More than a few years ago Mimasaka (my town) was controlled by a feudal type of chap named Mr Goto. He ran the show from a castle perched atop Mitsuboshiyama (Mt. Three Stars). His warring legions would charge about killing things and screaming and carrying on - all to the throbbing beat of orders relayed via large wooden drums; Taiko drums.
This was in the days before wireless communication. Boom boom (commence left flanking movement!) chuka chuka boom (attack!) boom chuka boom (pull back a bit!) boom boom boom (tea break!) etc.
Maybe this method of relaying battle orders wasn’t so good, however, because in 1578 our man on the hill and his crew were defeated. The castle was razed to the ground, the drummers departed for better gigs elsewhere and I rather suspect that Mr Goto did the honourable thing and ran away to open a ramen shop somewhere in Osaka.
Soon after arriving in Mimasaka, a 67-year-old friend and myself ventured up Mitsuboshiyama in search of the ruins of Mitsuboshi Castle. The only way through the dense vegetation that covers Mitsuboshiyama is to follow the narrow trails cut by locals in search of the matsutake - a much prised and otherwise fantastically expensive mushroom. I don’t know if you can imagine hundred dollar mushrooms but suffice to say they exist on Mitsuboshiyama. As do the tracks made by those engaged in the frenzied search for them.
Alas, we found nothing.
It seems that centuries past and barely a drum was beat-upon in these parts. Then, ten years ago, the town council decided to resurrect the tradition of taiko drumming by forming a group and calling it Mitsuboshi Daiko. Funds were appropriated, drums were made (including a drum the size of a mini car) and inscribed with the appropriate kanji. Interested denizens were invited to come forth and bang the drum for Jesus. And bang we do. Mitsuboshi Daiko meets weekly and we bang away like madmen and madladies.
They’re a funny mob. I often feel that Mitsuboshi Daiko is actually a front for its members’ out-of-control drinking habits. Generally we practise taiko for about 1 hour and then head to our favourite restaurant and drink for 3 hours. By the end of the evening the members are so utterly drunk that it’s not unusual for several of them to pass out. They lie twitching and speechless under the table, occasionally dribbling into the tatami mat. All that is left is for their wives to pick them up and pour them into bed.
At times life in Japan is hard for gaijin. Much is said about the Japanese propensity for excluding outsiders. It’s particularly hard for gaijin to be accepted into Japanese groups as anything other than ‘the gaijin’. I can say with all honesty, however, that the members of Mitsuboshi Daiko have accepted me totally as one of their own. They have been an immeasurable source of support and encouragement since my time in Japan. They call me late at night and say things like, "Hello. Almighty drink party now. OK? You come. OK?"
I hate to listen to taiko drumming but I love to do it. Mitsuboshi Daiko is actually a pretty crap taiko group but when I first came to Japan I took a chance. I accepted an invitation and I joined a group. If I have one piece of advice for new JETs it’s this: when you first arrive in your new lives try everything and say ‘yes’ to every invitation. Even if you are tired and confused and scared. You might never be asked again. Sure, some of it will be crap but you might just meet the people who will make your life bearable, enjoyable or even damn good while you are here.