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Jodaiko, founded in 1992, is one of the first collegiate Kumi-daiko, or ensemble taiko drumming performance groups in North America based in the University of California, Irvine. Originally named Tomo No Taiko, the group's co-founders Peggy Kamon and David Shiwota, core members of the UCI student group Tomo No Kai. Jodaiko made its debut at UCI's Rainbow Festival in the fall of 1992, where it received overwhelmingly positive reception. The group abandoned its regimented practice routine after their 1993 Cultural Night performance for Tomo no Kai. In the same year, they performed during Asian Heritage Week, another annual UCI festival, to support protests advocating for an Asian Studies program. In 1993, Tomo No Taiko members returned to a regimented practice routine and adopted the name Jodaiko. Since then, the group has performed in their annual concert and various cultural and political events at and outside UCI.

History
Jodaiko has strong roots in Japanese American Buddhist taiko. Peggy Kamon was a member of the Gardena Buddhist Church since birth, and traditional Japanese music and culture formed an important part of her upbringing. When she was 11, she was introduced to Obon taiko by her uncle, who was also an Obon taiko drummer, and learned under Tom Fukuman, a taiko sensei at Gardena Buddhist Church.

At UCI, Kamon was a member of Tomo No Kai. When the group requested that she arrange for a traditional Japanese dance group to perform at the upcoming 1993 Cultural Night as it usually did, Kamon opted for an independent performance instead, setting a precedent for the organization. In the summer of 1992, Kamon and Shiwota started training the first generation of Tomo No Kai members.

As Tomo No Kai had no taiko drums or taiko repertoire, Kamon and Shiwota had to build up the foundations of Tomo No Taiko from scratch. Kamon looked to important figures in the Japanese American Buddhist community for help - Reverend George Matsubayashi of the Venice Buddhist Church and Reverend Mas Kodani of the Senshin Buddhist Temple (and Kinnara Taiko). Reverend Matsubayashi provided the drums and drum stands that Tomo No Taiko would use to perform Renshuu and Omatsuri at their debut performance. Reverend Kodani taught Peggy Kamon and Tomo No Taiko basic taiko pieces like Renshuu, helping her and Shiwota to lay the grounds for a training regimen. He also shared important philosophies about Japanese American Buddhist Taiko, focusing on the group nurturing each other's growth and learning from each other, which Peggy carried into her instruction of the beginner members of Tomo No Taiko.

At the 1993 Cultural Night, Tomo No Taiko performed four pieces to great success, but afterwards, dropped their regimented training routine as it would require a significant time commitment. The goal of the group at the time was to promote the art form rather than reach more professional standards. Tomo No Taiko only resumed practice a few weeks before Asian Heritage Week, in preparation for a performance that would draw attention to the start of the sit-in protest advocating for an Asian Studies program at UCI. This lack of practice coupled with new beginner members that had joined after Cultural Night resulted in a weaker performance. Shiwota noted that he and Kamon took two taiko to the UCI Chancellor's office to voice their protest. Controversy arose regarding this event - the group that loaned Kamon and Shiwota the drums believed that the two should have not used the drums in a political protest, while others believed that taiko could be used responsibly for change.

In the Summer of 1993, Tomo No Taiko returned to the structured training regiment they developed the previous year and intended to maintain consistent practice. They adopted the name Jodaiko (meaning passionate drumming), dedicated to Peggy's original vision of a "spirited [and] independent" collegiate taiko group. Since then, Jodaiko received a generous donation of six chu-daiko and an odaiko from Victor Fukuhara, a renowned taiko player and drum maker from Kokoro Taiko Kai of Long Beach, and has added shime-daiko and other percussion instruments since then. Jodaiko continues to perform to this day, with changing structure, demographic, playing styles and individual talents, but still looks to its early years as a model for the core values of the group as a whole.

Community and Traditions
In its early days, Jodaiko's traditions were slowly built through individual members' experiences rooted in Japanese culture that remain to this day. Peggy Kamon, drawing from her background in Obon taiko, trained members and created a repertoire that expanded on that specific style of taiko. Keiji Uesuji, an early member of Jodaiko who also practiced kendo brought in the traditions of bowing in a circle and Mokuso, a meditation practice common in kendo used to clear the mind. In addition, Jodaiko's strong connections to the Japanese American Buddhist community fostered a rich culture of mutual respect. Kamon was particularly inspired by the attitude of sharing taiko knowledge with each other carried out by Reverend Kodani and other Buddhist temples.

Bit by bit, Jodaiko continued to grow in size and skill as new members contributed bits and pieces of their culture. Several new members who joined the group a few years after its founding already had experience with taiko. Despite these changes in group traditions, the Buddhist influences on Jodaiko persisted. Many of these members either came from Buddhist backgrounds or had played taiko at Buddhist Temples, underscoring the strong religious roots of Southern California taiko, particularly in Buddhism. As such, Jodaiko grew to encompass the various styles of Japanese American Buddhist Taiko from Southern California. Jodaiko has also frequently traveled to San Jose to perform Obon taiko for the annual Obon festival that takes place in the San Jose Japantown.

Repertoire
While Jodaiko found its footing, Kamon drew inspiration old taiko performances in cassette tapes by well-established Japanese taiko groups like Kodō. A significant portion of Jodaiko's first original pieces were developed from impromptu jam sessions. Similar to many collegiate taiko groups, many of Jodaiko's performances feature compositions written by members themselves. In more recent times, they have incorporated different music genres such as hiphop. Below are some important repertoire that Jodaiko still incorporates to some degree in its programming to this day.

For their debut performance at the Rainbow Festival, Tomo No Taiko performed Renshuu, a standard practice piece in taiko repertoire, and Matsuri, another well-known work whose name means festival.

In their performance at the 1993 Cultural Night, Tomo No Taiko's first piece was a rearrangement of the well-known taiko piece Matsuri that slowly added players and increased in tempo to show the power of the group working together. Their second piece was Oni, meaning "demon" in Japanese, where performers played with their backs to audience and traditional oni masks worn on the backs of their heads. Tomo No Taiko's third piece combined two traditional Obon songs, meant to accompany the Obon dances held that night. Finally, their final piece Senshin was the first to feature players flipping their Bachi in the air, and survives to this day as a part of a regularly-performed Jodaiko original called Nesshin.

In 1995, Keiji Uesuhi composed the piece Nekkyo, meaning wild enthusiasm in Japanese, that starts relaxed and explodes into energetic rigor, attempting to convey the fervor and adrenaline needed to play taiko.

Seijaku Dotou, composed by Nobu Mizota, a member of the 10th generation of Jodaiko, means "calm wave," and is characterized by a focused, steady rhythm with performer movements lined up and synchronized to mimic a wave.

Legacy
As of 2023, Jodaiko welcomed its newest 31st generation, and continues to play to this day. Despite Jodaiko's ever-changing playing-style and player demographics and skill, its newer generations still maintain close links to its past. Current members of Jodaiko still maintain some of the traditions set in place in its early days such as Mokuso. Jodaiko also still travels to the Gardena Buddhist Church every year to perform Obon taiko for the church's annual Obon celebration. Kamon regularly attends Jodaiko's Obon performances and observes that, although newer members often join with substantial taiko experience due to the taiko community's growth since 1993, they are committed to preserving the group's history. To her surprise, they often immediately recognize her.