Big Drum: Taiko in the United States

Abstract

“Big Drum: Taiko in the United States.” Japanese American National Museum, 369 E. First St., Los Angeles, CA 90012. Temporary exhibition, July 14, 2005–Jan. 8, 2006. 3,000 sq. ft. Sojin Kim, curator; Ronald Stroud, exhibition designer; Akira Boch, Masaki Miyagawa, and Ann Kaneko, director/videographer/editor of media arts pieces; John Esaki, producer/editor/video grapher of media arts pieces; Art Hansen, senior historian/oral history interviewer; Lisa Sasaki, education; Sabrina Motley, director of public programs; Vicky Murakami-Tsuda, Web editor. Internet: description of exhibition, history of taiko in North America, video clips, interviews, photo gallery, and related links <http://www.janm.org/exhibits/bigdrum> (March 6, 2006). Three and a half decades after the first Japanese drumming groups formed in the United States, the significance of taiko (Japanese drumming; or big drum) in Japanese American history has received public recognition from the Japanese American community. Over 800 people crowded into the Japanese American National Museum (janm) on the evening of July 13, 2005, to celebrate the opening of the exhibition “Big Drum: Taiko in the United States.” On that same day, the 2005 North American Taiko Conference opened at the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center (jaccc), attracting over 600 drummers from the United States, Canada, Britain, and Japan. Both the janm and jaccc are located in Los Angeles's Little Tokyo district.