Kinnara Taiko

Kinnara Taiko
Name	Kinnara Taiko
Origin	Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, California, United States
Years active	1969–present
Genres	Taiko, Japanese music, Asian American cultural performance
Past members	See section

Kinnara Taiko is a pioneering community taiko ensemble formed in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles, that helped catalyze North American taiko practice. The group emerged amid movements centered in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and Vancouver and intersected with organizations such as the Japanese American Citizens League, Japanese American National Museum, Manzanar Committee, and cultural festivals including Nisei Week. Kinnara Taiko's formation connected activists, artists, and community leaders linked to Issei, Nisei, and Sansei generations, shaping performance practices adopted by ensembles like Kodo, San Jose Taiko, Soh Daiko, and Sausalito Taiko.

History

Kinnara Taiko developed during a period marked by activism around the Civil Rights Movement, Redress Movement (Japanese American), and cultural revitalization movements in Little Tokyo (Los Angeles), Watts, and East Los Angeles. Founders collaborated with community institutions such as the Japanese American Cultural and Community Center, Gardena Valley Japanese Cultural Institute, and religious sites including Chinatown temples and churches influenced by leaders from the Buddhist Churches of America and the United Methodist Church. Early performances occurred at events like Nisei Week, Obon, and commemorations for the Manzanar and Tule Lake sites, linking the ensemble to broader commemorative networks like Densho and the Japanese American Redress Campaign.

Founding and Mission

The ensemble traces origins to community organizers, activists, and artists affiliated with groups such as the Japanese American Citizens League, Little Tokyo Service Center, Los Angeles Conservancy, and cultural producers from National Endowment for the Arts–supported programs. Its mission aligned with institutions like the Japanese Cultural and Community Center of Southern California to preserve and reinterpret Japanese performance forms while addressing issues connected to the Japanese American wartime incarceration experience and ethnic identity discourse prominent in forums hosted by the Asian American Studies Program at University of California, Los Angeles and University of Southern California. The mission emphasized community building, cultural continuity, and dialog with ensembles such as San Francisco Taiko Dojo and festival circuits including Cherry Blossom Festival (Washington, D.C.).

Repertoire and Style

Kinnara Taiko's repertoire blends traditional gagaku-influenced timbres, festival-oriented rhythms found in matsuri contexts, and innovations reminiscent of groups such as Kodo and Ondekoza. Arrangements draw from melodic templates related to the taiko, shamisen, and shakuhachi ensembles while incorporating rhythmic frameworks comparable to percussion ensembles in Brazil and West Africa. Their stylistic lexicon influenced and was influenced by notable ensembles like San Jose Taiko, Los Angeles Taiko Institute, and international collaborations with artists from Japan, Canada, and Brazil appearing at multicultural venues including the Kennedy Center and Hollywood Bowl.

Instruments and Costume

The group's instrumentation centers on barrel drums comparable to odaiko, shime-daiko, and medium-sized drums used by ensembles including Kodo and San Francisco Taiko Dojo, alongside auxiliary percussion found in Japanese folk music and contemporary percussion literature associated with composers from Tokyo conservatories and Western institutions like Juilliard. Costume choices reflect adaptations of traditional Japanese festival dress such as happi coats and hachimaki headbands, paralleling visual practices by performers featured at Nisei Week, Obon Festival (Los Angeles), and museum exhibitions at the Japanese American National Museum.

Community Engagement and Education

Kinnara Taiko has engaged with educational partners including the Los Angeles Unified School District, University of California, Los Angeles, California State University, Long Beach, and community centers like the Little Tokyo Service Center to provide workshops, youth programs, and public demonstrations. Their outreach paralleled initiatives by the California Arts Council, National Endowment for the Arts, and nonprofit organizations such as Densho and Japanese American Cultural & Community Center, contributing to curricula in Asian American Studies and public programming at venues like the Japanese American National Museum and Skirball Cultural Center.

Performances and Tours

The ensemble has performed at civic and cultural sites including Nisei Week, Obon Festivals, the Kennedy Center, the Hollywood Bowl, and international festivals in Vancouver, Seattle, San Francisco, and Tokyo. Tours and festival appearances placed Kinnara Taiko in programming alongside arts organizations such as the National Endowment for the Arts, Japan Foundation, Asia Society, and municipal arts councils from Los Angeles to Honolulu.

Notable Members and Legacy

Members and collaborators involved with Kinnara Taiko have interwoven with figures and groups from the broader taiko movement, influencing ensembles such as San Jose Taiko, Kodo, San Francisco Taiko Dojo, and academics at institutions like UCLA, USC, and UC Berkeley. The ensemble's legacy appears in directories, oral histories archived by Densho and the Japanese American National Museum, and in the generational transmission of repertoire across community organizations such as the Japanese American Citizens League and the Little Tokyo Service Center.

Category:American drumming ensembles Category:Japanese American culture in Los Angeles