Sado. 3. Kodo Apprentice Center

Back to Sado last week, this time for Kodo Juku. This time traveling with another Kyoto friend - Anna - and arriving by night train in Niigata and then ferry to Ryotsu. There we meet the other Juku participants, and are whisked in a car convoy to the Kodo Apprentice Center in the mountains of the south-east coast.

Sado's south-eastern coast, seen from the Niigata-to-Ryotsu ferry.

Kodo Juku is a 4-day course that aims to give outsiders a little taste of Kodo life and training. It's now in it's 12th year, and continues to be led by the amazing Eiichi Saito, wadaiko virtuoso and an amazing and supremely entertaining teacher. Not to mention one heck of a great guy. In his task Eiichi-san is ably assisted by several Kodo members (this year they were Michiko-san, Shin-san, and Gan-chan) as well as by the 2nd-year class of Kodo kenshusei (apprentices). Indeed Kodo Juku is held at the Kodo Apprentice Centre, and so we visitors get to see a little bit of the life of a Kodo apprentice.

The Kodo Apprentice Centre is an old wooden school building in the middle of no-where in the mountains of the south-east coast of Sado. With its remote location it's no wonder that the school was surplus and hence was made available to Kodo for the training of its future generations of drummers. This year, it is permanently inhabited by nine second-year kenshusei (there is also a batch of 10 first-year apprentices who live and study at another location), who live and train there full-time, with only a rare trip to the civilized world that is Ogi or Ryotsu towns.

The Kodo Apprentice Center. Training hall is the gray-roofed building on the left, and the living and office areas are in the black-roofed building on the right. Click on image for a zoomed version

A hallway in the living area of the Center. The Center is a surplus old school

The training hall is the old school's gym

The Kodo Juku program is open, by application, to all. There were 21 of us visitors: 11 men, 10 women; 15 natives and 6 gaijin (including 3 Canadians); about half in their late teens/early 20s and half 30+. With all levels of taiko experience, from 10+ years all the way down to 'none'. We all came to see what life is like in the Kodo Apprentice program; some of the younger among us clearly came to check out the place as a potential career option...

The 2006 Kodo Juku. Eiichi-san in yellow in the front row, Kodo apprentices in the back

Kodo is, of course, the premier taiko group in the world, with an amazing heritage and an equally impressive record. I've written about them before here and here. But wherefrom do they get their amazing wadaiko players? Well, nowadays at least, they train them.

To train the future generations of their members, Kodo run a 2-year Kenshusei (apprentice) program. Each year the program takes in up to 12 new apprentices, and puts them through a gruelling physical and mental training regimen. Make no mistake: the program is an extremely tough, full-time commitment... It is no surprise that while there are no formal restrictions on who can apply to join it, all the current apprentices are in their 20s (most fresh out of high school), unmarried, and in amazing physical shape. And, it hardly needs mentioning, they all have talent by the bucket.

Snap quiz from Eiichi-sensei: Kodo apprentices in an ad-hoc improv performance. Click on image for a zoomed version

During their two years, the apprentices learn to perfection all the major Kodo pieces. On several evenings we visitors were allowed to watch them train under the eye of Eiichi-san... One evening they were working on Miyake, a well-known Kodo staple. Eiichi-san had them just playing the base beat and to my eye they looked perfect: each Kenshusei in a graceful kneeling posture, eight sets of arms moving in flawless unison, pumping out sound energy in a steady, supremely powerful rhythm. And after 10 minutes of this seemingly flawless perfection, Eiichi san got up, walked over, and started doing the adjustments: He literally tweaked by no more than an inch an elbow here, a shoulder there, and a foot over yonder. I was very, very humbled by the level at which Kodo play: There are many good community groups out there. There are some truly great semi-pro groups. And there are a few really awesome professional groups. And then there is Kodo.

The apprentices' rice field: planted and tended by hand

The apprentices not only live and breathe taiko from dawn till lights out, but also train in other traditional arts from dance to tea ceremony. They cook their own food (no prepared ingredients allowed!), and indeed grow much of it. By living communally, they learn to take care of each other and of their surroundings, taking turns cooking and cleaning. And while their training is hard, their rewards (at least as we think of them) are few and far between: alcohol is not allowed; movies, other than those about taiko, are not allowed; and sex, despite the volatile mix of men and women in their early 20s, is forbidden. So while they very occasionally get to go to the "metropolis" of Ryotsu half an hour away by car, most of their days are spent in the rustic isolation of rural and mountainous south-eastern Sado.

At dusk, looking out over the Sea of Japan towards Niigata

All through this, the apprentices seem to retain an amazing vibrancy and cheerfulness. While we were there, not only did they have to attend to most of their usual tasks, but cooked each and every one of our (excellent) meals and took care of us in many other ways, making even the gaijin among us feel extremely welcome.

Kodo apprentices in the kitchen, whipping up another yummy meal

It is sad to think that of the 12 apprentices that start the program each year, perhaps just over half will complete it, and only two or three will be invited to join Kodo as Junior Members for a further probationary commitment of one additional year. But despite this staggering casualty rate, I think the Kodo apprentice program is a highly worthwhile life experience. The program teaches mental and, especially, emotional toughness. While clearly young and playful, the apprentices I met also seemed a lot more balanced and mature than your average 19- or 20-year-old. I think even those that do not go on to become Kodo members have a wonderful basis from which to develop their future lives.

It was truly a great privilege for us visitors to meet this wonderful group of people - both the apprentices and the older Kodo members who train them - to spend 4 days in their company, and to share just a little bit of their lifestyle.

