Taiko Performance

Today I went to see a taiko (Japanese drum) performance organized by the company that runs the house I'm staying in.  The group of us met in Asakusa, walked for about 2 miles to Ryogoku, the Sumo neighborhood of Japan, to the Edo-Tokyo Museum where the performance was being held.  The taiko group that performed is run out of Wakon, which I think is kind of like a nearby music school.  People wore colorful half sleeved shirts and matching bandannas printed with traditional Japanese patterns (waves, sakura, koi fish, etc.) and a kind of navy blue smock and pants set with split-toed socks that had some kind of rubber grip on the bottom.  Taiko performances are very energetic and the drum melody is punctuated with cries like "Hai!" "Sore!" and "Ichi, ni, san!" in Japanese and the drummers do lots of tricks like throwing each other their drumsticks or dancing around in patterns while they're playing the drums.  There were at least three foreigners as part of the group - maybe I should join????

Also, I took a video of one of the more traditional pieces, but I don't know how to upload it to the blog.  If you know how, please let me know!

After the performance, the group of us went to eat chanko nabe, which is kind of like a high protein hotpot that's cooked directly on the table on a portable range in which vegetables (mushrooms, onions, cabbage, carrots, potato skins), meat (fatty pork, balls of minced chicken), tofu and glutinous products (gelatinous noodles and paste cakes) simmered in a savory soup.  The Ryogoku area has a ton of chanko nabe restaurants because it's what Sumo wrestlers are famous for eating.