The drum is often considered the first human instrument. But in the hands of the performers of Kodo, drums are not primitive but powerful — emotionally expressive and even spiritual.
The large Japanese ensemble is now more than 40 years old and has brought the country’s taiko drum tradition to prestigious concert halls across the world and even the Olympics. This week it brings its latest show, “Warabe,” to the Mayo Performing Arts Center in Morristown on Friday.
The word “Kodo” has two meanings. It can translate to “heartbeat.” But the way the group spells it, it means “children of the drum.” After the group’s debut in Berlin in 1981, Kodo has regularly toured the world and has expanded its mission. Today there are three groups of Kodo performers. One tours as a large ensemble, another performs in smaller configurations, while the third introduces the taiko tradition to children.
Speaking through an interpreter, Kodo member Jumpei Nonaka said the current touring show has two goals: to spotlight individual performers as well as introduce audiences to the group’s home of Japan’s Sado Island in the eastern part of the Sea of Japan.
Nonaka said the current tour “really draws on each person’s individuality, character and also the way they approach the taiko instrument.”
“Taiko” refers to an array of Japanese drums, which have had different roles in the country throughout history, from taking part in religious ceremonies to directing the movement of warriors. Of various sizes, the drums typically have two skins stretched across either side of a barrel-shaped wooden body.
Traditional taiko drumming, Nonaka said, is “more kind of ritual, a kind of a prayer to God or to the heavens for a good crop, a good harvest or for rain. So it has that kind of religious ritualistic aspect. Kodo, of course, draws on that. However we take that and transform it into more of an artistic form.”
Though taiko drums have been a part of Japanese life as far back as the sixth century, the modern role of taiko drumming as a performance art has origins in the 1950s. The group Za Ondekoza created a monastic lifestyle on Sado Island, where drummers trained single-mindedly to develop the physical and mental capability for the demands of the intense performances. That group began to tour internationally and eventually evolved into Kodo.
The group’s compositions use an orchestra of varied drums and instruments to create multi-textured, carefully choreographed songs. In addition to being transported by the pounding rhythms of the drums, some of which are enormous, audiences are often struck by the athleticism of the drummers who batter the drums with bachi wooden batons.
As part of their training, the musicians have to undertake extensive fitness programs including long-distance running to build their endurance. To join the ensemble, the performers go through a rigorous selection and training process.
Nonaka was six years old when he learned about the taiko drum from Kodo, which teaches the tradition in Japanese schools. As a young boy, he immediately fell in love with the drum.
“The big attraction of the sound of the taiko is its tone,” Nonaka said. “It can produce such a big, loud sound, but at the same time, it could be very comfortable to listen to even though it’s loud. It resonates with your body.”
Nonaka eventually was among 20 musicians selected for the two-year apprenticeship program, and then among only seven to continue to the next phase.
“You spend that whole time with nearly 20 others,” Nonaka said. “You hardly have any privacy other than the time when you’re running in the morning for training. So when you’re staying with other people for a long time, it kind of brings out the good things and the bad things in you. And that was the most challenging part for me.”
After the grueling apprenticeship process, he was the only one chosen in his cohort to perform in the touring ensemble.
“In a way, I felt like I was sort of taking on everyone’s else’s dreams as well,” Nonaka said. “So I felt the responsibility of that while, of course, being happy about being a member. But there is that kind of sense of responsibility and pressure, so I want to really strive forward to be more of a better member.”
His performing debut was postponed by the COVID-19 pandemic, but he finally climbed onto the stage with the group in 2022.
“That was a real moving moment,” Nonaka said. “And a lot of the performers, not only me, were moved to tears when that happened.”
Now he has toured the world, introducing the taiko and Japanese tradition to audiences abroad, which is an additional reward for him. Playing to new audiences, he said, “is very, very invigorating for us. It’s refreshing and really motivates us to strive for more.”
Kodo will perform at the Mayo Performing Arts Center, 100 South Street, in Morristown on Friday, March 7 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $47-$99. For information, go to mayoarts.org or call 973-539-8008.