Taiko Classification and Manufacturing BY MICHAEL GOULD he roots of taiko may be found in a Within a contemporary taiko ensemble, referred to as sho, chu and dai (small, long and diverse history of religion such as the Kodo Drummers of Japan, an medium and large). Any of the classifica- Tand war. In Japan, a large portion eclectic mix of instruments is taken from tions of drums may be at times referred of the drums found within contemporary a variety of genres. to by size and not type. taiko ensembles have their roots estab- Another form of classifying taiko may The following is a brief explanation of lished in Buddhist religious services. For be based on the way in which the head is some of the drums found in contemporary example, the uchiwa daiko helps monks fastened onto the shell, of which there and traditional taiko ensembles through- and the congregation keep time while are two methods. The first is by tacking out Japan. There are two main divisions chanting. Not only is the uchiwa found the head onto the shell, called “hyou.”3 for classifying the drums: tacked heads inside the temple, but it is also played of- The second method is by rope tension, and rope tension. There are two excep- ten by monks marching down the streets called “shime.”4 Two exceptions to these tions: shell-less and lug tension drums. during festivals. large categories include drums without The following key will help explain the Taiko has also taken part in Japan’s shells and drums with lug tension. breakdown of each drum. feudal reign and associated battles. A leg- Taiko shells are constructed in two end exists from the sixteenth century configurations—nagadou and stave con- Key: that the Emperor Keitai brought a large struction. The first style, nagadou, has a W: Wood type drum from China to raise the morale of solid shell cut from a single log. Since S: Typical size his troops and frighten hostile enemies this is much more labor intensive, it is E: Ensemble from his castle in the town of Mikuni. also very expensive. Finding trees for O: Other pertinent information The emperor called his drum Senjin larger sized shells has become quite diffi- Daiko or “front drum.”1 Taiko drums have cult due to a depleted reserve of old- TACKED HEADS also been used to delineate town borders growth trees. This depletion adds by how far the drums’ sound traveled. significantly to the expense of the large Nagadou Daiko With the many myths, outside influences drums in the nagadou style. and vast history of taiko and its associ- A less-expensive alternative is stave ated genres, it is very difficult to pinpoint construction. Similar to a conga drum, its evolution and musical influences. This multiple strips of lumber make up a article will focus on classifying taiko and shell. Most often, larger drums employ on an explanation of the construction stave construction. This process can be process. used to make any size or style drum. In The construction of a taiko drum con- the last decade, contemporary drum sists of a very long and labor-intensive makers have experimented with plastic process beginning in the northern forests shells to cut down on expense and of Japan. The process is split between weight, and to increase ease of use and shell construction and mounting of the durability. head. Each entails rigorous work and The dimensions of any taiko are mea- high craftsmanship. The completion of a sured in shyaku and sun. One shyaku single drum involves a minimum time- equals 30 centimeters or 11.82 inches. span of four years. One shyaku divides into ten sun. This Before embarking on the construction equates to 3 cm per sun. For example, a process, a brief overview and classifica- drum measuring one shyaku and two sun tion of the taiko family will help in dis- would be 36 centimeters or 14.2 inches. tinguishing various drums and their A common error in classifying taiko associated construction techniques.2 comes from labeling the drum by its size and not by the type of drum. For ex- W: keyaki (zelkova serrata), chestnut, TAIKO CLASSIFICATION ample, the largest drum in an ensemble camphor, sen Classifying taiko can take a variety of is commonly referred to as O-daiko. The S: 30–180cm paths. One can categorize the diversity of “O” is an honorific signifying it is the E: Contemporary taiko ensembles, drums from the genre in which they are largest drum. The actual classification or temples, folk music found. These can include Noh and Ka- type may be a nagadou or okedou drum, O: A Japanese translation