Kodo Drummers Live in RVA
By Gillian Ludlow
Published: March 16, 2011

Think of a drumbeat so solid and deep that it resembles a heartbeat.

Now imagine large drums carved from ancient trees and planks that range from small to half-ton sizes. These instruments are used to demonstrate the intertwining of athleticism and the performing arts into one show.

The traditional Japanese performing arts group, Kodo Drummers of Japan, will put on its show at the Landmark Theater on Thursday, March 17. The performers will play instruments such as the taiko drum, fue and shamisen.

"The show is overall, spectacular. It’s just something different," said John Gunter, marketing director of the Modlin Center for the Arts at the University of Richmond. "It’s the type of show that is seldom seen and it’s just out of the box."

"Kodo" has two meanings in Japanese, literally "heartbeat"—the driving force of the show—and "children of the drums."

"The drum is a ritual tool in Japan, played whenever a community needed to come together. If you can hear the sound of the drum, that means you are part of the community," Kodo member Jun Akimoto said in a statement. "We would like to rephrase this story. If Kodo can bring drums and travel around the world and deliver the sound of drums there, we can unite the people who hear the sound and make them part of a community."

The group was established in 1981 in Sado Island, Niigata, Japan. Its debut was at the Berlin Festival in 1981, and the group later toured Italy, San Marino, West Germany and Japan. It has been more than five years since the Kodo drummers toured North America.

The show is presented by the Modlin Center for the Arts and is sponsored in part by the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation.

"The Modlin Center only has so many seats, it’s a smaller venue," said Gunter. "The Landmark is so much bigger, has more seats and has a better environment for such a popular show."

Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the show will be from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. Ticket prices range from $26 to $39 (including fees). University of Richmond students can get in free with a student ID card. Tickets can be purchased at the Landmark box office or at ticketmaster.com.