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1. Nagado Daiko

Nagado daiko is the most popular type of taiko also called miya daiko and odaiko. The best material is keyaki wood, Japanese zelkova wood. There are a wide range of the nagado daiko from the low price one to the excellent one. In addition, the metal parts are also important in the respect of the look.

Construction:

Traditionally, it's hollowed out of a log, which is cut in proper length. Craftsmen used to use chisels to hollow it in the old time, but now they use machines to hollow, whittle and polish the body.

Kurinuki (Hollowed-out Solid Shell): It is original structure, which is made of one piece of wood. It's the excellent because of not only the beautiful grain of the wood but also the deep and reflecting sounds produced inside the thick and hard wood. 

Shusei (Stave Shell): It is constructed by wooden boards. There are not so many suitable wood for kurinuki available in these days. Also, based on the high technique to make the taiko as good as the kurinuki taiko, shusei type is becoming popular. It has relatively reasonable price and the light weight is one of the reason why it's popular. 

Wood:

Keyaki (zelkova) is the best. It's very hard and hardly scratched. Also, the grain is beautiful. Moreover, once studs to fasten taiko heads are driven into the keyaki body, they hardly come loose. Tamo (ash), sen (kalopanax), kusu (camphor) are also popular woods for taiko. However, it's getting difficult to get logs of those woods, which is big enough to become a taiko body in Japan. Thus, imported alternative woods are often used to make a large taiko.

Keyaki (Japanese zelkova): Keyaki is the best material of the taiko body.

Meari (Second best wood): Meari is the term for the second best material such as tamo (ash) and sen (kalopanax).

Other Material: Other than keyaki and meari, there are some taiko made of the various wood like matsu (pine), buna (beech), bubinga, and take (bamboo).

Skin:

Usually, cowhide is used for drum head. The cowhide of a three-years-old female Japanese cow is said to be the best material. Horsehide is often used for the katsugi oke daiko. A skin of water buffalo is used for the head of a larger taiko.

Mimi: Literally, it means ear in Japanese. In taiko terminology, it means the hem of the head produced after studding (It's also called en). Usually, the cowhide is stretched over the top of body with ropes, which are laced through holes of the hem. Mimi used to be cut off after studding, but nowadays people leave it intentionally. When the head gets loose after using for years, it can be tightened up again if the mimi remains, instead of replacing the whole head.

Quality: Taiko heads are made of cowhide tanned by craftsmen with their secret technique. The cowhide is cut in proper size and is stretched over the top of a taiko body using special equipment. Usually, taiko heads made of cowhide have some brown spots. Nowadays, some taiko makers bleach them for sightly sake, sacrificing their durability. The sound of the brand-new skin is high-pitch and it gets lower as it's played. Taiko players make the sound of their taiko by playing it again and again.

Do you know the types of taiko? See also this article.  Types of Taiko

Do you know how to maintain taiko? See also this article.  Maintenance of Taiko

2. Shime Daiko

Shime daiko (tsukeshime daiko) consists of a body, heads, and a rope or bolts.  A membrane is tied with rope or bolt along the body.

Rope Jime: It is the traditional look of the shime daiko and tuned by a rope.

Bolt Jime: It is tuned by bolt and nut and easy to tighten and loosen. So shime daiko needs to be loosened after use, it is more convenient than rope jime.

Turnbuckle Jime: Turnbuckle is easier to tighten and loosen than bolt jime. 

Wood:

Same as nagado daiko. Keyaki (zelkova) is the best material of the wood that makes the best sound. 

Skin:

Skin of the shime daiko is cowhide. The iron ring is inside the rim part of the shime daiko head.

3. Katsugi Oke Daiko

Katsugi oke daiko is a kind of okedo daiko, the body of which is made of the stave shell like oke (Japanese wooden tub and bucket). Compared to the nagado daiko (making deep and low-pitch sounds) and the shime daiko (making sharp and high-pitch sounds), it makes medium-pitch sounds.

