Drumming in the transcultural imagination: Taiko, Japan and community music making in Aotearoa/New Zealand

This article discusses one community taiko (Japanese drumming) group, called Takumi, in Aotearoa/New Zealand as a case study for understanding multicultural community music-making in the transcultural imagination. The group under study operates by a community of performers working together with a shared purpose, and is essentially the result of its members’ existence amongst the Japanese diaspora. Takumi can be seen as an example of a distinctly bottom-up community music activity that was established with a specific group of people in mind and primarily based on ethnicity and expressions of cultural and diaspora identity. Local community musicians such as those in Takumi occupy a place that is based on their dedication to their music, and usually receive little or no funding resources to maintain the group’s existence, yet are an integral part of any creative community.