Ichitaro

Who is Ichitaro?

Ichitaro, Japanese Taiko drummer.

Ichitaro was born in Kuwana, a small town in the Mie Prefecture of Japan. In the year 1990, he joined then-revolutionary Japanese Drummers Group Ondekoza and run 15,000 km across the United States over the next 3 years. During that time he managed to give over 500 concerts at a wide variety of venues, among them 4 performances at the prestigious Carnegie Hall in New York. His mentor was Den Tagayasu, the founder of Ondekoza, who gave him the stage name of Ichitaro with his wishes for him to become the No.1 Wadaiko drummer in the world.

Before his debut as a solo drummer in the summer 2004, he has given more than 2000 performances alongside Ondekoza several spots around Europe and Asia. His solo performance was held at the Tokyo Cultural Hall.

In 2008, he performed at the opening ceremony of the World Sumo Wrestling Championships, which took place in Rakvere in Estonia. This was followed by several performances around Estonia and Finland, including a guest performance at the 2009 Estonian Song Festival parade.

In 2010 started with thunderous applause and standing ovation in Turkey and Algeria when the Japan Foundation, within the framework of celebrations for "Japan Year 2010 in Turkey", selected Ichitaro as a main performer in a series of concerts in Turkey as well as Algeria.