The Department of Foreign Affairs announced that the celebration of Philippines-Japan Friendship Year 2006 will start with a breathtaking big-bang free-to-the-public performance of the Yamato, The Drummers of Japan, together with the Manila Japanese School Wadaiko Club and the Negros Drumbeaters, entitled "Taiko! Tambol!" to be held on 11 January 2006, 7:30 PM at the CCP Tanghalang Nicanor Abelardo.

The event is presented by the Japan Foundation, Manila and the Philippine Airlines in cooperation with the CCP, Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Tourism, Embassy of Japan, The Japanese Association Manila, Inc., Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Philippines Inc., Manila Japanese School, Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA), Riverbanks Center and Philippine Convention and Visitors Corporation (PCVC).

The Wadaiko Yamato is one of the hottest taiko groups in Japan and is known for its percussive force and spectacle. Founded by Masaki Ogawa in 1993, Yamato combines traditional Japanese musical formats with modern rhythms and themes. The Wadaiko Yamato Drummers are based in Nara Prefecture, the ancient capital of Japan. The name "Yamato" has special significance for this group. In the eighth century, Japan was known as Yamato and Nara was the city where Japanese culture is believed to have started.

Taiko (also wadaiko) is the Japanese word for drum. The Wadaiko Yamato drummers perform with large and small drums, including one made from a huge tree over 400 years old. Yamato has played to more than a million people, giving over 900 performances all over the world. The group first came to international attention at the 1998 Edinburgh Fringe Festival at which it won the Spirit of Fringe Award.

Taiko drumming has been part of Japanese culture for centuries. Its roots lie in the temples and shrines throughout Japan where the drums were played in religious festivals and ceremonies. The Japanese also used drums in warfare, to scare the enemy and pass messages in code. Drums were instruments in court music and in temples where the beat of drums were equated to be the voice of God.

In later Japanese music, the taiko evolved into an important solo instrument and taiko ensemble music became one of the most spectacular performances in Japanese tradition. Today, there are thousands of taiko groups across Japan and a growing number abroad.
The Wadaiko Yamato of Japan represents Japan's new generation of Taiko drummers. Yamato has been described as "bringing a new and youthful vigor to Taiko drumming: it is a never to be forgotten experience, inspiring and intensely physical."

Wadaiko Yamato is composed of Masaki Ogawa, Akiko Ogawa, Takeru Matsush~ta, Mika Miyazaki, Satomi Ikeda, Midori Tamai, Tetsuro Okubo, Harumi Tsujitani, Chisako Ninomiya and Shingo Matsumoto.




http://www.ph.emb-japan.go.jp/

how bout pinoy performances in japan? napaka one way naman yan! pran japanese culture lang pinapalago! san ang friendship nyan? encroachment na yata yan eh!

We have alot of Filipino engineers, teachers, students and nurses now in Japan, not just entertainers. So I wouldn't call it one way. Without being able to go to Japan to work, hundreds of thousands of families woulndn't have the support they have right now. Saan ang friendship? Encroachment? 50 billion was poured into the Philippines after the war from Japan and other countires to improve infrustructure during the 50' and 60's and continue to invest in the Philippines and grant scholarships to thousands of students to study in Japan. As far as encroachment is concerned, I don't see them taking over Philippine land. Philippines needs to take adavantage of every possible opportunity to use for it's own improvement. It's Filipinos today that don't do anything for their own country, except point the finger and bicker that is the problem. You are your own worst enemy, idiot.

I still don't buy this facade crap that these Japanese are relentlessly displaying. This friendship thing is a bit too unrealistic for me.

For two countries with a not so good(understatement) historical encounters, Japan and Pilipinas relations are quite okay (could be better certainly). but i still say, we must provide better jobs back home so that our pinays don't need to go to japan to be entertainers. (if they are real cultural artists, no problem).

but i have to point out that those structural assistance and financial grants are more for their interests than for us, without denying the fact that they have benefits. JICA assistance, project proposals, financial loans are income for Japanese construction companies and employment and experiment for their technocrats. they do the study, then project proposal follows. if approved, financial loan have to be paid of course. project begins. sad part of the story, i'll name a few: often most of the materials are imported directly from Japan, even the common wire, like those you use for hanging your clothes. things available locally could have been gotten locally - good for local economy, less expenses to pay later. very poor technology transfer if there is, thus when japanese experts leave- maintenance sucks and trouble shooting is still dependent on them. and filipino counterparts are not consulted that much. i admire Japan for superb technology but theories and computations does not always measure up to the unpredicatbe dynamics of nature and human factors( e.g. failure of water dams, expert's computation said the blue print is perfect, pinoys said - flood goes stronger and higher than that, we have it every year you know! but formula says x, so it is done. flood comes, formula gone!) but despite these setbacks which can be overcome (i hope pinoy's and japanese involved in such projects are working on it), the japanese really do excellent structures - professionally, on time without all the delays and monkey transactions involved if you let local politicians and cronies take care of it. both parties can learn a lot from each other.

things are far from perfect, but they certainly can be better.
more power to Pilipinas- Japan friendship. God bless the Filipino and Japanese people.

