Every weeknight as I drive on Stirling Road and Angler’s Avenue I can hear the sounds of thundering drums echoing in the night. It has always given me a burst of energy. I would always picture an army of Warriors charging into battle. I’d find myself yelling like if I was charging into battle. (I think my wife is correct when she says that I play too much Dungeons and Dragons.)

Monday night I could resist no longer. I wanted to find out where the thundering drums were coming from. No, I needed to know where it was coming from. As I pinpointed the source of the sound I made a quick right into a Wachovia Bank. I drove the wrong way through the drive thru into a warehouse district and to my delight there it was, the source of my heart pumping adrenaline surge. Fushu Daiko !!! Japanese Taiko Drumming. Not only did I satisfy my curiosity, I knew I had a story here.

A couple of days later I met Ben Miller, Past Artistic Director, Performer and Instructor at a nearby Barnes and Nobles for an interview. As we ordered coffee I witnessed something interesting. One of the gentlemen behind the counter yelled to Ben “Hey I know you. You’re the guy who does the Taiko drumming”. There was another gentleman who asked “Is that the big Japanese drums?”

Ben gave them a card and asked them to check out his class. I remember something Ben said to me later in the interview that seemed true. Taiko drumming connects communities. Here are two gentlemen who to me looked like they have nothing in common. One was a young skinny man with long hair. The other was an older man with a receding hairline. The only thing I could see that these two men had in common was that they both were excited to check out the Fushu Daiko school.

Before interviewing Ben I told him how I came across his school. He grinned at me and said “Like a moth flying into the fire.” Why did I get the feeling that I wasn’t the only one that this had happened to? Ben Miller was introduced to Taiko drumming in 1998. He went to see a performance and knew right then that it was something he wanted to do.

Ben joined the Fushu Daiko school, but he came across a road block. Sensei Yoshiko Cane was hesitant about teaching Ben. Ben had eleven years of experience playing the drums. She felt Ben was corrupted with his other drumming skills. Ben was in no way discouraged. He kept coming to watch and also help clean up at night. Sure enough his dedication led Sensei Yoshiko Cane to teach Ben.

Fushu Daiko was founded in 1990 by Yoshiko and Charles Cane. Their first performance was at the Morikami Museum. They started performing with six people and little equipment. Because of Yoshiko’s dedication, she received generous offers from local masters including Grand Master Seiichi Tanaka. Grand Master Seiichi Tanaka is the father of the American Taiko Renaissance. He took Taiko drumming out of Japan and introduced it to the U.S. With the help of Seiichi Tanaka and many more, Fushu Daiko has flourished to what it is today. Sensei Yoshiko passed away eight years ago, but Fushu Daiko is still going on strong. They do over two hundred performances a year all over the United States.

The Taiko’s (meaning drum or type of drumming) are made traditionally out of wood, leather and metal tacks. A twenty inch by twenty four drum can cost easily over three thousand dollars. There are different sizes of drums that are played. There’s the O Daiko (largest drum), Chu Daiko (mid size drum) and the Shime Daiko (small drum). There are other instruments that are played as well. There is the Canon (metal bell), Bells Hands, Gongs, Shakers, Conk shells and flutes.

Taiko’s were used in the days of old Japan for communicating in the field of battle. The Taiko’s would be used to direct troop movement. They were also used for non wartime activities such as alerting people of a fire and harvesting celebrations.

Ben made it very clear to me that Taiko is not just about drumming. First of all, there is a lot of physicality involved. Before he and his students play they warm up with stretches and exercises which last about forty minutes. When playing the Taiko there is a lot of emotion involved in it. You must also involve your inner spirit or center of energy which is called Kokoro. Other martial artist recognize this as ki or chi. Ben best describes this by saying “If you don’t use your kokoro when your playing then it’s empty”. He also mentions when you’re playing in front of an audience it’s about being generous, pouring your heart out and giving yourself to the them.

Taiko drumming is 80% physical, 20% mind and 100% spiritual. If you’re ever fortunate to see a performance you will see and hear shouting by the performers. That is the energy spilling out of them from playing . Ben says that’s what it’s all about. “You want to be charged up and uplifting. Sometimes the energy is like a tsunami”. After a performance not only are the performers exhausted, but the audience as well.

I asked Ben if hew believes Taiko drumming is a martial art. He absolutely believes it is. You have your dojo and sensei like other martial arts. There’s a lot of training and most importantly there is the Bushido Spirit. Ben says that there is a great medicine in Taiko drumming and encourages anyone to come to his dojo to try a class. Fushu Daiko is always accepting new students to the basic Taiko class.

Make sure you check out Fushu Daiko live in concert at the Broward Center For The Performing Arts Saturday October 27^th at 3:00pm and 7:30pm. www.fushudaiko.com or www.browardcenter.org . I would get tickets as soon as possible. Fushu Daiko performances are always a sell out.