‘Knot-working’ of traditional music across the globe: A case study of African drumming in Ioujima Island, Japan

Abstract

Abstract The paper explains how a West African drum called djembe has been introduced and settled in Ioujima, a small island in Kagoshima, Japan. The drum and its music were brought in the island by Mamady Keita, who is a world famous djembe drummer from Guinea, in 1990’s. There has been established an international djembe school named ‘Mishima Djembe School’ in the island, and it attracts the musicians domestically and internationally. The music is contributing to revitalize the depopulating and aging island community. There are several reasons why the island has accepted the music from opposite side of the earth and the music has become an important part of the islanders both culturally and economically. One reason relates to the unique history of djembe music. Another reason is the way the island has accepted and made the best use of the cultural resource to vitalize its social-economy. The events regarding djembe in the island used to be solely managed by the municipal office. However, the music became a joint project of the municipality and a music-related company. What the two stories explain is that transformation from ‘net-working’ to ‘knot-working’ has happened in the music and the islanders’ way of accepting it.