Roy and PJ Hirabayashi - Blog

Blog Transcript: PJ and Roy Hirbayashi

Taiko is the word for the Japanese drum. But what we're doing I guess is what we consider or refer to as kumi-daiko, which means ensemble drumming. The taiko in Japan has been used in many different kinds of purposes and occasions. You would see it in the festivals, in the temples. Historically, it was used in the battlefield to send the field commands across the battlefield. But most popularly, you would see it in many different festivals throughout Japan. But you would many times see the taiko being used to accompany other type of art forms -- singing and dancing, or the more classical forms. The kumi-daiko form that we're doing, or the ensemble form, is just using primarily taiko as an instrument and the singing and dancing is not the primary focus; it's just the drumming itself.