Dude ur d stupid idiot here... u rili dont think that they all do that for free ne? 50billion is close to worth to what theyve done to us! and wat do u mean many profesionals? from wat ive heard, theyre just sill a handful! dont 4get those ppl are xenophobic!

Filipinos dont do their thing huh? and j@ps are heroes now? dude, ur rily killing me, how dare u say sumthing like that, to filipinos? heck, have u bin to the phils lately? God i hop u open ur eyes dud, ur watching too much tv... sheesh!

Isnt my argument legitimate at all? are we filipinos always gonna beg from japan and america for almost everything? Yes im pointing fingers and yea there is a problem with that, because u dont see them invading with soldiers, but if u look around, u will see big japanese companies, depleting our resources! dude, they need us more than we need them...

Im nothing against j@ps though, only narrow minded ppl like u. callim ppl idiots for no basis.

shet! ang kapal naman ng mukha mo!

i WANNA GO!!~~ i wish i went to the Japanese skool in manila while i was there...damn u all...

I think it is a good idea to celebrate the 50th friendship year of Japan and the Philippines

I think there are some Japanese schools in Manila.

@$$hole! If you really know how to think, thats the way it's gonna be, go ahead and point fingers, because it's easy to do so right faggot? If you know how to point fingers, know you have 4 others pointing back at you. And no, your argument has no basis, when today, Japan, China, Korea are the biggest investors in Asia. What else are the Filipinos going to do to find jobs to support families at home? It's not begging and yes Filipinos will need them and they need us, today in this world, it's mutual. As far as the environment is concerned, isn't that what our govt. is supposed to to, to enforce environmental laws and place fines on corporations that do pollute? Excuse yourself, I've been to the Philippines lately and yes, with so many advantages we could grasp, we never take the initiative thats why I have this kind of attitude, since I am not no sorry loser like you making excuses for other Filipinos faults. It was Filipinos first who started polutting and depleteing the resources from the get go, because of overpopulation and apathy. Ok, lets talk about 50 billion...... 18 billion per year in business with them, in which they are in demand for Filipino professionals to work in the Philippines and in Japan. How many professionals do we have graduating per year in the Philippines? Thousands you fukking moron!!!!! Not a few!! Those thousands can have the advantage to further their careers in Japan by studying and working for japanese companies in the Phil. and in Japan. And not only in japan, but other countries that do big business in the Phil. That will bring skills to the Filipino workforce. And so what if they are xenophobic? Over 200,000 Filipinos live and work in Japan as the third largest Filipino community outside Phil. Now thats is also NOT A FEW you godamn sorry excuse for a Pinoy! Alot have also intermarried with locals. In the USA, Canada, Europe can be equally xenophobic, yet the Philippines wants good relations with these areas as well and have hundreds of thousands of Filipinos living there and working too. Idiot, you don't make any sense.

You're angry because I called you an idiot and you proved to be the living example of one. Truth hurts doesn't it? Shiet, walang halaga yung baklang mukha mo, faggot!

Japan had already made some apologies for the last world war

It's not only about demanding apologies ading, it's getting them to give more and more of what they owe directly and indirectly. Japans got the goods? Sure they do, then let them share those goods with us...learn their language and teach THEM something.

dude ur d perfect example of a guy with colonial mentality + crab mentality... and i wont resort to calling u names, Grabe?! personalan na ba to? ba't galit na galit ka? im just stating an opninion pre? botbot man ka bai...

First of all, u sound very naive, in todays world, there's no such thing as free lunch dude! u really dont think theyre giving that much for nothing?! do not u wonder y the USA is concentrating more on Iraq than on Afghanistan?! i l'll leave that up to u coz i believe u know wat it means...

I just want to reinforce that filipinos should not be overdependent and always beg on other countries, wag naman tayong tanga no?! sa tingin mo ba equal ang trading natin sa kanila? d lang natin alam pro malaki ang nakukuha nila sa atin, yang "investments" nila, pra yan sa kanilang profit, at ang nabibigay nila ay yung mga extra, nila at pang pa pogi points, gaya ng ginagawa ng Steag Corp. ngayon...

and im not against Pinoys working in Japan, in fact, i approve it! gus2 ko pa ngang damihan eh! i just want equality from those japanese u know! japanese companies here are earning billion sometimes tax free pa, gawa lang ng kalsada, its true, tapos taung pinoy, sa 200,000 d pa nga siguro kakalahati yung income nila compared to those companies nilimitahan pa ang slots! its bcoz theyre xenophobic! and Japanese really dont think much of filipinos, as stated by my japanese neibor, especially those from the upper classes...

