CSUN’s Jishin Taiko Ensemble was born from an interest in not only Japanese taiko drumming and Japanese culture but was also born from a desire to form an interpersonal social connection with the Japanese-American community at California State University, Northridge.

 

Jishin (地震) is the Japanese phrase meaning earthquake, as well as self-confidence. It originally started as a part of the Nikkei Student Association in 1995 after the 1994 Northridge Earthquake, making Jishin Taiko one of the oldest collegiate taiko ensemble established in North America. Jishin Taiko began anew in 2002 and was chartered as an official CSUN club in 2005 with the help of Joel Mankey and CSUN's Music Department. 

 

As a performing ensemble, Jishin Taiko aspires to not only perform at CSUN but to also serve in the surrounding community by entertaining, enriching, and educating people about Japanese culture and traditional arts through the performing. While respecting the traditional roots of the art of Japanese taiko drumming, we also enjoy a contemporary style that was adapted when taiko was developed in North America. 

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The taiko ensemble boasts of many connections to the community as well as other university campuses abroad. Jishin Taiko also is associated with an informal overseas exchange with Yansa Daiko, a taiko group affiliated with Tokiwa University, CSUN’s international exchange partner school in Ibaraki prefecture, Japan, and has had many exchange students from prestigious universities such as Waseda University join the taiko group.