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Taiko (Japanese drums) played at a festival

At festivals held throughout Japan, the sounds of taiko (Japanse drums)and fue (Japanese flutes) add color to the venues and liven up the atmosphere. The sounds of these instruments echoing amid the hustle and bustle are an essential piece of the Japanese matsuri, or festival.

Various festivals are held across Japan, varying by region and season. Centered on local shrines and temples, these traditional events are held to give thanks for the harvest, honor ancestors, and pray for safety. Among their many highlights of Japanese matsuri, such as processions, dances, and decorations, music plays an indispensable role in setting the mood. NIGATA Hideo, a member of the Nippon Matsuri Network, a nonprofit organization that conducts ongoing research and disseminates information about Japanese matsuri, is an expert who has attended more than 600 festivals all over Japan.

“Japanese matsuri embody various sentiments, including gratitude for a bountiful harvest, commemoration of ancestors, and the wish to avoid disaster. Since ancient times, Japanese people have believed in yaoyorozu no kami¹ — a great number of gods, who reside in all things. This belief is the reason why festivals vary greatly in form from region to region. At matsuri, the traditional musical performances called ohayashi² are held. The music for ohayashi is mainly comprised of taiko, fue, and kane (bells or gongs),³ and includes dancing in some regions.”

In ohayashi, the performed sounds themselves are considered offerings to the gods, and they play a role in connecting this world with the world beyond. The sounds of the taiko, fue, and kane add color to the rituals and processions.

Taiko, fue, and kane are three types of instruments that add color to the matsuri with their sounds. Each have their own unique roles and characteristics.

Taiko are percussion instruments that have been used since ancient times. Two types are typically used in festival music: the odaiko, a large drum which produces mainly low tones; and the shimedaiko, a smaller drum that produces high, piercing tones.

“Depending on the festival, the typical beats and ways of striking the taiko vary greatly. Often, taiko are placed on dashi⁴ and paraded through the streets,” says NIGATA.

Fue includes the horizontally held shinobue,⁵ the vertically blown fue, and, sometimes used in the worship hall of a shrine, the sho,⁶ an instrument consisting of multiple pipes bundled together. Fue plays the melody, adding lightness to the music.

“Japanese people often liken the sound of fue in festival music to ‘pee-hyara’ (a high whistling sound), but they add light melodies that fit with the taiko rhythms.”

Kane is a metal percussion instrument that marks the rhythm with high-pitched metallic sounds. “Its role is to enhance the rhythm by adding high-pitched metallic sounds to the low-pitched rhythms of the taiko and the melodies of the fue.”

According to NIGATA, these three instruments are commonly used as basic components of festival music, but the types of instruments and playing styles vary by region.

“The combination of instruments varies depending on the festival. For example, festivals in Okinawa Prefecture use a small drum called the paranku⁷ that can be struck while dancing, as well as the sanshin,⁸ while festivals in Toyama Prefecture add the kokyu (Chinese violin).”⁹

NIGATA highlights Japanese festivals, which are attracting increased interest from overseas, and the sounds of the instruments that are essential to them.

“People from overseas seem to find Japanese festivals somewhat mysterious. Recently, I’ve often seen overseas visitors not only at urban festivals, but also at those held in small rural communities, such as mountain villages. When Japanese people hear the sounds of the fue and taiko, it brings back childhood memories and images of their hometowns, with a feeling of nostalgia. The festivals are cherished events replete with memories of sounds that remain in the hearts of Japanese people. I hope that people from overseas will experience the moods and sounds of these festivals firsthand.”

• 1. The belief that gods reside in all things
• 2. The music and sounds of traditional Japanese performing arts and festivals, or the performers themselves
• 3. A flat, round, lid-shaped metal percussion instrument
• 4. A decorated pull-cart used in festivals
• 5. One kind of Japanese transverse flute made of thin bamboo. It has a mouthpiece and finger holes.
• 6. An instrument that consists of 17 thin bamboo pipes bundled into a circle, and a bowl-shaped base that supports it.
• 7. A thin drum with a diameter of about 20 cm. The player holds it in one hand while using the other hand to play it with a stick.
• 8. A stringed instrument that is widely used, mainly in the Okinawa region. It has three strings and a body covered with genuine leather (usually snake skin). An indispensable presence for festivals and folk songs. (See “The Sanshin, Okinawa’s Traditional Instrument, and the Classical Performing Art, Kumiodori: Resonating to Create Sound Culture,” in HIGHLIGHTING Japan September 2025 issue)
• 9. A traditional Japanese instrument that produces sound when its strings are bowed. It has three or four strings.

By TANAKA Nozomi
Photo: Nippon Matsuri Network; PIXTA

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