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Uminari Taiko (海鳴り太鼓 ) UpdateFebruary/ March 2009It's been very eventful these past two months. We made our big debut at the MacPherson Playhouse in a benefit concert organized by Jordan Hanson of Hand Drum Rhythms for AIMS Africa. Over seventy performers dedicated their time and talent in this sold out show, and it was a real honour for us to be asked to take part. The headline act for the show was the Celso Machado, the unparalleled Brazilian percussionist. It's more than just a little unnerving playing a sold out show at a venue like the MacPherson, but following someone who has more experience than all of us put together is downright intimidating! On the subject of sold out shows, a contingent of Uminari members attended KODO's recent performance at the Orpheum in Vancouver. It was the first time in four years that KODO have been to Vancouver and this show marked the North American debut of their current One Earth Tour. It also marked the North American debut of several new performing members who have clearly earned the right to take the stage with the more senior members. The timing and execution of each song was flawless, the drum changes seamless, and each act or movement performed as though it were an act of devotion. It is this high degree of skill and reverence that makes KODO the best of the best. (We also learned that our friend Eri - founder of Kelowna's Yamabiko Taiko - has been accepted as a junior member after surviving her grueling two-year apprenticeship with KODO on Sado Island, and wish her all the best!) I'm sure that most if not all VNCS members heard that several of our drums had their own little misadventure in February. The story began during load out for a workshop at UVic and, thankfully, that story had a happy ending with our drums back to their rightful place within days. We've got other workshops coming up, too. Mar. 29 is another one hour free intro, and we'll be having a full workshop and series of classes beginning again in April. Both workshops and classes are at EuroStudios, 1821 3F Cook St. We're back at UVic again this month, this time for an afternoon performance on Mar. 21 which will be preceded by a brief introduction to the history of taiko, including its rise as a performance art in Japan and throughout the world. On Mar. 11 Uminari Taiko was host to Jonathan and Oliver Kirby, a father-son team from Kagemusha Taiko based in Exeter, England. In part because Jonathan's initial training in taiko began with San Jose Taiko, the primary purpose of their trip was to get acquainted with groups from the West Coast to gain a better understanding our collective approaches to learning and performance. It was great to have people from so far away visit with us to share their love of taiko, and we hope they'll return another time for an extended visit. Well, our happy news was that we got our drums back safe and sound, but our sad news is that members Hannah and Teruyo will be leaving us. Hannah will be pursuing graduate research in the B.C. interior after a well-deserved trip to exotic locales, and Teruyo will be with her family in Japan for an extended period. Fingers crossed, they'll both return sooner rather than later. Jacob Derksen, Uminari Taiko January '09新年あけましておめでとうございます! We wish you all the best of the New Year! It's only days into 2009 as I write this and Uminari Taiko has hit the ground running! I'm not refering to New Year's resolutions, but rather to our schedule. It's frantic! We welcomed Tiffany Tamaribuchi to our studio on the Jan. 4 for a workshop that really put us through our paces. Tiffany Tamaribuchi is among the very best North American taiko performers and teachers, and we are extremely happy - and honoured - to have had her over. It was the perfect start to our New Year! We really enjoyed having VNCS members and family and friends out to our Open House event in early Dec. Anyone who was there will agree that more than a few of the students show promise. It's definitely our pleasure to give them a chance to show off what they've learned. Even before we took time off for Christmas, we had four shows slated for early '09. We will be sending a contingent up to Nanaimo on Jan 11 for what will be our first road trip of the year, and we'll also be making our annual appearance at the Mochi Tsuki Kai on Jan. 18. We're also scheduled to play Chinese New Year's in Chinatown on Feb. 6. The really big news though, is that on Jan. 24, Uminari Taiko will perform at the McPherson Playhouse as part of Jordan Hanson's fundraising World Drums concert. That's definitely the big time for us! If you want to support a good cause and have a good time doing it, this is your opportunity. (Tickets are on sale now and available through McPherson Playhouse. Word is they're selling quickly.) We've got more than just that going on, though. Jan. 25 is our first ever youth workshop for 12 - 16 year-olds and on Jan. 28 a number of us will be going over to Vancouver to see KODO perform at the Orpheum. Feb. 1 is our first adult workshop, and our first series of classes will run from Feb. 8 to Mar. 15. We're also offering another children's workshop Mar. 22/09. I was not kidding when I said we were hitting the ground running! I'm not sure who it was that first observed that time is what keeps everything from happening all at once, but I'm glad it's working in our favour. All the best of the New Year! Jacob Derksen, Uminari Taiko November/December '08What an amazing turnout at this year's Fall Fair! Every year the turnout gets bigger and better and this year it seemed over the top. It's almost a little overwhelming having the crowd so close to us as we play, if only because of the possibility of flying bachi. No one took home any souvenirs, though! It was really great to play for so many people at what is arguably the single most important event on our annual performance schedule. This year marks both our seventh anniversary in terms of the group coalescing at a V.N.C.S.