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Drum Circles Greet the Day and Pray for Peace

Several exciting drumming events are shaping up in Japan for Festival 2006! At 7am on May 7th in Ishiki Town, Kagoshima City, Drum Circle Kagoshima will send their drumming sounds toward Sakurajima, where the morning sun rises on that day, and pray for peace with people all over the world. The location will be the Kagoshima North Port Waterfront Park, Newtown 5. For more info on this, contact Morita Kou at info@dc-k.jp.

From 7-8am on May 7th, the Chiba Drum Circle will play drums and send these sounds toward the Arakawa River in Chiba, where the morning sun rises on that day. For more on this event, write to polyrhythm_86afro@ybb.ne.jp. Also from 7-8am, the Sagami Drum Circle will send messages in the same spirit towards the Sagami River. This will take place at the Sagami Riverside, Zama-Iriya, Zama City, Kanagawa. For more information, contact Moto Ozaki at yhy10460@nifty.com.

Drums and drumming have a sacred and honored place in Japanese culture and history. They have been used in religious ceremonies, folk festivals, and during wartime, to send commands and intimidate enemies. More recently, musicians have incorporated them into contemporary popular sounds, winning new fans for the drums, called "taiko". There are different sizes of taiko, played in a variety of genres.

In Kagoshima, for example, there is an autumn festival called "Hoze." At Tsunuki, a traditional drum dance called "Tsunuki Hoze Taiko Odori" takes place during the festival. To see and hear more, go to www3.synapse.ne.jp.
(or read more about Japanese music)

Japanese musicians have participated in OWB festivals in 2003, 2004, and 2005, and we are very honored and delighted to have them with us once again, spreading messages of hope, understanding, peace, and healing.