Taiko boom japanese drumming in place and motion by shawn bender author august 2012 first edition hardcover 8500 gbp7000 paperback 2995 gbp2500 ebook 2995 gbp2500 courses people cultures of asia ethnomusicology series asia local studies global themes title details rights available worldwide pages 280 isbn 9780520272422 trim size 6 x 9. A man displays his bare back and muscular shoulders as he holds mallets in front of a massive taiko drum the illustration on the cover of taiko boom gives the impression that the book is full of exotic views on the traditional culture of japan despite such an appearance it comprises the authors critical perspectives that emerged as a result of his long term field work on the social and . Based on ethnographic fieldwork conducted among taiko groups in japan taiko boom explores the origins of taiko in the early postwar period and its popularization over the following decades of. Taiko boom addresses a major gap in the literature a real strength is the authors informative yet accessible style benders narrative is strewed with fascinating gems japan forum a welcome contribution to studies of globalization music and japan studies more generally engrossing ethnography extensive fieldwork. This is the first published scholarly work about taiko and as such should be read with that focus in mind bender brings up a lot of interesting points about modern day taiko having roots in western music the conflict between regional folk traditions and newly developed folk nationalist traditions that are often passed as authentic