Honoo Taiko, an all-female Japanese taiko drumming troupe from Ishikawa Prefecture, is ready to set the stage ablaze July 12 as they kick off their seven-city world tour in Tokyo.
The three fires igniting Honoo (which means, literally, "flame") comprise 15-year veteran and founding member Akemi Jige, leader Miyuki Ikeda and the group's newest addition, Megumi Syohji, an all-around percussionist.
These women are tough, and show it with their powerful, hard-hitting style. In a recent dress rehearsal open to the press, the team performed several of its original arrangements, starting with Ikeda, solo, on the odaiko. Much of Honoo's drumming is serious and power-based, accompanied by grunts of effort and occasionally enlivened with kakegoe, the drummer's calls that serve as a vocal timekeeping device, which helps keep the members' breathing in sync.