2024 North American Taiko Conference, Regional
Seattle
August 16-18th, 2024
Seattle Convention Center (Arch Building)
Registration is currently open to Community level attendees only. Please click the register button to enroll as a Community attendee, or to get the link to our waitlist for Participant tickets or kaDON Intensives.
Registration Options:
Participant - $350 *
Community - $50
Special: kaDON Intensive
* Active TCA members receive a $50 discount
Registration as Participant Includes:
Saturday Workshops (3 two-hour blocks)
Sunday Intensive (5 hour block with break)
Sunday Share Session (share what you learned)
2 Concerts (Friday and Saturday)
Plenary Session
Discussion Sections (open or registered
Marketplace
Issho: Building Community Through Taiko
Back together again for an in-person conference, this year’s theme celebrates the ways in which taiko allows us to be in community with one another. Through this conference, we hope to build lasting relationships that live long past the weekend of gathering, guiding us towards joyous and just futures together.
Two Concerts! We’re celebrating this year’s theme with two concerts, open to participants and the public via a “Community” ticket. The TaikoGO! concert on Friday night will feature performances from regional groups as well as a few special guests. The Issho concert on Saturday night will feature performances that highlight the joy and resilience of community. Invite your friends and family to join us with the Community Ticket, which provides access to both concerts, public discussions, the marketplace, and more!
The Seattle Convention Center is located in downtown Seattle, and is easily accessible by public transportation. Visitors can take the Link Light Rail to the Westlake Station, a short (0.2 mile) walk from the Convention Center, or take Seattle Streetcars or the King County Metro Transit buses. The ORCA card is an all-in-one transit card and can be purchased at a transit station (such as the airport) or online. Visitors staying near the downtown should be able to get to the venue without renting a car for the weekend.
NATC-R will be on Floor 6 of the Arch Building of the Seattle Convention Center. Registration is required for attendance, though we have a Community Ticket which can be purchased through the same registration link and is a good alternative for those wishing to attend but not necessarily take workshops.
Attention! Regarding Food:
We know that sharing meals together is a big part of Conference, but due to terms of use at the venue, the TCA cannot directly provide food to participants onsite. Participants may bring their own individual food, but may not bring food to distribute. There will be on-site and nearby food options. We are currently investigating other options for food, but please be aware that you may need to bring your own snacks and meals. We will keep registrants updated regarding food.
Regional Webinars
Taiko in Pacific Northwest Webinar
On Friday, February 2nd, the TCA hosted a webinar exploring some of the history of taiko in the region. The playback from the livestream can be viewed on YouTube.
Panelists: Shinobu Homma (Vancouver Taiko Society, Chibi Taiko), Stan Shikuma (Seattle Kokon Taiko, Kaze Daiko), Ann Ishimaru (Portland Taiko, University of Washington).
Facilitators: TCA Leadership Program - Roy Hirabayashi and Derek Oye
Taiko’s Core Values: Beyond Roots
This panel by the University of Washington School of Music, Asian Languages and Literature, and American Ethnic Studies was live-streamed by the TCA with help from Taiko Kai, the collegiate taiko team on campus. A recording on the live-stream can be viewed on YouTube.
Panelists: Shoji Kameda, Stan Shikuma, Deborah Wong
Meet the Organizers and Groups Planning NATC-R Seattle
Local Spotlight
2024 NATC-R Seattle Conference Committee:
Wendy Hamai (Issho Open Taiko), Daniel Hayman (Northwest Taiko), Lamond Le, Kelsey Kua (Inochi Taiko), Lika Roberts Seigel (Seattle Kokon Taiko), Stanley Shikuma (Seattle Kokon Taiko, Kaze Daiko), Leslie Soule (Seattle Matsuri Taiko), Ringtaro Tateishi, Ann Yamane (Northwest Taiko), Barbara Yasui (Northwest Taiko), Robert Yotsuuye, Donna Zumoto (Seattle Matsuri Taiko), Gregory Wada (Coordinator, Taiko Community Alliance)
RTG Seattle
Taiko players in Seattle have a long tradition of cooperation, community-building, and coming together to host gatherings. The first regional gathering happened in 1998, the year after the first North American Taiko Conference (NATC), and Seattle hosted NATC in 2007. This year, we are excited to bring the NATC-R program, designed to support and foster the growth of regional communities, to a city with such a rich tradition of taiko gatherings. To learn more about RTG-Seattle, we checked in with longtime taiko player, organizer, and activist Stan Shikuma.
