Yamato drummers of Japan perform in London
Laura Morris March 25th, 2008
Over the Easter weekend I went down to London to catch up with some friends. Since I love all things Japanese I had persuaded them to come with me to watch a performance by the Yamato drummers of Japan, who are currently touring the UK.
The 10 performers take the ancient art of taiko drumming and turn it into a vibrant and exuberant show, compromising of drumming, flute & shamisen (a Japanese stringed instrument) playing and some comedic interludes. The drums themselves vary in size from hand held drums to the barrel like Odaikos which are up to 6 feet across. The performance takes an enormous amount of strength and stamina and the sheer agility, co-ordination and chorography of the drummers are what make the show so powerful, along with the resounding reverberations of the drumbeats. In fact, the latest production is called Shin-on, which translates as heartbeat in English and it is said that the sound of the drums is like the sound of a mother’s heartbeat to her unborn child.
The Yamato drummers form part of the Kodo drumming school, the most famous and rigorous of taiko schools. The drummers are based for a third of the year on Sado, a beautiful and rural island just off the coast of north-western Japan. Here they train intensively before heading off on tour in Europe and Japan for the rest of the year. Elsewhere in Japan troops of drummers accompany the countless local festivals that take place throughout the year and despite the hard work that goes into learning to be a taiko drummer, it certainly looks like a lot of fun. One of our Japan specialists, Henrietta joined a taiko group during her time living in the Alps region of Japan and can vouch for the pain that goes into the training!Shin-on is showing at Sadler’s Wells’ Peacock Theatre until Sunday 30th March.To find out more about Japanese culture please visit the Japan section of the Audley website.
- General , North & Central Asia
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