The Early History of Taiko

The story of the early beginnings of Taiko is one that is shrouded in mystery. What is known is that some of the earliest recorded uses of the Taiko drums were on the battlefields of ancient Japan during the period of Warring States. These massively sized drums served many purposes to the Japanese fighting on the battlefield. Firstly, the drums were massive in size and could sound a loud boom that could echo across every expanse of the battlefield. This would scare the opposing side’s soldiers providing a very useful advantage. However, along with the moralizing effects of the drums, the fact that they had such and ability to cover long distances with their rolling sounds, many army generals used the drums to aid in commanding their men over wide open battlefields. An example of a typical battlefield style Taiko drum would be a large drum that was more than likely carved from a single log, with several precisely drilled holes along the sides of the drum to maximize the thunderous sounds they produce.

Along with the martial use of the Taiko drums, they also held a strong foundation in the court style music called Gagaku. You would expect to find this style of music held in the castles and shrines across ancient Japan. Gagaku alone is one of the oldest styles of court music that is still being played in the world today.

As the use of the Taiko drums began to expand in popularity across Japan, they also found a place within the two major religions of Japan: Shinto and Buddhism. Soon the Taiko drums were commonly used in villages to signal to the residents of the danger of oncoming storms, or when the beginning of a new harvest was to start. The long the use of the drums persisted in the villages did they soon believe that the drums were inhabited by a god. So with the religious framework being built around the drums, it wasn’t soon afterwards that only holy men were allowed to play the drums. Many of the drums that were used for their ceremonies and rites are still inside of the shrines and temples to this day. In fact, the drums were so large that many of the temples have been modeled around the drums so there’s no real way to get them out of them temples without tearing them down. It was in the depths of the religious practices of the Taiko that the modern framework was built around the rhythms provided by the various rites and ceremonies. An example of that would be the Buddhist summer Bon dance which happens to feature a performance from the Taiko drums.