Q&A: The Making of Kodo’s One Earth Tour 2025: Warabe

“We want to think through what we want to portray in every piece, [physical] movement, and sometimes even breath.”

Interview of Taiyo Onoda, Kodo troupe member, by Kimia Adibi, Cal Performances’ PR Assistant

For 40 years, Kodo has evolved the ancient art of taiko drumming through rigorous physical discipline and spiritual connection while maintaining deep roots in Japanese cultural heritage. When the group returns to Cal Performances January 25 and 26 for One Earth Tour 2025: Warabe, audiences will see San Francisco native and UC Davis alumnus Taiyo Onoda performing with them.

In a recent conversation with Cal Performances PR Assistant Kimia Adibi, Onoda offered his insight into the behind-the-scenes of Kodo.

Q: Kodo’s 40th anniversary productions, Tsuzumi (which came to Cal Performances in 2023) and Warabe (coming to Cal Performances this month), each explore different facets of Kodo’s identity—one centered on the drum itself, the other on maintaining a child’s perspective. What inspired this dual exploration?

A: Our ensemble name “Kodo” is a coined term, which consists of two kanji characters. The kanji character for “Ko” can be read as “Tsuzumi,” and the kanji character for “Do” can be read as “Warabe.” Thus, we identify ourselves as “Children of the Drums.” We want to explore the limitless potential that taiko has, with the spirit similar to the never-ending curiosity that a child has.

Q: Kodo’s performances are known for their physical and spiritual intensity. How do the artists prepare, both individually and as an ensemble, to create such a deep connection with audiences?

A: Individually, we prepare for production rehearsals by digging through our database of past recorded performances. The next crucial step is to communicate with everyone to polish the pieces. For example, we can ask the composers of pieces if there were any specific instructions to keep in mind when performing. We also talk with the artistic director to have a better understanding of the atmosphere we want to create in certain scenes. But many things can change once the ensemble practices start due to aspects like team chemistry, and updated “trends,” to name a few. We want to think through what we want to portray in every piece, [physical] movement, and sometimes even breath. We need to analyze and understand what we as an ensemble want to perform in order to have a deep connection with the audience.

Q: The holistic experience of a Kodo performance is extraordinary. How does the company work with venue acoustics, spatial arrangements, and staging elements to create this immersive atmosphere?

A: We have our stage setup and soundcheck routine meticulously orchestrated. We have performing members sit in the audience to give instructions on how to place certain props or instruments on stage to utilize the whole stage, on every single performance on tour. We also have performers listen to pieces during rehearsal to give the others on stage feedback of the sound we create. We can then adjust how we play our instruments by relying on our ears and tactile feedback, and memorize them for our actual performance. However, that cannot be perfectly recreated because having all the audience sitting in the theater changes the acoustics slightly, and the audience may respond to our performance in certain ways. We listen and feel for those responses and reactions we get in our actual performance and may possibly make subtle adjustments in real time.

Q: Many of Kodo’s pieces incorporate physical interactions between performers as well. How do you develop these movement sequences?

A: Movements in a piece, like dances, are choreographed. There is constant communication between the drummers and the dancers when creating the piece. The movements themselves are mostly borrowed from folk/festival pieces from all around Japan, and especially from our home island of Sado. For example, the dance movements in the piece “Okoshi” incorporate movements from traditional folk arts native to Sado Island, categorized as oni daiko, or ondeko. Every village on the island has their unique style of ondeko, and when creating this piece, we visited the villages to learn their local ondeko dance.

Movements that happen outside of pieces, like moving drums from one place to another, or even simply walking on stage, are not necessarily choreographed. However, because we have communicated all the minute details of how we want to perform, we all have a general consensus of how we should be moving on stage in certain scenes.

Q: Kodo’s Earth Celebration festival, designed to create “an alternative global culture through musical and cultural collaborations,” has become Japan’s longest-running music festival. How has creating this artistic meeting space over the years influenced Kodo’s own artistic development?

A: We believe that constant collaborations with other artists are essential for our growth. As professional performers, we want to hone what we have already, but it is equally important to input new ideas and concepts from artists aside from Kodo in order to create something new. We are an ensemble that explores the limitless possibilities of taiko. We hope to further expand our knowledge of taiko by looking through a different lens, which is made possible in such collaborations.

———–

Cal Performances presents One Earth Tour 2025: Warabe, Saturday, January 25 at 8pm and Sunday, January 26 at 3pm at Zellerbach Hall. Learn more about the performance and how to attend.