Events

MusicYamato Show - Matsuri Fiesta

Yamato Show - Matsuri Fiesta in Sava center on April 17th!

Wadaiko Yamato
Japanese Taiko drummers "Yamato" was born in Yamato-no-kuni (country of Yamato), the
present day Nara prefecture in 1993 by Masa Ogawa, and has its headquarters in Asuka village
in Nara, which is known for many ancient monuments and named as the birthplace of Japanese
culture. All started with our participation in a festival held at the Toichi shrine in Kashihara-shi,
Nara. We played a piece called "Hyuga" which I composed. Then a newspaper journalist asked
for our name for his article, and we didn't have one. So I just said "Yamato" which just popped
out of my head. "Sounds like a road-side cafe" was an often heard comment then, but the name
has come to suit us. It just started as a one-off performance, but invitations from many places
started to come in and now we run "round the world tours" with more than 200 performances a
year everywhere in the world. The numbers in the members has grown from four to seventeen
now, with both males and females. The group is divided into two sections and apart from the
usual concerts, works on many activities involving schools and teaching.

2000 performances in 45 countries in the world
We went to china in 1994, just one year after we started, and had audiences of 20,000 for four
performances. Then we toured other Asian countries including Indonesia, South Korea and
Singapore. We had South America tours in 1997, 1998 and 1999, with each tour covering more
than 10,000km. We started to perform at the Fringe of the Edinburgh Festival, the biggest art
event in the world, in 1998, wanting to broaden our horizons and meet peoples. Twenty three
performances were all sold out and we received the Spirit of the Fringe Award, the British media
called us the "music of physique". With this festival as the springboard we started the "World
tours", which is in its 11th year (2009). The European tour starts in February from Germany,
including the Austria, Sweden, Russia, Netherlands, Belgium and Eastern Europe. The
European tour continues till September and we immediately start our fifth US tour. We perform in
the US and Canada from October till December. In 2010, we will have European tour and
Japanese tour. It is literally around-the-world tour!

Life of the drummers
In the village of Asuka with more than a thousand years of history, Yamato seeks new
expression with Wadaiko - Japanese drums as its backbone. "Go anywhere if invited and make
the world a little more happy" as our motto, we are running around the world with our drum in our
hand. Let me give you a glimpse of our rather hard life. We start the day with 10km running
followed the weight training for the rest of the morning. We practice drumming together in the
afternoon, and individual practice will continue till we go to bed. All we do is practice, except
sleeping, going to bathroom or mealtime. Then our foreign tours, we spent from six to ten months
in a year in foreign countries, which may sound great but actually it is quite hard too. We don't
have time for sightseeing. All we do is to prepare, perform and clear up every day, or traveling.
All we know is the theatres, especially the back-stage areas and hotels. But more than 300,000
people from 15 to 20 or more counties in a year came to see us. We continue touring because
meeting people is the joy of it all.

Production of Yamato
The central to Yamato's production is, of course, the Wadaiko drumming. We think of the sound
of the drums, made of animal skin and ancient tree, some of which are more than 400 years old,
as the pulse or the Heartbeat (Shin-on). The centre of life and the source of power, which
pulsates within your own body. Like the strong and sturdy heartbeats of a lonely runner with
pulsating sleek and powerful body. Yamato attempts to create the energy of life which envelops
the audience and us. And what you fell when surrounded by the sound of Wadaiko, brought out
by these highly trained bodies, is what Japanese call "Tamashy", which can be translated as soul,
spirit, psyche and so on, which is the basic element of life. "This is something which is invisible
and intangible but whose existence is certainly felt" The pulse, carried down from antiquity,
should be resonating within all the bodies gathered at the theatre today. We want to create a
stage production which is the celebration of life.

Energy
The place where Yamato performs is the space where people gather in the resounding beat of
drums. The moments are born when the sound created by Yamato resonates with the pulse of
everybody present.
Ripples of pulses softly and gently overlap. At that moment we'll feel the energy for tomorrow
being born.

The moment of "meeting" exists in a space called a concert. The energy created by this
encounter in turn gives us the energy with which we keep on our journey of creation and
expression. Empathetic exchange of energy. This is the main theme of the activities of Yamato.
Setting off from Asuka village in the country of Yamato, running through the world and returning
home to Asuka, Nara again. Yamato will continue drumming and seeking encounters.
From "Yamato-no-kuni" to the World.
And from the world to "Yamato-no-kuni" again.
We continue our journey.
YAMATO the drummers of Japan

Organizer: Arena Beograd