Kyodo Taiko's 24th Annual Spring Concert: Ichi-Go Ichi-E

Kyodo Taiko is the nation's first collegiate taiko drumming team. Founded in 1990, we work to promote the art of Japanese-American taiko drumming within the UCLA and surrounding communities through powerful and engaging performances, and instill within the community a sense of respect and understanding of the Japanese American culture. 

Our Spring Concert began over 20 years ago as a way to inspire members of the UCLA community to explore and learn more about taiko and Japanese-American culture. Since its inception, we’ve performed numerous original compositions for a sold out crowd of over 300 people, and this year will be no exception. 

Kyodo Taiko is honored to present our 24th Annual Spring Concert, “Ichi-Go Ichi-E” (一期一会), on Saturday, June 3, 2023, from 7-9PM in the Northwest Auditorium! Literally translating to “one time, one meeting,” 一期一会 can also be interpreted as “in this moment, an opportunity.”  Our team has overcome many challenges these past three years, recovering from the loss of practice time, old traditions, and missed performances. But now is not the time to wallow on missed opportunities, but instead focus on the moments in the present—and we are so proud to take the stage this year and show off all our hard work. Please consider supporting our Spring Concert to make sure that this long-held tradition can continue!

Our Spring Concert has always been free to the public, and we hope to keep this spirit of accessibility alive. Our fundraising team has been working diligently to apply for grants and host fundraisers to help with the steep costs of Spring Concert. However, due to rising costs of venue rentals and inflation, there is still a lot of ground to cover. This year in particular, we were financially impacted by a lack of gig revenue coming out of the pandemic, and the need to reskin two of our large drums and two of our smaller ones, due to holes in the face which made them unplayable. Generous donations from our friends and family go a long way, and that is why we are asking for your continued support. We are reaching out to you to help us reach our goal of $4,000, which funds a significant portion of our budget!

Taiko has been embedded in Japanese culture for millennia, and it was brought over by immigrants and played in internment camps as a way for them to feel connected to the motherland. In North America in particular, it has a deep history intertwined with activism in local communities. We hope to celebrate not only this rich history but also honor our community roots during our Spring Concert. We will continue to keep our Spring Concert free to all, as we recognize how important it is to have spaces that educate and celebrate not only taiko, but Japanese culture and Japanese American history at large. 

Please consider supporting our efforts, and help make this 24th Spring Concert our best one yet! We thank you deeply in advance for your endless support and generosity. All donations made to our organizations are tax-deductible, and if monetary donations are not possible for you at this time, we gladly accept any support you can give our way. Even something as simple as spreading the word and sharing our SPARK campaign link on social media or via email is tremendously appreciated!

----- Thank you to Emily Otoshi for designing our Concert logo this year! -----

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