Definitions

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun sumo A traditional drum, beaten by yobidashi to announce the beginning of a tournament, and at the end of each day
  • noun music A Japanese drum or a performance of several drummers in an ensemble (also called kumi-daiko).

Etymologies

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Japanese 太鼓

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Examples

  • Tsutsumi is different from the other drums because it's held on the shoulder and played with the hand, unlike the larger okawa, which rests on the thigh, or the largest drum of all, called taiko, which sits edgewise on a stand and is struck with fat drumsticks.

    Memoirs of a Geisha Golden, Arthur, 1957- 1997

  • Just like the Hongkee movie, this little "taiko" told another student to attack my son (Yes, I was shocked to hear this).

    IMMomsDaughter 2010

  • CONTRIBUTED Odaiko New England, using an authentic Japanese drum known as a "taiko," made music that got the audience on its feet during the Manjiro Festival.

    SouthCoastToday.com Latest Headlines 2009

  • CONTRIBUTED Odaiko New England, using an authentic Japanese drum known as a "taiko," made music that got the audience on its feet during the Manjiro Festival.

    SouthCoastToday.com Latest Headlines 2009

  • "Seeing the float and hearing the taiko drums and flute puts my soul at ease," said Rie Sasaki, whose family lost its home in the tsunami and is living in a neighboring town.

    Japanese Town Reunites Around Festival Daisuke Wakabayashi 2011

  • There's dressing up of a different kind in a Cosplay competition, plus bonkers live Japanese-style gameshow action, Manga art, and taiko drumming.

    This week's new events 2011

  • Maybe you play the piccolo at 13 and the taiko, or drums, at 17.

    In rural Japan, a modest bid to preserve tradition 2011

  • They seemed to gravitate more to the dance dance revolution, photobooth, and taiko games though.

    Women Audiences, Women Characters SVGL 2009

  • There is even a section entitled: "An Even-Handed Acknowledgment of Both Families' Cultural Heritage", whose moral is that taiko drummers Tomine has Japanese roots and bagpipe players do not, under any circumstances, mix.

    Scenes from an Impending Marriage by Adrian Tomine – review 2011

  • As the rhythmic beating of taiko drums filled the air, the floats—each outfitted with a 13-foot-high wooden tower and a telephone-pole-sized log jutting out from the base—collided thunderously.

    Japanese Town Reunites Around Festival Daisuke Wakabayashi 2011

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