Long-time taiko drum group YAMATO is making a stop in Phoenix on Tuesday evening to perform their show “Hito no Chikara – The Power of Human Strength.”
There's a metaphor in the the title if you care to find it, but of course, there's also just going to be a bunch of ripped musicians whaling on rad Japanese drums.
Every two years since the group’s formation in 1993, founder and artistic director Masa Ogawa creates a new program for the troupe. He says this iteration examines how people interact with technology and artificial intelligence. The program wonders how AI could affect art — particularly the ancient practice of taiko drumming itself, a physical, no-sleeves display of kinetic energy and rib-rattling sounds.
“Let us beat the taiko as we are YAMATO,” Ogawa wrote about the show. “The sound that one strikes resonates with the human heart. The sounds struck by the heart, resonating with each other, will become ‘hito no chikara’ — the power of human strength.”
The show will be at the Madison Center for the Arts at 7 p.m. Tickets start at $24.
Now used primarily as entertainment, taiko drumming for centuries has been used in worship rituals as well as in battle. Taiko refers to any traditional Japanese drum and commonly to traveling drum ensembles such as YAMATO. The drums originally were carved from a single tree, highlighting the cultural connection to nature.
YAMATO’s shows incorporate a variety of drums, the heaviest and most thundering of which is the miya-daiko. Alongside the smaller shime-daiko and okedo-daiko drums, the performers also play a three-stringed, guitar-like instrument called a shamisen.
Ogawa likes to pack his stages with as many as 40 of these drums, a phalanx that means each song is an act of collaboration and connection.
“The drummers put their thoughts and spirit into each note,” Ogawa said in a media release. “We open the eyes of the heart to find a sort of synchronicity with the other drummers. Our final purpose is to connect to the heart of the audience.”
Amid the show’s sheer physicality and dynamism, players tell a loud and vibrant story. In their fierceness, the players invite the audience to ponder a world in which we conflate AI creations with human artwork.
Taiko drumming, with its long history and deep cultural importance, implicitly argues against handing music over to the robots.
“The powerful sound of YAMATO’s taiko carries passion, strength, and an unstoppable life force,” Ogawa said. “This energy radiates from the stage, filling every corner of the theater, resonating deep within your heart and body, and connecting everyone present.”
Ogawa wants you to feel the sound waves that humans create when they united to pummel three dozen drums on a stage together. He sees it as a way to remind us all of our common bonds. You shouldn’t feel obligated to experience such lofty ideals, if you don’t want to. Sometimes the seismic sensation of a Japanese drum line is its own reward.
