News

Join us for the Japanese Festival - September 2-4

We are on our way to Missouri Botanical Garden for the annual Japanese Festival, taking place September 2-4. View the festival program and fill schedule of events here!

Join us for the Japanese Festival - September 2-4

We are on our way to Missouri Botanical Garden for the annual Japanese Festival, taking place September 2-4. View the festival program and fill schedule of events here!

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The dashi will return to the Japanese Festival

We are in full preparations for the upcoming Japanese Festival, and that includes the dashi! Learn about the dashi and get the latest on our upcoming performances.

The dashi will return to the Japanese Festival

We are in full preparations for the upcoming Japanese Festival, and that includes the dashi! Learn about the dashi and get the latest on our upcoming performances.

Read More

Thank you for a successful 2022!

It was quite a year with performances picking up, plus welcoming some amazing new members!

Thank you for a successful 2022!

It was quite a year with performances picking up, plus welcoming some amazing new members!

Read More

Mission

St. Louis Osuwa Taiko is a community-driven ensemble that celebrates the Japanese art of taiko through education and performance.

About Us

Grandmaster Daihachi Oguchi formed the original Osuwa Daiko in Suwa, Japan, in 1951. In 1986, Oguchi-sensei visited St. Louis (sister city of Suwa) to found St. Louis Osuwa Taiko. A year later, he donated drums. St. Louis Osuwa Taiko started out as a kids' group but has evolved to a nonprofit organization devoted to sharing taiko throughout Missouri and elsewhere through year-round performances, workshops and classes for children, adults, and seniors.

We also continue to build on our ties to Osuwa Daiko. We visited Suwa, Japan, in 2009 to play and study taiko and hosted Osuwa Daiko for a joint show in 2011 in St. Louis to celebrate the 25th anniversary of St. Louis Osuwa Taiko. We believe in preserving and fostering our sister-city relationship with Osuwa Daiko and Suwa, Japan, and acting as cultural ambassadors by introducing new audiences to taiko.

Our largest show each year is at the Japanese Festival at the Missouri Botanical Garden on Labor Day weekend. Thousands attend the festival, which has fun activities for all ages, including the Dashi procession, where children pull our Dashi, or portable drum stage on wheels, through the garden.

Classes

We offer regular classes year round for our Community Group. They typically consist of 10 week sessions and run quarterly. If we do not have a class session open, you can sign up for our mailing list to be notified when classes open.

Calendar

Sake and Sakura

April 05, 2024 06:00 PM

Missouri Botanical Garden (Private Performance)

Sake and Sakura

April 05, 2024 06:00 PM

Missouri Botanical Garden (Private Performance)

Mallinckrodt

April 12, 2024 02:30 PM

Mallinckrodt Academy of Gifted Instruction (Private Performance)

Mallinckrodt

April 12, 2024 02:30 PM

Mallinckrodt Academy of Gifted Instruction (Private Performance)

WorldFest 2024

April 28, 2024 03:30 PM

Centene Community Ice Center

WorldFest 2024

April 28, 2024 03:30 PM

Centene Community Ice Center

Details

Media

Videos

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Videos

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Photo Gallery

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Photo Gallery

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Music

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Music

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Contact Us

We're very friendly and would love to talk to you.

Request a Performance or Workshop

If you are interested in scheduling a performance or a taiko workshop, please fill out our online request form.

Interested in Joining?

If anyone is interested in joining the group, please visit our class registration to get the details on our next beginner class time and location. If there is no class coming up, sign up for our mailing list and you'll be the first to know when new classes begin. If you already have taiko experience and feel you don't need a beginner class, please contact Andrew at andrew@stltaiko.com.

We typicaly practice three times a week and hold classes every weekend at our very own facility near Page and Lindbergh.

General Information

For information other than what's mentioned above, please send an e-mail to info@stltaiko.com