-sponsored workshop in 2001, and marks our seventh consecutive performance at the Fall Fair. I don't know if any of us could have foreseen that a viable group would emerge from that workshop with Vancouver's Katari Taiko back in October 2001, but here we are! Quite possibly related to the large turnout at this year's Fall Fair, our most recent workshop at the end of October was filled to capacity, with several turn aways. Additionally, we've got a great turnout at the follow-up classes that started at the beginning of November. Even though we're entering our hibernation period we're still busy with a number of activities, including preparations for our upcoming performance at the B.C. Museum on Nov. 22. We've recently completed the sixth of six workshops with Uzume Taiko's Jason Overy that we begun last year and - fingers crossed - we'll be able to engage other quality instruction on a semi-regular basis throughout 2009. We've also just brought in a number of apprentice members about whom you'll hear more in the near future. And, having recently learned that KODO will be in Vancouver Jan. 28th, we're already planning our first road trip of 2009. In closing, Uminari Taiko would like to invite you to our annual Open House at EuroStudios, 1821 Cook St., 3F on Dec. 7/08. We look forward to seeing you there! Jacob Derksen, Uminari Taiko September '08Uminari Taiko has had what must be our busiest summer ever with numerous performances and classes and a trip to North Vancouver for this year's Regional taiko Gathering. For some of us it was kind of like a homecoming in that it was at N. Van in 2002 that we attended our first RTG. We're a little older and hopefully wiser now and as we prepare for the upcoming Fall Fair, I believe, in many ways we're completing a cycle that was begun almost seven years ago. For the third consecutive summer we've run "Oba-daiko" classes with Susan and Tsugio Kurushima taking the reins, and very recently we've had a first ever kids' class with Teruyo Sano as the primary facilitator. It's been a long time coming but I can safely say we have some great potential out there and I hope we'll be able to develop it. We've also just had an initial meeting with several apprenticeship hopefuls, so it's it's not out of the realm of possibility that you'll be seeing at least a few new faces in the coming months. In addition to our preparations for the upcoming Fall Fair, I take great joy in announcing that, for the second time this year, we have a wedding in the group. Founding member Brad Lewis will be marrying his main squeeze, Meredith, on Oct. 11th and we're all very happy for them. I'm a big fan of quotes, and one of the books I'm currently reading contains more than a few very inspirational and insightful quotes. Without getting too mystical, I'd like to share the following: "Do your best at each and every thing. That is the key to success. Learn one thing well and you will learn how to understand ten thousand things. Ten thousand things are one; this is the secret place of understanding you must find. Then everything is mysterious and wonderful." Awa Kenzo, kyudo master. Taiko is, I believe, as much a vehicle for developing this level of understanding and awareness as any number of Japanese arts, and it is at this level that Oguchi Daihachi understood and played taiko. As I had only briefly mentioned his passing in the previous newsletter, I want to acknowledge the tremendous gift that Oguchi-sensei gave us in developing wadaiko as the performance art we understand as taiko. For Oguchi-sensei, taiko was always a means of connecting with the Divine - at whatever level one cares to interpret that - and I'd like to honour him just by bringing that to the forefront of everyone's consciousness. We are all so much richer for having the opportunity to enjoy taiko, and we look forward to sharing that gift with you. Jacob Derksen, Uminari Taiko July/August '08此の頃海鳴り太鼓大変忙しいです！These days Uminari Taiko is very busy! In addition to our own practices and running classes, in recent weeks we’ve played a number of shows, including the Buddha’s Birthday up at Uvic at the end of May, Takata Gardens in mid-June and, more recently, four public performances in eight days. Buddha’s Birthday event at Uvic took place at the end of May, we played up at Takata Gardens on June 21st, Tall Ships June 28th, Sidney by the Sea for their sister city celebration on June 30th, and at the Gorge Road Canada Day Celebration July 1st. We followed that with a road trip to Nanaimo for the first annual Nanaimo Drum Festival on July 5th. When I say very busy, I’m not kidding! The Buddha’s Birthday was for all intents and purposes the start of our perfomance season and marked the official unveiling of our new costumes! We’ve gone from blue to red and, in my humble opinion, the new costumes look great. The Takata Gardens performance was not without its glitches but, if nothing else, we looked cool in our new costumes! With our costumes ironed and our steely resolve, we picked up the pace for Tall Ships with what was a very well-received set. As unnerving as it can be playing for guests from Japan, among my favourite performances are those we do for sister-city events and organizations and the June 30th show at Sidney by the Sea was no exception. It’s a beautiful location, the weather was perfect and we performed at least as well as we ever have and maybe even better. The following day we played the Gorge Road Canada Day Celebration which included an opening song with several of our recent students. (As an aside the song that the students performed, Hiryu Sandan Gaeshi, was written by Oguchi Daihachi, the man credited with developing taiko as a