CROSS CULTURAL PROJECT 2023

This marks enTaiko's second cultural exchange between Portland and Japan. During this exchange, enTaiko visited Koseisen and collaborated on a performance at the Takaishi-city Fireworks Festival in Osaka. Further enhancing their experience, they also traveled to Dengakuza in Nagano, engaging in workshops aimed at deepening their understanding and skills in taiko education.

I enjoyed the Taiko Japan trip so much because we ate and slept together for two weeks and it made our team bonding stronger. When we visited Dengakuza in Nagano, we learned fun drills, the new song-Taiko Bayashi, and how to play the Japanese flute without making a leaking sound. Amazing Japanese food and a very relaxing Onsen made me feel very relaxed after the hard workshops. I learned a lot more about Japanese culture there. My highlight of this trip was to rehearse with the youth drummers at Koseisen in Osaka and be able to perform at the fireworks festival together. We made lots of new friends at Koseisen. I can’t wait to see them again! 

I got a better understanding that it’s okay to be nervous around new people but in the end, you can make good friends with them and have fun together.

4th grader - Jin

The taiko Japan trip was really fun because I got to sleep and live with my other classmates, see really skilled drummers and observe how they play taiko and compare their playing style to ours. I also really enjoyed the Home stay with Japanese families.. There is always more to learn and more ways to improve. I think in the future enTaiko will try not only our style of taiko but also other styles so that we can play naturally with the different styles of groups in taiko. I also think in the future we can meet and collaborate with more taiko groups in Japan and America. I feel that we should continue to do home stay with Japanese families because it will boost our communication skills and help us learn and understand the Japanese culture which will help us become more dedicated and passionate about what we are learning and performing. I really enjoyed the trip and the experience, and I will remember it for the rest of my life.

6th grader, Michael

On the Japan trip my favorite part was working with other taiko groups in Japan, Dengakuza and Koseisen.  I think the two main things we worked on at Dengakuza and Koseisen was timing and teamwork. We worked on timing and teamwork because Dengakuza taught us traditional Japanese dances.  Koseisen, youth taiko group in Osaka,  helped us with teamwork for the song we were learning. Everyone had to listen to each other to know what tempo to go on, what time to stop, then when to start again. For teamwork we all got to stay with one of the Koseisen players as a homestay. It helped me be able to listen to a new tempo then be able to adjust to it to get it right. I also think that it helped make it easier to cooperate with other people in taiko.

4th grader Takeshi

It was my first time traveling without my family! I was nervous at the beginning but then my fear went away as soon as I saw my friends at PDX airport. I learned a lot more about Japanese culture and loved that we ate and slept together, were able to bond together well and our teamwork became better. My highlight of this trip was the joint performance we did with Koseisen at the fireworks festival in Osaka. I will never forget this moment forever. I got a better understanding that it’s okay to be nervous around new people but in the end, you can make good friends with them and have fun together. I want to be kind and more friendly to my Taiko friends, forever. 

5th grader Felix