Sado. 4. The Juku

In contrast to the kenshusei, we had it easy.

At 6:30 our days began with the wooden-clapper wake-up call, followed by Eichii-san's "radio taisho" warmup exercises at 6:40, and then by a 2km run. The run was uphill, granted, but 2km is nothing to the 10km that the Kodo apprentices run every day while we are still in bed. Our runs were led by Gan-san, former Kodo performer and man of steel and permanent smile, not to mention avid marathoner. And while we visitors labored slowly uphil, we could see the yellow-clad figure of Eiichi-san sprinting back and forth along the road, looking for that perfect shot with his camera.

Our daily schedule

A juku (塾 = cram school) is the place where Japanese kids go after school to do even more of that memorizing that is so vital for getting admitted to a good university here. Doing well in your classes in high school is not enough to secure that all-important, life-defining place at a top college... nope - you have to spend your evenings cramming even more facts into your head, getting ready to regurgitate them once and only once at age 18 before relaxing into four years of rest and fun that is university. Yep, the Japanese formal educational system is in some ways... well... archaic. Anyway, as you can imagine, Kodo Juku was a totally different kind of cram school.

The morning run

At 7:30 we had breakfast, followed at 8:15 by the daily ritual cleanining of the school buildings. Working five to a group and with a kenshusei leading, we took turns washing the gym floor (Day 1), doing dishes (Day 2), cleaning the hallway (Day 3) and the toilets and ofuro (Day 4).

Getting the drums tuned

9:00 marked the beginning of the first drum training session of the day. As Eiichi-san is a great believer in stretching, on Day 1 we didn't even take out the drums until 10:30. But the stretching did feel good, both on the mind and on the spirit, as did the afternoon massage session on Day 3...

Eiichi-san, The Amazing Saito-Eiichi-san of Kodo, is as natural a teacher as I have ever met. He had in front of him what should have been an impossible challenge: a mixed group of 21 people ranging from complete taiko novices to bachi-spinning hot-shot semi-pros, and yet he managed to run a course that had everyone amazed, fascinated, and learning something new every day. It helps, of course, that Eiichi-san is a natural actor and comedian, and it also helps that he is an amazing taiko artist with 25 years of Kodo experience. And yet, despite the fact that he is The Saito-san of The Kodo, he managed to make everyone completely, totally, and unquestionably at ease. And that was before the drinking started in the evening. What a guy!

Eiichi-san. Enough said

Lunch was at 12:30, followed by more taiko from 14:00 until 17:00. Eichi-san didn't spend much time drilling form and technique or on pushing us past the limit of our physical endurance. That's what the apprentices are there for, after all. Instead, his emphasis for us was on energy level (high), making eye contact (lots), and having fun (lots and lots and lots). Each day he taught us something new, but always building on what we did the day before, so that by the end of the Juku our group was able to drum a super-genki song by putting together the various elements we had learned over the days past. With Eiichi-san as orchestra conductor. If you ever want to see how to run a taiko course, go watch one that's run by Saito Eiichi.

During a break... adjusting the drum

17:00-19:00 was free time. Some people stayed in the practice hall to do some jamming, some headed for the ofuro, and some to simply pass out on the tatami in the communal sleeping rooms, while the Australian Contingent was invariably off to do more push-ups. (Good on you, Anton!) Two or three times Stephen and I walked up the mountain road, looking for vistas to photograph, but never quite getting the clarity of air and the quality of light that we saw during our run on the second morning, when we could see clearly all the way to the Niigata mainland, but when none of us thought to bring our cameras.

Dinner was at 19:00. All the meals were prepared for us by the kenshusei, who must have worked extra hard that week taking care of 21 visitors. The food was home-made fare. Good, plentiful, nutritious. I can only imagine that food is a high-priority item for the kenshusei, given their youthful metabolisms revved up by the highly physical nature of their training. I suspect the focus on food must be true even for the regular Kodo members, as even some of Eiichi-san's taiko compositions have a food element to them:

Ko-hee gyu-nyu I-su-ku-ree-mu Na-ma bee-ru Po-ta-to-chi-pu-su

don-don-DON-don don-doko-DON-don ---- doko-don-don don-doko-DON--k'don

I hope the maple syrup I brought them went well with the French toast Daisuke promised he'd make for the other kenshusei on their next day off.

At dinner

Kenshusei in charge

Gan-san. Retired Kodo performer, practicing marathon runner, master of all trades. Here in his role as takoyaki chef

From 20:00 onwards was, again, free time for us, but we usually went to watch the kenshusei in their formal practice from 21:00 to 22:00. During this time they received their formal instruction and critique from Eiichi-san, and it was both inspiring and humbling to watch these sessions. No fun and games, here, just hard work and striving for perfection. It's not every day that the kenshusei have the change to be instructed by Eiichi-san, and they took advantage of that opportunity with seriousness, respect, and dedication.

And after that, starting at 23:00 and lasting well past midnight more often than not, was the drinking and the story-telling, with Eiichi-san leading the way.

The Juku was a fantastic experience. To be able to see the place where Kodo apprentices live and train; to experience their hospitality and that of the Kodo staff members - Michiko-san, Gan-san, Shin-san - who ran things quietly and professionally in the background; to meet Eiichi-san and learn from his knowledge of taiko and joy of life; and, of course, to make new friends... These are the highlights for me.

On Sunday afternoon it was time to say goodbye. We exchanged email addresses, signed each others' bachi, and took the last group pictures. As we were leaving for Ryotsu and the ferries, the kenshusei serenaded our car cavalcade. Clearly, they already have the same welcoming spirit as do the long-standing Kodo members. As for us, the Juku students, we are now mambers of a small brotherhood. And so we shall meet again.

