Group History#
An informal taiko group formed at the end of 2017 at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre (JCCC) as a successor group to Yakudo (itself the successor to Toronto Suwa Daiko.) In the spring of 2018, a naming campaign ran amongst the community to name this informal taiko group, and the result was “JCCC Kyowa Taiko”, where Kyowa means reverberation and harmony of Japanese essence, and they became the official taiko group for the JCCC. The group is made up of volunteers dedicated to cultivating and sharing the performance of “kumi-daiko”, which is a Japanese drum ensemble. They are based at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre in Toronto where they practice and teach taiko. Much of their repertoire consists of contemporary music written by local Canadian Taiko composers.'
You can visit our instagram at www.instagram.com/kyowataiko.
Founding Inspiration#
In 2017, following the dissolution of Yakudo Traditional Drummers and donation of the taiko to the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre, 4 former Yakudo members began to practice at the JCCC and occasionally teach workshops. As the collection solidified, the JCCC board of directors officially recognised the group in 2018, naming it JCCC Kyowa Taiko. While the membership has changed and shifted over the years, with only one of those original four remaining for Kyowa’s entirety. Our commitment to the preservation of our lineage in Toronto taiko remains. In particular, we still use 4 drums which were originally brought to Toronto in 1981 by Daihachi Oguchi.
Notable History#
- Participation in HAYASHI Eitetsu’s ‘Thousand Sea Symphonies’ Canada Project
- Regular work for the Japanese Consul General in Toronto
- Participation in Kokichi Kusano’s musical and theatrical work: Nae: The Rice Seedling
- Survived founding a new group
Performance Material Sources#
Orginal compositions and Osuwa Daiko repetoire