performance art in the early 1950’s. Sadly, Oguchi-sensei was killed on June 27th in a tragic car accident outside his home in Nagano prefecture. He was 84.) Our roadtrip to Nanaimo was a smashing success! It was an honour to be included in the Nanaimo Drum Festival in what is expected to be an annual event. Truthfully, it was quite intimidating following superlative performers up on stage, but our set was very well-received nonetheless. Jordan Hanson is a locally based drummer responsible for organizing the event that included tabla master, Hari Pal, and Brazilian virtuoso, Celso Machado as well as his own group, the Victoria Percussion Ensemble. We’re definitely out of our league with some of the tremendous talent that was there but it sure was an honour to be included! In the coming weeks, members are facilitating a women’s workshopat Uvic, and we’ll be performing at Luminara July 26th and at Dragon Boat on Aug 17th. We’ll also be in North Vancouver for the Regional Taiko Gathering in mid-August, too, so the pace will not abate for at least a couple of months. That sums up our public performances, but before closing I also want to mention a private performance, too. Uminari Taiko also performed what I believe is our first every wedding which just happened to be that of one of our newest members, Hannah, to her new husband, Tony. We wish them all the best! And we wish you all the best of the summer, too! Jacob Derksen, Uminari Taiko May/June 2008 '08We’re already well into Spring and it looks as though 2008 may well be our busiest year to date. We had the opportunity to have taiko great, Kenny Endo, to our humble studio for a couple of two hour workshops back in March. Not only was it great to have someone of his calibre over to Victoria, but I believe it marked the first time we’ve had people over from the mainland to attend workshops that we’ve organized. We had several members of Sawagi Taiko – Canada’s first all-woman taiko group – over from Vancouver to attend the workshop, and we also had Jenny and Ruth of Midnight Taiko Kai, Calgary, join us that weekend too. It was a lot of fun, actually, to have people over and I hope it’s something we’ll do again. And on the subject of social events, we also had the opportunity to dine out with members of Uzume Taiko when they were over for school shows in early April, with Jason O returning to lead another workshop just prior to Uzume Taiko’s departure for their second series of European concerts this year. We’ve played several shows in recent weeks including Midge Ayukawa’s booklaunch at the BCGEU building on Douglas St. on April 26th, the TC 10K on April 27th, and an up-Island event in Campbell River on May 3rd. It was really enjoyable playing at the booklaunch for Midge Ayukawa’s new book, Hiroshima Immigrants in Canada, 1891 – 1941 though we followed a very entertaining Chinese-Canadian dance troupe and it’s always at least a little intimidating following other skilled entertainers. The TC 10K has become an Uminari staple and always receives enthusiastic support from the runners. Playing up in Campbell River to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the twinning of Ishikari, Hokkaido with Campbell River was a highlight of recent weeks. Not only did we play two sets that day, but residents of Campbell River were put through their paces in a workshop that afternoon as well. It’s not the first up-Island workshop Uminari members have facilitated and hopefully in time there will be other taiko groups on the island. In the coming weeks, Uminari Taiko will be performing at the Buddha’s Birthday event at UVic on May 25th, as well as a sister-city related event in Sidney on June 30th and, in keeping with tradition, we’ll be playing Canada Day at the Gorge, too. We have a number of other as yet unconfirmed shows in the works between now and then and, as always, we look forward to seeing VNCS members at these events. Jacob Derksen, Uminari Taiko March/April '08We’re already into March; the cherry blossoms will soon be in full bloom… As I write this our friend, Kenji Sekito, is at Vancouver International Airport awaiting the flight that will take him back to Japan. Now that he’s left Victoria I can mention that not only was Kenji a long time member of award-winning Kurashiki Tenryo Daiko of Okayama, Japan, but that Kurashiki Tenryo Daiko was named by Sumiyo Asano as being one of her favourite taiko groups. (I should point out here that Sumiyo Asano is from the family that owns the 400 year old Asano Taiko Co., Ltd., the Rolls-Royce of taiko manufacturers. As taiko royalty, she knows more than a little about taiko as a performing art, let me tell you!) Having had Kenji with us for most of 2007 and the early part of 2008 has been a tremendous opportunity and learning experience for us; we’re all going to miss him. In spite of having our good friend return to Japan, however, I believe that this year will be a great year for Uminari Taiko! Certainly in terms of us having high calibre taiko instruction this is shaping up to be a tremendous year for us. Not only will we have Jason Overy of Uzume Taiko over to our studio at least twice during 2008, we will be hosting a workshop with Kenny Endo on March 24th and we have the possibility of having Tiffany Tamaribuchi over to Victoria perhaps as early as mid-May. Kenny E. and Tiffany T. are among the most accomplished of American taiko performers so it will be a tremendous honour to have them over, and will certainly be to our benefit. Kenny Endo is, in fact, the first non-native born Japanese person to receive his natori (stage name and master’s degree) in hogaku hayashi, or classical Japanese drumming. (Think kabuki!) Tiffany Tamaribuchi is also among the very elite of American taiko artists, being the first place winner of the 2002 All Japan Odaiko Competition as well as a finalist in