Editing Music of Japan (section)

===Wadaiko===

[[File:Taiko drum.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Taiko performing]]
[[Taiko|Wadaiko]], a Japanese drum, comes in various sizes and is used in variety of musical genres. It has become particularly popular in recent years as the central instrument of percussion ensembles whose repertory is based on a variety of folk- and festival-music of the past. Such taiko music is played by large drum ensembles called ''kumi-daiko''. Its origins remain uncertain, but can be traced to the 7th century, when a clay figure of a drummer documented its existence. [[China|Chinese]] influences followed, but the instrument and its music remained uniquely Japanese.<ref>History of Taiko [http://aitech.ac.jp/~inomoto/ino/taiko/] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081220060149/http://aitech.ac.jp/~inomoto/ino/taiko/|date=2008-12-20}} "鼓と太鼓のながれ" - 中国の唐からわが国に入ってきたいろんな太鼓が、時代と共にどのように変遷してきたかを各種の資料からまとめると、次のようになる。</ref> Taiko drums during this period were used during battle to intimidate the enemy and to communicate commands. Taiko continue to be used in the religious music of [[Buddhism]] and [[Shintō]]. In the past players were holy men who played only at special occasions and in small groups, but in time secular men (rarely women) also played the taiko in semi-religious festivals such as the [[bon dance]].

Modern ensemble taiko was invented by [[Daihachi Oguchi]] in 1951.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Grandmaster Daihachi Oguchi|url=http://www.hiryu-project.com/daihachi.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160722054923/http://www.hiryu-project.com/daihachi.html|archive-date=2016-07-22|access-date=2016-05-08}}</ref> A [[jazz]] drummer, Oguchi incorporated his musical background into large ensembles of his design. His energetic style made his group popular throughout Japan, and made the [[Hokuriku region]] a center for taiko music. Musical groups to arise from this wave of popularity included [[Oedo Sukeroku Daiko|Oedo Sukeroku Taiko]], founded by [[Seido Kobayashi]]. 1969 saw a group called [[Ondekoza|Za Ondekoza]]; Za Ondekoza gathered young performers who innovated a new [[roots revival]] taiko, which was used as a way of life in communal [[lifestyle (disambiguation)|lifestyle]]s. During the 1970s the Japanese government allocated funds to preserve Japanese culture, and many community taiko groups formed. Later in the century, taiko groups spread across the world, especially to the [[United States]]. The [[video game]] ''[[Taiko no Tatsujin]]'' is based around taiko.