About Taiko

Taiko drumming has been a part of Japanese culture for over two thousand years. Taiko literally means “big drum” and like many forms of drumming, is used to bring people together for festivals and big events.

There are many stories and traditions surrounding taiko drumming and a little bit of research will show that taiko had a variety of uses ranging from inspiring villagers with their harvest, entertaining the imperial courts and inspiring soldiers into battle. In more recent times, taiko drums have been used as the central instrument for large festivals.

The styles of taiko drumming can be diverse and quite exciting to watch. Many of these styles have developed regionally in Japan and range from deep lunging stances, the impossible “half sit up” where the drummer supports the drum in a sitting position and many dances around the drum while playing. Of course there are many more styles than described here, but this makes seeing a taiko performance all the more exciting.

About Do Kon Daiko

This dynamic group of five drummers was formed in 1996 in Burlington, Ontario under the direction of Kiyoshi Nagata who apprenticed in Japan with the world famous taiko ensemble Kodo.

The group performs traditional taiko pieces from Japan along with newer compositions. Do Kon Daiko incorporates a variety of Japanese instruments to enhance the texture of the music. These instruments include the yokobue or bamboo flute, chappa or hand cymbals and the ataregane a brass hand cymbal played with a tiny hammer.

The words ‘Do’ and ‘Kon’ translate literally to ‘spirit’ and ‘energy’. The word ‘Daiko’ is the correct grammatical word for taiko in Japanese when it is used as a compound word. As a group, our goal is to embrace the literal meaning of spirit and energy in each performance. The group has performed in a variety of venues which you can see on the performances page.