the Tokyo International Odaiko competition the same year. Several weeks ago an Uminari contingent was up to Port Alberni for what I understand was a well-received show and, in the very near future, a number of us will be performing a short set at Victor Brodeur School on March 8th for the local Japanese and Japanese-Canadian kids’ play group. Our first workshop of the year was relatively successful, and we are already nearing completion of the first six week set of classes. As of this writing there is still room in our April 20th workshop and subsequent series of classes, but that could change with little warning so if you’re contemplating joining us for that, now is the time! Stayed tuned for information about our 2008 road trips. We’ll be covering a lot of ground in 2008 and I look forward to telling you all about it. Enjoy the spring! Jacob Derksen, Uminari Taiko January '082007 has been another great year for Uminari Taiko. We’ve been fortunate to have had Jason O. from Uzume Taiko over several times to help us refine technique and develop skills, and we’ve had the opportunity to take part in another biennial North American Taiko Conference. Additionally, taiko luminary Art Lee facilitated a workshop in Vancouver that many of us were able to attend, and 2008 promises to be an excellent year for us in terms of opportunities to study with or from exceptionally talented taiko performers. Having had Kenji Sekito join us for the better part of 2007 has been a tremendous gift. The one drawback this year has been U.T. member, Sherry K developing a serious wrist injury; we wish her a speedy recovery and look forward to her joining us as soon as she is able. It was wonderful to see so many people out to our open house on Dec 16th. With it being the holiday season and all, we also had a visit this month from former member, Marcin, who is now living in Halifax. We wish everyone all the best of the holiday season, and a very happy, healthy and prosperous new year. Jacob Derksen, Uminari Taiko Nov/Dec '07This must be our year for media recognition. I believe we’ve quite possibly received as much media coverage this year as in all previous years put together. In just the past several months, in addition to increased internet exposure, we’ve had airtime on local t.v. stations, pictures in newspapers and, as of mid-Sept ’07, it is now possible to watch Uminari Taiko on Youtube as well. Since last September we have been relatively busy though we are just now easing into our hibernation phase. On Sept. 8th a small contingent of us played a very short set at the Royal B.C. Museum for the N.A.T.O. conference that had been in town, and on Sept. 23rd we played CUPE BC’s annual “Include Me!” celebration of cultural diversity at the Fernwood Community Centre. The following weekend we had another of our workshops with Jason Overy of Uzume Taiko, and a number of us followed that up with an early October workshop in Vancouver with award-winning taiko luminary, Art Lee, who was over from Japan for a brief tour. On the subject of Uzume Taiko, for those who missed it, their Oct 11th show with the Victoria Symphony Orchestra was amazing. Simply put, this Uzume performance was quite possibly one of their best and certainly ranks among my favourite. For Uminari Taiko, the highlight of the past couple of months, indeed of the year, was our performance at the VNCS Japanese Cultural Fair on Oct. 20th. We were really happy to have had the opportunity to introduce our friend, Kenji, to our home crowd. This year marked the sixth time we’ve played the fair, and it marks the fifth anniversary of our inaugural performance. It’s hard to believe that it was six years ago that a handful of taiko enthusiasts emerged from a VNCS-sponsored workshop with nothing more than a vision and some big ideas. It really is true: time does fly when you’re having fun! Upcoming, members of Uminari Taiko are making plans to travel to Port Alberni in early January as part of a sister-city project. Speaking of sister cities, Kenji and I recently met with Toshikatu Fujisawa, a founding member of Tonan Taiko of Morioka, about whom you will be hearing more in the near future. More immediately, it will be possible to see our very own Tsugio Kurushima immortalized on canvas. Local artist, Imke Pearson, will be exhibiting her work as part of the upcoming Oak Bay Artists’ Open Studio Tour, Nov. 24 – 25 and it includes a portrait of Tsugio that we look forward to seeing unveiled. On behalf of Uminari Taiko, I’d like to wish everyone the best of the coming season and take this opportunity to invite you to our annual open house at EuroStudios, 1821 Cook St., at 4:00pm on Dec 16th. We hope to see you there. Jacob Derksen, Uminari Taiko Sept/Oct '07I’m not sure if “summer” is exactly how I would describe the last two months, but for lack of a better word, I guess it will have to do. (I’m not normally one to complain too much about the weather, but doesn’t it seem that it was often unseasonably cool this past few months?) Regardless of what the weather has been like, it’s been exceptionally busy for us. As mentioned in the July/ August Update, we were scheduled to play our first corporate gig in the latter half of July and it was, I believe, quite successful. More importantly, in terms of our mandate as a community-based group, our show the following night at Luminara was well attended despite the inclimate weather. It was a real honour, in fact, to have so many people braving the elements to see – and hear – us play. As a community-based group, Uminari Taiko has had a number of wonderful opportunities over the past several years and I believe everyone in the group would agree with my assertion that it is always an honour whenever we’re asked to perform. I can say without hesitation that being invited to perform on the same bill as Te Korero Maori – a 