Outreach The joy of sharing with Japanese drums
As a regional exchange program for the Shimane Traditional Performing Arts Festival, a Japanese drum outreach by Yu Imafuku, a drummer based in Hikimi-cho, Masuda City, Shimane Prefecture, and Eri Domoto, a member of "Imafukuza", will be held at Shimane Prefectural Hamada Deaf School. It was held three times a year. Through the traditional Japanese musical instrument "Wadaiko", four children learned the importance of expressing themselves and the joy of music, and what Mr. Imafuku felt and what he wanted to connect to the future. I heard.
■ What did you feel about the three Wadaiko outreach this time, and what was your approach to the growth of the children? At first, the children were nervous, and sometimes embarrassment and lack of self-confidence appeared. If I'm not confident in myself, I'll lose my positivity, but this time I was able to interact with the taiko drum experience multiple times in a row instead of just once, so I was relieved that the children gradually smiled.
I was happy to feel that the children's feelings of "interesting!" And "I want to hit more!" Become stronger with each round. Also, if a child who has something to overcome in his / her feelings, such as lack of self-confidence, laughs or is pleased, I will feel even more happy, and the true joy will be conveyed. As for the approach, each child has his or her own personality, so I wanted him to be good at taiko with the feeling that he likes and believes in each person rather than who has what kind of personality. It is important to feel the joy of being able to do things that you couldn't do before through wadaiko, and you will be more and more motivated by striking coolly and being happy together if you can get a good rhythm. First of all, motivation is important, so I shared joy with a high five and called out in a loud voice so that it would lead to motivation, "happy, fun, and interesting." We are happy to hear that, and I think we will want to take on the next challenge by gradually communicating it.
■ Does that mean sharing the fun of Japanese drums together, not just technical things? Well, if you keep watching the situation, you can directly feel the feelings of the hitter with the swing and facial expression of the drumstick. First of all, I thought it was important to hit with such a feeling of "fun and happy".
■ I think that many things were conveyed to the children through the experience of "beating Japanese drums". I think that is the power of Japanese drums. There are various expressions and entertainments, and I think that each has its own way of communicating and charm, but I feel that the strength and charm of wadaiko is that when you hit your own thoughts, the sound and vibration are returned by that amount. increase. In addition, you can make a voice at the same time as you hit the drum, you can sing a song, you can express it with a facial expression while hitting it, you can dance, and it is also attractive that anyone can put out their whole body. By finding and developing the good points that they have through wadaiko, you will be confident that you can do what you cannot do, and you may be able to find abilities that you did not notice. I feel that it is our role to derive that.
■ Are there any stimuli from children? The skill of our guidance is questioned lol. It takes time to tell, so I tried to overstate it and put in gestures. There, I felt that I could teach and communicate in this way, and I realized that I couldn't convey my feelings unless I used all the expressions, and it was an opportunity to bring out myself. .. By continuing with that feeling, the children's concentration, seriousness, and the desire to manage to strike were conveyed with the brilliance of their eyes. When I saw that eye, I became more and more serious, and I thought I would teach as much as I could.
■ What you want to convey through the Japanese drum experience I want you to like taiko and get better at it, and at the same time, I think it can be said for sports and any genre, but I think that "nurturing human beings" is the best. I want you to live strong with a smile that makes you laugh at yourself, withdrawing through Japanese drums. A smile is a smile that overcomes your negative heart. Strength is a spirit of challenge. I want you to grow up to be a person who smiles, is strong, and works hard.
■ We will continue to experience Japanese drums with the children of Hamada Deaf School in 2020. I don't think it will improve immediately or produce any results, so I would like to continue communicating with the children and communicating with them from the next time onwards. Communication alone does not improve my skills, but I think that by communicating with Japanese drums, I can get motivated and aim for a higher place. Therefore, I want you not only to improve, but also to try things that you can't usually do or are not good at by singing and dancing while hitting, and discover your various possibilities. Also, not only the children do their best, but we also want to learn sign language, communicate, and make more efforts to convey it.
■ What do you value in the Wadaiko outreach and workshops? I think it is important for parents and adults to tell their children from long ago. I would like to convey in Wadaiko the basics of life inherited from ancestors, such as greetings, arranging footwear, not taking people's things, not lying, and living hard now. I can't say that it looks great, but when I'm at a loss, I want to judge which one is better as a person and whether it's right as a human being. I was thinking that "the right way of life as a person", not my own profits and losses, this time as well. I think it's different to be too careful about the children, to be in a good mood, and to stop telling them because they will run away if they say that. After all, I feel that it is necessary to take the opportunity to convey what is right, to communicate firmly, to communicate with each other, and to teach properly if I think it is now. I hope that adults can tell children who are going out into society that they can take action on what they can and cannot do.
■ Finally, a message to the children I want to work together to perform an "impressive" performance. I think that will lead to confidence and will be a new step. The goal is to play, but before that, it is important to make people happy and to have fun in order to get to the point where you are motivated. First of all, it's small, but I feel the joy of being able to do what I can't do. Accumulating that you will be able to hit rhythms that you cannot hit. I think the final result will lead to a moving performance. So I want you to feel what it is like to be impressed. Hard work, desperation, and concentration are transmitted to the viewer. Even if you make a mistake, people will be impressed if there is hard work, desperation, and the brilliance of life to live. I want you to play that kind of performance, and I want to work together. Everyone has some things to overcome and struggle to hit the drum, but that's why it's best to hit the drum hard and play with everyone. I hope that you will experience as much as you can through Japanese drums, discover yourself, and break your shell.
【profile】 Yu Imafuku Taiko drumming is based in Hikimi-cho, Masuda City, Shimane Prefecture. At the age of 24, he joined the Japanese drum group "Ondekoza" led by Mr. Den Tagayasu and participated in performances in Japan and overseas. After withdrawing four years later, after seven years of working as a salaryman, he purchased a set of drums including a large drum of 3 shaku and 1 inch, and started solo activities. In addition to having a good reputation for driving the big drum, he has produced many works arranged for the stage of Iwami Kagura, which is handed down in his hometown. Appeared in "Aoyama Taiko Memoiroku" held in Tokyo from 2004 to 2008. In recent years, he has also conducted overseas expeditions to France, Austria, Canada, Morocco, etc. In addition, he is also focusing on teaching younger generations, and is energetically working on raising children and performing at schools through Japanese drums.
Eri Domoto Born in Okayama prefecture. At the Taiko Festival "Ichikoku Ichikyosai" held in Ishikawa Prefecture in 1995, he started playing Japanese drums by watching the performance of "Kamigi" by Yu Imafuku. For five years from 1998, he joined the Wadaiko team while being involved in taiko production at the Asano Taiko Musical Instrument Store in Ishikawa Prefecture, and gained playing experience both in Japan and overseas. After studying under Yu Imafuku in 2000 and working hard to learn art while going back and forth between Ishikawa and Shimane, he moved to Shimane Prefecture in 2003. At the same time as starting to live in Shimane prefecture, he was enrolled in the local Dogawa Kagura shrine. Taiko instruction centered on children from nursery schools to junior high school students is also provided in Masuda City and Hamada City.