Taiko is one of the most popular types of entertainment in Japanese festivals. The taiko drum is played with
thick wooden sticks; called bachi. The body is made of wood, hollow inside, covered at both ends with leather.
In it's earliest form, the taiko drum was used in Japan as a means of communication between distant groups
and for invoking deities during religious ceremonies. During Samurai times, taiko drums found their way into
the battlefield as they heralded marching armies from place to place.
It has only been within the past quarter century that taiko has evolved into a performance art, first in Japan
and then to the United States. Grand Master Seiichi Tanaka brought the art form of Taiko to North America in 1968.
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