Art/Activism
Description
Japanese Canadian Taiko drum performances have been an important avenue for Japanese Canadian women to subvert gender stereotypes.
show moreJapanese Canadian Taiko drum performances have been an important avenue for Japanese Canadian women to subvert gender stereotypes. In this segment, Professor of Social Work and Head of JCAAP Izumi Sakamoto speaks with Sansei or third generation Japanese Canadian Glen Nagano on the significance of Taiko to Japanese Canadian women.
Speakers: Glen Nagano, Izumi Sakamoto
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In this segment, activist and taiko drummer Kathy Shimizu speaks on how taiko drummers have engaged in solidarity efforts with residents of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside.
show moreUsing the volume of their drums, Kathy advocates that taiko performers can amplify voices that often struggle to be heard.
Speakers: Kathy Shimizu
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Katari Taiko was formed in 1979 and was the first modern Taiko group in Canada. Its creation was catalyzed by Taiko performances by Japanese group Ondekoza and American group San Jose
show moreTaiko in the late ‘70s at Powell Street Festival. In this segment one member, Lisa Mah, describes her experiences joining the group in the late ‘80s and how it changed her life.
Speakers: Lisa Mah
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Taiko groups in Canada provide a unique space for many to explore their Japanese Canadian identity. Here, Shinobu Homma describes how taiko allowed him
show moreto realize his own Japanese Canadian identity, after experiencing a sense of un-belonging in both Japan and Canada.
Speakers: Shinobu Homma
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In this segment, Canadian playwright Rick Shiomi discusses how artists that work in a collective achieve a greater capacity to effect large-scale change in their communities.
show moreSpecifically, he discusses how the theatre company he co-founded in Massachusetts Theatre Mu, allowed Asian American artists to become an integral part of the theatre community.
Speakers: Rick Shiomi
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Mainstream arts communities have often excluded artists from minority groups, and Asian Canadian artists are no different. However, this position of being outside of the mainstream gives them a unique view from which they can comment on mainstream ideas and social structures.
show moreIn this clip, playwright Rick Shiomi discusses how this phenomenon links art and activism more closely together for Asian Canadian artists.
Speakers: Rick Shiomi
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While for some taiko was a way to show pride in their Japanese Canadian identity, for others it was a way of discovering it.
show moreIn this segment, taiko leader John Endo Greenaway speaks about how taiko allowed him to connect to his Japanese Canadian heritage.
Speakers: John Endo Greenaway
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In this segment, playwright Rick Shiomi discusses the founding of Asian American theatre company Theatre Mu.
show moreWhile the company would become highly influential on the theatre scene in Massachusetts, he speaks to how its founders could not have predicted its impact. For them, Theatre Mu was created by the simple “desire to do something” about the lack of representation of Asian Americans in theatre.
Speakers: Rick Shiomi
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Taiko drumming is art form that has allowed many to explore, express, and connect with their Japanese Canadian identity.
show moreIn this clip, Kathy Shimizu discusses how her involvement with taiko fostered a sense of pride in her Japanese Canadian identity after many years of feeling embarrassed about her heritage.
Speakers: Kathy Shimizu
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In this segment, Izumi Sakamoto and activist Glen Nagano discuss shikata ga nai (“it can’t be helped”) sentiments and the loss of family history.
show moreIzumi speaks to how artists respond to the loss of family history using their creativity and imagination.
Speakers: Glen Nagano, Izumi Sakamoto
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