Drum Museum : See Percussion Instruments from Around the World

Miyamoto Unosuke Co., Ltd., founded in 1861, is well known for having built the replacement mikoshi now used in the Sanja Matsuri. Originally, the company produced equipment and other items used in festivals, such as taiko drums. These drums were an important part of the lives of common people during the Edo period (1603–1868). Towns around castles had shops that sold taiko, and the drums were used to broadcast the time of day to town residents.

To this day, the company still makes taiko used in Buddhist and Shinto ceremonies and traditions, as well as many taiko used for traditional performing arts, such as kabuki, nō, and gagaku (classical music from the imperial court). Musicians have long praised the high quality of Miyamoto Unosuke drums. 

India has over 250 different kinds of percussion instruments.

Based on this heritage, the company in 1988 founded the Drum Museum (Taiko Kan), which features not only Japanese drums (taiko), but also drums and percussion equipment from all over the world. The museum’s collection includes over 900, of which 200 are typically displayed at any given time. Visitors are able to touch and use many of the drums on display.

The percussion instruments in the museum are from a diverse range of regions, and come in all shapes and sizes. Some drums are struck with the hands, some are played with sticks, while others produce a sound by rubbing two parts of the instrument together.

“India has an abundant variety of types of percussion instrument—over 250 of them,” notes the museum’s curator, Arikawa Junko. “Many have been passed down from generation to generation for over 2,000 years. When you look closely at the instruments from various regions of the world, you can see some fundamental shapes and configurations in common despite how geographically remote they are from each other.” Arikawa says she is keen for visitors to experience the unpredictability and fascination of drums.

A “garamut” from Papua New Guinea, used as a tool for communication; by striking the drum in a particular way, different meanings can be conveyed.
A “kaze-no-oto” from Japan. If you rotate the lever in front clockwise, the instrument produces the sound of the wind. Simulating the sounds of nature is a common characteristic of instruments from Japan.
A “balafon” from Africa, which sounds much like a xylophone. Underneath the wooden keys are resonators made from the calabash fruit.
A “cuíca” from Brazil. A sound is produced by rubbing a wet cloth across the surface on the rear of the instrument.

To hear what these instruments sound like, play the video below.

A “nagadō daiko” from Japan. Depending on whether the drum is for ceremonial purposes or for musical performances, the leather part is affixed differently. In the version used for musical performances (pictured above), the leather is rebound when it gets loose, so there is a spare amount behind the bindings used to pull the leather back and increase the tension. The leather on the version used for religious ceremonies (pictured below) is never rebound and the appearance is more important. Therefore, the leather is cleanly cut off behind the bindings, with no amount to spare.
The ground floor of the Nishi Asakusa Store, which sells lots of festival-related goods.
A genuine leather strap to attach to your cell phone, keys, or bag; the one in front is the “nagadō daiko” and costs ¥1,785 and the strap behind it costs ¥1,260.
“Shishimai” (Lion Dance), a type of “satokagura” (Shinto based ritual). Pictured on the right is the male creature “Uzu,” and on the left the female “Gonkurō”; in the foreground are some bean bags for juggling (¥630).

 

Drum Museum

Address: Miyamoto Unosuke Co. Ltd, Nishi Asakusa Store Building 4F, 2-1-1 Nishi-Asakusa, Taitō-ku, Tokyo 
Tel: +81 3-3842-5622
Hours: 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; closed Mondays (except national holidays) and Tuesdays
Some English explanatory materials available.
http://www.miyamoto-unosuke.co.jp/english/taiko.html

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