[NoHo Arts District, CA] — Yamato, the Drummers of Japan, returns to The Soraya on Saturday, March 4 with a thrilling, high-energy, and explosive interpretation of the centuries-old Taiko tradition. Hinotori: The Wings of Phoenix is a new production created to celebrate the company’s historic 30th anniversary.
“Pure energy meets spiritual high!” The Scotsman
About Hinotori: The Wings of Phoenix
Hinotori: The Wings of Phoenix recognizes the incredible global challenges as dawn begins to break in the world and all must climb new mountains with determination and confidence.
The title of the group’s latest show references the mythical sunbird that represents fire, justice, obedience, fidelity, and the southern star constellations in Japanese culture. “Hinotori” translates to “good bird” in Japanese.
This new show captures all of Yamato’s virtuosity, strength, spirit, and sheer endurance. Now in its 28th season (after canceling their North American tour because of the pandemic), the taiko troupe has reached millions of people around the globe through more than 4,000 performances—making them the group with the most international performances to date among all Japanese performing arts ensembles.
About Yamato, The Drummers of Japan
Yamato, The Drummers of Japan, travels all over the world with Japan’s traditional Wadaiko drums, putting their very souls into the instruments, whose sound stirs the hearts of people everywhere. Their virtuosity, strength, spirit, and sheer endurance are astonishing.
On stage, they stand with more than 40 Taiko drums, each of them with what the group calls “different characters.” For example, their largest drum called “Odaiko,” was produced from a large tree that was more than 400 years old, about 6.5 feet in diameter, and weighed 1,102 pounds.
Yamato was founded in Japan’s Nara Prefecture in 1993. Since then, the troupe has given more than 4,000 performances in 54 countries and regions. Every year, Yamato tours the world for 6 to 10 months, creating and presenting original Yamato compositions and stages. As a result of this relentless tour schedule, pursued over more than 10 years, audiences around the world await our arrival every year in growing numbers, sustaining, and encouraging the group’s efforts.
For each member of the group, every encounter with audiences is a unique and precious experience with the greatest goal being to send them home after each performance with a new vitality and passion for life. As they continue to tour and perform throughout Japan and around the world, whether in concerts, classrooms, school assemblies, or workshops, the troupe continues to cherish and uphold Yamato, the spirit of Japan.
Taiko are a broad range of percussion instruments deeply familiar to Japan. Since the dawn of history, Taiko’s rich reverberations have filled people with inspiration and encouragement in a wide range of settings. Its unmistakable sound is still heard throughout Japan today. To many Japanese people, the sonorous beat of Taiko is soothing, for it is the sound of Japan itself, resounding at Shinto rituals and festivals in every part of the nation.
Several artists have incorporated Taiko’s sound into musical compositions and performing arts. Thanks to the efforts of a number of accomplished Taiko individual performers and troupes, captivated by the distinctive boom of this enormous drum, Taiko is winning new fans around the world. This musical instrument eminently represents the identity of the Japanese nation.
Yamato says, “We the members of Yamato believe in the unique value of Taiko. We are committed to preserving its traditions and exploring new possibilities for this majestic instrument. Our goal is to create ever more opportunities for the boom of Taiko to resound worldwide.”
Where:
Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts (The Soraya)
18111 Nordhoff Street, Northridge, CA 91330
Tickets:
$36–$80
Website: www.TheSoraya.org
Phone: 818-677-3000
About The Soraya
Located on the vibrant and diverse campus of California State University in the heart of Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley, The Soraya continues its vigorous commitment to innovating, exceling, and amplifying access by offering a wide variety of performances that reflect L.A.’s many distinctive communities and featuring new and original work from the Los Angeles region as well as artists from around the world.