Mystery (Kodo taiko)

Recently I posted an item about the wonderful production of Amaterasu, put on by kabuki star Bando Tamasaburo with the taiko drummers Kodo.  Now I’ve seen another co-production, featuring the taiko group and arranged by Tamasaburo (though not starring him).  It was titled Mystery and it’s going to be toured in Japan and abroad next year – Italy, France, UK, Ireland, Germany, Holland, Sweden, Estonia, Finland and Russia will all enjoy the opportunity to see this most impressive performance.

(Courtesy Ernest Barteldes)

The performance made much of darkness, and the overall impression was of a series of sketches from the earliest mythical moments of Japan, when monsters loomed out of the night and people told stories by firelight.  There was a stunning display of the Orochi snake-monsters that feature in Iwami Kagura, and an amusing skit of women offering saké to Oni monsters to befuddle them while they escape.

In contrast to the Amaterasu production, there was much of the dark Izumo mythic cycle in this production though it was more a series of musical performances than theatrical recreation.  In the programme notes, Bando Tamasaburo writes that he would like people to enjoy the ‘darkness’…

The beauty of something you come across lit by candlelight, a sense of something vague yet marvelous.  Mystery enfolds within it fear, humor, charm and various other qualities.  In the ‘Serpent Dances’ that have come down from old, the defeated serpent is endowed with a surprising level of sacredness.  In this performance, many things will emerge out of the darkness.  While it’s a drum concert, playing as only drums can play, we’ve added plenty of visual interest.’

The overriding impression though was of the sheer physicality of the drum playing, and the abiding image was of a sweat-covered muscled male torso stood poised before a big drum, pausing after a gruelliing ten-minute long pummeling of the leather skin.  The performers looked amazingly young, with an average age I would guess around 30, and the thought came to mind that after a certain age it would simply be impossible to manage the physical exertions involved.

Over the top of the drums floated the sound of yokobue flutes and the clash of cymbal-bells.  When the full ensemble of fifteen players (11 men, 4 women) were involved, the sound was overwhelming and the very ground vibrated in unison.  The explosive force captures something of the sense of elemental awe, wonder and dread that inspired the early myths of Japan and the roots of Shinto.  Here is a performance to thrill to…    if it’s coming to anywhere near you, don’t hesitate to go and see it.  Simply stunning!!

(On a personal note I have to say that these collaborations with Bando Tamasaburo, exploring the mythic past, bring out the very best of Kodo.  Having seen them previously in concert,  I found the Japanese nature of their drumming watered down by attempts to embrace musical influences from elsewhere.  Here, by contrast is the pure essence of what makes taiko so exciting.)

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For the Kodo website, click here.

For another take on the performance, see Ted Taylor’s blog entry:
http://notesfromthenog.blogspot.jp/2013/12/musings-on-kodos-mystery.html

The Orochi monster of Iwami kagura (Courtesy Japan Visitor Blog)