37 member traditional dance group from Rarotonga (Cook Islands, South Pacific) – along with the Tzinquaw Dancers, and Fancy Dancers representing the Kehewin Peoples of Alberta, at the August 1st fundraiser for the Cowichan Tribes youth ranks among the highlights of our performance career. For those who might be interested, I’ve included the following link: http://www.pacificpeoplespartnership.org/ (Scroll down to to the article entered on August 8, 2007 for a review of the performance.) Almost all the members of Uminari Taiko attended the North American Taiko Conference in Seattle the second weekend of August. We were afforded a once in a lifetime opportunity to see Seido Kobayashi-sensei and Saburo Mochizuki-sensei, founding members of Oedo Sukeroku – considered by many to be the first professional kumi-daiko group in the world – perform with Seiichi Tanaka, the man credited with bringing the performance art of taiko to North America almost 40 years ago. The focus of this session was on the history of taiko as a performance art both in Japan and in N. America and was facilitated by taiko historian and long time Oedo Sukeroku member Mizuho Zako-san. As the importance of Oedo Sukeroku’s influence on most of N. American taiko can not be confined to a paragraph or two, I highly recommend to interested parties the following link: http://www.taiko.com/taiko_resource/history/oedo_faq.html To put it succinctly, it was worth the price of the whole weekend just to attend that one session. Fortunately we did not require much recovery time after the conference as the weekend of the 18th and 19th was the Victoria Dragon Boat Festival. Despite the wet stage and other incidentals, we managed to pull off both shows without injury to pride or person. Not only that, Deb and Tsugio both had their picture in the Times-Colonist, Aug 19th edition, and I believe that by now everyone has seen the very photogenic Tsugio Kurushima gracing the front of the Victoria News, Aug 22nd edition. Prior to playing Dragon Boat Uminari Taiko was featured on a little spot on A Channel as well, so we’ve definitely been getting our fifteen minutes of fame this year. Looking forward from here, we are scheduled for a brief performance on Sept. 8th – about which I’ll write more next time – and for performances at UVic on Sept. 18th, and at the Fernwood Community Centre Sept 23rd, all of which should get us primed just in time for the VNCS Fall Bazaar. We look forward to seeing you there! Jacob Derksen, Uminari Taiko July '07It’s nice to see that the weather has, at least as of this writing, turned respectable. My hunch is that we may just have a really wonderful summer to make up for the slow start we had in spring. But don’t hold me to that… As far as taiko is concerned, however, I know it’s going to be a wonderful summer. We started the summer off with our third workshop with Jason Overy of Uzume Taiko, and are enjoying the benefit of his experience. We’ve recently played our annual Canada Day show at the Gorge Rd. Festival. This year marks the fifth year in a row that we’ve played this event, and this year we also had our recent student group perform on stage as well. July 2, ’07 was the Cultural Celebration in Centennial Square and we have several upcoming performances, including our first corporate gig at the Royal B.C. Museum on July 20th. The following night we’ll be playing Luminara for the third year in a row. And speaking of return engagements, we’ll also be playing Victoria Dragon Boat Festival the weekend of August 18th and 19th. Shortly before writing the previous Update, Uminari Taiko was joined by Kenji Sekito, of Okayama. He’s here for a year with his wife to study English, and we’re very happy to have him join us. At the earlier writing I didn’t have much in the way of information but I can tell you now that Kenji-san is an eight year veteran of award-winning taiko team, Kurashiki Tenryo Daiko, and he brings a tremendous passion and skill to the group. It is our good fortune that he chose to settle in Victoria and took the time to find us. (You can view Kurashiki Tenryo Daiko website at: http://www.geocities.co.jp/MusicHall/2202/ for further information.) The 2007 National Taiko Conference in Seattle is only weeks away and it’s something we’re definitely looking forward to. As with the conferences in 2003 and 2005, in our quest to improve as taiko players, we’ll be sending a large delegate from Uminari Taiko. In addition to the welcome opportunity to learn from highly skilled taiko veterans, it will be nice to see old friends and make some new ones, too. We hope to see you out at some of our upcoming performances. Have a wonderful summer. Jacob Derksen, Uminari Taiko Apr-May '07I hope everyone is enjoying the spring, such as it is this year. Since the last Update, we’ve played several shows, including an elementary school in Duncan on April 2nd, a student run health show at Saanich Commonwealth Pool on April 27th and, most recently, the TC10K on April 30th. Our “roadtrip” to North Vancouver was a lot of fun; TaikoProject performed an incredible set. Chibi Taiko, who opened the show, also deserve a tremendous amount of credit for their accomplishments. A number of us in the group have had the opportunity to see them perform on at least several occasions – including last year’s Powell St. Festival – and they just get better every time. They’ve gone from good to great! On the subject of improvement, we’ve had our second workshop with Uzume Taiko’s Jason Overy and can anticipate our own skills developing over the course of the year as we continue to apply and incorporate what we’re learning from him. Uzume Taiko are currently touring Europe, but we’ll be having Jason over again in early summer. Some of the really big news for us is that the North American Taiko Conference, held this year in Seattle, now has