Who is RTG-Seattle?
RTG-Seattle is a consortium of nine performing taiko groups in the Seattle Area. We first came together in 1998 to organize and host a Regional Taiko Gathering, the first taiko conference ever held in our region. In 2005, we incorporated as a non-profit corporation, RTG-Seattle, to promote taiko as a new performing art, support individual taiko players and local groups, and educate the public about taiko and Japanese American art and culture.
CONFERENCES
The Regional Taiko Gathering is a conference for all taiko groups in Idaho, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia and Alberta. Our vision seeks to bring together taiko players in our region for a weekend of workshops, discussions, performances and social activities that help build stronger relationships, develop our collective taiko and artistic skills, and shape ideas, goals and methods. Over 150 taiko players from some 25 groups now participate in this bi-annual conference.
In August 2007, RTG-Seattle was also proud to host the North American Taiko Conference, the largest gathering of taiko groups and players anywhere outside of Japan. NATC (held every 2 years since its inception in 1997) brings together many of the top taiko groups in North America, along with nationally and internationally known taiko artists, for 3 days of workshops, performances, discussions, panel presentations and camaraderie.
ARTISTIC DEVELOPMENT
RTG-Seattle often hosts taiko workshops and master classes with visiting artists and touring groups. As RTG-Seattle, we can share costs and venues, making world-class instruction affordable for all our members. These classes raise our performance level, enhance our skills and broaden our artistic vision as we learn from artists who tour throughout the US, Japan and worldwide. Past workshop leaders include: Hanayui (Japanese folk dance and folk song), Kenny Endo (taiko), Shohei Kikuchi (folk dance), KODO/Ryutaro Kaneko (taiko, performance art), TaikoProject (taiko), Chura (Okinawan dance), Kaoru Watanabe (fue - bamboo flute), KODO/Eiichi Saito (taiko, stage presence).
COLLABORATIVE PERFORMANCE
On occasion, RTG-Seattle groups will pool resources and field a multi-group company, or RTG Ensemble. This enables us to expand our artistic horizons, gain access to several unique venues, and garner greater public exposure for our art. Examples include: King County Rally Against Domestic Violence in Westlake Mall Square; Seattle Mariners Pre- Game Show at Safeco Field; Renton River Days Parade through Downtown Renton; Husky Marching Band Half Time Show at Husky Stadium.
PUBLIC EDUCATION & OUTREACH
RTG-Seattle offers taiko workshops to the public at the Aki Matsuri (Fall Festival) in Bellevue and the Seattle Cherry Blossom and Japanese Cultural Festival in Seattle. In these workshops, we teach the basics of taiko: the "oral tradition" of learning rhythm patterns, taiko history and playing style. We give lectures and demonstrations on request, e.g. at UW Meany Theater prior to taiko concerts (e.g. Kodo, Ondekoza) or other Japanese folkloric performances (e.g. Warabi-za). Workshops and presentations are led by senior members of our constituent groups and serve to educate the public about our art and cultural heritage.
REGIONAL TAIKO CENTER
Another long-term goal for RTG-Seattle is to develop a Regional Taiko Center -- a central location for collective and mutual assistance among local groups and local players. RTG-Seattle hopes such a Regional Taiko Center can be based at the Japanese Community Cultural Center of Washington (JCCCW), where several of our constituent groups now practice. Such a center could provide: space for rehearsals, workshops and classes; storage space for drums and equipment; sponsorship of taiko-related events, e.g. performances, receptions, meetings; a Taiko Co-op to buy or lease equipment and purchase materials in bulk; space for a Taiko Resource Library; storage for archival material documenting our history.
