When Rieko Shimbo, a founder of Tsuru no kai, decided to play taiko in Reno, she had two choices; she could buy a taiko drum from Japan or make one by herself. Buying a taiko soon became impossible, because of the expense. Rieko said a newly manufactured taiko costs more than 5,000 dollars without the shipping cost. She, then, started to find out how to make one by herself.
The first attempt to make a Japanese taiko was a hard one, says Rieko. She faced several obstacles. Rieko's method was to call her friend back in Japan and to learn to make it through the phone. With a limited visual aid, it was hard to understand how to stretch the cow hide. She bought a dried cowhide from Alaska. She used a wine barrel to make the body of the taiko. traditionally, a taiko is made out of a big hollowed tree trunk.
Tsuru no kai have four big taiko drums and also some kodiakos, a smaller taiko. Now, Marvin Mattson, a husband of a member, is responsible for making and repairing all the taiko.
Making taiko is a time consuming work but Mattson enjoys making taikos. Taiko related tools and machines takes up about a third of the space in his garage. The very first step is to soak the cow hide in to water for several days to make it soft. Then Mattson makes a hole on the hide so he can put a metal studs, which will hold the hide and rope together.
The body of the taiko is made out of a wine
barrel. to prevent it from falling apart while playing, the
body was strengthened with fibergrass, which bocomes a body
when it is dried.
Click a triangle button on upper right corner of this page to see how he makes taiko.
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