is the first Japan-trained teacher of kumidaiko, or

taiko are a broad range of Traditional Japanese musical instruments, Japanese percussion instruments. In Japanese language, Japanese, the term refers to any kind of drum, but outside Japan, it is used specifically to refer to any of the various J ...

, in the United States and is largely regarded as the father of the art form in North America.

Early life

Tanaka was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1943 and immigrated to the United States in 1967. He returned to Japan to study the art of kumidaiko with

Daihachi Oguchi was a Japanese drummer best known for popularizing taiko. Master Japanese drummer Daihachi Oguchi is credited with inventing kumi-daiko, the taiko are a broad range of Traditional Japanese musical instruments, Japanese percussion instru ...

in Nagano prefecture, Japan, with Susumu Kowase of

Oedo Sukeroku Taiko is a taiko group from Japan. It is considered the first taiko group to begin touring professionally and, sometimes, the first professional taiko group. The group formed in Tokyo in 1959, and is one of the oldest recognized taiko groups in Japan. ...

in Tokyo, and Shosaku Ikeda, of Gojinjo Daiko.

Career

In 1968, he founded the San Francisco Taiko Dojo, which was the first North American taiko ensemble. Tanaka and San Francisco Taiko Dojo host an annual International Taiko Festival at Zellerbach Hall on the campus of the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

. His performance credits include work on the soundtrack for '' The Right Stuff'' and an appearance playing his signature piece, "Tsunami", in the film '' Rising Sun''. In April 2005, Tanaka and San Francisco Taiko Dojo were the subjects of a segment that aired on KQED public television. He is a recipient of a 2001

National Heritage Fellowship The National Heritage Fellowship is a lifetime honor presented to master folk and traditional artists by the National Endowment for the Arts. Similar to Japan's Living National Treasure award, the Fellowship is the United States government's h ...

awarded by the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the feder ...

, which is the United States' highest honor in the folk and traditional arts. Tanaka's former students, Kenny Endo, Russel Baba, Jeanne Mercer, and Tiffany Tamaribuchi, are prominent taiko performers, leaders of their own groups, and teachers of kumidaiko in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

, prompting him to remark, when receiving the NEA Award in year 2001, that he "should be known as the grandfather of taiko".

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tanaka, Seiichi Living people American musicians of Japanese descent Taiko players Japanese emigrants to the United States 1943 births Musicians from Tokyo National Heritage Fellowship winners Chiba University of Commerce alumni Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun, 5th class