DVD “Kodo Legacy” Released Today!

Hello! This is Kodo Online Store.
The wait is over: the new Kodo Legacy DVD went on sale today!

Photo: Erika Ueda

We hope you’ll add this performance to your home theater collection.

It’s a full concert experience, all 94 minutes! So sit back and enjoy it as if you’re right there in the audience.

Released: May 24, 2019
Price: 4,860 yen (tax incl.)

See here for details.

Available now at Kodo Online Store in English and at Kodo performances in Japan.
Kodo Online Store also sells a range of merchandise and instruments. See our Japanese store for the full lineup.
We welcome inquiries by email for items not listed on our English store page.

Kodo Online Store
Email: store@kodo.or.jp
http://kodo.shop.multilingualcart.com/index_en_jpy.html

“Excited to Share ‘Michi’ with You!” by Yuichiro Funabashi

It’s April and in Japan that means the start of a new business and school year. I’m sure many of you have had a fresh start in a new environment this month.

We’ve recently finished our North America “Evolution” tour and Interactive Performances in Japan and returned to Sado Island. Right now, we are busy preparing for our upcoming tours and concerts this spring, as well as future works.

From May, we’re going to be touring with “Kodo One Earth Tour 2019: Michi” throughout Japan for the rest of the year.

Photo: Takashi Okamoto

It’s going to be a soul-stirring, invigorating two-hour program featuring Kodo standards such as Monochrome, Miyake, O-daiko, and Yatai-bayashi. As director, I’ve also included some of my favorite classics like The Hunted and HITOTSU, and we’ve created some brand new numbers, too!

Photo: Takashi Okamoto

We’ve reworked and refined the content since last year, and we are already looking forward to seeing it evolve with each performance on tour.

Photo: Takashi Okamoto

The cast ranges from senior to junior Kodo members who all bring their own unique sound and energy to the stage. I really hope you’ll come along to see “Michi” at one of the many theaters on our tour to experience this rousing program firsthand.

Photo: Erika Ueda

“Kodo One Earth Tour 2019: Michi” Japan Tour

Schedule

“The Excitement I Felt Back Then” by Kengo Watanabe

Photo: Takashi Okamoto

Miyake is a very important piece to me. My life as a taiko player wouldn’t be the same without Miyake.

Photo: Takashi Okamoto

It was watching Kodo play Miyake that made me want to join Kodo.

I first saw Miyake when I was a high school student. I watched the performers push themselves to their limits, brimming with masculine fighting spirit. I thought they were beyond cool!
I’ll never forget that sensation of trembling with excitement from deep within.

Now, I’ve been given the opportunity to play the center position in Miyake.

The excitement I felt way back then… I wonder if our audiences feel like it now.

I really want to give them that sense of excitement, so I will practice harder and harder. I’ll keep giving it my all.

Photo: Erika Ueda

Photo: Takashi Okamoto

 

“Kodo One Earth Tour 2019: Michi” Japan Tour

Upcoming Performances

Kodo “Legacy” Now Available on DVD!

Photo: Erika Ueda

We hope you’ll add this performance to your home theater collection.

It’s a complete non-stop concert experience, all 94 minutes! So sit back and enjoy it as if you’re right there in the audience.

Released: May 24, 2019
Price: 4,860 yen (tax incl.)

See here for details.

Available now at Kodo Online Store in English and at Kodo performances in Japan.

“OK!!!” by Yuta Kimura

We carry out detailed checks before each performance.
We check the position of our equipment, our drumsticks, the tuning of the drums, and so on…
When everything is in position, we say “Pre-Set OK!”

Photo: Yuta Kimura

One of the things I really like about Kodo since entering the group is that everyone handles the drums with a great deal of care.

Everyone pays attention to the condition of the skins, of course, but Kodo performers also wipe the drums before the performance so they look beautiful when we take the stage.

Photo: Yuta KimuraOne of the more senior members once told me, “Be prepared for anything that could possibly happen.”

No matter where I am, what kind of venue, or who is coming to watch us perform, one thing is constant: I make sure I always do a thorough pre-performance check so I can deliver my best performance.

Photo: Yuta Kimura

We still have many places left to visit on our North America tour.

We want our sentiments to reach the audience through our sound.
With that in mind, we carefully prepare for every performance until we can say with confidence:
“Pre-set OK!!!”

 

Photo: Yuki Hirata

 


 

Coming Up Next:

“Kodo One Earth Tour 2019: Evolution” North America Tour


 

“The Limitless Possibilities” by Yui Kamiya

March 24, 2019

Kodo’s mission is to “explore the limitless rhythmic possibilities of taiko, and in the process, forge new directions for a vibrant living art-form.”
But I also believe that taiko has the endless ability to gather and connect people.
This is what I think is the most attractive aspect of taiko.

Tomorrow marks our final performance of our two-month-long North American tour of ‘Evolution.’
We were so lucky to have met and reunited again with new and olds friends across this continent.


To the local taiko groups who are talented in so many ways in embracing their creativity, and to our long time friends who have been watching and listening to our performances from way back when: Thank you so much to everyone who has come out to our performances this year!
Everyone’s passionate hearts for taiko definitely gave us energy and strength to pull through the tour.

The possibilities are still limitless.
Who have we not met yet? Who is still out there? What will our friendships bring?
These are just a few thoughts that excite me!

 

 

“Kodo One Earth Tour 2019: Evolution” North America Tour

Tour Finale


Kodo Blog Archive