Taiko is a traditional form of Japanese drumming used for festivals, storytelling, and self-expression. The Columbia University Taiko Club aims to make the art of taiko accessible to all skill levels.

Heart racing, head pounding, arms quivering. We stand ready to deliver a thunderous taiko performance for the class of 2028. 

I’m just one of five players. We’re all thinking something in the moment before we begin. 

Audrey: What a crowd! I’m a bit nervous… but this will go well! I just know it!

Kay: Oh man, first performance of the year! I hope people like our performance… I’m getting nervous. Gotta keep the energy up!!

Tara: Ahh I am so excited to perform!! Do I remember the isamigoma beginning sequence? I hope so. Let me take a video of Kay for memories. 

Caitlyn: I’m so nervous but excited! Even though I may not look like it, I feel so old standing in front of so many incoming college students – many of whom have just finished high school. But I also feel excited because I remember being a freshman myself and if I can put myself in those shoes again, I would’ve loved to watch an all-female taiko performance & I definitely would’ve been influenced to join!

Kimiko: Oh wow that’s a big crowd. I hope they like what we’ve prepared.

There’s no going back now.

Kimiko calls everyone’s attention before sounding the shime to kick off isamigoma. We hit the drums in unison like we practiced.

My stress melts as we get back into the rhythm of our performance. The resonance of the drums fills us with strength. 

Soon, the first half of the performance ends. We await the next segment: agari yatai. 

The sequence is action packed and fast-paced, but we’ve got this. We’ve practiced this piece to the point of perfection. 

Suddenly, the performance is over! We’re all thinking:

Audrey: Woo! We made it! So much applause! That was so much fun!

Kay: Wooo let’s go! That was a great way to start off the year, I think we’re gonna work well as a team, and I’m excited to see who joins CU Taiko this year!!

Tara: Yay we did it!! First performance of the year done woohooo :))

Caitlyn: I’m relieved! Since it’s our first performance of the school year, I was scared I was going to mess up a lot more than I actually did during the performance. We got a lot of “good jobs” from other performers and it made me think that even though we don’t sing or dance like the other groups that performed at NSOP, we still have something super special about our taiko community! It makes me super excited to start tabling at the club fair and to start official practices this school year!

Kimiko: wow WOW we just did that!

Needless to say, we all enjoyed the performance, and we hope the crowd loved it as much as we did! We’ll continue the hype for all our future performances!

Performance photos and header by Nina Lam