Difference Between Okedo and Katsugi Oke: Katsugi oke is different from okedo daiko in some respects. First, the playing style of katsugi oke and okedo is different. Katsugi oke is hung with a strap from the player's shoulder. On the other hand, okedo is set on the stand. Second, the katsugi oke is made of light material so that the player carry it easily. Third, the katsugi oke's drum head is made of thinner than okedo's. So, do not play with hard bachi. 

Wood:

Body of the katsugi oke daiko is made of the light wood like kiri (paulownia) so that the player hang it from the shoulder.

Skin:

There are two types of the skin for katsugi oke daiko.

Horsehide and Cowhide: The most obvious difference is the sound. The horsehide head is generally said to produces a brighter sound than cowhide. Cowhide is more durable than horsehide. The both are used commonly. taiko players seem to choose one matching their need. *Horsehide is temporally unavailable. 

4. Eisa Daiko

Eisa is music with dance originally performed in Okinawa. It was originally a traditional folk performance for a memorial service for their ancestor's spirits. It is close to the obon event in Japan mainland. Three drums are used in eisa music and dance.

Eisa Odaiko: Eisa odaiko is a special taiko used for eisa dance. It is very light that the performers carry it with a sash. Players perform it with eisa dance energetically. The material is soft and more fragile than other taiko like nagado daiko which is made of the durable wood and skin.

Eisa Shime Daiko: The eisa performers hold taiko with one hand and strike it with a bachi. This shime daiko is very light, and performers play and dance while swinging it. This dynamic playing style is unique for eisa. Eisa shime daiko is made of the soft and light material than shime daiko (tsuke shime daiko).

Paranku: Paranku is a key instrument for eisa dance in Okinawa. Eisa performers hold it with one hand and strike it with a bachi with the other hand while dancing energetically. As well as other eisa drums, the material is not so durable.

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1. How to Know the Taiko Size

-Nagado Daiko-

To know the size of the nagado daiko, measure the head diameter.

The unit of the measurement is "shaku". For example, if the head diameter of the taiko is 45cm, it is 1.5 shaku size.

-Shime Daiko-

To know the size of the shime daiko, measure the thickness of the head.

The word "cho-gake" is used. The bigger the number is, the thicker the head is. Only the smallest one is called namitsuke. 2 cho-gake is thicker than the namitsuke. So the thick head can be tensioned more, the sound produced becomes louder.

*Please note that the size of the shime daiko varies depending on the maker.

-Hirado Daiko-

Same as Nagado Daiko

-Okedo Daiko (Okedo / Katsugi Oke)-

Same as Nagado Daiko

-Odaiko (Odaiko / Ohira Daiko / Ojime Daiko)-

Same as Nagado Daiko

-Eisa Daiko (Odaiko / Shime Daiko / Paranku)-

Same as Nagado Daiko

-Uchiwa Daiko-

 Same as Nagado Daiko

Do you know the types of taiko? See also this article.  Types of Taiko

2. How to Find the Right Size

Since the body size is different depending on the person, the right size of the taiko depends on the body size of the player. You can find the taiko that suits you by the following way:

(1) Set the nagado daiko holizontally.
(2) Stand in front of it.
(3) Bend knees a little bit. Be careful not to stoop over.
(4) Hold bachi and put the tips of them on the center of the head.

If your arms are comfortable at this moment, the taiko should be good for you.

In the modern taiko performance, 1.4 shaku, 1.5 shaku and 1.6 shaku sized nagado are mostly used. If you want to play the nagado daiko with other players at the same time, we recommend you to use 1.5 shaku or larger nagado daiko.