Sado. 3. Kodo Apprentice Center

Back to Sado last week, this time for Kodo Juku. This time traveling with another Kyoto friend - Anna - and arriving by night train in Niigata and then ferry to Ryotsu. There we meet the other Juku participants, and are whisked in a car convoy to the Kodo Apprentice Center in the mountains of the south-east coast.

Sado's south-eastern coast, seen from the Niigata-to-Ryotsu ferry.

Kodo Juku is a 4-day course that aims to give outsiders a little taste of Kodo life and training. It's now in it's 12th year, and continues to be led by the amazing Eiichi Saito, wadaiko virtuoso and an amazing and supremely entertaining teacher. Not to mention one heck of a great guy. In his task Eiichi-san is ably assisted by several Kodo members (this year they were Michiko-san, Shin-san, and Gan-chan) as well as by the 2nd-year class of Kodo kenshusei (apprentices). Indeed Kodo Juku is held at the Kodo Apprentice Centre, and so we visitors get to see a little bit of the life of a Kodo apprentice.

The Kodo Apprentice Centre is an old wooden school building in the middle of no-where in the mountains of the south-east coast of Sado. With its remote location it's no wonder that the school was surplus and hence was made available to Kodo for the training of its future generations of drummers. This year, it is permanently inhabited by nine second-year kenshusei (there is also a batch of 10 first-year apprentices who live and study at another location), who live and train there full-time, with only a rare trip to the civilized world that is Ogi or Ryotsu towns.

The Kodo Apprentice Center. Training hall is the gray-roofed building on the left, and the living and office areas are in the black-roofed building on the right. Click on image for a zoomed version

A hallway in the living area of the Center. The Center is a surplus old school

The training hall is the old school's gym

The Kodo Juku program is open, by application, to all. There were 21 of us visitors: 11 men, 10 women; 15 natives and 6 gaijin (including 3 Canadians); about half in their late teens/early 20s and half 30+. With all levels of taiko experience, from 10+ years all the way down to 'none'. We all came to see what life is like in the Kodo Apprentice program; some of the younger among us clearly came to check out the place as a potential career option...

The 2006 Kodo Juku. Eiichi-san in yellow in the front row, Kodo apprentices in the back

Kodo is, of course, the premier taiko group in the world, with an amazing heritage and an equally impressive record. I've written about them before here and here. But wherefrom do they get their amazing wadaiko players? Well, nowadays at least, they train them.

To train the future generations of their members, Kodo run a 2-year Kenshusei (apprentice) program. Each year the program takes in up to 12 new apprentices, and puts them through a gruelling physical and mental training regimen. Make no mistake: the program is an extremely tough, full-time commitment... It is no surprise that while there are no formal restrictions on who can apply to join it, all the current apprentices are in their 20s (most fresh out of high school), unmarried, and in amazing physical shape. And, it hardly needs mentioning, they all have talent by the bucket.

Snap quiz from Eiichi-sensei: Kodo apprentices in an ad-hoc improv performance. Click on image for a zoomed version

During their two years, the apprentices learn to perfection all the major Kodo pieces. On several evenings we visitors were allowed to watch them train under the eye of Eiichi-san... One evening they were working on Miyake, a well-known Kodo staple. Eiichi-san had them just playing the base beat and to my eye they looked perfect: each Kenshusei in a graceful kneeling posture, eight sets of arms moving in flawless unison, pumping out sound energy in a steady, supremely powerful rhythm. And after 10 minutes of this seemingly flawless perfection, Eiichi san got up, walked over, and started doing the adjustments: He literally tweaked by no more than an inch an elbow here, a shoulder there, and a foot over yonder. I was very, very humbled by the level at which Kodo play: There are many good community groups out there. There are some truly great semi-pro groups. And there are a few really awesome professional groups. And then there is Kodo.

The apprentices' rice field: planted and tended by hand

The apprentices not only live and breathe taiko from dawn till lights out, but also train in other traditional arts from dance to tea ceremony. They cook their own food (no prepared ingredients allowed!), and indeed grow much of it. By living communally, they learn to take care of each other and of their surroundings, taking turns cooking and cleaning. And while their training is hard, their rewards (at least as we think of them) are few and far between: alcohol is not allowed; movies, other than those about taiko, are not allowed; and sex, despite the volatile mix of men and women in their early 20s, is forbidden. So while they very occasionally get to go to the "metropolis" of Ryotsu half an hour away by car, most of their days are spent in the rustic isolation of rural and mountainous south-eastern Sado.

At dusk, looking out over the Sea of Japan towards Niigata

All through this, the apprentices seem to retain an amazing vibrancy and cheerfulness. While we were there, not only did they have to attend to most of their usual tasks, but cooked each and every one of our (excellent) meals and took care of us in many other ways, making even the gaijin among us feel extremely welcome.

Kodo apprentices in the kitchen, whipping up another yummy meal

It is sad to think that of the 12 apprentices that start the program each year, perhaps just over half will complete it, and only two or three will be invited to join Kodo as Junior Members for a further probationary commitment of one additional year. But despite this staggering casualty rate, I think the Kodo apprentice program is a highly worthwhile life experience. The program teaches mental and, especially, emotional toughness. While clearly young and playful, the apprentices I met also seemed a lot more balanced and mature than your average 19- or 20-year-old. I think even those that do not go on to become Kodo members have a wonderful basis from which to develop their future lives.

It was truly a great privilege for us visitors to meet this wonderful group of people - both the apprentices and the older Kodo members who train them - to spend 4 days in their company, and to share just a little bit of their lifestyle.