my up to the top of the tower to watch the musicians at work…as I watched the dancers circle beneath us, I could see similarities to English folk music and dance, and remembered Jonathan talking about his collaborations with folk musicians and Morris dancers – something I am now very keen to look into myself.
Hawaii Matsuri Taiko
Hawaii Matsuri Taiko have been sharing taiko and bon dancing with the public at a festival in Honolulu every Friday and Saturday for 3 weeks. I’m not sure how they do it, with so much energy going into every minute and even finding time for a couple of quick workshops for the audience to have a go at playing themselves. For me, this type of taiko performance is so much what I love about taiko: giving people a really accessible way of joining in and dancing to the sound of the drums, and connecting with people around them. I’m so thankful to Faye Komagata for this experience, and actually asking me to play with them so I could experience it first hand was more than I could have wished for…like so many taiko group leaders and founders, she’s constantly busy, with people wanting to talk to her, organising people and drums, and I’m hoping that we can continue our conversation about how it all started in Hawaii sometime later this week. I know that she has a lot to share, and I’d love to hear more.
Taiko Intensive Week
But the watching and dancing has now handed-over to playing, and it’s now that I’m regretting staying in a hostel with a shower 
rather than a hotel with a bath…Riley Lee’s Chichibu Yatai-bayashi class is full on in a very physical way. He’s a great teacher and I’m looking forward to the next 4 days of his classes, although I must say that a lot of the enjoyment is allowed to show due to the fact that I can see a clock and know that it can’t go on forever and my body will soon be allowed to rest! Taiko Centre of the Pacific is very wise to schedule something very physical followed by something that is challenging on a different plane.
Straight after that, Kenny Endo’s shimedaiko class was mentally exhausting, and I was constantly hovering over the boarder of my brain trying to rationalise and make sense of all the new information, and just having to surrender and just feel it. It’s a fantastic way to learn, and I’m looking forward to seeing if anything has stayed in my brain or body overnight…if it hasn’t I have a feeling I’ll be struggling tonight!
What a beautifully wide spectrum of experiences, and all in a busy city on a little island…I can’t wait to share all these stories with people back at home…it’s as exciting to us that there’s so much taiko going on in Hawaii as it is to people here that there’s taiko going on in the UK.
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