their website up and running. (I probably shouldn’t say anything, but there’s a great picture of Deb and no less than two shots of our old pal, Marcin, featured prominently on the site: http://www.taikoconference.org) We’re just warming up for our summer season, and here’s hoping that the weather starts warming up, too! Jacob Derksen, Uminari Taiko Feb-March '07It’s hard to believe that it’s almost spring, especially with those flurries we had on the last day of February, but the sakura on View St. are in full bloom so spring must be just around the corner, and it’s just one of many things we have to look forward to. So far this year we’ve had our first introductory worshop, and our first set of classes is well underway. Our first show, Mochi Tsuki Kai, on Jan 21st was lots of fun to play, and our first in a series of workshops with Jason Overy of Uzume Taiko was very productive. And, speaking of firsts, we’ll be offering our first children’s class Wednesday, April 4th. This first series will last ten weeks and will take place at our studio from 3:00pm – 4:30pm every Weds from Apr. 4th until June 13th. VNCS members will be given precedence, but please contact us soon for details. With “firsts” being the running theme, Katari Taiko - Canada’s first taiko group - will be playing what I believe is their first show of the year with the very entertaining Khac Chi Ensemble March 10th at the East End Cultural Centre in Vancouver, and on Mar. 18th we head to the mainland on our first road trip of the year to see Chibi Taiko – Canada’s first youth group – and TaikoProject who, in 2005, became the first U.S. group to win first place in the Tokyo International Taiko Competition. (As talented as they are, my first choice would be to see KODO’s final show in Montreal…) In other taiko firsts, our friend, Eri Uchida – founder of Kelowna’s Yamabiko Taiko – is, I believe, the first former B.C. resident to be accepted into KODO’s extremely grueling two year apprenticeship program. In addition to growing and preparing all their own food from scratch, they run 10km every day, stretch for an hour before breakfast, workout and then the rest of the day, literally from morning ‘til night, is spent drumming and/ or honing other musical or cultural skills. Recently, members of Uminari Taiko - for the second time - facilitated morning and afternoon taiko workshops at Uvic for the Ninth Annual Women’s Conference. (You’ll forgive me for mentioning that is is the, ahem, first of the breakout sessions to fill up.) In other news we welcome two of our own new apprentices, Hannah H. and Jody P. to Uminari Taiko, and we’re very happy to have them join us. (No doubt they’re very happy our apprenticeship program is considerably more relaxed than KODO’s!) As the year progresses, you’ll have an opportunity to see them perform with us. And that’s something we can all look forward to! Addendum Mar. 27/ 07 Due to unforeseen circumstances, the children’s class has been re-scheduled to start in Sept. Please keep checking our website for further details. Jacob Derksen, Uminari Taiko Jan '07新年おめでとうございます。Happy New Year! I trust everyone had a Merry Christmas and an enjoyable holiday season. This is always such a nice time of year to reflect on the successes – and the challenges – of the previous 12 months, and a great time to contemplate the positive changes one wants to make in the new year, and how best to implement them. To which I say: 頑張って下さい! Go for it! Uminari Taiko, as a collective, are looking forward to an active 2007. This year’s North American Taiko Conference will be held in Seattle in August, and is something we’re all looking forward to. It will be nice to have it almost in our backyard and may allow us to play a greater role in the taiko community at large. In late January we will begin what is hoped to be at least a year long, semi-regular series of workshops/ classes with Jason Overy of Uzume Taiko. While we have, over the past several years, enjoyed attending out of town workshops and have hosted several here, it has been almost five years since we have had regular ongoing instruction, also from Uzume Taiko. In addition, not only we are offering our own series of workshops and classes for adults throughout the year, we hope to offer children’s classes in the very near future as well. Information on upcoming adult workshops and classes can be found on our website, www.uminaritaiko.com, and enquiries regarding children’s classes can be sent to me directly at jacob@uminaritaiko.com. I’d really like to hear from people who are interested, as that will be one of the determining factors in our decision to offer children’s classes in 2007. More immediately, we’ll be performing at the Mochi Tsuki Kai on Jan. 21st and we really look forward to seeing everyone there. 皆様のご健康をお祈り申し上げます. Wishing everyone good health, your friends, Uminari Taiko Jacob Derksen, Uminari Taiko Nov '06The Nikkei Forum has, in the past two issues, published information about the Harvest of Music Festival in Qualicum Beach as it was to feature Saihou Kotengu of Obama, Nagasaki-ken. Any VNCS members who may have seen the show on Sept. 27th will agree with me that it is perhaps the best taiko performance ever on Vancouver Island, and possibly in B.C. Ever! The frontman for Saihou Kotengu is Yu Imafuku, who started his taiko career with Ondekoza – the precursor to Kodo – when it was first formed in 1969. He had the distinction and the honour of being their odaiko player, and is considered by many to be a “living national treasure” of Japan, though I do not believe that that title has been officially bestowed upon him. In local taiko news, we’ve recently had a very successful workshop with long-time Uzume Taiko front woman, Bonnie Soon, and we’ve recently facilitated an Uminari Taiko workshop for local beginners, and begun another series of