Celebration - May 6
Introduction by Kyoko Toyama
Musical piece: Suwa Ikazuchi - (Thunder of Suwa)
It refers to the Thunder of Suwa, which depicts a violent storm in the Suwa Valley and was originally performed at ceremonies to summon rain. Later it was adapted to depict the military ceremonies for triumph of the legendary general Takeda Shingen at the famous battle on the island of Kawanakajima during the civil wars in Japan.
New York Taiko Aikokai (NYTAK)
New York Taiko Aiko Kai (NYTAK), a family taiko group, is part of the TC Taiko Society at Teachers College, Columbia University. It began in 2002 when a few Japanese families at an Upper West Side public school began practicing Taiko with a hope to pass Japanese culture to their American born children. The group has always been family oriented, but many adults have joined the group over the years as well. NYTAK is part of the New York Suwa Daiko Association, headed by Taiko Shihan Hiro Kurashima, which has roots in Nagano, Japan where the late Grandmaster Daihachi Oguchi, founded Osuwa Daiko. NYTAK has performed and given workshops to promote Japanese music and culture at events such as the Sakura Matsuri at Brooklyn Botanical Garden and in Washington, DC, Japan Day in Central Park, and at various public and private schools in the New York metropolitan region. The group also played at various Episcopal churches including the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine and at the diocesan convention of the Diocese of Long Island where Bishop Curry was a preacher.