Tsuchigumo taiko Facebook:
We’ve just about caught up on sleep after an exhilarating week of drumming, learning, laughing, talking, and dancing at the Scottish Taiko Festival and inaugural Taiko Gasshuku Alba. After months of planning and preparation with our partner Joao at Shoshin Taiko Dojo, it felt like the week flew by, and as the days have passed, the Taiko withdrawal symptoms have steadily started to kick in.
First up was intensive; and we went in BIG, welcoming two of the finest Taiko players and educators in the world in Shoji Kameda and Yuta Kato, to teach Lion Chant and Yodan Uchi respectively. 30 students from all over the world immersed themselves in the pieces and were able to perform them at the feature concert on Sunday afternoon, to a rapturous reception from the audience. It’s a testament to the teaching proficiency of the instructors and the patience, determination and skill of the participants that we were able to do so. Many personal challenges were surmounted over the four days, with players sharing information and encouraging each other to achieve a common goal. Great job, Everyone!
On Friday night we had our ‘Buffet Banquet’ in Aberfoyle Memorial Village Hall before one of Yuta’s famous ‘Hachijo Parties’, where everyone was invited to take the stage and solo, including those who’d never even hit a drum before!
Over the weekend, we welcomed workshops leaders from Europe and the US to share their knowledge, skills, and passion with eager students seeking to take their Taiko playing to the next level. Monica from TaikoMon · 太鼓門, Rannoch Razz Purcell, Lucy Thomas from Taiko South West, Jared from Tengu Taiko Drummers, Benni Haas, Silke Hanzen, Jonas from Taiko Bastards, and Adam Weiner from Tic Tac Taiko all led workshops, and the level of teaching quality and content was phenomenal across the board, with topics including soloing, composition, stage presence, drills, fundamentals, and technique.
Saturday night was our Community Concert, where Taiko players from all over joined local groups and those in our wider Tsuchigumo Family to showcase what they had been working on for the last year. Enso Daiko from Banchory, East Coast Taiko from Edinburgh, both Mokuyōbi Taiko groups from Glasgow, and our Tsuchigumo Intermediates all did an amazing job on the night, and we are immensely proud of you all. A special mention also to Shoshin Taiko Dojo led by Joao, whose performance of ‘ Chou Chou’ was fantastic.
Sunday was our feature concert, with Shoji and Yuta taking more of a centre-stage role, supported by our Tsuchigumo members, Joao, and other workshop leaders. With 30 drums on stage including 4 ENORMOUS Miyamoto Unosuke Shoten drums (kindly donated by Miyamoto / kaDON for the event), it was a little tight, but we managed our way through it, driven on by a fabulously enthusiastic audience.
To round things off, we finished the festival with a traditional Scottish Cèilidh. The local community band were tremendous, although they did test our Taiko cardio with increasingly longer renditions. Watching our friends from the Taiko community dancing and having so much fun together was special. It’s a memory we will treasure forever.
So before we look ahead to next year, we’d like to extend our heart-felt thanks to everyone who came and supported our wee festival. Your incredible support and dedication are the beating heart of this event, and seeing your wee faces light up with passion and joy throughout was truly magical. STF is not just about the Taiko—it’s about community, connection, and creativity. It’s about coming together to celebrate a shared love for the art of taiko drumming, and each of you brought that spirit to life in ways we couldn’t have imagined.