classes. Additionally, we recently played both the VNCS Fall Fair and the 10th Annual Victoria International Karate Tournament. While it was very nice to be asked to play again at the tournament, far more important to us was the VNCS Fall Fair, not least because of our strong connection to, and affiliation with, the VNCS. It seems like I just wrote this yesterday for last year’s November edition of the Nikkei Forum, but let me say – again! – that it was the Katari Taiko workshop at the VNCS Fall Fair of 2001 which served as the nexus for what would become Uminari Taiko. This year, marking the 5th anniversary of that event, seems even more significant than last. The current line-up of Uminari Taiko, alphabetical by first name, is Alisa Kage, Brad Lewis, Deb Shepherd, Gayle Nye, Jacob Derksen, Sherry Kirkvold, Susan Kurushima, Teruyo Sano, and Tsugio Kurushima. Emeritus member, Marcin Sawicki, is still in Kyoto as of this writing, and continues to update his blog with taiko-related information and adventures: http://lost--in-translation.blogspot.com. I speak for all of us when I say thank you for your continued support. Uminari Taiko would not exist as such without the support of the VNCS and the community of Victoria.
Jacob Derksen, Uminari Taiko June '06A lot has happened since the last time I wrote. We were very fortunate to have Greg Shimizu - son of Dr. Henry Shimizu, and long time member of Kita no Taiko, Edmonton - drop by in early May and share some of his wealth of knowledge. In fact, Greg’s visit was a perfect precursor to the May 10th workshop that we had with Michelle Fujii, On Ensemble member and current artistic director of Portland Taiko. We rocked the Sooke Community Hall at the end of May in a benefit organized by Chie Schaeffer that raised funds and awareness for a seniors’ bus in Sooke. Hungarian folk dancers were also on hand and they were not only really nice people but they were also pretty entertaining to watch too. Most of Uminari Taiko will be in Portland, Oregon for the 2006 Regional Taiko Gathering and undoubtedly they will learn lots and have fun, too! I’ll be returning to Japan for a taiko-filled two weeks that will include meeting up with emeritus UT member Marcin Sawicki in Kyoto and travelling from there to Nagano prefecture for one full week of study with the amazing Art Lee. Information about upcoming shows, workshops and classes is available from our website: www.uminaritaiko.com Have a wonderful summer! Jacob Derksen, Uminari Taiko April '06It was nice to see so many people, including VNCS members, at our Open House on April 8th. While part of the purpose was to allow recent students to showcase their burgeoning talents, it's a nice way for us to connect with the community, and I hope that it is something we will be able to host bi-annually. (No pressure, guys!) The Japanese Festival at Malapsina College went very well, and we've been asked to play there again if or when the next Japanese festival is held. Since I last wrote we had a visitor from Kagawa preferecture, Marina-san, a matsuri drummer who spent an afternoon with us and showed us her hometown's traditional festival song. Given that Marina-san was in town for such a short period we were fortunate to have had that opportunity. Since I last wrote, one of our apprentices, Gayle, went to Hawai'i to attend a Watanabe family re-union. The Watanabe Taiko Drummers of Maui were, to my understanding, the highlight of the entertainment offered and very graciously allowed Gayle to join them. As an added bonus, Gayle brought back a song to share with us! The Victoria Times-Colonist 10K run takes place Sunday, April 30th, and we'll be there for what is, I believe, our fourth year running, so to speak. Uminari emeritus member, Marcin Sawicki, has recently arrived in Kyoto and will be there for about eight months. Marcin has started his own blog that includes, among other things, taiko-related matters and events, and for those of you who are interested you're invited to read his regular updates at http://lost--in-translation.blogspot.com/. After what seems like endless weeks of unseasonably cool weather, it looks as though spring has officially arrived, and I hope everyone has the opportunity to get out and enjoy the best of the season. If you'd like to show your support with the purchase of an Uminari Taiko t-shirt, we now have both the original design - still one of the coolest taiko t-shirts available! - and our new, equally cool, design featuring calligraphy by Shihan Mariko Yuguchi. Please contact us at info@uminaritaiko.com for more information. Jacob Derksen, Uminari Taiko Aug '06Summer is my favourite time of year, but it always seems to be over too soon. (Fortunately, as I write this, we’ve a few weeks left.) In the last edition of the Nikkei Forum, Susan Kurushima wrote about the group’s mid-June trip to Portland. Since then the group has been very busy with rehearsals and performances. In addition to Canada Day at the Gorge, UT played a well received show at Luminara in mid-July, and a show in early August at a Victoria Arts Connection production, The Body Celeb: A Carnival of Power and Passion. (If taiko isn’t about power and passion, I don’t know what is!) To top the summer off, Uminari Taiko played three shows in a row in mid-August including one at the World Martial Arts Games in Bear Mountain, and two at the Dragon Boat Festival in the Inner Harbour. We’ve still got at least one more show before the equinox, the VNCS sponsored movie night at Cinecenta! I believe that Vancouver Island and surrounding area has had more exposure to taiko this year than ever before. In addition to our trip up to Nanaimo last March, Portland Taiko performed and gave workshops in Nanaimo in early May. Cumberland had drummers from Taiwan, Uzume Taiko performed at a number of schools around the island and, in