Interviews

1. The reason he came to the United States (Japanese)

2. First taiko performance in the United States (Japanese)

3. Differences in taiko style (Japanese)

4. Originality of each taiko group (Japanese)

5. Benefits of living in the United States (Japanese)

6. Promoting group identity through taiko contests (Japanese)

7. Taiko's sounds as Japanese cultural tradition (Japanese)

Etsuo Hongo

(1949 - 2019) Taiko player. Founded five taiko groups in Southern California

Promoting group identity through taiko contests (Japanese)

(Japanese) As I look around after 30 years of taiko playing, I see all kinds of taiko groups sprouting up and playing without any identity as Japanese style taiko. If we don’t do something to cope with this trend, these (unidentifiable) taiko styles might become mainstream. If I am asked what is an authentic Nikkei taiko, I would have a hard time explaining or defining it myself, you know. But then, I would like to see some of the players who take this taiko more seriously. I’m saying that they shouldn’t play just for fun, but I still think they should spend more time for practicing. With a little bit more practice, I’m sure the quality would improve tremendously, although they may not be aware of it. But then, I suppose you could have some kind of contest. That would provide lots of incentive for the players to practice in earnest and also think of other ideas and would really upgrade the groups’ performance.

drum music taiko

Date: April 1, 2005

Location: California, US

Interviewer: Ann Kaneko

Contributed by: Watase Media Arts Center, Japanese American National Museum.

Interviewee Bio

Etsuo Hongo, a shin-issei, was born and raised in Tokyo, Japan. He began his taiko training there, and was exposed to the idea of taiko in the United States when he read a 1968 Japanese newspaper article about San Francisco Taiko Dojo. Almost immediately after he came to the United States in 1973, he searched out a place to play taiko. He attended the Long Beach Buddhist Temple obon, where he was given his first opportunity to play taiko in this country. Shortly thereafter, he traveled to South America, where he spent the subsequent year visiting various Nikkei communities and continuing to play taiko in local festivals.

After his travels in South America, Mr. Hongo decided to return to the United States where he started his gardening business. In 1977, he established Los Angeles Matsuri Taiko. He now has five groups—totaling some 100 students. The other four groups are L.A. Mugen Taiko (est. 1988), Venice Koshin Taiko (est. 1992), L.A. Taiko Okida Gumi (est. 1996), and El Marino Rainbow Taiko, an elementary school program for 2nd through 5th graders. He passed away on October 28, 2019 at age 70. (June 2021)