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Tamagawa University Taiko Drumming and Dance Performers visit Villanova
Kevin Maher ’04

Villanova played host to the Taiko Drum and Dance Performers of Japan’s Tamagawa University on April 9 in the Villanova Room of the Connelly Center. The troupe featured 30 artists from what is said to be the most prestigious performing arts university in Japan who drummed and danced in both traditional and modern form. The event was made possible by Villanova’s Japanese Club, Department of Classical and Modern Languages and Literatures, Office of Multicultural Affairs and Theatre Department.

Each of the performances told a story through the use of dance and the taiko drum, or “big/fat drum.” The Goshinji-Daiko, for example, was a prayer for a rich harvest where the sound and beat signified rain and thunder. The decorative masks that were worn for the piece were symbols of exorcism. The Arauma-Odori folk dance told the story of men riding jumping wild horses as women drove and controlled them, while the Haiya-Bushi was a festive dance for fishermen.

“The performance provides us with an insight into Taiko drumming,” said professor Masako Hamada, the event coordinator, who teaches Japanese in the department of classical and modern languages and literatures. Such performances also build valuable connections that serve as bridges for cultural exchange.

Having already been on tours of America in the past, the group was invited this year to help celebrate the Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival of greater Philadelphia (a project of the Japan American Society of greater Philadelphia), which was held from April 6 to 12. The festival is an initiative to beautify the city landscape by annually planting and maintaining 100 cheery trees in Fairmount Park as a gift to Philadelphia. The project has become a tradition dating back to 1926 when the Japanese government donated cherry trees to Philadelphia in honor of the sesquicentennial of American independence.

	Blueprints - May 2003 Edition
Homepage Back Archives	Blueprints - May 2003 Edition

		Tamagawa University Taiko Drumming and Dance Performers visit Villanova Kevin Maher ’04 Villanova played host to the Taiko Drum and Dance Performers of Japan’s Tamagawa University on April 9 in the Villanova Room of the Connelly Center. The troupe featured 30 artists from what is said to be the most prestigious performing arts university in Japan who drummed and danced in both traditional and modern form. The event was made possible by Villanova’s Japanese Club, Department of Classical and Modern Languages and Literatures, Office of Multicultural Affairs and Theatre Department. Each of the performances told a story through the use of dance and the taiko drum, or “big/fat drum.” The Goshinji-Daiko, for example, was a prayer for a rich harvest where the sound and beat signified rain and thunder. The decorative masks that were worn for the piece were symbols of exorcism. The Arauma-Odori folk dance told the story of men riding jumping wild horses as women drove and controlled them, while the Haiya-Bushi was a festive dance for fishermen. “The performance provides us with an insight into Taiko drumming,” said professor Masako Hamada, the event coordinator, who teaches Japanese in the department of classical and modern languages and literatures. Such performances also build valuable connections that serve as bridges for cultural exchange. Having already been on tours of America in the past, the group was invited this year to help celebrate the Subaru Cherry Blossom Festival of greater Philadelphia (a project of the Japan American Society of greater Philadelphia), which was held from April 6 to 12. The festival is an initiative to beautify the city landscape by annually planting and maintaining 100 cheery trees in Fairmount Park as a gift to Philadelphia. The project has become a tradition dating back to 1926 when the Japanese government donated cherry trees to Philadelphia in honor of the sesquicentennial of American independence.