TAIKO RESOURCE CLEARINGHOUSE
In the future, we plan to develop a central Taiko Resource Clearinghouse of information on local taiko performances, events, classes, performers and resources. Several of our constituent groups already host their own web sites, but we hope to develop a central site where the public can find information on local taiko groups, classes and events, with links to other taiko sites and contact information to specific groups for more in-depth information.
RTG-Seattle welcomes support from taiko players, taiko enthusiasts, corporate sponsors and the general public. Volunteers and donations are always useful and always needed. Please contact us if you would like to help or to get further information at: sktaiko1@mac.com
Japanese Exonyms for Seattle - See you in Sand City?
Early Japanese settlers along the Pacific Coast of North America spoke and wrote the names of cities in ways that conformed to their native language. Exonyms are words that are commonly used in one language in place of a word native to another language - how Nihon becomes Japan, for instance. Both linguistics and history influence the words that people use to convey meaning across language.
Today, the standard Japanese word for Seattle is rendered in katakana as シアトル (Shiatoru), though early Japanese immigrants arranged ideographic characters (kanji) that would read similar to how they heard the word, a process called ateji (assigning characters). Assigned based on phonetic approximation, they often do not represent conceptual arrangements and may use rare kanji. Some examples of ateji for Seattle include 沙市 (Sand City) and 舎路 (House Road), with pronunciations approximating Shiatoru or Shiyatoru. 沙港 (Sako, Sand Port), parallels 桑港 (Soko, Mulberry Port), the ateji for San Francisco, another population center for Japanese Americans on the Pacific coast of North America.
Japanese Americans in Seattle
The City of Seattle is in the ancestral homeland of Coast Salish people, including people of the Suquamish and Duwamish Tribes who persist in the land today. The name “Seattle,” derives from the name of Chief Si'ahl, also written as Chief Seattle.
European American settlers established a lumber town in 1851, whose timber fueled the growth of San Francisco and other cities in the Pacific Northwest. In 1883, Seattle was connected to the transcontinental railroad, resulting in rapid growth.
Japanese immigrants provided labor for the growing settlement and were the largest minority group by 1900. They worked in timber, mining, railroads, fisheries, agriculture, and small businesses like hotels and stores in the growing town. The Japanese American community of Seattle launched the first English-language Nikkei newspaper, the Japanese American Courier, in 1928 and formed the Japanese American Citizens League in 1929, following with its first national conference in 1930.
Already facing rising xenophobia and racism, wartime hysteria after the outbreak of WWII led to the Incarceration of Japanese Americans along the West Coast following the signing of E.O. 9066 and the formation of a wartime Exclusion Zone. Although over half of Seattle’s Nikkei community were American citizens by birth, they were removed from their homes without due process and sent to holding camps in the country’s interior, as well as Department of Justice and military detention facilities. Many Japanese Americans in the Seattle area were first held in makeshift facilities on Bainbridge Island, Puyallup Assembly Center, and Portland Assembly Center before being incarcerated in the Manzanar and Minidoka Relocation Centers.
After the war, many Japanese Americans returned to the Pacific Northwest and rebuilt their lives and communities. Both former incarcerees and their descendants were active in the Civil Rights Movement and Asian American Movement and fought in the Redress Movement, which was finally recognized with the passage of HR442 in 1988. Today, organizations like the Japanese American Citizens League and Densho continue to tell the Japanese American story and fight for social justice for all people through the legacy of the Japanese American Incarceration.
Kelsey Kua - Kelsey Kua is a Washington native who began playing taiko in 2016 with the University of Washington Taiko Kai. She became Director of the group in 2018 and Performance Director in 2019. Aside from playing taiko, she enjoys connecting with collegiate alumni and encouraging them to continue taiko after college. During the pandemic, she helped plan TCA’s Congra-CHU-lations, a livestream event that celebrated graduating taiko players. She currently plays with Inochi Taiko in Seattle.