Do you know how to maintain taiko? See also this article.  Maintenance of Taiko

Are you looking for bachi sticks for these? See also this article.  Types and Material of Bachi

😚Thank you for reading this to the end. Please feel free to ask any questions or leave any comments😉

Byo Uchi Daiko & Shime Daiko

There are many kinds of taiko drums, but they are roughly divided into two types. One is taiko with nailed heads, called byo uchi daiko. The other is taiko with heads stretched over steel ring and tensioned by ropes or bolts, called shime daiko. byo uchi daiko includes the most famous nagado daiko (also called miya daiko) and hira daiko, which has a shorter body. Usually, the word shime daiko refers to shime daiko that has a short body, used for accompaniment. shime daiko with a long body is especially called okedo daiko.

Byo Uchi Daiko

1. Nagado Daiko

Nagado daiko is the most popular type of the taiko. A word, nagado means long body in Japanese. It's also called miya daiko because it's played in Shinto shrine and Buddhist temple. A, word, miya often refers to the Shinto shrine. In Japanese Shinto festivals, it's often played with the shime daiko and called odaiko (big taiko) compared to the small shime daiko. The sound produced is low, loud and deep and hears DON. There are various playing styles and special stands for them.

See Taiko Center's Nagado Daiko

2. Hirado Daiko

Hirado daiko has a thinner body than nagado daiko. A word, hira means flat in Japanese. The structure of the hirado daiko is same with the nagado daiko's. So it's smaller and has relatively lower price than nagado daiko, it is recommended to the person who needs many taiko. The sound produced is low and light. It's often set on the stand in the taiko performance and hung from the stand in the Japanese folk music.

See Taiko Center's Hirado Daiko

3. Odaiko

Big nagado daiko is called odaiko (big taiko). Usually, it's bigger than 2-3 shaku size (the head diameter: about 60-90 cm) and too big to be carried by one person. It's played by two players (one player hits one side and another player hits another side). Or, it's played by one player as known as the odaiko solo. The sound produced is low, loud, and deep. It's one of the popular types of the taiko that many taiko players yearn to play someday.

See Taiko Center's Odaiko

4. Ohira Daiko

Big hirado daiko is called ohira daiko. The powerful look makes the taiko performance great. The sound produced is low, loud, and deep as well as the odaiko. The difference is the length of the taiko body. Compared to the odaiko, the player can make thunderous big taiko sounds more easily due to the body size.

See Taiko Center's Odaiko

Shime Daiko

5. Shime Daiko (Tsuke Shime Daiko)

Shime daiko (tsuke shime daiko) is essential taiko drums for the modern taiko performance as well as the nagado daiko. Unlike the byo uchi daiko, the shime daiko can be tenshioned by the rope and the bolt. The sound produced is high-pitch and clear, and hears TEN. The more the taiko is tenshioned, the higher the pitch of the sound becomes. The thick cowhide is used for the drumhead and it sounds as loud as the nagado daiko does. Usually, it controls the tempo of the taiko ensemble by the high-pitch sounds. It is easier to maintain than byo-uchi daiko because each part can be disassembled. You just replace the broken parts with brand-new one by yourself (byo-uchi daiko needs to be repaired by artisan).

See Taiko Center's Shime Daiko (Tsuke Shime Daiko)

6. Shime Daiko

This shime daiko is often used for the folk performing arts, folk song, the Shinto festival, and the traditional performing arts like noh and kabuki. It's often hung from the stand called teren dai. The drumhead is not as thick as the tsuke shime daiko's. It is tensioned with two ropes: one is used to tension heads and body by putting it through the holes and another is used to wind the rope and add more tension. The sound is more lower & muffled sounds than tsuke shime daiko.

See Taiko Center's Shime Daiko

7. Katsugi Oke Daiko

Katsugi oke daiko is a kind of okedo daiko and popular among taiko players. It is made of the light material and the player play it by hanging from his/her shoulder. Due to the lightness, the player can move around while playing it. Because it's not made of the hard material, it shouldn't be played like okedo daiko and nagado daiko. It can be tuned by tensioning and loosening the rope. The sound produced is soft and bouncing, and hears PON. Unlike playing the okedo daiko, playing the katsugi oke daiko is close to playing the shime daiko. So, it can be played in quick tempo, too.

