Blog Posts

Kaigara Bushi

Arrangement:Traditional arranged by Aki TakahashiPremiere Performance:November 5,, 2016 This is a traditional folk song from Tottori prefecture, which was arranged for a collaboration with taiko, shinobue and kokyu artist Shogo Yoshii. ...

Okuni Jiman

Date Composed:2017Arrangement:Traditional Aki TakahashiPremiere Performance:June 10, 2017 This is a traditional folk song which was arranged for a collaborative performance with New Orleans parade and roots band DRUMHAND. ...

Kagari

Composer:Traditional (based on Owase Bushi)Arrangement:Taiko and choreography by Aki TakahashiPremiere Performance:November 18, 2018 Crackling fires are lit to welcome the convex moon.  The eyes fall entranced as leaping flames consume the darkness. ...

Akita Nikata Bushi

Composer:Unkown - traditionalArrangement:Aki TakahashiPremiere Performance:November 22, 2013 - EnwaveTheatre This shamisen tune was originally a traditional folk song from Akita. It was appropriated by shamisen players for its complex nature which readily lent itself to an improvisational style with its intoxicating and driving rhythms. It has...

Donan Kudoki

Composer:Unknown - traditionalArrangement:Aki TakahashiPremiere Performance:October 10, 2014 - Fleck Dance Theatre In winter, the northern part of Japan lies buried beneath a heavy, cold white blanket. Winters there have always been harsh, but were especially so in the period before the rise of modern transportation and...

Yatai Bayashi

The Chichibu-Yatai-bayashi is instrumental music mainly played with taiko drums on dashi floats during the Chichibu-matsuri festival, a major annual festival held December 2-3 in Chichibu, Saitama. Yatai-bayashi is played inside the floats and cannot be seen from outside but plays an important role in...

Tanomichi Uta

Composer:Tatara TokiArrangement:Aki TakahashiPremiere Performance:October 13, 2006 - Al Green Theatre The fox is the god of the rice fields, who returns to the mountains to serve the gods in autumn. The fox god, known as a hunter of rodents, has long been an object of veneration...

Tsugaru Yamauta

Composer:Unknown - TraditionalArrangement:Aki TakahashiPremiere Performance:November 18, 2011 - Fleck Dance Theatre Mt. Iwaki is a symbol of Tsugaru, a city and region in northern Japan.There are many songs about this majestic mountain, a symmetrical volcano which rises from the plains at the base of the Tsugaru...

Suwa Onbashira Kiyari Daiko

Composer:Daihachi OguchiArrangement:Daihachi OguchiPremiere Performance:This piece was first performed in the early years of the group, although the exact date of the premiere performance has been forgotten. Kiyoshi Nagata learned the song from Daihachi Oguchi and Tomomatsu Misawa, when he was a member of Toronto Suwa Daiko....

Soran Bushi

Composer:Unknown - TraditionalArrangement:Aki TakahashiPremiere Performance:April 18, 2007 - Arts Centre, Lake Superior State University, MI Soran Bushi originates from Japan’s northernmost island, Hokkaido. It is a fisherman’s song evoking the process of catching herring – setting the boat out to sea, casting and retrieving the nets,...