Since loud, jarring noises are a constant fixture of life in Taipei, it’s surprising that people would actually pay to hear more.
But this is exactly what they do for Ondekoza, a loincloth-wearing bunch known for pounding on massive 300kg taiko drums and other traditional Japanese instruments. The group — which performs this weekend at Taipei’s Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall — is here for their seventh visit.
Taiko means “big drum” in Japanese, and taiko drums can be 1m in diameter, close to twice that long and take as many as six people to carry.
The noise from these instruments sounds like the pounding of an artillery barrage or the stampede of a cavalry charge.
In addition, Ondekoza play smaller okedo-taiko drums, bamboo flutes, cymbals, lutes and the koto, a 13-string harp.
They were last here in 2002 for a “marathon” tour of Taiwan. That’s marathon in the sense of the long-distance race. Because if there’s one thing Ondekoza do as well making one hell of a racket, it’s run.
“Running and playing taiko drums are similar,” group member Yoshida Takahiro said in a mixture of Chinese and Japanese, explaining that both activities require stamina and rhythm.
Takahiro was interviewed after his group gave a brief performance for
the press outside the Youth Activity Center (台北青少年育樂中心) on Renai Road.
“In addition to training, running helps cleanse the impurities from your soul,” he added.
During their last visit, Ondekoza ran around Taiwan for 45 days. Their next planned running tour is Long Journey, a 12,500km trek through China scheduled to end by the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
It seems like every percussion group on the international touring circuit has its shtick. Cookin’ clangs kitchen utensils, Stomp beat on random junk and the Blue Man Group paint their faces and squirt colorful fluids into the stands.
While reviewers may find the similarities tiresome, audiences don’t. Blue Man Group has been a fixture of the New York tourist circuit since the 1990s.
And running isn’t a gimmick for Ondekoza, it’s a way of life. They debuted in 1975 by running the Boston Marathon and putting on a show afterwards.
Their first marathon tour started at New York’s Carnegie Hall in 1990 and ended there three years, 355 performances, 1,071 days and 14,910km of running later.
When founder Tagayasu Den died in 2001, a group of his drummers ran 600km from their commune on Sado Island to a new base in Fuji. Those who stayed in Sado are more famous and tour under the name Kodo.
Ondekoza (鬼太鼓) is a play on the Japanese word for devil. They aren’t as serious as Kodo and have been known to bang on abacuses, knives and banjos in addition to traditional Japanese instruments.
They now run 10km each morning and 15km in the evening, something they will do while in Taiwan at Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall.
Group leader Matsuda Seizan told journalists that his group ran 1,200km the last time they were in Taiwan.
“We feel that this helped us gain a deeper understanding of Taiwan’s environment and personality,” he said.
Ondekozo will perform at the Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall today, tomorrow and Sunday at 7:30pm. Tickets cost NT$500 to NT$2,000and are available through ERA ticketing. — RON BROWNLOW
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