See Taiko Center's Katsugi Oke Daiko

8. Okedo Daiko

Oke means a tub made of wooden staves in Japanese. The body of the okedo daiko is crafted by the same technique of oke making. The birth place of the okedo daiko is Tohoku region, Northeast Japan. There were a lot of oke craftsmen and the culture of oke has been well established. In the festivals of Tohoku region, the okedo daiko is often used. It can be tuned by tensioning and loosening the rope. Unlike katsugi oke daiko, it is set on the stand and played like nagado daiko. The sound produced is harder than katsugi oke daiko.

See Taiko Canter's Okedo Daiko

9. Ojime Daiko

Big okedo daiko is called ojime daiko. It is as big as the odaiko but not so heavy. It produces powerful sounds and strong vibration.

See Taiko Center's Ojime Daiko

Related Articles

Which material are these made of? See also this article. Material of Taiko

Which size should I use? See also this article. Size of Taiko

Do you know how to maintain taiko? See also this article. Maintenance of Taiko

Are you looking for bachi sticks for these? See also this article. Types and Material of Bachi

😚Thank you for reading this to the end. Please feel free to ask any questions or leave any comments😉

1. Introduction

Taiko is a Japanese word, which means a Japanese drumming style, a drum group, drum music and a drum itself. There are a wide variety of shapes and sizes of taiko. They have developed through the long history of Japan along with various traditional art forms such as noh, kyo-gen, nagauta, and kabuki. The word "wadaiko" especially refers to a taiko of Japanese origin. It is a compound word, which consists of "wa" (Japanese) and "daiko" (a suffix of the word "taiko"). The word "daiko" frequently appears in compound words regarding taiko such as nagado daiko and shime daiko, and it may confuse you. Remember that "daiko" is just a suffix and has the same meaning as "taiko" in fact. Now "taiko" often refers to a "kumi daiko" ensemble style, which has a relatively short history, created by some taiko groups in the 1950's such as osuwa daiko and za ondekoza.

2. The Birth of Taiko

As percussion instruments are generally the most primitive instrument in any society, the taiko existed and was used in the ancient Japan over 2000 years ago. According to some archeological and anthropological researches, ancient people in the Jyomon era already used drums as a communication tool or an instrument for religious rituals. However, the percussion they used is guessed to be quite different from the one used today. By the fact that taiko we use today resembles those in China and Korea, the ancient taiko was probably introduced to Japan from the Asian Continent as far as India. The continental music came to Japan around 5th - 6th century along with the waves of Chinese and Korean cultural influence based on Buddhism. When the Taiho Ritsuryo, the oldest constitution of Japan, was enacted in 702, a department of the imperial court music was established in the Imperial Palace. The department has been inherited directly till now, honored as the Important Intangible Cultural Asset. Various kinds of taikos such as sannotsuzumi, furi tsuzumi, dadaiko, tsuri daiko, ninai daiko, kakko, kaiko, and ikko are used in the court music. The style is said to be one of the roots of taiko music we know today. After the samurai class gained power since the Kamakura era started in 1192, a new cultural movement of ethnic Japanese started to appear. Many original art forms were born under the feudal Japan, unleashed from the Chinese and Korean cultural influence. For example, a noh play was created in the Muromachi era (1336-1573). A famous kabuki play emerged and quickly became popular in the Edo era (1603-1867) as well as nagauta. Taiko had an important role in those art forms as an accompaniment, and were gradually diversified to various sizes and shapes. Moreover, the development of other instruments such as shamisen, koto and shakuhachi also influenced the shaping of those art forms now categories as traditional. The methods of taiko playing have been inherited through generations under the iemoto system (the system of the teaching of a traditional Japanese art by a master), although western music has become predominant in modern Japan. Meanwhile, taikos have always been used in religious ceremonies or local festivals as well. It is very common to find taikos at Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples. This shows that taiko has associated with a religion very closely. The ancient people might feel the power of deity in the rumbling sound of taiko and taiko had a role as a sanctifying instrument. Usually, men who were authorized by the priest played taiko at special occasions. Otherwise at the religious ceremonies, common people have enjoyed dancing along with taiko at local festivals. Such local festivals still remain and it is fun to watch their unique taiko performances.

