The Godfather of Taiko

There are two Sensei in my 桜太鼓 (Sakura Taiko) club. This entry introduces you to one of them. (The Taiko Club members in the team, I'll get a picture of the Sensei soon!)

There are few things in inaka life more amusing than an eighty something quinciañero worthy of the nickname "Jimmy Hendrix". Hendrixさん (san) earned his nickname during the very first month of my Taiko training when I realized that few people his age could ever play Taiko- or anything for that matter- with so much soul.

Hendrix san doesn't just play the drums, he lives them. He plays a metal rod to the rhythm of our Taiko drumming but he also flies solo. And when he is solo, boy does he fly! This man becomes bewitched (think Hendrix on Acid) and hypnotizes the audience with his vibrant energy and passion for the music. When he plays, his silver feathered hair flies back and forth to the rhythm of his rocking body, rocking to the music. His right foot is firmly pressed on the floor while his left one escapes into mid air and taps the floor landing on each beat. His hands seem so youthful as he tightly grips the Taiko drum sticks and his arms look ever so strong as he waltzes up and down the metal rod. His agile acrobatics in the drums are seasoned with powerful yells between beats. He yells with a husky voice unidentifiable sounds and the occasional それ！(sore! -- in spanish= eso! asi!). That is Hendrix San but he has recently earned a new nickname.

"THE GODFATHER OF TAIKO"

He officially earned this last nickname yesterday, after I realized that he wasn't making me an offer I couldn't refuse, he was telling me a war story. See, this man will speak to me in very inaka pre-waresque Japanese, with the husky and authoritative voice of Don Corleone and the street smart determination of a Goodfella. He was telling me that he was a Pilot for the Japanese Airforce during WWII and his plane's name was 0式 (Zero Shiki). He told me of mid-air fights and answered with a great big smile when I asked him if he had killed any Americans. Then he proceeded to make the gesture of a hand gun and pretended to kill me and my fellow American friend Corrie. He was smiling, extremely amused by his gestures and our confused faces. I wanted to say sorry for the bomb but before I could talk he bowed down (almost broke in half in the process) and rapidly offered his hands to me in a submissive gesture of surrender. He offered his hands as if they had an invisible handcuff, telling me to take him prisoner. I wonder if he was a POW and if so, how best to ask and hear his story? It is very fascinating when Japanese people volunteer personal information. I wonder if I will ever know more.

However, I do know one thing for sure, that eight decades on this earth has given this man a lot of experience in many different aspects of life and he has such a strong heart that he is able to translate all that energy and love for Japan into exciting traditional Japanese music.