Ondekoza

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Ondekoza (鬼太鼓座, Ondekoza^?) ("demon drum group"), sometimes referred to as "Za Ondekoza", is a Japanese troupe specializing in taiko drumming. Founded in 1969 by Den Tagayasu, Ondekoza was influential in the rise of the kumi-daiko (group taiko) style of taiko. Not a taiko player himself, Tagayasu helped transform taiko from a festival-based music form to a virtuosic performance art performed on stage. Ondekoza's performances in North America in 1975 was the first exposure for many Americans and helped spread interest in taiko through North America.

Part of a larger movement to rediscover Japanese folk art, Tagayasu brought together a group of young men and women to Sado Island to study and live. Largely without formal musical training, the original members lived communally in an old school house while studying taiko, shamisen, koto, minyo (folk music), and traditional dance. The lifestyle was austere and rigorous with most days beginning with a run before breakfast and filled with study and practice. One of the keys to the groups success was the arrangement of traditional melodies and styles into stylized, artistic musical pieces. Examples of these are their songs yataibayashi, based on the Chichibu festival and hachijo and miyake based on the drum patterns from Hachijo Island and Miyake Island. Also groundbreaking was the Odaiko (Large Drum) solo, a musical piece focused largely on one performer with only minimal background drumming and percussion.

[edit] History

In 1975, Ondekoza made their American debut. In one noteworthy performance, the members performed a full set after completing the Boston Marathon. The group toured America, Europe and Japan to critical acclaim.

In 1981, largely in response to a movie project that was by all accounts a financial and artistic failure, members of Ondekoza broke off to form the group Kodo while Tagayasu kept the name and most of the company's drums.

In 1986 the group performed at the 1986 World's Fair in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

The group spent 3 years (1990-1993) running and performing around the United States, beginning and ending their journey with performances at Carnegie Hall in New York. At the end of the journey the members had run approximately 9,200 miles (roughly 14,900 kilometers).

Den Tagayasu died in an automobile accident in April, 2001.

The group continues to tour and perform mainly in Japan and Asia. Unfortunately due to poor financial and organizational management under Mr. Tagayasu, the group has been eclipsed by groups such as Kodo and is relatively unknown in the United States today.