Thank you Arts Council of Midland for sponsoring this performance.
YAMATO is a Japanese Taiko drumming group based in Asuka-mura Nara Prefecture which is well known by Japanese people as the hometown of Japan. They call themselves “YAMATO, the Taiko drumming group that travels all over the world”. They have given more than 4,000 shows across 54 countries around the world since their formation in 1993.
YAMATO’s Taiko work cannot be fully described by the word “performance”.
They have performed in theaters, schools, all types of events, and even held workshops and Taiko lessons. They are spending a half year on a Japan tour and a half year for the world tour. Their motto is “We go everywhere when somebody needs YAMATO! And bringing energy to the people living in the world!”. They bring joy to the world.
On stage, they are standing with more than 40 Taiko drums and all of them are having different characters. For example, their largest drum called “Odaiko”, produced from a huge tree over 400 years old, is approximately two meters in diameter and weighs 500 kg. All other Taiko drums are different sizes and have different sounds.
The members of the group have trained their bodies to the limit to beat these massive Taiko drums.
The acoustic pressure far surpasses what one could imagine.
They do not simply make their Taiko drums explode with sound; they produce delicate music that provides the listener with a palette of meticulously crafted sound. This is why YAMATO’s original performances are known as “Physical music”, and continue to receive high acclaim all over the world. YAMATO is sometimes intense, sometimes sad, sometimes comforting, and in the next moment comical on stage.
The audience is more than a group of bystanders at their performances.
The audience is engulfed in the sound of the Taiko, and sweat, cry, and laugh; they become one with the performers. All types of people gather around the sound of the Taiko, interweaving their lives, and feeling the power of each other’s inner passion and heart.
They come together to create an instant in which they truly feel alive.
“Discover the new experience by Taiko sounds which has never feeling before”