Since I first heard about Japanfest, I've made it a habit for me to go every year. Unfortunately this year I missed much of the festival. What I did catch was 雷太鼓 ̣(Kaminari Taiko), a traditional Japanese drum group from Houston Texas. For the last 15 years Kaminari Taiko has regaled and educated residents of New Orleans about traditional sounds and culture of Japan.
The 大太鼓 (daitaiko, or big drum)
The most visible piece of the drum group, the daitaiko (or "big drum") can be seen from quite a far distance.
At about 3:30 pm, the master of ceremonies introduces Kaminari Taiko to the stage.
The performers ready themselves as the crowd starts to gather.
With introductions out the way, the performance goes underway. Anytime I hear their performance up close, I can feel the drums thumping against my chest.
Kaminari Taiko's members are quite diverse. Everyone is from different cultures and are united by their passion for taiko drums.
Whenever I see them perform, they always seem to have fun.
And when the performers are having fun, the crowd have fun.
With the first song over, the leader of Kaminari Taiko introduces the next song.
Meanwhile everyone is busy setting up the stage.
As the performers put out more energy and vigor into their song, they start to attract a larger crowd. This made it a bit difficult to work around the crowd.
Something different this year is Kaminari Taiko included symbols, played in the fashion of a dance.
Even the other drummers join in on the dancing.
Of course, it's not much fun unless they brought out the gong.
With the ring of the gong, the last song of the set is about to begin. The drummer states that the last one is an original they've been writing and it is their first time playing it in New Orleans.
As the last song of the day, the daitaiko becomes the centerpiece.
Everyone stands at the ready.
Since the festival is in a public setting, it's easy to find many people with their cameras out.
Everyone lines up to their drums for the finale.
And with that the show's over.
Kaminari Taiko waves farewell to the crowd and thus concludes Japanfest 2015.
Of course, while Japanfest is over until next year, there's still lots more Japanese to see at the New Orleans Museum of Art. Here I am with a Noh mask. This mask is for visitors to try on and is part of the Traditions Transfigured: The Noh Masks of Bidou Yamaguchi exhibition.
This mask is part of the exhibition. And there are lots more to see than just masks. The Noh Mask exhibition goes on from October 2015 to January 2016, so if you're in town, be sure to stop by to take a look.