Week 1: Reflections by Josh Yoon
Group: Orientalism in Taiko, facilitated by Joe Small & Tamiko Ooka
By Josh Yoon - Palo Alto, CA
I don’t know why, but I sat feeling a little bit nervous during the few minutes I spent before I clicked on the Zoom link to join the ‘Re-Imaging as a Taiko Community’ session. No doubt, I was excited that I would be a part of Joe Small & Tamiko Ooka’s discussion session on ‘Orientalism in Taiko,’ but I also didn’t know what to expect at all, which I guess is part of the fun. But when it comes my own personal understanding of Orientalism, it’s a bit flimsy at best. Ha, which is probably why it’s great that I’m doing this in the first place.
I felt more at ease after listening to Michelle and Karen share a few words regarding how the session came together and what’s on the agenda. While I’m at awe finding out that this all came together in a matter of a couple of weeks, I also know that Michelle and Karen are both powerhouses when it comes to community programming, so it comes to no surprise. I really appreciated Marley Kirton story, where he posted a series of amazing performances of him singing and playing the guitar to help raise money for organizations fighting against racism and police brutality. As he played one of his songs, I started to think back to the two protests I had participated weeks ago, demanding justice for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and many innocent black lives who were murdered. The same emotions I felt during those marches were coming back again when I saw Marley play: wanting to be heard, wanting to be an ally, wanting for positive change in our society, and wanting to embrace the people that I love, again. I took it as a personal reminder that while there’s still a lot of work to be done, there are those who give us hope, and that there are leaders within the taiko community and beyond who will help us get closer to a better future for us all.
I joined the ‘Orientalism in Taiko’ session immediately afterwards and was really happy to see old faces, new faces, and of course Joe and Tamiko once again. We first nailed down a definition of orientalism, then brainstormed some keys words that come to mind when we think about it in a more general sense, and shared a wide variety of situations that we as taiko players experienced during the past which made us seriously question what taiko meant to us. My personal experience has been the exotification of taiko history, where certain MCs or advertisers of an event are compelled to emphasize how taiko is an ancient Japanese artform, spanning thousands of years back, and used in warfare. While I don’t refute any of this, taiko to me is much more than that. Taiko is about finding oneself. Taiko is about connecting with the people around you. Taiko is about healing. Taiko is also an act of resistance. Perhaps I’m being too critical, but nevertheless, it reflects the idea that a person from the outside who doesn’t make the effort to know the history, the purpose, and the power of what you do, it’s easier for them rationalize it as something ‘other’ than what they would normally do. Which is how orientalism works.
As I finish up the assigned reading and the questions we’re to think about, I’m really looking forward to the next session with Joe and Tamiko. It’ll be interesting to hear from other people what they thought of all of this. I’m hoping that through the process, I will also be able to connect with people that I never met before. Keep an eye out for another update from me next week!