September, Saihou Kotengou Taiko will be in Qualicum Beach for a public performance on Sept. 27th and a public workshop on Sept 30th. The high calibre of this group can not be over-emphasized. I believe “superlative” is one adjective that might come close! (Please see the previous issue of the Forum for more information.) It just may be that in the near future UT will no longer be the only taiko group on Vancouver Island. But we’ll still be the first, and we’re really looking forward to our 5th Anniversary show at the Fall Festival in October! See you then. Jacob Derksen, Uminari Taiko Feb '06Ima sakura no hana ga saite imasu. (I hope my romaji is correct.) The cherry blossoms are blooming now! It's always nice to see them in full bloom, evidence that spring is on its way. As for Uminari Taiko, it's been relatively calm - on the outside, at least. We played Mochi Tsuki in January, and don't have another show until March 18th, when we'll be playing up at Malaspina College in Nanaimo. That's why it seems calm! Recently, we went over to Vancouver to take part in a workshop facilitated by Eiichi Saito and Masami Miyazaki of KODO. Of course, it was a lot of fun and very informative. Uminari is hosting another Open House on Sunday, April 2nd/06 from 4:30pm - 6pm at EuroStudios, 3rd Floor, 1821 Cook St. Victoria, BC. We are hoping to have our current class perform a song for everyone. You can look forward to having a chance to mingle with Uminari members and friends, enjoy some tea and photos, try the drums out if you wish and see Uminari members perform a song or 2 as well. Throughout 2006 we'll be hosting our own workshops and classes and there is, of course, a standing invitation to all VNCS members to come and try. In addition to the above mentioned, plans are currently underway to offer children's classes in the not-too-distant future and, as more information becomes available, we'll make sure you can read about it here. We still have a limited number of the Uminari Taiko t-shirts original design which serve as great omiyage for visiting guests, or for yourself! For those of you who missed the Annual General Meeting, you may be interested to know that a number of taiko luminaries have been presented with Uminari Taiko t-shirts over the past year including Daihachi Oguchi, Akio Tsumura, Art Lee, Eiichi Saito, and others. Information about workshops, classes and t-shirts is available at info@uminaritaiko.com Enjoy the spring! Jacob Derksen, Uminari Taiko Jan '06Akemashite omedetou gozaimasu! Happy New Year! I hope everyone enjoyed the holiday season. I didn't get a chance last time to introduce our newest apprentices. They are Charles Gates, Lori Kawaguchi, and Gayle Nye. For those of you who might have seen our Canada Day performance, you may remember them playing their first show. (They almost upstaged us!) For anyone who feels as though they may have overindulged during the holidays, you may be interested to know that we are offering a workshop and classes toward the end of January. If you're looking for something that's more fun than jogging, you may want to consider taiko classes. As always, VNCS members get a reduced rate for both workshop and classes. Please see our website for dates and times. Minasama no gokenkou o oinori moushiagemasu. Wishing everyone good health. All the best in 2006! Jacob Derksen, Uminari Taiko Oct/Nov '05Uminari on the Move! After over three and one-half years in the aikido/ judo dojo on Johnson st., we've moved to our new location. We are now located at the Eurodog Studios on Cook St. above the racquet court. Emeritus member, Marcin Sawicki - still in exile in California - was in town to visit us on moving day, as was Margie Parikh, who has recently returned from a year in Okinawa. (We're looking forward to her playing with us real soon!) Another very important milestone in the group's development is the arrival of the first three of four of our new, professionally made drums. Those who attended the Cultural Fair on Oct. 22 may have noticed the drums and how much more aesthetically pleasing - both visually and aurally - they are. On the subject of the Cultural Fair, as it serves as an important marker in our progress and evolution, I would like to point out that it is now four years since the Katari Taiko workshop that took place at the Fall Festival in 2001. It is from that initial workshop in 2001 that we have grown, and it was at the Fall Festival of 2002 that we gave our inaugural performance. I think it is safe to say that this annual event, more than any other, serves as a strong reminder for Uminari Taiko of our close connection to the VNCS. As I write this we are somewhere between Canadian Thanksgiving and American Thanksgiving, and I believe that it's a good time to express our thanks to the VNCS for their support over the years. I would run out of room if I were to thank everyone individually for their help, but I do feel a need to name several whose contributions over the years played a key role in our development. Mike Abe, for sharing your dojo with us all those years ago; Michiko Warkentyne, for your support and encouragement, and for giving us our name; Jack and Elizabeth Watanabe, for allowing us to build our sewer pipe drums in your basement; Roy Natsuhara, for building our drum stands, including those beautiful stands for our new drums, and last but not least, Rev. Tom Kurai of Los Angeles Taiko Center/ Satori Taiko for allowing us to perform a number of your songs. Thank you everyone for support and encouragement. (And don?t forget to check out our new and improved website!) Uminari Taiko at the four year mark: Sherry Kirkvold, Alisa Kage, Susan Kurushima, Tsugio Kurushima, Teruyo Sano, and founding members Brad Lewis, Deb Shepherd, and Jacob Derksen. Jacob Derksen, Uminari Taiko |
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