Reviving a tradition in Taiko Making

For a taste of traditional Japanese craftsmanship with a hint of modern marketing know-how, one just has to look to Tajima-machi, and Hisayoshi Kawada's Drum Factory.

In the olden days, the area around Tajima was home to many acres of trees and so it became quite a centre of drum-barrel production. This production peaked in the Taisho era, when it was said that 80% of domestic drum-barrel production took place in the Tajima area. Kawada was working as a craftsman in a Drum-making factory when a friend introduced him to the town of Tajima. Kawada liked the place so much he moved and this was 15 years ago. Presently, his factory employs 15 craftsmen. There are only 5 companies within the prefectureengaged in drum-making. Of these, 3 are currently engaged in the trade in the Tajima area, mostly concentrating on hand-made drums.

　

His factory currently produces 1000 drums a year,with freight destinations ranging from Hokkaido to Kyushu. Thefactory sells to schools, musical instrument shops and those who have a real passion for taiko. Kawadais also setting his sights on the overseas market, and the sizeable foreign population resident inJapan. To this end, he has published an English language introduction to his company in the English edition of the NTT Telephone Directory.

Kawada would like to investigate the market by displaying his exhibits at a European trade fair. He has recognised that there are many different types of drum in Europe, and is considering how to lay the appropriate groundwork for establishing a niche in the spectrum for Japanese drums.

Tajima happens to be very convenient place to collect together the timber that is used in drum manufacture. The main types of wood used in drum manufacture arekeyaki (zelkova) and tochi (horse chestnut). Kawada never uses imported wood, as he has no desire to contribute to the demand for timber from developing nations that have no contingency to combat their overfelling. As the years pass, the abundance of the larger trees is diminishing, Kawada has started using gohan, a veneer ply which makes the most of limited resources. Treated cowhide is used to make the drumskins.

A drum of smaller size would take a month to make, whereas larger drums can take up to half a year to complete. The biggest drum Kawada has made to date had a drumskin diameter of 1.2m, and when transported abroad, was only just able to fit in a jumbo jet.

As part of his scheme to popularise taiko, Kawada has established a taiko school which meets three times a year at Shimogo-machi, near his Tajima-machi factory. His drums are used for practice by those wishing to improve their technique, or those simply wishing to try taiko drumming for the first time. To date, Kawada has also held two classes of drumming in downtown Tokyo, bringing craftwork and tradition to modern Japan.