Thoughts on the Art of Taiko
Takeru Akakawa

To tell the truth, I became a taiko student on the advice of a good friend. However, after becoming a student, I found that my other duties did not allow enough time to devote to taiko. Therefore, I seriously was thinking of quitting taiko. But, another friend and fellow taiko student in the same situation told me how very happy he was to be part of the taiko group. The running and practice was so much fun. Looking at his shining face, I realized how narrow-minded I was and realized the importance of taiko as a divine calling. I recalled Mr. Ishida's [Ethos and History page] lectures and his words "Work hard with the spirit of taiko students". These words affected me very much and I came to realize from the bottom of my heart that my playing was a duty given to me by God. I learned that the hard, unseen "mound of constant efforts" would one day become my true strength. So, I trained hard by shaking taiko sticks and long distance running. Taiko became more attractive to me and I came to think of taiko first. While this was happening, my other duties that had conflicted with the time I spent practicing taiko became easier to perform and all went smoothly.

One day, while running I felt something weighing on my mind. I turned back a few meters and touched the earth, and there I found a small piece of gold. About five centimeters next to it was another and there was a third piece next to the second. The words of our elders flew swiftly through my head and the phrase "a mound of constant efforts" came to mind. After that, when I reached 100 kilometers, 200 kilometers in total running distance, a beautiful piece of gold or a diamond was waiting for me each time.

I think of them as signs of encouragement from God. Before I started taiko, I did not truly believe in God but afterwards came to feel His existence.

As I look at the current taiko students, I think that the most important thing for the Shumei Taiko is to grow in faith through our taiko practice. And, to do this one must master the technical aspects of the art. Yet many taiko groups just strive to improve their technique alone. But, for those of us in Shumei, it is important to accumulate our unseen efforts by keeping our sights on God.

When I first joined the Ensemble, I threw myself into learning the technique. Up to a point, all us students needed was to do exactly what we were told by the older members. But, after a point, that stops. Now, as a mature player who practices with younger members, I see just how vulnerable we all are. As the years pass I gain more flexibility. These days, I find that it is important to reach out to people outside the world of taiko and I find that I care more about the group's younger members and students.

For the present, I would like to master some more flute tunes and play the o-daiko. My goal is to find direction while holding firm in my beliefs.

To tell the truth, I became a taiko student on the advice of a good friend. However, after becoming a student, I found that my other duties did not allow enough time to devote to taiko. Therefore, I seriously was thinking of quitting taiko. But, another friend and fellow taiko student in the same situation told me how very happy he was to be part of the taiko group. The running and practice was so much fun. Looking at his shining face, I realized how narrow-minded I was and realized the importance of taiko as a divine calling. I recalled Mr. Ishida's [Ethos and History page] lectures and his words "Work hard with the spirit of taiko students". These words affected me very much and I came to realize from the bottom of my heart that my playing was a duty given to me by God. I learned that the hard, unseen "mound of constant efforts" would one day become my true strength. So, I trained hard by shaking taiko sticks and long distance running. Taiko became more attractive to me and I came to think of taiko first. While this was happening, my other duties that had conflicted with the time I spent practicing taiko became easier to perform and all went smoothly.

One day, while running I felt something weighing on my mind. I turned back a few meters and touched the earth, and there I found a small piece of gold. About five centimeters next to it was another and there was a third piece next to the second. The words of our elders flew swiftly through my head and the phrase "a mound of constant efforts" came to mind. After that, when I reached 100 kilometers, 200 kilometers in total running distance, a beautiful piece of gold or a diamond was waiting for me each time.

I think of them as signs of encouragement from God. Before I started taiko, I did not truly believe in God but afterwards came to feel His existence.

As I look at the current taiko students, I think that the most important thing for the Shumei Taiko is to grow in faith through our taiko practice. And, to do this one must master the technical aspects of the art. Yet many taiko groups just strive to improve their technique alone. But, for those of us in Shumei, it is important to accumulate our unseen efforts by keeping our sights on God.

When I first joined the Ensemble, I threw myself into learning the technique. Up to a point, all us students needed was to do exactly what we were told by the older members. But, after a point, that stops. Now, as a mature player who practices with younger members, I see just how vulnerable we all are. As the years pass I gain more flexibility. These days, I find that it is important to reach out to people outside the world of taiko and I find that I care more about the group's younger members and students.

For the present, I would like to master some more flute tunes and play the o-daiko. My goal is to find direction while holding firm in my beliefs.