Roy and PJ Hirabayashi

Roy Hirabayashi was born January 1, 1951, in Berkeley, California. His wife, PJ Hirabayashi, was born May 18, 1950, in San Rafael, California. They have helped to create a unique Japanese American art form. When they founded San Jose Taiko in 1973, there were as few as three such ensembles in the United States; today, there are believed to be more than 250.

Taiko, pronounced “tie-ko,” takes its name from the Japanese word for a large drum. These instruments, fashioned from hollowed-out tree trunks, have been used in Japan for centuries in religious ceremonies, community festivals and theater, to frighten pests from rice fields and enemies during battle and to define the boundaries of villages. Some are more than 4 feet in diameter and weigh more than a ton. In the United States, oak wine barrels are often employed.

Ensemble drumming, or kumidaiko, began in Japan in the late 1940s and found its way to America in the early 1970s, at the time the Hirabayashis were seeking a way to express their identities as third-generation Japanese Americans. “We wanted to create music that was reflective of our experience, but used traditional Japanese rhythms as foundations,” PJ Hirabayashi has said. “We wanted to incorporate the music we listened to, including rock and roll, and jazz. Other traditions and cultures have influenced our [American] culture, and that makes our music different from what has been created in Japan.”

Other instruments, such as the bamboo flute, are employed, and the drummers move in intense, acrobatic ways, using the energy of their entire bodies. Members of the San Jose group, in the heart of the city’s Japantown, fashion their own drums and take part in composing, choreographing and designing and crafting their own costumes.

San Jose Taiko has entertained audiences in venues ranging from community centers in disadvantaged neighborhoods to New York City’s Carnegie Hall. The troupe performs at community events and operates youth programs and public workshops, adult recreational classes and intensive courses. Its annual national Rhythm Journey Tour includes school outreach and master classes.

The Hirabayashis have created more than twenty original pieces and have gained an international reputation as both composers and performers.