On stage, under the hue of blue lights, performers lean toward the taiko drums with a degree of bend in their knees. Two performers play on a drum on a slanted stand; a performer hits a drum on an elevated stand; and, an older performer has a rattle in each hand.

Grandmaster Seiichi Tanaka and the San Francisco Taiko Dojo. Seiichi Tanaka is a Grand Master of the ancient Japanese form of ritual drumming known as taiko. This art-form involves physically demanding choreographic movement in tandem with percussive sound. Tanaka arrived to the U.S. in 1967, and he founded the first taiko dojo in North America in 1968. Practicing taiko for nearly five decades, Tanaka's first student at the dojo, Nosuke Akiyama, is also a master lion dancer and led the group's performance in the Lowell Folk Festival (2014).

• Keywords: Historical; Drum; Taiko; Dojo; Festival; dance; San Francisco; Seiichi; Tanaka