At a Kodo performance, watch for these elements

For more than 40 years, the Japanese troupe Kodo has circled the globe, giving more than 7,000 thundering concerts on five continents as it performs on taiko drums and other traditional instruments while executing fantastic physical feats. When Kodo returns for an SCP Special Concert on Feb. 23, be sure to watch for these elements:

A “leg-day” piece with rhythms from a Pacific island

Miyake is a powerful piece in which drummers maintain a low, squat stance as they beat a horizontal drum with immense power. This style of drumming originated at a regional festival on Miyake Island, located 180 kilometers south of Tokyo. Kodo members learned this style of taiko on Miyake Island in the early 1980s and arranged it for the stage. It eventually became one of Kodo’s signature pieces and a crowd favorite. Kodo trainees practice this piece before joining the group as part of their work at the Kodo Apprentice Center, building up the stamina and lower body muscles required to play it. It’s leg day when Kodo members play Miyake. You’ll see why.

Taiko and a wide range of emotions
Performed throughout Japan in various forms, niwaka is a traditional folk art where people present improvised skits filled with satire and wit. Kodo’s new piece Niwaka draws inspiration from that artform to create a banter-like performance with two men and two women, demonstrating a comical and nimble form of taiko expression. It’s a taiko piece and a theatrical interlude all rolled into one.

A jam session with Caribbean percussion

More than just Japanese instruments are used in a Kodo performance. In Hae, which means “southern wind,” Kodo performers play taiko drums and Japanese harp along with steelpans. This piece features a three-beat rhythm and the unique melodic scale born in Okinawa, the southernmost part of the Japanese archipelago. Hae was created after Kodo members traveled to Okinawa to learn songs and dances. This piece brings the excitement of improv to the Kodo stage, something rare for the ensemble. It promises to conjure up a summer breeze every time.

Uminari, a big ensemble piece, features the whole cast. It’s a challenging number that includes faint rhythms between the regular notes — something that be can’t fully captured in Western musical notation. Traditionally, Japanese folk music is handed down orally. Throughout Japan, people speak with distinct regional accents, so when they speak of taiko rhythms, their accent adds a distinct regional flavor to the music. Uminari takes its inspiration from taiko played at Japanese festivals and uses those delicate accent-influenced rhythms to drive this dynamic piece.

An effort to preserve one of Sado Island’s disappearing folk arts Onidaiko — a demon deity dance set to the beat of taiko — is the most famous performing art on Sado Island, where Kodo is based. It is performed in villages across the island in spring and autumn as part of planting and harvest festivals. Today there are about 120 distinct types of onidaiko, differing from village to village. The piece Okoshi features a style of onidaiko from a village where it is no longer performed due to declining population. After noticing the few remaining locals waiting for onidaiko to be forgotten, Kodo was moved to help onidaiko live on by capturing its essence within a performance piece.

A rare moment when a Kodo performer addresses the audience
On Sado Island, onidaiko is performed as a prayer for abundant crops and good health. Before the demon deity dance begins, one performer greets the audience and offers a prayer for the happiness of everyone gathered around for the festivities. By bringing this to the stage, Kodo hopes audience members will feel the excitement this oration creates at local festivals on Sado, as people wait for the music and dancing to begin. May this greeting and performance bring happiness and good health in the New Year!

The only taiko drum that can be tuned differently on either side
Dokuso means “solo performance.” This piece is played on a drum called kanade, which was co-developed by master taiko maker Asano Taiko and Kodo. It’s the only taiko in the world that lets a performer tune the drumhead on either side to a different tone, thanks to the metal fasteners that keep the ropes at distinct tensions on either side. Experience a unique taiko solo where the drummer shows the broad expressive range that can be explored with two sticks, two tones and myriad rhythms.

Inochi, a life-affirming piece originally created for taiko and orchestra

The recent global pandemic curtailed Kodo’s touring and forced the ensemble to spend months at its base on Sado Island. Unable to perform, Kodo members had a rare opportunity to re-evaluate their activities and way of life. It was a time for studying, reflection and creation at Kodo Village. One of the fruits of that period was Inochi, meaning “life force,” a work composed by one of Kodo’s members for taiko and orchestra with six movements. It premiered in 2021 at a commemorative concert with Tokyo Symphony Orchestra to mark Kodo’s 40th anniversary. 

An ab workout and drum solo all in one
Every winter in Chichibu, Saitama Prefecture, an all-night festival features richly decorated two-tiered yatai (carts) that large groups of locals pull along city streets. The people hauling the yatai are kept in time and urged on by the powerful beating of the taiko, concealed in the cramped first level of the carts. This gave rise to a technique of drumming while seated. If someone is in a cart, there’s a limit to how much that person can move one’s torso and extend one’s arms, but on stage, there is plenty of space to give a full-throttle performance. You’ll see the performers getting a great ab-and-cardio workout as they drum, showing just how much motion is possible when seated.