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Mar 10 (Sat), 2018 / Last updated : Mar 14 (Wed), 2018 melanie Kodo BlogBerlin, Europe, Europe Tour, Germany, Kodo One Earth Tour: Evolution, Maya Minowa

“Our Berlin Performance on Feb. 26” by Maya Minowa

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Berlin, Germany.
The very place where Kodo made its debut 37 years ago.

That’s why Berlin is a very special place for Kodo.
On our 2018 tour, we were invited to give a performance at Berliner Philharmonie.

This hall boasts some of the world’s best acoustics. Even the sound of Japanese drums (wadaiko) resonates well here, very clearly and true to life. Good sound reached us no matter where we sat in the hall.

37 years ago, when the members of Sado no Kuni Ondekoza shifted directions and became Kodo, I wonder how they felt when they played taiko when they debuted here in Berlin.
That time of change must have been a more distressing time for those members than I could ever imagine.

From those new beginnings, Kodo’s performances have continued to evolve for decades.

I want the spirit when we face the drums, our spirit of resonance with the drums, to never change. I want to continue sharing that sound with people all over the world.

“Kodo One Earth Tour 2018: Evolution” Europe Tour

Mar 14 (Wed), 2018 / Last updated : Mar 14 (Wed), 2018 melanie Kodo BlogEri Uchida, Europe Tour, Italy, Kodo One Earth Tour: Evolution

“Back in Magnificent Rome After Nine Years” by Eri Uchida

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Mar. 10, 2018

As soon as I exited the train station, the sheer sight of this enormous structure made me tremble.
This is the Colosseum, which is estimated to hold some 70,000 spectators.

I wonder how on earth people made something like this by hand 2000 years ago, in a time without electricity or machinery. Visiting this structure, I couldn’t help but be amazed by human intelligence, strength, desire, and persistence.
Every detail was so elaborate and dynamic, from the entrance trapdoors that added interest to the spectacle, to the corridors devised throughout that let the spectators smoothly enter and exit.

Fights were held here, where people or animals battled to the death. I heard that people in those days were really enthusiastic about the fights, which made me wonder about people today. Are we fundamentally different from people back then? It’s a bit scary to think about that.

For me, it was my first visit to Rome since 2009 when I was on my first tour with Kodo, a summer European festival tour. Although I spent a week in Rome then, due to my terrible hay fever and all my first tour nerves, I only ventured out once for sightseeing to visit the Vatican City. Nevertheless, I have profound memories of that visit to Rome such as our rehearsals with A Filetta for EC 2010 and the performances of “Mono-Prism” with Santa Cecilia Symphony Orchestra.

I remembered that back in 2009 I thought this hall looked unbelievably gigantic. I recall feeling proud as I watched the Kodo members selected to play Mono-Prism, but at the same time I felt frightened about appearing on that stage myself.

This time, I sat in the empty audience seats while we were setting up and looked at the stage. It seemed much smaller than last time and that felt strange.

However, when our performance began, the full house was filled with energy and it absorbed our sound, so the furtherest seats felt very far away during the performance.

In this huge arena, every member of our cast did their very best. We received a standing ovation at the end of the performance, a sign that the audience was pleased by our efforts.
We had all spent our day off before the performance sightseeing all over Rome, and it was as if the inspiration of what we had seen turned into powerful energy on stage. I’m already looking forward to the day I can return to Rome and its colossal structures.
Next, we are off to Milan for two performances back to back!

“Kodo One Earth Tour 2018: Evolution” Europe Tour

Mar 11 (Sun), 2018 / Last updated : Mar 14 (Wed), 2018 melanie Kodo BlogHeartbeat Project, Yuichiro Funabashi

“Seven Years on from the Tohoku Pacific Earthquake & Tsunami” by Yuichiro Funabashi

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Today marks seven years since the Tohoku Pacific Earthquake & Tsunami.

I would like to offer my sincere sympathy once more to all the people who were affected by this disaster.

While this day will remind them of many things, I pray that they will also find peace.

It’s a quiet Sunday at the Kodo Village rehearsal hall.

I will take a moment of silence at 2:46pm to remember Tohoku.

Heartbeat Project

Mar 11 (Mon), 2019 / Last updated : Mar 13 (Wed), 2019 melanie Posts by MembersSpecial Message, Yuichiro Funabashi

“Eight Years on from the Tohoku Pacific Earthquake and Tsunami” by Yuichiro Funabashi

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March 11, 2019

Today marks eight years since the Tohoku Pacific Earthquake and Tsunami.

On behalf of Kodo, I would like to express our heartfelt condolences to everyone who was affected by this disaster.

We continue to pray for the recovery of the affected regions and hope the people there find peace.

We will not forget this day.
We continue to care.
We are traveling performers who still ask ourselves
What we felt and what we were able to do at that time.
We will continue to drum and share the sound of taiko.

Today, we will take a moment of silence at 2:46pm.

Feb 7 (Wed), 2018 / Last updated : Feb 7 (Wed), 2018 melanie Posts by MembersEgypt, Kodai Yoshida, Kodo Performance, Rehearsal, Tour

“Kodo is Off to Egypt for the First Time!” by Kodai Yoshida

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Feb. 2, 2018

Just when I thought the extreme cold wave had ended, I heard that much of Sado Island was now without water. It’s been chaotic here for many days. Amidst trying circumstances, we have been rehearsing at Kodo Village for our upcoming Egypt performances. It will be Kodo’s first time to perform there and when we arrive in Egypt, that will mark the 50th country Kodo where has performed to date.
Director Tomohiro Mitome is leading the cast of nine for these performances. You wouldn’t think it was just nine people by the number of pieces and rich content. Tomohiro said to us, “It’s a tough program, but let’s enjoy ourselves.” And with that, our rehearsals began.

The cast features a lot of young performers, so while the rehearsals were very lively, they also made us reaffirm that we have our work cut out for us each time we appear on stage.

We had a tight rehearsal schedule with only one week to practice. The stage manager, Kazuki Imagai, who is a former Kodo performer, told us that, “Even if there is no time, you still have to do everything properly.” The senior Kodo members gave us strict, clear instructions and our rehearsals steadily progressed.

I have been practicing hard as I imagine the unknown land where I am heading. It’ll be everyone’s first time visiting Egypt. I wonder what awaits us over there…

Feb. 9 (Fri) & 11 (Sun), 2018 Kodo Select Ensemble Appearance in “Japanese Drums Concert” (Egypt)

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