When San Jose Taiko (SJT) performed at the 1979 Powell Street Festival, it set off reverberations that would end up echoing across the Japanese Canadian and broader Vancouver community for generations. The group of young people drumming on stage exuded an energy and exuberance that was both inspiring and accessible. The majority of the group were women, defying the stereotype of the passive Asian female—something that struck a chord with many in the Japanese Canadian community. Following their performance, the members of SJT actively encouraged the formation of a local group and with that, the taiko seed was officially planted on Canadian soil.
The soil was ready. Katari Taiko, Canada’s first taiko group, was born on that day 43 years ago in Oppenheimer Park, in the heart of Vancouver’s downtown eastside. The park, formally known as Powell Grounds, or Paueru Grounds, was once home to the fabled Asahi baseball team, and at the centre of a bustling pre-war community that was gutted following the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941. In 1979, two years after the Japanese Canadian Centennial and the inaugural Powell Street Festival, the community was undergoing a reawakening, with younger sansei returning to the Powell Street area in search of community. Inspired by the burgeoning Asian American movement, younger Japanese and Chinese Canadians were beginning to actively question their identities and to explore their Asian heritage. Tonari Gumi was open for business on Hastings Street; Sakura-so, a home for Japanese Canadian seniors, had opened on Powell Street; the Japanese Canadian Centennial Project had published A Dream of Riches, a photographic history of the community; Inalienable Rice, the first Asian Canadian anthology, featured some of Canada’s foremost artists and thinkers.
Adopting SJT’s collective model, Katari Taiko had from the beginning an ideological framework on which to build. Leadership was rotated among the members and major decisions were made by consensus. Katari Taiko wasn’t operating in a vacuum. Other groups playing what came to be known as “world music” were springing up in various communities across the lower mainland and audiences were eager to explore new sounds and hidden histories.
Within a few years of forming, Katari Taiko began to receive invitations to perform across the country. Other communities, exposed to the power of taiko, began to form their own groups. As time passed, former members began to form offshoots, each with their own approach. The seeds planted by SJT bore fruit, with the sound of the drums echoing well beyond the Rocky Mountains.
The group continued to evolve, building and maintain drums, bringing in taiko masters to coach and inspire, learning traditional and newer pieces from other groups, composing their own original pieces, participating in festivals, presenting concerts, entrancing hundreds of children in school shows, collaborating with other artists, musicians, and dancers to create unique theatre events. As part of the Vancouver Taiko Society, the group has helped host regional taiko gatherings, and members have attended taiko workshops and conferences across North America. Recent pandemic projects included livestreamed concerts and videos for the Vancouver Folk Music Festival, the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts, and the Powell Street Festival, and a Japan Foundation/Eitetsu Hayashi project with five other Canadian taiko groups. The group continues to thrill audiences at festivals and school shows with their next performance scheduled September 24 at 11am at Riverfest in New Westminster.
Over the past 43 years more than 70 members have found their voice drumming with, and sharing in shaping, Katari Taiko. Group members have come and gone over the years—but what has remained steady is a commitment to a collective model as well as a mandate to support progressive, community-based causes. This alumni community is an important part of the Katari Taiko legacy, with past members and their families continuing to come together and support the group at events, serving as board members, and helping when asked.
Katari Taiko is actively seeking new members to continue the evolution and legacy of the Talking Drums.
New members come to Katari Taiko in all sorts of ways. Some come with taiko skills already developed from playing in childhood, college, or with one of the many other taiko groups now thriving across North America as well as in Japan. Many start out with no experience at all, curious about playing such large drums, by taking a one-day workshop. This taste often leads to wanting more, and to that end, Katari Taiko offers longer workshops. This allows new players to better grasp the basics of form and rhythm, while blending martial arts, dance, and music making.
Katari Taiko is hosting its next eight-week workshop series on Thursday evenings from October 6 to November 24. This is the perfect opportunity to pick up the bachi (drum sticks) for an extended, indepth full-body musical experience. Who knows, it could be the start of the beautiful long-term relationship with these powerful, earth-shaking drums.
No experience required. Contact diane@dkam.ca for information.
