Mission
Mission To strengthen Asian American communities by instilling pride and cultural awareness, and to build bridges between Asian Americans and other groups through the dynamic cultural expression of taiko.
History
Icho Daiko was founded in September 2003 by Dr. and Mrs. Roy and Aiko Ebihara of Oberlin, Ohio. The group is sponsored by the Cleveland Chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League, and was named after the ginkgo trees that line Oberlin's Main Street. Icho Daiko is currently comprised of 20 members of the Cleveland, Akron, and Oberlin College communities. The group builds its own drums, including shime, chudaiko and okedo drums.
We encourage everyone who wants to learn about taiko and its history to visit our rehearsals, take classes, and participate in JACL and Icho Daiko activities.
Performances
Icho Daiko:
Icho Daiko has performed for many cultural and social events since its inception. Performances have included (but are not limited to) a half time show for the Cleveland Cavaliers Basketball team (Asian American Celebration day), Asian Festival 2005 and 2006 in Columbus, International Festival at the Allen Theatre, 2005 annual meeting of the Central Ohio Japanese Association Commerce [COJAC], 2005 Taiko conference [Taiko 10] in Los Angeles, CA., the International Folk Festival at Lakeland Community College and CultureFest at Lake Ridge Academy.
Mame Daiko:
Mame Daiko, Icho Daiko's youth group, was started in 2005. There are currently 7 members from the Akron-Cleveland area. Mame Daiko is led by Natalie and Nicole Grant, who are also performing members of Icho Daiko. Mame Daiko has composed and choreographed some of its own songs and is currently working on many more songs to call their own. They have performed for many events since they began, including (but not limited to) The Akron Zoo, Kidshow at Great Lakes Mall, Asian Festival 2006 in Columbus and the Cherry Blossom Festival.