The booming noise coming up from the basement of the British School in Shibuya Ward, Tokyo, is a more visceral version of the magic flute: It's just impossible to resist its charm. You follow the deep, thumping beat down a flight of stairs and find a shouting, whooping little devil leading a group of about 10 people — both Japanese and foreigners — through a series of seemingly intricate drumming routines. That's Tomoko Igarashi.
Moko-sensei, as everybody calls her, has been running Miyabi Arashi Taiko School since 1997, aiming to expand the understanding and enjoyment of Japanese music and culture while enhancing communications between the local and foreign communities.
A tiny woman of unbelievable energy, the Tokyo-born teacher has just turned 50 but regularly outlasts much younger people with her dynamism. She talks nonstop while moving heavy drums around, joking and giving bilingual instructions left and right, always at the top of her voice. "I neither drink nor smoke, and always go to bed early," she says. "I'm like an athlete, so I need to take care of my body."