This image shows an indoor Taiko performance in front of a seated audience. The performers are wearing happis and headbands.

Episode 26 – Taiko

SJCTM - 26 - Taiko

In this episode, Raymond and Carolyn explore the fascinating history of Japanese taiko drumming, from its ancient roots in folk culture to the emergence of taiko ensembles in both Japan and North America after the Second World War. Taiko ensembles first began in North America in the 1970s, and were closely tied to Asian American and Asian Canadian political activism.

 

This image shows an indoor Taiko performance in front of a seated audience. The performers are wearing happis and headbands.

Taiko drum performance; Parliament Hill, Ottawa, Ontario; 1988. NNM 2010.32.39