Taiko facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Taiko

A kumi-daiko group in Aichi, Japan
Percussion instrument
Other names	wadaiko, taiko drum
Classification	Percussion
Hornbostel–Sachs classification	212.2 (Instruments in which the membrane is struck directly, which have tubular bodies.)
Inventor(s)	Unknown, origin possibly from India, China, or Korea.
Developed	5th-7th century CE

Taiko (太鼓) means simply "drum" in Japanese. Outside Japan, the word is used to refer to any of the different kinds of Japanese drums (和太鼓, wadaiko, "Japanese drum" in Japanese) and to the more or less new art of taiko drumming bands (sometimes better called, "kumi-daiko", 組太鼓). The taiko drum originated in the country of Japan. This drum was created by Daihachi Oguchi in 1951. The taiko drum makes a very loud, deep sound.

In a traditional Japanese village the odaiko (big drum) defined the extent of the village land. In modern Japan, wadaiko has become more of a performance art, seen only during festivals or in concert. The most famous Wadaiko performance group are 'Kodo' (meaning heart-beat). They are not only the worlds most respected Japanese drumming group, they also maintain many traditional art forms. They group lives on the island 'Sado Higashima' and live together as a community in a traditional way. Many other cultures have adopted this style of drumming, from Germany and the United States to Australia.

Images for kids

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  Haniwa, dated to the 6th century CE. The left and right depict two drum performers. The statue on the left, depicted using a stick on a barrel-shaped drum, represents the earliest evidence of taiko usage in Japan.

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  Hand-colored print of a woman playing a shime-daiko, circa 1885

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  A woodprint block by Yashima Gakutei illustrating a woman playing a tsuri-daiko

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  Taiko drum manufacturing display in the Osaka Human Rights Museum

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  Bachi are sticks used specifically for taiko performance, and can be slightly thicker than typical drum sticks.

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  Eisa are folk dances from Okinawa that involve the use of taiko while dancing.

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  Hachijō-daiko is a music tradition involving two players on a single drum.

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  Performance of the composition "Zero" by Brazilian group Seiryu Daiko in Fukuoka, Japan

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  New York-based group Soh Daiko was one of the earlier kumi-daiko groups to form in the eastern United States.

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  Starting in the 1990s, there have been a greater or equal number of female performers in kumi-daiko compared to male performers.

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  Eitetsu Hayashi in at a 2001 concert in Tokyo

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  A middle-sized chū-daiko being played on a slanted stand

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  This ō-daiko from a Kodo performance features a tomoe design on its skin.

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  Example of a shime-daiko, tensioned using rope

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  Example of an okedō, tensioned using rope

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  A tsuri-daiko on display at the Museu de la Música de Barcelona

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  A 17th-century ko-tsuzumi

See also

In Spanish: Taiko para niños