Taiko drumming, cherry blossoms to bring nations together in US capital

Lance Cpl. Aaron Hostutler
OKINAWA MARINE STAFF

KADENA AIR BASE – In 1912, Tokyo Mayor Yukio Ozaki gave 3,000 cherry trees to the city of Washington D.C. to kindle the friendship growing between the U.S. and Japan.
Since then, cherry blossom festivals are held in Washington annually to celebrate the occasion.

This year, Nix Hamaya Daiko, a taiko drum group comprised of Okinawans and Americans, will travel to Washington to participate in the tradition by performing in the city’s
cherry blossom festival April 11-13.

Nix Hamaya Daiko will perform at the Jefferson Memorial April 11. The group will march in a parade April 12 and perform at the Kennedy Center April 13.

The group has been preparing for the event for three months, according to Capt. Rodd Chin, an Odaiko drummer and intelligence officer with 1st Marine Aircraft Wing.

“It is an honor to be invited to represent Okinawa and its culture,” Chin said.

While taiko drummers have traveled to the Washington festival before, this is one of the first times there will be so many Americans performing with Okinawans, Chin said.

“It’s really not about Americans representing another country,” said Chin. “It’s about a group of people who have come to love the country and culture they have lived in and expressing that through this festival.”

Several Okinawan members of the group are traveling to the U.S. for the first time.

“I’m really excited about going to the states,” said Kaito Shimabukuro, a Shime Daiko drum player. “I look forward to making great new relationships with people in the states.”

By continuing to have the festival and by having both Americans and Okinawans participate in a traditional taiko drum show, the festival carries on the original sentiment of goodwill between the two countries, Chin said.