TAIKO: Japanese musical instrument

Taiko are a broad range of percussion musical instruments from Japan. Within Japan, the name means, any kind of drum, but outside the country, the name of the musical instrument is often used to refer to any of the different Japanese drum known as ‘wadaiko’ and to the comparatively recent art-form of ensemble taiko drumming more especially known as kumi-daiko. While the this musical instrument have a mythological origin story, the musical instrument or the predecessor of the instrument appears to have come from India or Southeast Asia and archeological proof suggests that the musical instrument have been existing in Japan as far back as the Kofun period. The function of these differs via history, ranging from the military action, communication, theatrical accompaniment, entertainment and festival performances.

Taiko performance is not just made up of only technical training in playing rhythm on the instrument, but also includes components in form, clothing, stick grip and the particular arrangement of musical instrument chosen.

One mythological story about the origin of the musical instrument comes from the Nihon Shoki. According to myth, the musical instrument came from the Shinto goddess Ame no Uzeme, she was the goddess of sunlight, Amaterasu and her brother Susanoo, who was also the god of sea and storms.

In elucidation, Susanoo abruptly became angry and wraths from his place on the sea, bringing disorder to the land. His sister, Amaterasu, became so dismayed at the state of affairs; she went into a cave and sealed the cave rebuffing to come out of the cave. The other gods came together and knew that without the sunlight, life and earth may decay and die. Accordingly, the gods tried several ways to bring her out of the cave in begging, and even trying physically to move the boulder, but met without success.

Finally, the goddess Ame no Uzume that had the visage of an old woman, came forth claiming she can bring the god of sun out from the cave. Despite the ridicule from other gods, she continued with her plans. Ame no Uzume emptied out a barrel of sake and jumped on the head of the barrel, hitting the barrel furiously to produce compelling, percussive rhythm. The gods were so moved by the sound that was coming out of the barrel, they could not help but to sing and dance at the same time. 

Their celebration was so noisy that Amaterasu sneaked out of the cave, and upon viewing the joyous scene, brought her light back to earth and banished her brother Susanoo. From the performance of Ame no Uzume, the musical instrument, taiko, was manufactured.

The exact origin of this musical instrument is not clear, but the instrument’s origin has had several suggestions. While some people have suggested that the ancient dwellers of Japan used a drum like that during the Jōmon period,  there is archeological proof that the musical instrument were used in the country during the Kofun Period, perhaps for communicative purposes or ritualistic functions. This evidence was validated by the finding of haniwa sculptures in the Sawa District of Gunma Prefecture, which portray two figures, each of them holding a two-headed drum with one stick on their hand. The statues display one player of the instrument beating one head of the drum with the use of stick, and the other player using their hand to beat the other head of the instrument. These statues are well-thought-out to be oldest proof of taiko performance in Japan. However, due to the physical similarity the musical instrument has to other musical instruments on the Asian continent, some people have gambled that the taiko's precursor might have be existent in India through the Korean Peninsula sometime amid 400 to 600 CE. Some people have also debated that the musical instrument more directly came from either China or Korea around 600-700 CE, as assured court music pattern, precisely gigaku and gagaku, were passed on to Japan. In both traditions, danseurs would be accompanied by numerous musical instruments that included analogous drums.

In feudal Japan, the musical instruments were often used to inspire troops, to aid set a marching pace, and to call out instructions or pronouncements. In battle, the player of the musical instrument called taiko yaku was accountable for setting the trooping pace, commonly with 6 paces per beat of the instrument. During the Sengoku period, precise drum calls were used to connect calls for retreating and proceeding. Other rhythms and methods were in depth in period texts.

Taiko drums have been assimilated in theater of Japan for rhythmic requirements, universal atmosphere, and ornamentation in some certain settings.

Taiko also been featured in Noh theater performances. Performance of this tradition is made up of very explicit types of rhythmic configurations. One institution of drumming for Noh Theater teaches 65 rudimentary patterns in toting to 25 distinctive patterns and is pigeonholed across more than a few classes. Differences between these designs include disparities in tempo, accent, dynamics, pitch, and purpose in the theatrical performance. Patterns are also every so often conceited together in progressions.

Taiko were used and carried on to be used in the classical tradition known as gagaku typically executed at the Imperial Court in Kyoto.

Japanese taiko drums have been fabricated into a wide range of percussion musical instruments, which are both used in folk music and classical musical tradition of Japan. The musical instruments have heads on both side of the body and a sealed resonating chamber. The musical instruments are also characterized by a high amount of tension on the heads of the drums, with high pitch that is relative to the body of the instruments. Many versions of the musical instruments are tunable, and the version of the drum that has high head tension would neutralize the slacking effect of the humidity.

Taiko construction has numerous components, including making and shaping of the body of the musical instrument, creating the head of the drum, and tuning the head of the drum. Disparity in the construction procedure frequently deals with the latter two portions of this process. 

Historically, byō-uchi-daiko was carved from tree trunks of the Zelkova that were tenaciously desiccated out over many years, using specific methods to prevent splitting. A master carpenter would then craft out the body of the musical instrument by hand; the inner texture of the wood after crafting would moderate the tone of the musical instrument when it is struck. In modern times, taiko are crafted out on a large lathe with the use of a wood staves or logs^, which can be shaped to fit either a larger drum body or smaller drum body.

The skin of these musical instruments are commonly produced from cowhide from Holstein cows that have aged approximately three or four years or simply from horses, though bull skin is preferred for larger versions of the musical instrument. On some heads of the instruments, a patch of deer skin will be sited in the center, and functions as the target for several strokes when playing. The hair is removed from the hide before fixing it to the body of the musical instrument. To spread the skin over the musical instrument appropriately, one process necessitates the body of the instrument to be held on a platform with numerous hydraulic jacks beneath it. The edges of the cowhide are protected to a gadget beneath the jacks, and the jacks spread the skin incrementally to precisely tension the skin of the instrument to the head of the instrument.

Taiko performance patterns differ widely from group to group when it comes to the number of players, repertoire, instrument selections, and stage performances. Nevertheless, a number of early assemblages have had broad impact on the tradition.

Sticks for playing the musical instrument, known as bachi, are held in a number of ways. Bachi are held slightly loosely by the thumb of the hand, middle finger of the hand, and index fingers of the hand in an overhead grip, analogous to matched grip. In common, the hinge of the bachi rests between the index finger of the player’s hand and thumb of the hand, while the other fingers of the hand remain tranquil and somewhat curled around the around the bachi. There are some other grips that permit performers of the instrument to play much quicker for more technically-difficult pieces.