Drum Major

Member Kaitlyn Liao has discovered music, movement and meditation in taiko drumming.

Is it OK if we’re loud?” says Member Kaitlyn Liao, dressed in the traditional apron and headband of a taiko drummer. “It can get really loud.”

A member of Moko Igarashi’s taiko class at the Club, the mother of three focuses on the taut skin of the large drum before her in The Studio. First tapping on the rim, she slowly progresses toward the center of the drum, beating out a steady rhythm with thick, wooden bachi sticks, colorfully decorated with ¥100 store tape.

The composition, “River Piece,” like so many taiko pieces, is about performance, combining percussion and interpretive dance. During her routine, Liao, 42, leaps in the air, clearing an imaginary stream.

“Taiko is a great blend of music and dance,” she says later. “I am constantly amazed at how many sounds you can make with one drum and one surface.”

While the drum is an ancient instrument in Japan, the history of high-energy taiko troupes performing at festivals and rituals is much shorter. Master drummer Daihachi Oguchi helped popularize the art form in the early 1950s.

Liao discovered taiko drumming at the Club five years ago when she was introduced to Igarashi’s class by a friend. “I tried it once and just fell in love,” she says.

The Missouri native studied piano and ballet as a child, and during her time as an environmental engineering major at MIT, she helped form a student dance troupe, choreographing performances that blended modern, jazz and hip-hop styles of dance.

Liao worked in Silicon Valley until she moved to Japan 10 years ago with a 1-year-old son in tow. Since then, she has been a traveling spouse.

“As a stay-at-home mom, [taiko] was something different. You didn’t have to speak baby talk, and I could actually engage my brain in some way,” says Liao, adding she likes that there is no sheet music and, as she advances, the cadences become more complex. “It is like meditation, but you are hitting a drum.”

Liao’s sons are enrolled in the Club’s kids’ taiko class, and she joined Igarashi’s performance troupe, playing at the US Embassy, charity fundraisers and at the annual Taiko Gathering Day, where as many as 200 drummers perform together on stage in Yoyogi. This month, Igarashi will exhibit her drumming skills at a Women’s Group luncheon.

“Anybody can do it. Taiko is definitely one of those things that requires no background,” says Liao. “When you play with a group of people, and when you are in rhythm, it feels like one heartbeat. When you are all together and in sync, it is the best thing.”

Monthly Program: Taiko Showcase

Words: Nick Narigon
Image: Kayo Yamawaki