Inochi Taiko - Established in 2003, Inochi Taiko is a Seattle-based taiko drumming ensemble founded by Tyrone Nakawatase, Garrett Nakawatase, and Max Honkawa. “Inochi” translates to “life” which encapsulates the members’ dedication to the group and art form. Their journey represents a commitment to sharing Taiko and showcasing the dynamic essence of Japanese-American culture.
Kaze Daiko - KAZE DAIKO is a performing taiko group for youth and young adults. The group is organized and run by youth performers and their parents with an emphasis on supporting the local community with public and private performances throughout the year. All performance requests are given equal consideration. Kaze offers ongoing drop-in classes and workshops for youth ages 7-17. Interested youth may enter into apprenticeships to become performing members.
Northwest Taiko - Northwest Taiko was founded in 1984 as one of the first taiko groups in Seattle. Over the years members have come and gone, but we continue to practice and perform. We've performed at big events like Seattle Folklife Festival and Cherry Blossom Festival, but also at smaller venues like Nikkei Manor Obon and the Japanese Baptist Church sukiyaki dinner. We especially love sharing taiko with others and supporting Japanese American community organizations.
Dekoboko Taiko - Dekoboko Taiko (凸凹太鼓) is a taiko group in the Pacific Northwest started by alumni from Taiko Kai at the University of Washington. Since 2017, the group has grown in membership and original songs. With a desire to create and experiment with new and old sounds, Dekoboko Taiko’s repertoire ranges from traditional to modern classics to songs self-composed by its members. Since 2022, Dekoboko Taiko rehearses at the Cornish College of the Arts in downtown Seattle.
Issho Open Taiko - A major goal of Issho Open Taiko is to make learning about and playing taiko more accessible in the community and to promote taiko in our South Puget Sound area. IOT is a community based, beginning level, non-performance oriented taiko education program in which participants also learn about the history of taiko and cultural context of Taiko development in North American.
Tacoma Fuji Taiko - Started in 2009 at the Tacoma Buddhist Temple. Consisting of volunteers who love to play and share the joy of Taiko in the south sound. Participate at temple events, community and school cultural exchanges, and Japanese community functions.
Stan Shikuma - Member of Seattle Kokon Taiko and teacher of Kaze Daiko in Seattle. Playing taiko since 1981. Community activist in Tsuru for Solidarity, JACL, Tule Lake Committee, APALA among others.
Barbara Yasui - I am a Sansei from Seattle who started playing taiko in my 50s, after being a "taiko mom" for many years. I finally decided that I wanted to do more than take my son to practice, haul drums in my car, sew costumes, and help organize taiko conferences. Now I have the privilege of playing taiko with my son and daughter in the same group--it's so much fun!
Maggie and Lamond Le - Lamond and Maggie learned taiko as the first generation of Taiko Kai at the University of Washington in Seattle in 2013. After graduating, Maggie worked in Ehime, Japan, where she joined a local taiko group, Yawatahama Miyabi-gumi. Upon Maggie’s return to Seattle in 2017, Lamond and Maggie founded Dekoboko Taiko along with fellow Taiko Kai alums. They have become quite familiar with starting fresh taiko groups and have been heavily involved in equipment creation, procurement, and composition of some of the group’s original pieces. Outside of taiko, Lamond works for the federal government and Maggie works in publishing. Their other loves include gardening, games, chickens, and cats.
Wendy Hamai - A major goal of Open Taiko is to make learning about and playing taiko more accessible in the community and to promote taiko in our South Puget Sound area. IOT is a community based, beginning level, non-performance oriented taiko education program in which participants also learn about the history of taiko and cultural context of Taiko development in North American. I was a founding member of Tacoma Fuji Taiko, of the Tacoma Buddhist Temple in 2009 and started IOT in 2010 after some community expressed interest in learning about and playing taiko but unable to commit to weekly practice and public performances. Along with monthly sessions, I have worked with and supported various entities in the community including a in-class presentation and field trip for a university World Music class, teaching a high school Japanese language class a short song to perform at a multicultural school program, session for a Girl Scout troop, taiko as a team building exercise for a human services organization, and adding the loud voice of the taiko in support of rallies that support social justice issues.