Portland Taiko is preparing to bring out the big drums for its annual fall concert, a two-night showcase set for Lincoln Performance Hall at Portland State University on November 14 and 15. The performance, titled Kaeru, is considered one of the group's biggest shows of the year, and tickets are already on sale for both dates.
The word kaeru carries multiple meanings in Japanese, according to a report from KOIN — to return home, to transform, and frog. This year's program explores the Pacific Northwest, Portland, and the meaning of home through that lens. Artistic Director Tiffany Tamaribuchi said the works highlight the history, natural beauty, and character of the region, along with the strength and resilience of its communities, according to the same report.
Kelsey Furuta, also quoted in that coverage, said the annual fall concert brings out all the drums and showcases pieces performed only on the full formal stage — a distinction from the group's smaller community appearances throughout the year. The Friday, November 14 show starts at 7 p.m., while the Sunday, November 15 performance begins at 2 p.m.
A Drumming Legacy Rooted in Community Activism
Portland Taiko has showcased traditional Japanese drumming for over 30 years, per the KOIN report. The ensemble was founded in 1994 by Ann Ishimaru, Zack Semke, and Japanese American community activists, according to Portland Taiko, who initially rehearsed with a single homemade drum and practice pads fashioned from car tires before formally incorporating as a nonprofit. Over its three-decade history, the group has performed at more than 1,500 events and reached over 1 million audience members, averaging about 40 shows per year, the organization notes.
That grassroots history has since translated into national recognition. During its 30th anniversary season in 2024, Portland Taiko performed at Carnegie Hall in New York in a collaborative showcase with The Kalabharathi School of Dance, blending Japanese drumming with classical Indian dance. Closer to home, Willamette Week named the ensemble one of the 50 Iconic Portland Bands of the Last 50 Years in November 2024, placing it alongside acts like The Decemberists and Pink Martini.
An Artistic Director Who Broke Barriers
Tamaribuchi, who took over artistic leadership of Portland Taiko in summer 2023, was the first and only woman to win Japan's national odaiko competition in Fukui in 2002 — a discipline that involves playing giant barrel drums and demands extreme physical stamina. Her efforts to dismantle gender barriers in a tradition once restricted to male performers in Japan were chronicled in the feature documentary Finding Her Beat, which spotlighted her work assembling an international troupe of female and nonbinary drummers, according to GLAAD.
Discounted Tickets and a Wider Funding Debate
Organizers have set aside $5 tickets for qualifying attendees through the Arts for All program, connected to Arts for All PDX, a coalition of roughly 60 local arts organizations serving more than 700,000 eligible Oregonians, as Willamette Week reports. The initiative extends discounted access to SNAP recipients across the region's cultural institutions.
The Kaeru concert is supported by private sponsors June and John Schumann alongside public grant funding from the City of Portland Office of Arts & Culture, according to Portland Taiko. That public funding arrives amid scrutiny of how the city distributes arts tax revenue. In fiscal year 2024–25, Portland Taiko received $21,000 from Portland's Arts Access Fund, even as the city sat on $8.5 million in unspent tax reserves, OPB reported earlier this year — a disparity Hoodline previously examined in its own reporting on unspent arts tax funds.
Lincoln Performance Hall, the site of both Kaeru performances, is a 466-seat continental-style theater housed in a historic 1911 building that has been renovated to LEED Platinum standards, according to Portland State University. The venue served as PSU's original home building before its transformation into a modern performance space.
