Traditional taiko drums on the stage.Credit:iStock
I’m looking for a distinctive local cultural activity. Something I’ve never done before. I want to have insight and fun – and a bit of exercise would do me good. So here I am in Taiko-Lab for a drumming lesson.
Taiko drumming has a 1500-year history. It was developed as a military warning and communications system and to set the marching pace of armies on the move.
Credit:Jamie Brown
The huge drums,made from zelkova wood and cow leather,are often heard during festivals,religious ceremonies and theatre productions in Japan. The drums only last five years or so,but the drumsticks,which are made of maple or other wood,can be centuries old.
I’m handed over to instructor Isamu Fujii,who doesn’t appear impressed. The good thing about this instrument,he observes,after gazing at my flabby arms,is that anyone can make a sound with it.
Do you need a lot of muscle power,I wonder? Well yes,a taiko-drumming session is like running a marathon,says Fujii gleefully. Young people have all the muscles but older people,he adds,are better players because they’re looser and have more core strength. By which he’s clearly referring to professionals,not dilapidated blow-ins like me.
I’m worried from the beginning,just as soon as Fujii asks me to take my socks off,so I have a better grip on the floor. Wrist-stretching exercises follow.