Do-Do Ka-Ka

Sunday, August 14
I dragged myself out of bed on Sunday, cursing myself for agreeing to two-hour taiko drumming class. I was meeting Yuki and a few of her friends in Ryogoku at noon; they had been taking lessons for a couple of months. We got to the class just as the earlier session was ending. When I first heard the thump, thump, thump of the drum, drum, drum, I thought I’d be sick, sick, sick. But the drummers were so amazing and energetic, I was immediately caught up in their performance. Taiko drumming is rigorous; because the drums are so big, you have to throw your whole body into it. These people we drumming, hollering, throwing their sticks in the air. It was awesome.

The classroom is actually a mah johng parlor owned by the teacher’s brother so there was only room for 5 drums amidst the gaming tables. There were 6 beginners in the class, plus all the more experienced drummers stayed on for another lesson so we were split up into three groups. I was in the last group with Millie, a thoroughly miserable first-timer who looked like her mother had made her attend class as punishment for getting a tattoo. Yuki and her friends were in the second group together because they were all about the same level. I watched them as they drummed; they were concentrating so hard that the teacher kept making fun of how serious they all looked. He said, “drumming is fun!” The teacher was hilarious, full of piss and vinegar, and very possibly a saint.

When it was time for me to get up there, the teacher showed me how and where to stand so that I wouldn’t whack myself in the head with my sticks (apparently a common occurrence with beginners). We started hitting the drum and the teacher yelled, “Make a bigger noise! Hit it more!” I really got into it then. I confess that I imagined a few faces on the front of the drum and I smacked the hide off that thing.

Then he said, “Only two noises in taiko: do do and ka ka.” I stifled the urge to giggle. Do do, as it turns out, is the sound of the stick hitting the drum and ka ka is the sound of the stick hitting the rim. Just call me Beavis.

It wasn’t long before I was do do and ka ka-ing along with the rest of them. I was pounding away, channeling Sheila E, when the teacher stopped us and yelled, “Colleen-san!!! This is not dance party! This is Japanese style taiko!!” Then he imitated me on the drums, which was probably the funniest thing I saw all day. I said, “I’m just getting my groove on.” He said, “Sorry! We don’t get groove in Japan.”

Even though I wasn’t allowed to shake my thang, I have blisters on both hands, and my whole body aches, I still had such a great time.

After class, several of us went out for coffee and chatted for hours. Yuki’s friends from class are all foreigners (I’m beginning to think maybe she collects them) and we had a great time. We planned to meet again in two weeks for class and go out to lunch afterwards.