Photo courtesy of the artist

2001 NEA National Heritage Fellow Seiichi Tanaka San Francisco CA Taiko drummer and dojo founder

Grand Master Seiichi Tanaka or Tanaka-sensei, as he is known by hundreds of taiko followers around the world, established the first taiko dojo (taiko school) in North America in 1968. He was inspired to found a school after attending a Cherry Blossom Festival in San Francisco and realizing that this art form was not represented in the United States. Taiko, a form of ritual drumming, combines percussive sound with physically demanding choreographic movement. Taiko drums of stretched cowhide are similar to instruments that originated 1,400 to 2,000 years ago. They were probably first used as a military tool, but were later incorporated into agricultural rituals to repel evil spirits, encourage bountiful crops, and bring rain. Their rhythms were eventually adopted in the imperial court and were used in Buddhist temples and at Shinto shrines. After World War II, taiko drumming evolved into a more musical form, employing a variety of drums in different sizes and incorporating choreographed performance. Seiichi Tanaka is a central figure in the evolution of the form. The energetic but disciplined performance style of his group -- part dance, part music, part martial arts, part philosophy -- reflects what he calls "the development of the inner muscle." The music of his group has reached a wider audience through such movies as Return of the Jedi and The Right Stuff. Tanaka jokes that at one time he was recognized as the father of taiko but now, with so many students and with over 30 years of teaching the art form, he should be known as the grandfather of taiko.

 
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1982-2012: 
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