Beat it
FTR TODDLER TAIKO - 19 MARCH 2013- (l-r) Leif Yamamoto, 2, Jason Asano, 3, and Noah Sakai, 2, followed taiko sensei Manman Mui's lead in the Taiko Center of the Pacific toddler class which is being held at Washington Middle School. once a week. Behind the children were their mothers (l-r) Kelli Yamamoto, Ivy Asano and Lori Kim (her last name is different). Honolulu Star-Advertiser photo by Cindy Ellen Russell
Leif Yamamoto was guided by his mother, Kelli, during a recent Taiko Center of the Pacific toddler class.
Sensei Manman Mui held her bachi, or taiko drumsticks, high in the air as she led a recent Taiko Center of the Pacific toddler class at Washington Middle School.
Patrick Oiye plays the flute for the toddler taiko class.
Sensei Manman Mui leads warm-ups.
Noah Sakai, 2, left, and Jason Asano, 3, practice drumming.
Leif Yamamoto, 2, waits for his toddler taiko class to begin.
FTR TODDLER TAIKO - 19 MARCH 2013- Noah Sakai, 2, held his bachi, or taiko drumsticks, up to his head like rabbit ears as a cue to listen to instructor Manman Mui in the Taiko Center of the Pacific toddler class which is being held at Washington Middle School once a week. Honolulu Star-Advertiser photo by Cindy Ellen Russell
FTR TODDLER TAIKO - 19 MARCH 2013- Sensei, parents and their children gathered together to exchange hand taps at the end of class. The Taiko Center of the Pacific toddler class which is being held at Washington Middle School once a week. Pictured clockwise, left to right, was Ivy Asano with her son Jason, 3, Manman Mui, Patrick Oiye, Shinzuko Endo, Wendy Sekiya with her son Reese, 3, and Kelli Yamamoto with her son Lief, 2. Honolulu Star-Advertiser photo by Cindy Ellen Russell
FTR TODDLER TAIKO - 19 MARCH 2013- Reese Sekiya, 3, enthusiastically drummed in the Taiko Center of the Pacific toddler class which is being held at Washington Middle School once a week. Honolulu Star-Advertiser photo by Cindy Ellen Russell
Two-year-old Noah Sakai held his taiko drumsticks up to his head like bunny ears, a demonstration that it was time to stop and listen to the instructor. One might assume that trying to teach a group of toddlers the art of taiko drumming would be chaotic, but the Taiko Tots class offered through the Taiko Center of the Pacific is quite the opposite — it’s organized and orderly.
Classes started last month and are held at Washington Middle School but might move to Kapiolani Community College.
"People call me all the time and tell me that their toddlers are really into percussion and drumming. That’s the age that they start banging on everything, so it made sense to start a class," said Chizuko Endo, owner of the taiko center.
Jason Asano, 3, has been taking classes for a few weeks. "It provides a very unique opportunity for young children to interact with each other," said his mother, Ivy Asano, assistant professor of medicine at the University of Hawaii.
And because the instructor teaches songs in English, Japanese and Spanish, Asano said, her son "is further developing his sense of creativity, music and language skills."
"He’s also learning about his Japanese heritage and is developing valuable character traits such as kindness, respect, self-discipline and teamwork," she said.
Endo started the Japanese drumming school in 1994 with her husband, Kenny Endo. "Through the art form of taiko, we teach Japanese customs, manners, language, respect, music and movement," she said. Parents are active participants in the class.
"We spend a lot of time with movement and singing songs and then apply those same rhythms on the drum," Chizuko Endo said.
"We have children who started with us when they were 5 years old and, at 26 years of age, are still playing," Endo added. "It has truly been a rewarding experience."
