The , formerly referred to as is a Japanese

governmental organization A government or state agency, sometimes an appointed commission, is a permanent or semi-permanent organization in the machinery of government that is responsible for the oversight and administration of specific functions, such as an administrati ...

and is the largest national organization of

taiko are a broad range of Japanese percussion instruments. In Japanese, the term refers to any kind of drum, but outside Japan, it is used specifically to refer to any of the various Japanese drums called and to the form of ensemble drumming m ...

performance groups active in Japan. As of 2012, the Foundation represents over 800 taiko groups, approximately 20,000 individuals, and is made up of 34 leagues corresponding to some

Japanese prefectures Japan is divided into 47 prefectures (, ''todōfuken'', ), which rank immediately below the national government and form the country's first level of jurisdiction and administrative division. They include 43 prefectures proper (, ''ken''), two ...

History

The predecessor to the current Nippon Taiko Foundation was founded in 1979 by

Daihachi Oguchi was a Japanese drummer best known for popularizing taiko. Master Japanese drummer Daihachi Oguchi is credited with inventing kumi-daiko, the taiko ensemble, in 1951. After founding his own ensemble, Osuwa Daiko, he led the spread of modern Ta ...

, the developer of contemporary taiko performance. Generally, membership in this organization only included groups that Oguchi had taught or trained. The group had two goals: to develop productive relations with active taiko groups, and to publicize and teach taiko performance techniques. Membership in the Foundation increased substantially in the 1980s. There were few experienced teachers who were available to teach newer members, and prompted concerns from organizational leadership that it would not be feasible to accommodate demand, particularly because taiko was normally taught orally. To resolve this problem, Oguchi developed a textbook called that was published in 1994. However, leadership at the Foundation were not satisfied with the publication because they felt it was written too heavily in favor of Oguchi's specific performance methods, and that it lacked a general set of fundamental performance techniques that would allow for an organized certification process. The Foundation later published a more recent textbook in 2001 called the that provides a set of basic techniques, such as how to hold a percussion mallet and suggested stretching methods to prepare for performance. The textbook has been revised and was republished in 2006. In 1997, the organization was renamed in Japanese from to , but is still referred to as the Nippon Taiko Foundation in English.

Membership

The Foundation has generally been recognized for its work in connecting taiko performance groups across Japan and internationally.　As of 2012, the Foundation represents over 800 taiko groups, approximately 20,000 individuals, and is made up of 34 leagues corresponding to some

. It also has a membership of over 8000 certified instructors of taiko performance at various levels both within and outside Japan.

References

Citations

Bibliography

* * *{{cite thesis , last=Pachter , first=Benjamin , date=2013 , title=Wadaiko in Japan and the United States: The Intercultural History of a Musical Genre. , type=PhD , publisher= University of Pittsburgh , oclc=854984650 , url=http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/18467/ , access-date=25 November 2015 Cultural organizations based in Japan 1997 establishments in Japan