Once the parade through Narita finished, I thought the festival had ended. Yet, I happily discovered that there were more don's and doko's coming from somewhere else. The music led me to a stage where taiko groups from different high schools were performing. I could only catch the last group, but I wasn't surprised to discover that these young performers packed more punch than a lot of groups I had seen so far. In high schools, among the numerous clubs offered to students, taiko is not a rare option. And when these kids are serious about it, they are really serious about it. Take a look at this video to see for yourself. This ensemble is called "Kogumi", and they are all students of Yachiyo high school in Chiba prefecture. In the video, Kogumi performs Miyake, and then the show finishes with all the high school groups that had played that afternoon performing together.
Another great piece by Kogumi (and there are tons more of their videos on youtube):
http://youtu.be/b95PqWTO-sU
Earlier this year I attended the Narita Taiko Festival (成田太鼓祭), which takes place over a weekend of March in the streets of the city of Narita, Chiba prefecture. The 25-year-old festival is famous for its grand opening ceremony, where hundreds of taiko players play together at the colossal Naritasan temple (成田山), the city's landmark. At different points along the city's main street there are stages where groups coming from many cities play throughout the day. Finally, the groups parade down said street. The crowds gather on the sides, as close as they can to the drummers. When they get too close (whether because they want to get a good shot with their cameras or because there is simply no physical space on the sidewalk), a security officer comes to (try to) push them back.
Having thousands of people crammed against the sides of this rather narrow street makes it obviously very hard to walk. In my personal experience, by the time I had gotten there, the parade was well on its way. Coming from the train station, the starting point of the parade, I had to work my way down the street in order to get to see all the groups. Having to navigate the crowded streets faster than the parade itself was quite hard, as witnessed by the videos below. I have decided, however, not to edit anything out, as the sound is as important as the image, if not more. One group's music blends into the next's as I speed past them. Also, the frantic, crazy beauty of the festival comes across better.
This video, on the other hand, I have edited. This is the end of the parade (and of the festival). One by one, the groups get to the finishing line and conclude their performance.
The festival's website.
http://nrtm.jp/