Sado. 4. The Juku

In contrast to the kenshusei, we had it easy.

At 6:30 our days began with the wooden-clapper wake-up call, followed by Eichii-san's "radio taisho" warmup exercises at 6:40, and then by a 2km run. The run was uphill, granted, but 2km is nothing to the 10km that the Kodo apprentices run every day while we are still in bed. Our runs were led by Gan-san, former Kodo performer and man of steel and permanent smile, not to mention avid marathoner. And while we visitors labored slowly uphil, we could see the yellow-clad figure of Eiichi-san sprinting back and forth along the road, looking for that perfect shot with his camera.

Our daily schedule

A juku (塾 = cram school) is the place where Japanese kids go after school to do even more of that memorizing that is so vital for getting admitted to a good university here. Doing well in your classes in high school is not enough to secure that all-important, life-defining place at a top college... nope - you have to spend your evenings cramming even more facts into your head, getting ready to regurgitate them once and only once at age 18 before relaxing into four years of rest and fun that is university. Yep, the Japanese formal educational system is in some ways... well... archaic. Anyway, as you can imagine, Kodo Juku was a totally different kind of cram school.

The morning run

At 7:30 we had breakfast, followed at 8:15 by the daily ritual cleanining of the school buildings. Working five to a group and with a kenshusei leading, we took turns washing the gym floor (Day 1), doing dishes (Day 2), cleaning the hallway (Day 3) and the toilets and ofuro (Day 4).

Getting the drums tuned

9:00 marked the beginning of the first drum training session of the day. As Eiichi-san is a great believer in stretching, on Day 1 we didn't even take out the drums until 10:30. But the stretching did feel good, both on the mind and on the spirit, as did the afternoon massage session on Day 3...

Eiichi-san, The Amazing Saito-Eiichi-san of Kodo, is as natural a teacher as I have ever met. He had in front of him what should have been an impossible challenge: a mixed group of 21 people ranging from complete taiko novices to bachi-spinning hot-shot semi-pros, and yet he managed to run a course that had everyone amazed, fascinated, and learning something new every day. It helps, of course, that Eiichi-san is a natural actor and comedian, and it also helps that he is an amazing taiko artist with 25 years of Kodo experience. And yet, despite the fact that he is The Saito-san of The Kodo, he managed to make everyone completely, totally, and unquestionably at ease. And that was before the drinking started in the evening. What a guy!

Eiichi-san. Enough said

Lunch was at 12:30, followed by more taiko from 14:00 until 17:00. Eichi-san didn't spend much time drilling form and technique or on pushing us past the limit of our physical endurance. That's what the apprentices are there for, after all. Instead, his emphasis for us was on energy level (high), making eye contact (lots), and having fun (lots and lots and lots). Each day he taught us something new, but always building on what we did the day before, so that by the end of the Juku our group was able to drum a super-genki song by putting together the various elements we had learned over the days past. With Eiichi-san as orchestra conductor. If you ever want to see how to run a taiko course, go watch one that's run by Saito Eiichi.

During a break... adjusting the drum

17:00-19:00 was free time. Some people stayed in the practice hall to do some jamming, some headed for the ofuro, and some to simply pass out on the tatami in the communal sleeping rooms, while the Australian Contingent was invariably off to do more push-ups. (Good on you, Anton!) Two or three times Stephen and I walked up the mountain road, looking for vistas to photograph, but never quite getting the clarity of air and the quality of light that we saw during our run on the second morning, when we could see clearly all the way to the Niigata mainland, but when none of us thought to bring our cameras.

Dinner was at 19:00. All the meals were prepared for us by the kenshusei, who must have worked extra hard that week taking care of 21 visitors. The food was home-made fare. Good, plentiful, nutritious. I can only imagine that food is a high-priority item for the kenshusei, given their youthful metabolisms revved up by the highly physical nature of their training. I suspect the focus on food must be true even for the regular Kodo members, as even some of Eiichi-san's taiko compositions have a food element to them:

Ko-hee gyu-nyu I-su-ku-ree-mu Na-ma bee-ru Po-ta-to-chi-pu-su

don-don-DON-don don-doko-DON-don ---- doko-don-don don-doko-DON--k'don

I hope the maple syrup I brought them went well with the French toast Daisuke promised he'd make for the other kenshusei on their next day off.

At dinner

Kenshusei in charge

Gan-san. Retired Kodo performer, practicing marathon runner, master of all trades. Here in his role as takoyaki chef

From 20:00 onwards was, again, free time for us, but we usually went to watch the kenshusei in their formal practice from 21:00 to 22:00. During this time they received their formal instruction and critique from Eiichi-san, and it was both inspiring and humbling to watch these sessions. No fun and games, here, just hard work and striving for perfection. It's not every day that the kenshusei have the change to be instructed by Eiichi-san, and they took advantage of that opportunity with seriousness, respect, and dedication.

And after that, starting at 23:00 and lasting well past midnight more often than not, was the drinking and the story-telling, with Eiichi-san leading the way.

The Juku was a fantastic experience. To be able to see the place where Kodo apprentices live and train; to experience their hospitality and that of the Kodo staff members - Michiko-san, Gan-san, Shin-san - who ran things quietly and professionally in the background; to meet Eiichi-san and learn from his knowledge of taiko and joy of life; and, of course, to make new friends... These are the highlights for me.

On Sunday afternoon it was time to say goodbye. We exchanged email addresses, signed each others' bachi, and took the last group pictures. As we were leaving for Ryotsu and the ferries, the kenshusei serenaded our car cavalcade. Clearly, they already have the same welcoming spirit as do the long-standing Kodo members. As for us, the Juku students, we are now mambers of a small brotherhood. And so we shall meet again.