of nagadou buki theater, religious music, Gagaku but it is simply called O-daiko. A medium would break the word into two parts: Imperial Court music, festival music, and sized drum can be called chu-daiko and “naga” meaning long and “dou” the body a variety of folk music and theatricals. the smallest ko-daiko. Taiko can also be or trunk. This drum is made from a PERCUSSIVE NOTES 12 JUNE 1998 single hollowed-out log and tacked-on E: Kabuki theater, Japanese folk E: Gagaku Imperial Court music heads. The smallest drum, which mea- songs, temples O: The tsuri daiko accompanies a sures 30 cm (11.82 inches) or one shyaku, O: The hira daiko is similar to the dance known as the bugaku. The per- costs $1,320 (U.S.). The largest drum, nagadou drum because of its tacked former stands in front of the drum to measuring 180 cm (5’9") or three shyaku, heads and solid shell. The drum has a keep time for the ensemble. Used in festi- costs $108,000!5 shallow shell, which makes for a higher vals and parades, the tsuri daiko is a pitch and faster decay than the deeper highly ornamented drum. It is always Miya Daiko shells of the nagadou daiko. It is usually played with two sticks while suspended positioned like a snare drum—flat on a on a stand. The only difference between wooden stand. In Kabuki theater the hira the hiratsuri daiko and tsuri daiko is the daiko is referred to as gaku daiko. It is ornamentation.7 meant to imitate the sound of the da daiko from Gagaku Imperial Court mu- ROPE TENSION sic. It is also frequently used in war scenes in the Kabuki theater.6 Shime Daiko Hiratsuri Daiko S: 30–180cm W: Keyaki E: Temples E: taiko ensembles, temples, Noh the- O: The miya daiko are the exact same ater, traditional folk groups drums as the nagadou, with the only dis- O: When used in a folk setting the tinction being the ornamented stands to drum is called Minyoushime Daiko. The hold the drums. The reason for the orna- prefix “minyou” translates to “folk song.” mented stands is for use in temples. Miya The shell and skin of the shime daiko are means temple or shrine. O: This is the same exact drum as hira usually very thick. It is the highest pitch daiko except suspended on a stand. It lit- and most cutting drum of the taiko fam- Hira Daiko (Gaku Daiko) erally means “flat hung drum.” ily. Shime daiko are sometimes referred to as tsukeshime and fushime daiko. It Tsuri Daiko can also be constructed using a series of cast-iron lugs instead of rope to provide tension. These lugs fit into a metal collar W: keyaki (zelkova serrata), chestnut, camphor, sen S: 35–75cm PERCUSSIVE NOTES 13 JUNE 1998 found around the middle of the drum. ing drum. The heads are usually lac- San-no-tsuzumi daiko is one of the oldest The lugs help attain an even higher de- quered with a design. The ko-tsuzumi is drums found in Japanese music.9 gree of tension than rope. the smallest of three drums used in Noh and Kabuki theater.8 O-tsuzumi Kotsuzumi San-no-tsuzumi E: Noh theater E: Noh and Kabuki theater O: This is the large version of the O: An hourglass-shaped drum with two E: Gagaku Imperial Court music tsuzumi-style drum. It is used in the Noh heads. It contains two sets of ropes to O: Hourglass drum of Korean origin. It theater ensemble along with the ko- hold the head in place. One set of ropes is also referred to sometimes as san-ko tsuzumi. It is made from cherry wood holds the head on the shell while the daiko. Although this is a two-headed and has simple carvings on the shell for other encircles the tension ropes to drum, only one side is struck. It is usu- ornamentation. Unlike the ko-tsuzumi, change the pitch of the drum. This is ally performed upon by the leader of the the o-tsuzumi does not have lacquered very similar in nature to an African talk- Gagaku Imperial Court Ensemble. The heads. The drum is held on the player’s PERCUSSIVE NOTES 14 JUNE 1998 PERCUSSIVE NOTES 15 JUNE 1998 left hip and struck with the fingers of the of the group. The location of the drum is highly ornamented. The drum appears right hand.10 important within the ensemble and is al- quite large because of a facade encircling ways located to the left of the gak-ku the entire drum. These drums are played Ik-ko Daiko daiko performer. The kak-ko daiko is during the bugaku dance to accentuate played seated and held by an ornamented the movement of the dance.11 stand. Okedou Daiko Da Daiko E: Gagaku Imperial Court music O: Instead of being played within the ensemble, a dancer wears the drum over the right shoulder.