NATC-R 2023 Instructors

Artistic Director of TAIKOPROJECT

Masato is considered one of America's most outstanding taiko talents. He began taiko training at the age of 6 when his parents, Russel Baba and Jeanne Mercer, founded Shasta Taiko. Masato polished and refined his taiko skills for over 7 years touring world-wide with renowned American Taiko Master Kenny Endo. Baba then studied taiko in Japan with Nihon Taiko Dojo and fue (Japanese bamboo flute) with Kyosuke Suzuki of the Wakayama School. He has toured the United States, Japan, Macau, and Germany and has recorded with many of North America’s leading taiko artists. He currently serves as artistic director of TAIKOPROJECT and remains an active member of On Ensemble.

Chizuko Endo is a multi-talented artist and supporter of Japanese culture through her multiple activities in art and taiko. She is the back-bone of Taiko Center of the Pacific, a school of traditional and contemporary Japanese drumming in Honolulu which she co-founded in 1994.

Chizuko began her taiko journey with the San Francisco Taiko Dojo in 1978 then continued her studies with O Edo Sukeroku Taiko of Tokyo, the Kenny Endo Taiko Ensemble (KETE), and Taiko Center of the Pacific. For the past 30 years, she has focused on teaching, performing, and producing concerts. In 2020, she was one of 18 female taiko players from the US, Canada, and Japan selected to participate in a residency and all female taiko concert. Her piece, Yamamba, was featured in the unprecedented concert.

Chizuko has an MA in Asian Studies with a focus on female Noh mask makers. She studied Noh masking in Japan and has exhibited in Japan and the US. Her masks have also been used by performing artists in theatre, dance, and taiko.

Kenny Endo is at the vanguard of the taiko genre, continuing to explore new possibilities for this ancient Japanese instrument. Kenny performed and studied with Kinnara Taiko, San Francisco Taiko Dojo, Osuwa Daiko, O Edo Sukeroku Taiko, Edo Bayashi (Tokyo Festival music), and the Grand Kabuki Theater. Kenny received a natori (stage name and license to teach) from the Mochizuki school of Hogaku Hayashi (Japanese classical drumming) and studied Edo Bayashi with Kenjiro Maru of the Wakayama School of Edo Sato Kagura. He worked on films- Apocalypse Now, Picture Bride, and Avatar. He has recorded 10 albums of original music. In 2022, Kenny toured across the USA performing concerts, conducting workshops, and lectures. In 2022, he received the Hompa Hongwanji Living Treasures of Hawaii Award and the United States Artists award. A performer, composer, and teacher, Kenny is a consummate artist, blending taiko with original music through collaborations with artists from around the world.

Maui Taiko, President

Kay Fukumoto has performed “Fukushima Ondo” at Maui obon festivals for over fifty years, the first female to perform on the taiko at obon in Hawai’i. The song came to Maui with Fukushima descendants who worked at the sugar plantations. The over hundred-year tradition continued through three generations in her family before her involvement. She founded Maui Taiko twenty-five years ago to ensure that “Fukushima Ondo” continues for future generations. Kumidaiko skills and repertoire were included, along with constructing fourteen taiko, with the newly formed group. Sixteen annual evenings of obon are part of the fifty yearly performances. Kay has taught the song to ten groups in the US to bring a “live obon song” to their festivals. She has also co-chaired the Maui Matsuri Festival for the last twenty years furthering her commitment to share Japanese traditions and culture with the community. Maui Taiko was featured in the “Great Grandfather’s Drum” film that shares the history of Japanese Americans in Hawai’i which film shared obon traditions. The group has traveled back to Fukushima to perform the song at the Fukushima Expo, Fukushima Taiko Festivals, and in communities affected by the triple disasters.

