The History of St.Louis Osuwa Taiko

The History of St.Louis Osuwa Taiko Group

The original Osuwa Taiko was formed by Grandmaster Daihachi Oguchi in Suwa, Japan, and since then he has helped the foundation of other Osuwa Taiko branches throughout the world. In 1986, Oguchi visited St. Louis (sister city of Suwa) with a generous donation of hand made drums to the City, and helped form the first Osuwa Taiko in St. Louis.

Daihachi Oguchi

The group consisted of local kids, however, was disbanded several years later when members went away to pursue their tertiary education elsewhere. Among them was Kaoru Watanabe who now is a member of the renowned KODO! During KODO's 2001 One Earth Tour in St. Louis, we had a chance to meet with Kaoru and the KODO members.

St. Louis Osuwa Taiko was restarted at Washington University in September of 1996 with the return of Joe Kimura, one of the founding members of the original St. Louis Osuwa Taiko. The reorganized group started with five members and was initially exposed to the public during the MAASU Student Summit held at the University in November of 1996.

Since then, the group has grown and we have been fortunate to be invited to perform at numerous events and occasions mostly in the mid-western region of the United States. We hope to broaden the awareness of this rich Japanese tradition and culture to the general public. Click here to check out our performance schedule!!

Joe Kimura