Yokoso

Greetings from the motherland! I arrived in Tokyo three weeks ago for a brief orientation and now I am in Fukuoka prefecture. Time for a serious update.

I am gradually settling into my new job and home. I have been biking to work, which is great exercise. Last week, I attended my first taiko practice! It felt so good to play taiko after a one-month hiatus. Following several correspondences with Mr. Murata, the vice principal of Kurate Minami Junior high school, I was invited to attend Nanryo Daiko’s practice on Wednesday night in Kurate town. Mr. Murata picked me up from my jutaku (apartment) after work and treated me to dinner at Aeon, the huge mall in my town. We decided on a tempura restaurant. It was probably not the best idea to eat a big meal before practice. However, now that I live alone, I happily accept dinner offers. ☺ I’m quickly finding that cooking dinner for one person is taihen (troublesome). During dinner, Mr. Murata told me about the history of Nanryo daiko. Nanryo daiko started as a club at Kurate Minami junior high school that later evolved into a community performance group. The former principal of the school had a passion for taiko and wanted to share it with his students. Mr. Murata is continuing his taiko legacy.

Practice was held in this wooden structure next to the school’s main building. The interior walls were lined with egg cartons presumably to suppress the sound. How resourceful! Along the front wall were full-length mirrors and along the back wall were drums stacked on top of each other. The room was well lit, but rather chilly from the air-conditioning. Mr. Murata introduced me to Kakihara-san, the main instructor at these weekly practices. He was sitting in the adjoining room that appears to function as an office/lounge area. I told him about my taiko background and reasons for coming to Japan. I showed him the bachi I had brought from home and asked if it was okay to use them for practice. He insisted on presenting me with a new pair of bachi (the wood was much lighter) and then asked me if I would be interested in performing in Nanryo daiko’s upcoming concert in November. I had difficulty containing my excitement. I accepted his invitation and bowed to show my gratitude.

Nanryo Daiko is comprised of approximately 50 members. However, Mr. Murata informed me that all 50 members rarely gather together for practice except leading up to a big performance. At this evening’s practice, there were three junior high school students, two young adults, and Kakihara-san. Saihara-sensei, the leader of Nanryo daiko, arrived a little later. After giving a brief jikoshokai (self-introduction) in front of the group, I was asked by Kakihara-san to demonstrate a few rhythms. My face turned red with embarrassment. I didn’t expect to be put on the spot on my first day of practice. “Umm, rhythms?” I repeated. “Yes, please show us some rhythms you know.” I didn’t want to hold up practice, so I quickly positioned myself in front of one of the drums and began to play the rhythm for “Renshu” and then “Oichi Daiko.” I am accustomed to playing on naname dai (diagonally positioned drums) because of the training I received at the Taiko Center of the Pacific, so it felt strange to be playing on a horizontally positioned drum. I stopped abruptly and looked for a sign of approval from Kakihara-san. “Ah, very good! You are better than these guys!” he exclaimed, pointing to the two junior high school boys standing next to me. I’m pretty sure he was exaggerating, but I appreciated his encouragement.

For the next hour and a half, we practiced basic rhythms, alternating between three different speeds. In the middle of practice, we took a brief kyukei (break). What happened next totally caught me by surprise. Saihara-sensei and Kakihara-san sat down on the couch in the lounge and started smoking. I know it is common for Japanese salary men to take cigarette breaks at work, but at taiko practice?!? Really!?! It’s like seeing someone eat a big mac in the middle of an aerobic workout. I need all the lung strength I have to play taiko.

During the last 20 minutes of class, the other girls and I practiced keeping beat on the shimedaiko while the boys practiced the song “Yataibayashi” on the chudaiko. To play “Yataibayashi,” the drummer sits on the ground in a sit-up position with the drum positioned between his legs. The piece looks extremely difficult to play. Saihara-sensei kept shouting at the two junior high school boys to keep their backs straight and to strike the drum firmly. Despite the obvious pain they were experiencing, the boys had no choice but to suck it up and keep going.

Practice ended around 10:30pm. I wanted to keep playing. haha. Mr. Murata drove me home. Even though I had work the next morning, I couldn’t go to sleep for a few hours because taiko beats kept running through my mind. ♥