Manoa Taiko

Michael Gonhata first started playing with Ryusei Taiko at Koganji Temple at the age of 8. In 2002, he moved to Japan to train under the renowned Tosha Kiyonari, an original member of Sukeroku Daiko and leader of Nihon Taiko Dojo. During that time, he became a performing member and received certification to play and teach all of Tosha Sensei’s songs and techniques.

Since returning home in 2004, Michael has been teaching workshops at local schools and for taiko groups throughout Hawaii, Canada, and Europe. He is also a guest instructor-in-residence at Puna Taiko on Hawaii Island. He started Manoa Taiko in 2018 focusing on small group instruction and technique coaching and development . Michael’s style is based on using body mechanics over muscle, focusing on varying combinations of power and speed to produce clear sound dynamics while maintaining fluid motions.

Shoji is a Grammy nominated musician, composer and producer. He started playing taiko at the age of 8 and has played continuously since. He was selected through a highly competitive process as an Asian Pacific Performance Exchange fellow, collaborating with master artists from the Philippines, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the USA. He was also selected as an Indonesian Arts Exchange fellow which sent him and three other master arts to central Java for three weeks to teach and perform. Collaborations with international artists have taken Shoji to Malaysia, French Guiana, Brazil, Mongolia and Bali.

He composed an original score for Abduction: The Megumi Yokota Story, Audience Award winner for Best Documentary at the Slamdance Film Festival. He was featured in the music of the hit NBC TV show “Heroes” performed with Stevie Wonder at the 2008 Democratic National Convention and received a Grammy nomination with jazz fusion band Hiroshima for his work on their album Legacy. As a founding member of On Ensemble and the group’s primary creative force he produced On Ensemble’s critically acclaimed albums Dust and Sand, Ume in the Middle and Bizarre Heroes. In 2013 On Ensemble was invited to perform at the National Theater of Japan for their prestigious “Nihon no Taiko” series. Shoji is passionate about building taiko community and is sought after by groups throughout the taiko world for workshops, masterclasses and compositions. In 2014 Shoji partnered with Miyamoto Unosuke Shoten to create kaDON an online platform that strives to provide the taiko world with unlimited access to high quality taiko instruction and instruments.

Takumi Kato is an independent Japanese Taiko drum artist of the highest caliber from Japan. His performances are high-energy and world-class. He came from small beginnings, born in a small town called Ena City, in Gifu Prefecture, Japan but has risen to play at international events across the USA, Europe and Asia.

In 2004, Takumi joined the world famous Kodo drummers, studying their playing techniques and way of life for 2 years at their village on Sado island in Japan. He also then spent the next 3 years, learning and playing in and around the USA. All this hard work paid off in 2008, when he won the top prize in the O-Daiko section of the Tokyo International Wadaiko contest, playing a self-written piece, dedicated to his Grandmother. This was also the year, that Takumi opened his own studio – Nukumori no mori – in his hometown of Ena City.

Performing highlights of Takumi’s career include playing for the Imperial Family and touring abroad in countries such as the US, Indonesia and Cuba. Currently, Takumi and his family are touring the USA with the goal of visiting all 50 states while performing 1000 times in venues large and small. He hopes that through his Taiko drums, he can bring people together in happiness and enjoyment.

Lori Mae Kuoha has been learning and playing the ukulele since her Uncle Jason Keahilihau taught her the rudiments when she was just 4 years old. Over the next 40+ years, she continued studying - not only during her time as a student at the Waiakea Intermediate Ukulele Band, but also through family, friends, and even her students at Keaau High.

When she's not pursuing her love of traveling, kanikapila sessions, reading, gaming, ocean therapy and foodie adventures, Lori can be found at Keaau High where she currently works as the Project Ulupono Coordinator and helps to oversee the Distance Learning, and Credit Recovery programs. She also serves as the school's Assistant Athletic Director and eSports Coach.

