NikkeiWest--Northern California Japanese American Newspaper

By Jessica Savage—PJ and Roy Hirabayashi have worked as a married couple for the last 38 years after founding San Jose Taiko in 1973, but as of July 1 they have officially passed down the torch to the next generation.

They knew they could not run San Jose Taiko forever and for the last several years carefully began the process of choosing their predecessors. PJ Hirabayashi said, “We knew when we stepped down that both positions would be open and by being the founders there were a lot of different issues.”

They finally made the decision that Wisa Uemura would be the new executive director and Franco Imperial, the new artistic director. The long time members also happen to be married and the Hirabayashis are very pleased with their final selection.

“For us to expect them to take it from here it needs to evolve to the next level and those two are very good at that,” said Roy Hirabayashi.

Imperial said, “The succession of leadership has been a process that has taken almost a decade so it became an eventuality we could see coming versus a singular announcement that we reacted to. Roy and PJ have always developed leadership within the ranks of its membership — we were humbled and honored when we agreed that Wisa and I would be the torch bearers for the next generation of San Jose Taiko.”

Uemura began playing the taiko in 1993 with Stanford Taiko and has been playing with San Jose Taiko since 1998.

Imperial is originally from Lake Jackson, Texas and has been with San Jose Taiko since 1998. Imperial said, “In conjunction with continuing to push ourselves artistically and organizationally we (each member of SJT) are tasked with upholding the values that have made this performing company a wonderful expression of our selves and the communities we’re a part of. As we move forward it will be our awareness of our role as ambassadors of these communities that will breathe new artistic perspectives and approaches to how we present this dynamic art form.”

What started out as a Youth Buddhist Activity (YBA) quickly grew into something PJ and Roy would have never imagined.

“We didn’t know exactly what we were embarking on,” said Roy Hirabayashi. This class, which later on became San Jose Taiko, was first created, because of PJ and Roy’s common love and interest for the taiko drum and Asian American Studies.

As PJ Hirabayashi said, “If you’re here to learn just to beat on a drum then this is not the group for you.” She said it is about, “advocating for the revitalization and preservation of Japantown.”

When they were one of the first American taiko groups invited in 1987 to tour Japan, they learned about the history and roots of taiko as well as finding out that their drums had a different sound, because they were made in the U.S. and not in Japan. PJ Hirabayashi said, “We knew at that time our culture and style was different from traditional Japan. Our art form being created is our own voice of cultural expression and is made from our experience of growing up in America.” It then donned on them that they could value Asian American experiences through taiko, and by becoming a professional company there were able to get more opportunities to reach more communities.

This was the beginning of creating something specifically for Japanese Americans. Roy Hirabayashi said, “It was the beginning to create a Japanese American sound and voice because at the time there was nothing we could connect to that was our own, and starting taiko was a better expression and voice for me. [Even] People who are non-Japanese are interested in what we are doing and then understand the Asian American perspective.” It is a positive approach to social change he said.

Taiko is beginning to grow and expand and with in the last 38 years since San Jose Taiko first began, it was only one of three taiko organizations in Northern California— now there are over 300 according to Roy Hirabayashi. “Taiko has a ripple effect beyond Japantown and has navigated to new multi-race people,” said PJ Hirabayashi.

“It opens the doors for people to talk or listen to each other and opens up our potential.”

San Jose Taiko has volunteered this year to help organize the North American Taiko Conference at Stanford University from Aug. 18 to the 21. 500 participants from all over the world will participate in panel discussions, forums and taiko workshops.

“The taiko conference is a model for how people can interact and broaden the horizon for healthy interactions, thinking how we can expand the taiko community in a healthy way,” said PJ Hirabayashi.

Tickets to the three-day conference are sold out but there will also be a performance on Saturday, Aug. 20 with tickets still available at www.taikoconference.org.

Retiring on a high note, San Jose Taiko was recently awarded the National Endowment for the Arts Heritage Fellowship. They will be traveling to Washington, D.C. in September to receive the award and perform in a concert with the other seven Heritage Fellows who were also selected. Roy Hirabayashi said, “This is a big honor for us.”

PJ and Roy Hirabayashi still continue to be apart of San Jose Taiko but are also pursuing other projects. Roy is continuing his community involvement and PJ is collaborating with Brenda Wong Aoki and Mark Izu for Kabuki Cabaret as one of many projects.

Regarding the future for San Jose Taiko, Roy Hirabayashi’s advice is to “be as innovative as we can and a lot of groups refer to us as a pioneer group to continue that legacy but be on a creative edge, and stay with tradition but change it.”

And PJ Hirabayashi wants San Jose Taiko to always remember it is a “balancing act between maintaining your artistic creativity without selling out.” And changing it up is great but always understand the basics and tradition first.