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With its thunderous rhythms and high energy, taiko is a powerful and enormously popular style of group drumming. "BIG DRUM: Taiko in the United States" was produced for the exhibition of the same title at the Japanese American National Museum in 2005.  It features America's taiko pioneers and documents, through interviews and rare film and video footage, the ongoing transformation of this dynamic performing art.

 

Group taiko performance only developed in post-war Japan and the United States, and Japanese Americans played a major role in its growing popularity. With few models to follow, the original three Nikkei groups in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and San Jose built their own drums, created their costumes, and wrote their own music. The result was the original three groups in 1973 grew to over 250 groups throughout North America. In 2005, the exhibition, "Big Drum: Taiko in the United States," explored the growing phenomenon of taiko (Japanese drum) ensemble performances through the use of several media presentations, historic photographs, artifacts, and interactive activities.

 

Among the many groups included in the film are San Francisco Taiko Dojo, Kinnara Taiko, San Jose Taiko, Denver Taiko, Midwest Buddhist Temple Taiko Group, Soh Daiko, L.A. Matsuri Taiko, Shasta Taiko, Satori Taiko, Kogen Taiko, Kokyo Taiko, Hawaii Matsuri Taiko, Kenny Endo Taiko Ensemble, Maui Taiko, Zenshin Taiko, Zenshuji Zendeko, Nen Daiko, Hoh Daiko, Sacramento Taiko Dan, and TAIKOPROJECT.

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