Shawn Bender was part of the first wave of taiko scholars, completing his dissertation in 2003 on tradition and modernity in kumidaiko. Building upon this ground-breaking work, in 2012 he published Taiko Boom: Japanese Drumming in Place and Motion the first – and to date, only – scholastic book in English about taiko performance. An Associate Read More
CORRECTION: This version corrects an earlier version that incorrectly listed Kenny Endo and Kaoru Watanabe among the list of founding personnel for kaDON. Taiko pedagogy entered a new era in 2014 when kaDON was founded by Yoshihiko Miyamoto, Aya Yoshida, and Shoji Kameda. Powered by Miyamoto Unosuke Shoten, kaDON offers classes by celebrated artists like Read More
Asano Taiko has always been a strong supporter of the North American taiko community, and in 2013 that support was taken to the next level when Asano Taiko US opened its doors in Torrance, CA. The facility is also home to Kato Taiko and the Los Angeles Taiko Institute. By hosting workshops, seminars, and special Read More
Just 5 years after they were founded in 2000, TAIKOPROJECT won the adult group division of the 2005 Tokyo International Taiko Contest. They were the first American group to ever win in this competition. After playing the assigned piece “beat Essence” required of all competitors, they performed “Expanding” and “Omiyage.” This feat introduced Japan to Read More
This week, as part of our 20 Years to NATC timeline, we are featuring the East Coast Taiko Conference! The North American Taiko Conference has inspired many regional taiko conferences, including the East Coast Taiko Conference (ECTC). The first ECTC was held in 2011 at Cornell University, hosted by Yamatai. Since then, players from across Read More
This week, our 20 Years to NATC timeline celebrates one of many community gatherings that have been started over the last twenty years. Most recently, the European Taiko Community has come together for ETC, the European Taiko Conference. NATC has inspired performers across the world to hold their own conferences! In 2016, the first European Read More
In August 2013, 52 leaders from across North America gathered at Stanford University to shape and discuss the values and activities of the newly formed Taiko Community Alliance. Over three days, participants discussed how the organization could help support the continued growth of the North American taiko community, as well as laid the foundation for Read More