About Tanegashima's taiko performance, which is played only by young women
This is a shot of the Teppo Daiko (Japanese drum) performance by the Teppo Drum Corps of Nishinoomote City, in the northern part of Tanegashima Island.
These photos were taken at the Tanegashima Teppo Festival, one of the three major festivals in Tanegashima.
Tanegashima Island is a place of firearms lore
History textbooks teach about the introduction of firearms to Japan, and Tanegashima is the very place where guns were introduced to Japan.
The performance of teppo drums at this event is based on the image of the Tanegashima Teppo Corps, which was active during the Civil War, under the guidance of excellent instructors.
There are many other taiko teams on Tanegashima, such as Eisa, and it has become an important part of the island's traditional culture.
The beginning of the women-only teppo drum performance
They performed at the women-only Teppo Festival, on the streets of downtown Nishinoomote City, moving through the town on what appeared to be a trailer.
The performance began with a relatively modest, feminine performance that gave the impression of having been well trained.
Female taiko drummers begin to remove their jackets with a shout
Stop playing? The girls started doing something on the back of the trailer that was the stage. I wondered what it was, but continued filming for now.
What was it? They all started taking off their white jackets at once. So this was the direction. The audience around us waited patiently for the performance to resume.
The atmosphere has clearly changed.
Looks like standby is complete. Serious expression.
The women beating the teppo drums, overwhelming power that was completely different from the beginning, and this was where it all began!
Even the cameraman was amazed. Even an amateur taiko player could tell the difference between the beginning of the performance and the beginning of the performance is overwhelming.
This is teppo taiko.... I think I caught a glimpse of the traditional culture of Tanegashima.
Originally, I was going to make it a part of the festival article because it is Japanese drumming, but the taiko performance was so wonderful that I am going to treat it as a stand-alone article on this site.
This is where the real performance begins!
Since an explanation is probably no longer necessary, I will just introduce you to the girls as they perform.
The background scenery changes because the stage is moving
You may have noticed that the background changes one after another in this series of performances. This stage is being played on the back of a trailer, and it is moving slowly through the downtown area of Nishinoomote City.
Photographers frantically tracking the moving stage
Since the stage is moving, the photographer is also moving while shooting. We were not concerned about the best position, but were just chasing after them.
Please also enjoy the downtown streetscape of Nishinoomote City in the background
The photographer frantically chased and photographed the taiko performance, and I hope you enjoy the transition of the background.
The raging end of the show, as if the girls were exerting their last ounce of energy
Although they were probably quite fatigued, they continued to perform angrily in the last half of the show.
They change formations one after another on stage
The cameraman was at a loss, but was impressed by the well-crafted performance that kept the audience on their toes. The cameraman can clearly see that behind the girls' excellent performance, there is a very talented instructor.
Striking brilliantly to the end
The photographer was exhausted from the long hours of performance at the festival, but the endurance of the women was amazing. They beat the audience to the end of the performance.
Summary of Tanegashima's taiko performance, beaten only by young women
Living on Tanegashima Island, I can hear the faint sound of taiko drumming from around 6:00 pm.
I think they practice after work or school, but since it is a musical instrument that produces sound, there may be a certain time limit, but the people of Tanegashima may be used to hearing the sound of taiko drums.
Tanegashima's teppo drums are played only by women, and I hope you could feel their power and seriousness, which is different from that of men.
The photographer was overwhelmed by the Tanegashima taiko performance, and we wanted to convey the atmosphere of the performance in this article.
We would be happy if you could feel something from the women of Tanegashima who earnestly face the traditional culture.
Thank you for reading to the end.