Portland Taiko

Established in 1994, Portland Taiko (PT) is a premiere North American taiko ensemble. Taiko (the Japanese word for drum and the name of the art form) has its roots in ancient Japanese tradition. Today, taiko is a dynamic and evolving performing art combining rhythm, movement, energy, and culture into a single art form. Through artistic excellence and innovation in taiko, we affirm Asian American pride, inspire audiences, build community, and educate about our culture and heritage.

Portland Taiko%u2019s aspiration is to create taiko performance of the highest artistic quality to touch the universal in all of us and to provide a strong and beautiful voice for Asian America. Using the taiko in this way is not new, drawing on centuries of tradition. In ancient Japan, taiko was used to delineate the boundaries of the village, scare away invading armies and pests in the rice fields, aid meditation in religious ceremonies, and call the community together in times of both crisis and celebration. Today, Portland Taiko continues to call over 70,000 people a year together with its innovative Asian American expressions rooted in ancient Japanese traditions.