Devoted to the Drum
Ahead of an exclusive Kodo performance and workshop at the Club this month, one member discusses life in the taiko troupe.
There’s something primal about the sound of Japanese taiko drums. It represents the pulse of traditional Japanese festivals, and a taiko troupe performance can be a mesmerizing experience. Especially if that troupe is Kodo.
Formed in 1981, Kodo is the most well-known taiko group in the world. It’s famous for its austere, powerful performances, often featuring toned, loinclothed and headbanded drummers, hammering away at the skins with their bachi sticks. The troupe’s regimen is the stuff of legend, with punishing training and monk-like living conditions. Joining is far from easy. But one college grad from Michigan managed it.
Ryotaro Leo Ikenaga, 27, was born to Japanese parents in Detroit. He moved to Tokyo at age 10 and attended Nishimachi International School then the American School in Japan. He later studied economics at Cornell University, where he joined a taiko group. Graduation brought with it a conundrum.
“I was looking at a career path as an investment banker or on the trading floor and thought maybe in 40 years I’d wake up and wonder what it would be like to do something else,” says Ikenaga. “I thought I needed a change of scenery and to get out of my comfort zone.”
He found just that at Kodo Village on remote Sado Island, off the coast of Niigata. He beat the odds of being admitted—only one or two aspiring members pass the auditions each year—and in April 2013 he began a two-year apprenticeship.
It was a grueling experience: he and six other hopefuls lived in an old schoolhouse without air-conditioning or Internet access. They grew their own rice and woke up at 5 every morning for 10-kilometer runs. The highly disciplined lifestyle was a culture shock for them all.
Some dropped out, but Ikenaga persisted. He was made a junior member of the troupe in 2015. Three years later, he is now a performer, director and composer, specializing in the taiko, koto zither and fue flute.
In addition to taiko rhythms, Kodo incorporates music and percussion instruments from around the world. This fall, Ikenaga plays the marimba in “Meguru,” a production that will tour Japan. He spends about two-thirds of the year on the road and has performed in Europe and the Americas. While he no longer runs each morning, all-day rehearsals keep him fit.
“What I love about Kodo is that you have to really push yourself and challenge yourself every day,” says Ikenaga. “Because while we all help each other, at the end of the day, whether you improve or not is all on you. If you don’t do your best, you won’t get parts. We are constantly chasing something, and there’s really no end to what we do.”
Kodo Taiko Concert
Oct 29 | 6:30–8pm
Words: Tim Hornyak
