Thoughts on the Art of Taiko
Koji Nakamura

I have been playing taiko seriously for close to 20 years. My involvement started when Shinji Shumeikai's second president, Mikotosama, sent me to study and perform with the legendary taiko group, Ondekoza, in 1982. My commitment to taiko is sustained by the recognition that every aspect of the art, the running and physical training, the hours of practice, rehearsals and performances are all done in the service of God.

At first, our group started with just three drummers, three drums, and a scant two musical compositions. We believe that Meishusama is always watching over us and that he guided our efforts through our meager beginnings. I believe that it was his guidance during those hard early years that brought us to where we are now. Today, the Ensemble has 10 members at Misono, 300 students, 30 drums (among them two o-daiko ), and a repertoire of over 15 compositions. Through the years, God has sent us many challenges, but step by step, He also led us to our first public performances and recognition.

We started making music in Misono and gradually began to perform in nearby cities, such as Kyoto. Since 1996, we have been performing overseas in such cities as New York, Los Angeles, Cape Town, and Hong Kong and in 1999 we had our first national tour of Japan. In 2000, we had the great privilege of playing taiko in front of religious and spiritual leaders from around the world at the United Nations headquarters in New York City. All of these performances are treasures that I will keep in my heart for the rest of my life.

No matter how brilliant taiko might look on stage, that brilliance is backed up with nothing other than down-to-earth work. There is no other way to perfect one's performance style than the long accumulation of hours of hard practice and training.

After nearly two decades, I can honestly say that God watches over all our efforts. Besides His help, I have received cherished guidance from some great teachers during my career. First, I was shown my life's direction by Mikotosama, who saw our endeavor as a global mission carried out with a drumbeat. From Tagayasu (Den of Ondekoza Taiko) I learned that running, proper attitude, and, above all, character, is very important. Meisho Tosha, under whom we have trained since 1989, taught me how sophisticated taiko could become through the evolution of its artistic character. Perhaps the person we owe the most to is Toshiro Ishida, who was the first taiko artist to perform at Shinji Shumeikai's Sampais. From him we learned that one must overcome oneself and that every aspect of a person's life is important. As he would often tell us, "Taiko is a service to God."

Taiko directly reflects the player's mind in both sound and attitude. No matter what form art takes, there cannot be any eminent works of art without an elevated sense of spirituality on the part of the artist. It is obvious that there is no way to improve ones Taiko skills except through an accumulation of humble efforts and hard training. But before all that, it is most important for one to learn how to live ones life as a human being. For me, I learn about life by approaching taiko in the company of young players.

There are many people today who want to make their mark on the world by being taiko artists. I hope that more and more people will come to know in their hearts that they can serve God and mankind through taiko and that by playing taiko they can feel the presence of God.

For me, I try to make taiko a way of deeply feeling God.