Dancing on Impulse
(photo: Adam Weiner)
BY TYLER MORIGUCHI
INAUGURATING THE FIRST NORTH AMERICAN TAIKO CONFERENCE
“Isn’t it good?” That is the translation of PJ Hirabayashi’s celebration of immigrant work life, Ei Ja Nai Ka (EJNK) and that pretty much sums up any time you get a group of taiko players together. I had the privilege of attending the first four North American Taiko Conferences (NATC) but the very first one will always hold a special place in my memory. The 1997 NATC was the first time so many taiko players had gathered in one place on US soil (and possibly anywhere). From the opening night potluck at Senshin Buddhist Temple that culminated in a magical jam session to the closing session, the spirit of friendship and sharing was everywhere. Taiko neophytes stood beside founders of North American taiko and it was good. Along with the workshops and panel discussions was a focus on transmitting the history of the beginning of taiko in North America and its origins in Japan.
“The energy and joy I felt at that first post-concert celebration is one that I will always treasure.”
DANCING TO THE BEAT OF A GARBAGE CAN
After the Saturday evening Taiko Jam concert we all spilled out onto the plaza outside the Aratani Theater for a post-concert reception. I can’t say what exactly inspired me to do it (it may have partly been the free drink tickets) but at some point I decided that the concert and dancing we had experienced inside the theater needed to continue so I took out a pair of bachi and started beating out a dongo beat on the bottom of a plastic garbage can. Soon, other cans were being upturned and fue (Japanese flute) and chappa (cymbals) were being pulled out. Thanks to PJ and the numerous San Jose Taiko workshops the group held while touring the country, Ei Ja Nai Ka was at the time (and still might be) one of the most widely known songs and dances in the taiko community. It’s also the dance’s feeling of paying homage to those who have come before us that perfectly captured the spirit of that very first NATC.
Tyler dances at Bon Odori (photo: Jameson Florence)
EI JA NAI KA BECOMES A TRADITION
I remember the spontaneous, unorchestrated jam session that took place while rings of taiko players danced Ei Ja Nai Ka around the plaza until Duane Ebata, the artistic director of the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center in Los Angeles, threatened to call the police. The energy and joy I felt at that first post-concert celebration is one that I will always treasure. The sight of taiko founders Seiichi Tanaka, Kenny Endo, PJ Hirabayashi and Johnny Mori all playing together while we danced and shouted out the kakegoe to Ei Ja Nai Ka was something I will always cherish.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Tyler Moriguchi is a former member of San Jose Taiko, Seattle Matsuri Taiko and Za Ondekoza. The stay-at-home father lives in Seattle with his wife and two sons, where he is a Bon Odori instructor.