3. Modern Taiko History

Kumi daiko literally means a taiko ensemble that consists of various taikos. Surprisingly, the kumi daiko style was invented in 1950's by single person although taiko itself has a long history. Daihachi Oguchi, the founder of osuwa daiko, created the kumi daiko style in 1951. He was actually a jazz drummer. One day, he was asked to interpret an old sheet of taiko music for the Osuwa shrine, which was found in an old warehouse. The sheet music was written in an old Japanese notation and he couldn't understand it at first. He, fortunately, found an old man who had performed the tune, and then he succeeded in interpreting it at last. However, as a jazz player, the rhythm pattern of the tune was too simple for him to play. He wondered why nobody played taiko together. A marvelous idea came across his mind and made him decide to break through the tradition. Inspired by a western drum set, he formed a group in which each player beats a different taiko; in short, he gave the group a function as a drum set. A high-pitched shime daiko established a basic rhythm like a snare drum does. A growling nagado daiko added accents like a bass drum. His intention was right to the point, and this epoch-making invention changed the taiko music forever.

Following the osuwa daiko, Yushima tenjin sukeroku daiko, which was based on Edo bayashi style, was formed in 1959 by the four members: Yoshihira Ishikawa, Yutaka Ishikawa, Seido Kobayashi, and Motoei Onozato. The characteristics of the group were the speed, powerful playing and unique choreography. Later, the group was split to two groups, the Yushima tenjin sukeroku daiko and oedo sukeroku daiko founded by Seido Kobayashi.

Another historic group was born in 1969: it was za ondeko. Tagayasu Den founded the group on Sado Island located in the northern part of the Japan Sea. The group was totally different from the other groups ever formed. The members were not natives of the island, actually they came from all over Japan, and some of them were youths disaffected with bustling big city life. They lived together in a commune, cultivated fields, and ran a marathon daily. The rigorous physical training seemed to be the group's dogma to create a good sound. In 1975, the sensational event that they performed taiko on stage just after they run the whole Boston Marathon astonished the entire world. za ondeko was credited with the first Japanese group with spreading the taiko music all over the world. In 1981, the group was split to kodo, which consists of the original members of za ondeko, and new za ondeko, which was formed by Den. Now, kodo is the most famous taiko group and is busy traveling around the globe.

4. Taiko in Municipal Activities

The period from 1970's to 1990's in Japan seemed to be the renaissance of taiko music. The activities of osuwa daiko and other early kumi daiko groups in 1960's, and the taiko performance at the Tokyo Olympic in 1964ignited the phenomenal taiko boom for next decades. People started to pay attention to their local cultural heritages, which were almost vanishing away. Many municipal organizations took action on preserving them and, consequently, a lot of hozonkai (municipal preserving organization) were born here and there in Japan. Adding to that, the government promoted those activities with a vast sum of subsidies in 1980's. The end result is that approximately 4,000 taiko groups have been formed in Japan since then. An important renovation in education was also enacted recently. The music education in Japan had focused on the western classical music and disregarded traditional Japanese music in modern times. The educational renovation 2002 required schools to use Japanese traditional instruments including taiko as teaching materials. It is sure that the new generation will reactivate taiko music in the 21st century.

