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WITH forceful strikes of bachi (drumsticks) against an 18-inch drum made of cowhide and keyaki (hard wood), the primal, rumbling sounds of the taiko send rippling vibrations throughout the body. ‘Space. Pulse’
salutes Taiko
traditionBy Rosemarie Bernardo
Star-Bulletin"It's a sound felt in your gut down to your bones, says Kenny Endo.
For 25 years, Endo has explored the raging and thunderous sounds of Japanese drumming called taiko.
A concert entitled, "Space. Pulse. Image" will honor Endo's commitment to the tradition.
At the Saturday concert at Hawaii Theatre, Endo will release his third CD entitled, "Jugoya," Japanese for "15th Night." In Japan, the 15th night of the eighth month was recognized as the harvest moon, the brightest full moon of the year. His other recordings are 1994's "Eternal Energy" and 1998's "Hibiki" (Resonance).
"Taiko combines a lot of things," said Endo. "It's something that involves physicality and music.
"It's also a connection to my culture, a connection to my ancestors," he said. "It's become my life's work."
Endo was born and raised in East Los Angeles. His first exposure to taiko came in 1973 when he saw a group called the San Francisco Taiko Dojo during a community event in San Jose."As soon as I saw it, I knew I wanted to do that.
"The movement, the visual aspects, it was very percussive and musically interesting," he said.
"With taiko, it's not only a listening experience, you can feel it through your whole body."
Taking time off from his social sciences studies at the University of California-Santa Cruz, Endo spent half a year on an American-Indian reservation in Arizona. He discovered reservation area served as a Japanese internment camp during WWII.
"It made me realize I need to learn more about my own culture," said Endo.
In 1976, Endo attained a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of California-Los Angeles.
Endo briefly considered moving to New York to become a jazz drummer or traveling to Japan to study taiko. Following his instincts, Endo moved to Japan in 1980.
"It really meant going to where the roots of taiko are, to study with some of the masters in Japan," he said. Endo concentrated on three types of traditional drumming: kumidaiko (ensemble drumming), hogaku (classical) and matsuri bayashi (festival music).
In earlier times, farmers played the drums to scare insects away, Endo said. The drums were also used to warn people of floods and fires.
It had a real context, said Endo. "It wasn't specifically used for entertainment."
Endo became a professional member of O Edo Sukeroku Taiko of Japan, which led to travels to such places as Egypt, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Germany and France.
In 1987, Endo became the first non-Japanese national given the honorary distinction of natori, a stage name in classical Japanese drumming. His natori is Mochizuki Tajiro.
"The 10 years I spent in Japan were very valuable," he said.
After a decade of learning from taiko professional artists in Japan, Endo moved to Hawaii. For two years, he attended the University of Hawai'i, earning a master's degree in arts specializing in ethnomusicology.
Noticing a growing interest in taiko, Endo opened the Taiko Center of the Pacific in 1995, a school of traditional and contemporary Japanese drumming. Between 80 to 100 students are enrolled in the classes at Kapiolani Community College.
"It appeals to all genres, young and old," said Endo.
The backbone of the taiko school stems from Endo's wife, Chizuko. Other than teaching and performing taiko, Chizuko handles the accounting, promotional work and bookings of the school's taiko performances.
Their two sons, Miles, 13, and Zen, 11, also participate in the taiko school as part of the youth group.
To his children and students, Endo emphasizes they should be proud of their culture.
"When you actually tap into the power and the legacy of your ancestors and all the people who've been on stage before you, then it's possible to achieve some higher, greater level of performance," he said.
"If the connection is not there, no matter how good their technique, their form or their external spirit, it's only achieving a certain level."
Endo, now 47, continues to further his knowledge of Japanese drumming. "There's no end to the study of it. The more I learn, the more I realize there's more and more."
On stage
What: "Space. Pulse. Image." Concert featuring the Kenny Endo Ensemble, Taiko Center of the Pacific Youth Group and guest artists from Tokyo and the mainland.
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