We Filipinos just want equality and if u r too gullible to believe that theyre giving out without nothing ur totally wrong, 1 way or another, they had to gain something, its business...

and thats why i said before that i hate it so much that in the "Pinoy_Hapon friendship year" they are just showcasing everythng japanese?! i got brochures of it from my uncle, i mean, where the pinoy? the friendship? i cud only see japanese culture? it still feels like most of them still think their culture is MORE than ours...
and i beg to differ...

First off, if i was colonial like you claim, I would be espousing Phil. be the 51st state of the USA or force Spanish down the throats of our people. Second, since you labelling me as crab mentality... it's much better than being stagnant and redundant when making excuses for the mistakes of your own people, therefore I choose not to be stupid. Gets mo? Dude, please don't talk to me like I was born yesterday and I won't talk to you like you just learned to turn a doorknob.

Where did I say that we need to get a free lunch or that everything is free in the world these days? And how is it being seen as begging? OK, by your reasoning, countries that have flourished because they showed what positive things they are capable of and prospered with the help of investing, in the long run had BEGGED??? Thats not what I'm talking about here dumb@ss, today is competition for business and believe it or not the Phil. is sliding further and further behind, due to the fact that even though we have highly educated people and great resources, it's pigheaded people like you that ruin it, because of your pathetic superficialistic views on intercountry cooperation that tend to turn people off and it rubs off on other Filipinos to be A-PATHETIC about our country. It's about competition, showing and proving in todays world economy, not begging like you implied. Take for example that we say, it is begging...then how are we going to get investments to kickstart our economy then? The Filipinos in the USA? If they wanted to they would have started 20 years ago. Whats your handicap dude??

Just because of your opinion of a brochure and your Japanese neighbors you came to that conclusion? Sure, yeah, whatever gago, my uncle by marriage who married my aunt is 100% Japanese and always invites my whole family to use his resort @ Tagaytay free of charge and is alwyas respectful is xenophobic huh? Thousands of Japanese students that have visited the Philippines and not only visited but lent a hand to help poor villages are xenophobic huh? Over 2000 marriages between Filipinos and Japanese take place in the Philippines per year shows that Japanese are xenophobic huh? Japanese foundations that grant assistance to villages by providing schools and clean drinking water are also xenophobic huh? The Monkubusho fund for Filipino students to have a chance to study and work in Japan after graduation is xenophobic huh? Japanese students of whom I've met who want to learn Filipino Tagalog and have Filipino significant others are xenophobic huh? I guess Ya Chang who is fluent in Tagalog is also xenophobic too huh? Generalizing a whole nation as xenophobic is wrong just as other countries who generalize the Philippines as a thief country is wrong. If they were entirely xenophobic, why would they go to to other countires to help and to learn their cultures? Or why would thousand of japanese students go to the USA and thousands of japanese women marry whites? You make no sense at all man. Even the proceeds from the concert for the Filipino-Japanese friendship day will go to Filipino and japanese students to pay their way to study in both countires. Saan yung freindship ha? maybe your neighbors and japanese you encountered don't like Filipinos because of some Filipinos attitudes too. maybe thats the reason why. Sira ulo!

I also can't believe why you too are so naive that respect is a one way street, you got to earn it, the easy or hard way. With the recent events in Manila thats shows to people around the world even the Japanese that we still can't behave like normal civilized people and then you wonder why alot of them don't respect us. You call me naive? Fukk you dude, look at yourself. It's 2006 and Filipinos are still acting like this instead of being enlightened with examples from our Asian neighbors' success. Thats the problem with the Philippines and it''s people today, no discipline. If a people can't respect themselves, how the hell are other people going to respect us?

And abou the Japanese companies that pollute in the Philippines and make billions? Who doesn't pollute in the Philippines anyway? If you live in Manila, it has one of the worst air pollutions in SE Asia and basically almost all of our natural rivers are dead or polluted because of our own people. And here you are grumbling about a few, yes only a FEW Japanese companies that pollute. Whose the biggest polluter the world anyway? The USA buddy boy. Trade with japan is in the Billions every year with our goods going to them and them to us, the question is, what happend to those billions that fell in to the hands of the govt. from that trade? Barking up the wrong tree boy?

You sound like one of those know-nothing 50+ year old manongs who think they know what they are talking about, but its' all one sided and superficial. being one sided and superficial=ignorance. Are you that way man? I guess so.

I certainly beg to differ twice.