5. Taiko in the United States

Taiko was brought to the United States by Japanese immigrants there in the early of the 20th century. The main usage of taiko in those days was to play in temples or in festivals as miya daiko (temple drum or shrine drum). The Japanese immigrants preserved their culture in the new world, probably, to maintain their identity and cooperative spirit as Japanese. For example, bon odori, a dance in bon festival reposing the ancestor's souls in summer, is one of the cultural activities they loved to keep. According to resources, taiko drumming of bon odori was already established in Hawaii as early as 1910. The Kanazawa kenjinkai, an organization of Japanese immigrants from Kanazawa Prefecture in Japan, also brought it to San Francisco in 1930's. When the World War II broke out and Japan declared war against the United States, a tragedy stroke those Japanese immigrants. They were taken into internment camps as enemy aliens. After the war ended, the Japanese-American tried hard to assimilate into American culture, in order to remove the prejudice. The succeeding generation lost much of their Japanese culture and even the language. Taiko drumming was also forgotten for a long time till 1960's. In the storm of the civil rights movement, some Japanese-American wanted to revive their identity as Japanese, and they found a way to express it in taiko drumming. At the end of 1960's, two pioneer groups opened the door for taiko music in North America: the San Francisco taiko dojo and the kinnara taiko. Seiichi Tanaka, born in Tokyo, immigrated to San Francisco in 1967 and founded the San Francisco taiko dojo in the following year. He was a student of Daihachi Oguchi, the legendary founder of osuwa daiko. His style of taiko drumming was a synthesis of osuwa daiko, oedo sukeroku, and gojinjyo daiko. The San Francisco taiko dojo was the first taiko group introduced the kumi daiko style to the United States. The group inspired many following taiko groups and greatly devoted to spread taiko throughout North America for decades. The Reverend Masao Kodani of senshin buddhist temple founded the kinnara taiko in 1969.

Differed from the San Francisco Taiko Dojo, the Kinnara Daiko based on a Buddhist organization and basically performed for events of the temple. The group is one of the unique Japanese-American Buddhist taiko groups still going on. Following them, San Jose Taiko was founded in 1973. The group was also based on a Buddhist organization. One of the Buddhist priest of the organization was a friend of the Reverend Kodani of the Kinnara Daiko and was inspired by him to establish a taiko group in San Jose. Most of the members were Sansei at first. They are urged to revive the culture of their grandparents; meanwhile, they tried to express their identity as Japanese-American in taiko drumming. They made it become a symbolic art form of Japanese-American culture.

6. Taiko in the 21st Century

Inspired by the successful world touring of Za Ondekoza and Kodo, a vast numbers of taiko groups have been established in Japan as well as around the world, especially in North America during the few decades. It is estimated that there are approximately 1,000 taiko groups in the United States and Canada. The taiko boom has been spreading through out Europe, Australia, and South America as well. That is a worldwide phenomenon and will continue in the 21st century. Why did it happen? There seems to be many reasons. Some people got attracted to the beautiful Japanese art form respecting Japanese culture. Some were amazed by the dynamic sound of taiko, which is incomparable with any other percussion in the world. Some might start to play it as an exercise to maintain their health. But there is one sure common reason why taiko is so attractive simplicity. You just strike it with sticks, and a sound comes out. Without distinction of sex, age, or nationality, everyone enjoys the simple and earnest response from taiko. Amazingly there are some taiko groups, which include deaf peoples. They can play in concert successfully, feeling vibrations made from other players. That is a magical power of taiko.

Taiko is the heartbeat of Japan, which has vitalized our souls throughout the long deep history. Now it is also becoming a universal musical language making peoples in the world get closer. The instrument has an unlimited potential, as the fact that the kumi-daiko style was invented and developed in relatively short period shows. traditional but new that is taiko. Taiko music continues to evolve with the commencement of 21st century; and maybe it will be you, who create a new generation of taiko music.

Related Articles

Which material are these made of? See also this article.  Material of Taiko

Let's see what kind of taiko are there. Types of Taiko

😚Thank you for reading this to the end. Please feel free to ask any questions or leave any comments😉