Taishoji Taiko, Artistic Director

Chad Nakagawa is a Hawaii born taiko artist. With nearly 30 years of taiko experience, Chad serves as the artistic director of Taishoji Taiko, head instructor of the Hilo High Taiko Club, and instructor for the University of Hawaii's College of Career Educational Sciences Center's taiko classes. He is also a 7th grade social studies teacher with specialization in Hawaiian history at Hilo Intermediate School. Along with his numerous teaching positions, Chad is also a co-producer of the biannual Big Island Taiko Festival.

Independent

Kristy Aki Oshiro (they / them) is a queer, trans and non-binary, 4th generation Japanese Okinawan-American professional taiko artist based in Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay Area. They started playing taiko at age 9 in Kona, Hawai’i with Kona Daifukuji Taiko and was an instructor and touring ensemble member of Portland Taiko from 2001-2007 while getting their bachelor’s degree in Music Performance in Percussion at Portland State University. Kristy was also an instructor and youth programs director at Sacramento Taiko Dan from 2007-2014.

Kristy is currently the founder and Artistic Director of the Tsubaki Ensemble, SOKO Taiko, and Queer Taiko, Creative Director of Placer Ume Taiko, instructor for San Mateo Buddhist Temple Taiko, a member of Taikoza and Unit Souzou, and has performed and given taiko workshops across the US and in Canada, Japan, Switzerland, Italy, Russia, Australia, New Zealand, and Colombia.

Sho’on Shibata is a performing artist and educator of taiko and shinobue. His music explores the possibilities of blending traditional Japanese musical instruments with contemporary performance styles. Sho’on began drumming at the age of 13 and earned his Bachelor of Music from the Crane School of Music in 2013. In 2019 he graduated with a Master of Arts in Ethnomusicology from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. Since 2016, Sho’on has performed and toured internationally as a part of the Kenny Endo Taiko Ensemble. He is an instructor at the Taiko Center of the Pacific, as well as Hibikus Tenjin, a taiko school based in Fukuoka Japan, owned and operated by Miyamoto Unosuke Shoten. He has led workshops at taiko events such as Summer Taiko Intensive, Regional Taiko Gathering, Bachicamp, and has also lectured at several universities as a scholar of taiko music. As a composer, he has composed several taiko ensemble pieces, solo works, and music for contemporary theater.

Tiffany Tamaribuchi, an internationally recognized taiko master, has achieved a level of acclaim in trailblazing fashion. In the traditional taiko realm, of Japanese born and trained male performers, she creates a new powerful voice with her multicultural heritage, youth, and feminine perspective. Ms. Tamaribuchi's determination and perseverance, through long hours of grueling practice in her initial studies, transformed her sense of life's possibilities, which she now does for others. As founder and artistic director of three active taiko groups, her vitality reaches extremely diverse audiences throughout North America, Europe, and Japan.

Enriching her perspective, she also directs Tozai Wadaiko, a professional touring taiko ensemble comprised of individual artists from groups throughout the world. Consequently, Ms. Tamaribuchi fuses traditional taiko rhythms with modern influences for a fresh Japanese-American sound.

Expanding the performance opportunities for women taiko players, Ms. Tamaribuchi formed and coordinates JO-Daiko, an exclusively women's taiko ensemble which performs at events focused on women's issues. Embodying strong and commanding images, JO-Daiko's voice awakens a sense of self-empowerment for women-both as performers and spectators.

Born and raised on the Big Island of Hawai’i, Fred Visaya Jr. started his taiko career in 2010 with Puna Taiko, where he began honing skills in performance, instruction, composition and stage direction. While attending school in Tokyo, he furthered his taiko studies under Tosha Kiyonari while performing with Nihon Taiko Dojo.

After graduating from the University of Hawai’i at Hilo, he briefly studied with Manoa Taiko in Honolulu before moving to California in 2020 to study and pursue taiko.

At present, Fred is an instructor at the Los Angeles Taiko Institute and a performing member of UnitOne and UnitTwo - taiko groups based at Asano Taiko U.S.