KODO
Kodo Performing Arts Ensemble
Exploring the limitless possibilities of the traditional Japanese drum, the taiko, Kodo is forging new directions for a vibrant living art form. Since the group’s debut at the Berlin Festival in 1981, Kodo has given over 7,000 performances on all five continents, spending about a third of the year overseas, a third touring in Japan and a third rehearsing and preparing new material on Sado Island. Kodo strives to both preserve and re-interpret traditional Japanese performing arts. Beyond this, members on tours and research trips all over the globe have brought back to Sado a kaleidoscope of world music and experiences which now exerts a strong influence on the group’s performances and compositions. Collaborations with other artists and composers extend right across the musical spectrum and Kodo’s lack of preconceptions about its music continues to produce startling new fusion and forms.
Kodo Cultural Foundation
Thanks to the generous support of many people, Kodo Cultural Foundation was established in 1997 to enable Kodo to broaden its activities on Sado Island, where the group is based. The Foundation’s primary mission is to carry out non-profit activities that focus on social education and giving back to the local community. It became a Public Interest Corporation in 2011.
If Kodo’s performances were likened to a garden, then Kodo Cultural Foundation would be the roots of the plants growing there. Its activities include:
- managing Sado Island Taiko Centre (a.k.a. Tatakokan) and Fukaura Schoolhouse
- holding workshops and courses
- planning and producing Kodo and Sado Island’s annual festival Earth Celebration
- running Kodo Apprentice Centre
- maintaining Kodo’s library collection
- carrying out research into the performing arts
Kodo Cultural Foundation’s Four Activity Pillars
Kodo Cultural Foundation draws on the vast experience gathered over the years by Kodo Taiko Performing Arts Ensemble and the unique resources available on Sado Island to carry out its activities, which center around these four pillars:
(1) Human Resource Development
(2) Community Revitalization
(3) Arts and Culture Promotion
(4) International Cultural Exchange
Through its various projects, the Foundation also aims to contribute to the achievement of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
As one of its Community Revitalization initiatives, Kodo Cultural Foundation manages Sado Island Taiko Centre (Tatakokan) and Fukaura Schoolhouse, using these public facilities to support and increase activity in the local area. The Foundation collaborates with local residents and a range of groups on projects that bring new life to the region, which include promoting Sado tourism, developing unique local products, the preserving and utilizing historical areas, and finding ways to use former school facilities.
