By Kai Curry
NORTHWEST ASIAN WEEKLY
“Look at all these people on a Monday night!” exclaimed an audience member as the public filed into Benaroya Hall on April 22 to watch Japanese performers, Drum TAO, complete their 2024 North American Tour. The 30th anniversary of the group was last year, and the Seattle concert was the last of a worldwide schedule. The highlight was the famous Taiko drums and equally impressive drumming skills of the group members; yet, really, Drum TAO is a percussion band that also uses multiple traditional Japanese instruments—with a twist. Seattle could not get enough.
Think of Cirque du Soleil combined with the Japanese samurai tradition and a techno marching band. The founder of Drum TAO, Ikuo Fujitaka, who is sole director of the show and CEO of the company, was inspired by Cirque du Soleil’s “Mystère.”
“He has been creating the show by means of Japanese traditional instruments, aiming for a brand new show such as Cirque du Soleil,” performer and company manager Taro Harasaki told the Asian Weekly. “When he started Drum TAO, he gathered some people who wanted to go along with him.”
For the most part, Drum TAO writes its own music.
“We compose the songs, being inspired by the great nature surrounding our base in Japan [and] the beautiful scenery we come across and experience through the world and Japan tours,” said Harasaki. The songs are haunting, driving, accompanied by masterfully synchronized dancing and faux sword play. Most are performed by several men and two women.
“We perform one number written by someone else. It’s called ‘The Moon Over the Ruined Castle’ (‘Kōjō no Tsuki’),” said Harasaki. “Almost all Japanese know this song, written by Rentaro Taki, one of the most famous Japanese pianists and composers. He composed it, being inspired by the ruined castle which exists in our hometown.”
Performers dress in what I found to be a very fluid in gender goth samurai punk look, with shiny metal sleeves to mimic armor, which they remove to reveal black banded chest pieces, and then remove again to show off their impeccable muscles (especially when doing seated crunches in front of the smaller sized Taiko drums, while the two lute players comically compel them to hold their poses midway between sitting and lying down)—impressive! The female performers wore variations of black skirted outfits and mostly played Japanese flute—although one was very prominent on the large Taiko drum, giving her all in an impressive show of strength and verve.
The first half is cooler in tone, while the second half heats up with red color. After intermission, the performers are more exuberant in encouraging audience members to clap and sing along. Drum TAO knows how to keep the energy and interest flowing. Standing ovations and encores were the final result, with the group encouraging everyone to follow them on social media.
“2023 was the 30th anniversary of the founding of Drum TAO. We created a special production, celebrating it last year, and we have brought it to this tour,” explained Harasaki. “Specifically we put some new arrangements into the past numbers and modernized them, like re-mixed versions, night club music versions, and etc. This is a culmination of 30 years of Drum TAO’s history.”
The name of the group is actually only tangentially related to the spirituality of TAO, though when watching the performers’ move, you are sure they are connected to the qi of the universe—all of their movements flow in perfect harmony with themselves and with each other. No movement is accidental, not even a lifting of a flute to the lips. Special features include a dance number with a frothy white cloth that ripples across a dark stage. The performers seem to be able to play a number of instruments each, and are capable in both ballet moves and kendo or martial arts sequences. They use drum sticks as swords, and also a pole like the bo used in karate.
According to Harasaki, the name of the group comes from the discovery by Japanese rocketry pioneer Hideo Itokawa, of what are called “Tao particles” in the universe.
“He advocated that Tao particles were the basis for curing human diseases and so on,” said Harasaki, relating the group origin story that is told to members. Itokawa saw a performance of Drum TAO in their early days and said to the Drum TAO’s founder, “Your performance encourages people and provides them hope and vitality for living. You should call yourselves TAO.” And so they did.
Drum TAO is happy to share the culture of Japan and its Taiko drumming with the world. They are also happy to share the spotlight with other Taiko groups, while pointing out that Drum TAO’s style is different. Yes, they use traditional instruments, yet the pieces are much more of a fusion of rock, ancient Japanese, and ambient, electronic, or space music.
“We have seen a bunch of the local Taiko groups in the United States and we are very happy to see Japanese Taiko culture expanding over the world,” said Harasaki. “Our performance is not traditional style and is quite different from the U.S. local Taiko groups’ performance we can see currently because we have been pursuing the entertainment show with Taiko drums, rather than inheritance of Taiko tradition, but if people get interested in us and start Taiko drumming, then Taiko culture expands more and more as a result.” Harasaki and Drum TAO believe that in this way, they, and all of us, will be a part of Drum TAO’s “perpetual evolution.”
All of the members of Drum TAO (who use a rotating set of performers, i.e., you won’t see all of them every time) were first captivated by a performance of the group and then decided to join. “Being Drum TAO members, and performing as members, is what they want to do and it’s a part of their lives,” said Harasaki. “As a result, Taiko has become integral to our lives, with its sound and groove symbolizing the spirit of Japan.”
Drum TAO is already set to return to Seattle in two years.
Kai can be reached at info@nwasianweekly.com.