SLIDESHOW: The Beat Must Go On - Honolulu Civil Beat

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Slideshows

SLIDESHOW: The Beat Must Go On

Since its founding in 1994 by the husband and wife duo Kenny and Chizuko Endo, the Taiko Center of the Pacific has been fostering the art of taiko drumming and a vibrant community of students and performers. These drums take a lot of beatings, which means every two to three years they must take the drums apart and give them a complete rehaul, making repairs and refreshing the cowhide skins. For the New Year, students and their families came together this month to get the job done.
By Ronen Zilberman / February 7, 2020
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  • <p>Reskinning the taiko drums used for classes and performances by the Taiko Center of the Pacific is a group effort that requires many hands. The students and families of this community are eager to help as they gather together over two long days to repair and revitalize their instruments.</p>

    Reskinning the taiko drums used for classes and performances by the Taiko Center of the Pacific is a group effort that requires many hands. The students and families of this community are eager to help as they gather together over two long days to repair and revitalize their instruments.

    Ronen Zilberman/Civil Beat
  • <p>Taiko Center of the Pacific founders Kenny Endo, left, playing an odaiko (Japanese for big drum) and Chizuko Endo, right, playing a taiko set, which includes a rope lashed shime daiko and small sumo odaiko, perform together with a small group of students at the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center in Waikiki. The husband and wife team have been promoting their message of peace through music and collaboration around the world since founding their school for taiko well over 20 years ago.</p>

    Taiko Center of the Pacific founders Kenny Endo, left, playing an odaiko (Japanese for big drum) and Chizuko Endo, right, playing a taiko set, which includes a rope lashed shime daiko and small sumo odaiko, perform together with a small group of students at the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center in Waikiki. The husband and wife team have been promoting their message of peace through music and collaboration around the world since founding their school for taiko well over 20 years ago.

    Ronen Zilberman/Civil Beat
  • <p>Karyn Doi begins the long process of reskinning a taiko drum by carefully removing the tacks, which hold the skins in place, with a hammer and chisel in Kaneohe.</p>

    Karyn Doi begins the long process of reskinning a taiko drum by carefully removing the tacks, which hold the skins in place, with a hammer and chisel in Kaneohe.

    Ronen Zilberman/Civil Beat
  • <p>Marilyn Asakura, left, and Nicole share a laugh as they struggle to pull wooden rods out from a cowhide in Kaneohe. The rods are used to help shape and secure the cowhides during the stretching process.</p>

    Marilyn Asakura, left, and Nicole share a laugh as they struggle to pull wooden rods out from a cowhide in Kaneohe. The rods are used to help shape and secure the cowhides during the stretching process.

    Ronen Zilberman/Civil Beat
  • <p>Lani Villanueva glues thin bamboo sticks into holes left by the tacks that secure the drum skins in place. New holes will be drilled to secure the fresh skin once it has been stretched and shaped onto the drum barrel.</p>

    Lani Villanueva glues thin bamboo sticks into holes left by the tacks that secure the drum skins in place. New holes will be drilled to secure the fresh skin once it has been stretched and shaped onto the drum barrel.

    Ronen Zilberman/Civil Beat
  • <p>Eric Nouchi, left, and Ray Hose, right, shave and sand recently plugged holes in an odaiko drum so it can be reskinned while Kenny Endo, center left, Tanya Downer, center right, and Elizabeth Mager, far right, inspect a byou-uchi daiko (taiko drum carved from a single piece of wood) for repairs.</p>

    Eric Nouchi, left, and Ray Hose, right, shave and sand recently plugged holes in an odaiko drum so it can be reskinned while Kenny Endo, center left, Tanya Downer, center right, and Elizabeth Mager, far right, inspect a byou-uchi daiko (taiko drum carved from a single piece of wood) for repairs.

    Ronen Zilberman/Civil Beat
  • <p>Kenny Endo, center, shows onlookers how to pound down the edges of a cowhide to make sure all sides are even as students, from left, Josie Hung, Elle, Nicole and Curren watch and help to stretch the skin across the top of a taiko drum.</p>

    Kenny Endo, center, shows onlookers how to pound down the edges of a cowhide to make sure all sides are even as students, from left, Josie Hung, Elle, Nicole and Curren watch and help to stretch the skin across the top of a taiko drum.

    Ronen Zilberman/Civil Beat
  • <p>A taiko community member walks atop a drum to massage and loosen the skin further as it is stretched into place as Eric Chang works on stretching the skin of another drum by pounding the edges down.</p>

    A taiko community member walks atop a drum to massage and loosen the skin further as it is stretched into place as Eric Chang works on stretching the skin of another drum by pounding the edges down.

    Ronen Zilberman/Civil Beat
  • <p>Students and taiko community members, from left, Lani Villanueva, Tanya Downer, Lynne Mayeda, Kenny Endo, Maureen Kearns and Elizabeth Mager work together to secure a cowhide to a taiko drum. The drums are set onto platforms layered with wooden palettes and car jacks where they are secured with ropes attached to the skins so they can be slowly tightened as they dry.</p>

    Students and taiko community members, from left, Lani Villanueva, Tanya Downer, Lynne Mayeda, Kenny Endo, Maureen Kearns and Elizabeth Mager work together to secure a cowhide to a taiko drum. The drums are set onto platforms layered with wooden palettes and car jacks where they are secured with ropes attached to the skins so they can be slowly tightened as they dry.

    Ronen Zilberman/Civil Beat
  • <p>Taiko students Dawson Hose and Blaise Nomitsu hammer small tacks through a thick cowhide once it has dried to secure it onto the wooden drum barrel it has been shaped and stretched to fit. A taiko drum this size uses approximately 200 tacks to hold the skin in place.</p>

    Taiko students Dawson Hose and Blaise Nomitsu hammer small tacks through a thick cowhide once it has dried to secure it onto the wooden drum barrel it has been shaped and stretched to fit. A taiko drum this size uses approximately 200 tacks to hold the skin in place.

    Ronen Zilberman/Civil Beat
  • <p>Sho’on Shibata gently taps a drumskin to check the sound quality as it slowly dries onto a wooden drum barrel. The skin will continue to be stretched until the desired pitch is reached, at which time it will be tacked into place.</p>

    Sho’on Shibata gently taps a drumskin to check the sound quality as it slowly dries onto a wooden drum barrel. The skin will continue to be stretched until the desired pitch is reached, at which time it will be tacked into place.

    Ronen Zilberman/Civil Beat
  • <p>The Taiko Center of the Pacific adult performance group plays on their newly skinned drums for the first time at a Kaimuki celebration for the Chinese New Year, Jan. 18.</p>

    The Taiko Center of the Pacific adult performance group plays on their newly skinned drums for the first time at a Kaimuki celebration for the Chinese New Year, Jan. 18.

    Ronen Zilberman/Civil Beat

About the Author

  • Ronen Zilberman
    Ronen Zilberman
    Born in Israel, Ronen Zilberman has been a professional photographer for over 25 years. He has lived in Hawaii since the early 1990s.
    Use the RSS feed to subscribe to Ronen Zilberman's posts today
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