At a Berkeley concert last month near the start of the 30th anniversary tour that brings the ensemble to Symphony Hall this afternoon, the o-daiko loomed regally over the proceedings until the closing number. In a moment of high drama, two lean and sinewy young men stripped to loin clothes, leaned back to straddle opposite ends of the drum and faced off for a traditional piece that amounted to a thunderous pas de deux.

Every element of a Kodo performance is designed to heighten the contrasts embodied by taiko, a contemporary, international-minded art form based upon ancient Japanese folk rituals (often gathered by visits to villages where Shinto rituals are still performed). Sonically, the drums produce a vast range of dynamics and frequencies, from the o-daiko’s gut-punch low-pressure whomp to the kotsuzumi’s brittle, hand-beaten thwack. Each movement is carefully choreographed to illustrate the beats, which hint at collaborations with Indian, Brazilian, Irish, and Moroccan musicians.

“We are often regarded as musicians, but we are somewhere between theater and music and dance,’’ said Jun Akimoto, a Kodo company manager for the past decade. “With modernization, each genre developed independently. But most folk performing arts in Japan are a mixture of forms, and Kodo has learned from traditional performers. Whenever they learn drumming, they’re also required to learn dances attached to specific rhythms.’’

Far more than a percussion ensemble, Kodo is a way of life. The company lives communally in a village on Sado Island just west of Honshu, the main Japanese island that is home to Tokyo. The rural setup seems ideal for recruiting second-generation drummers, but so far no children born to Kodo members have gone on to join the group.

Which isn’t to say the ensemble lacks in young talent. One third of Kodo’s 12-member cast is making their first tour with the group. The physical rigors of taiko and the Kodo lifestyle — the company does not travel with roadies or employ stagehands — means that older members often phase out of touring to concentrate on teaching the company’s steady stream of apprentices. For most collaborations, guest artists visit the island, which offers the luxury of minimal outside distractions.

“Years ago I wanted to run off to Sado and become one of them,’’ Mickey Hart, the former Grateful Dead drummer, wrote in an e-mail, noting that he produced “Mondo Head,’’ the 2002 Kodo album featuring a global array of drummers. “For me Kodo connects us to the primal vibrations, from the Big Bang, the stars and the Earth. The drums can soothe you or rattle your bones.’’

Tabla master Zakir Hussain has made two trips to Sado and describes his involvement with Kodo as a life-altering experience. While he initially expected a single-minded focus on massive volume, he soon discovered that taiko involved subtle shadings in dynamics, tone, and texture. He drew particular inspiration from the company’s choreography.

“In their movements they visually put in front of you what they are playing, addressing the instrument like a dancing partner,’’ Hussain said. “In classical Indian music we pride ourselves on the expression of emotion through the instrument and our storytelling. But we just play the drums. We don’t have any way to visualize it for the audience, and there it was in Kodo. It helped me to create that kind of visual element with my tabla.’’

Boston was one of the first cities outside Japan to experience the company’s outrageous act, though it was not yet known as Kodo when the drummers provided startled runners with a full taiko performance at the finish of the 1975 Boston Marathon after completing the race themselves. Before that pioneering group, Ondekoza, gave birth to Kodo in 1981, it established taiko as a high art form with the world premiere of Maki Ishii’s masterpiece, “Monoprism,’’ a collaboration with the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Seiji Ozawa at Tanglewood in 1976.

Kodo emerged out of Ondekoza when the company’s founder, Den Tagayasu, wanted to pursue a different path from his musicians. He left Sado with the group’s name and all the drums.

“So we started from scratch,’’ Akimoto says. “We borrowed money and invested our own and returned to Boston for our debut. We have a special story with Boston. Seiji Ozawa saw Kodo’s performance during the Boston Marathon, and he was the one who advised Maki Ishii to write something completely new, something combining Western classical music with Japanese drumming. That piece is still an important part of our repertoire.’’

Andrew Gilbert can be reached at jazzscribe@aol.com.