Carson City Leisure Hour Club hosting Reno Taiko Tsurunokai April 20

Members of the Leisure Hour Club will share in the cultural, musical, and artistic expertise of the Reno Taiko Tsurunokai Japanese drum group at their dinner meeting on Wednesday, April 20. The group, formed in 1997 by Rieko Shimbo, plays traditional Japanese folk music as well as original songs and has performed in numerous multicultural festivals and charity events in the Reno/Sparks area.

Tsurunokai means “gathering of cranes” and the crane, which is the symbol of the group, can be seen on their drums as well on the festival clothing worn by the performers. Taiko is a Japanese word for drum. There is a wide variety of shapes and sizes of Taiko. Ideally, the body is made of a single hollowed out tree trunk or if this isn’t available, a large wooden barrel. The drumheads are traditionally made of cowhide. Taiko drums are handmade by professional drum makers in Japan. It is believed that the spirit of the builders of the drum and the people who played them over the years come to embody each drum.

Rieko Shimbo was born in Tokyo, Japan where she studied traditional Japanese music and folk dancing for many years. She moved to Reno in 1994 and became a teacher for young children at the Mountain View Montessori School. Three years later, she piloted Reno’s first Taiko drum group and the group has been growing stronger ever since. Her passion as well as the mission of this group is to introduce people to the rich culture of Japan by sharing this exciting art form as well as to create a feeling of community through the music.

If you would like to attend this event, please call Dorothy Link at (775) 885-2542 no later than Thursday, March 10 to make your reservation. The meeting is preceded by a buffet dinner at 6:30 in the Carson Nugget Capitol Ballroom. Reservations for the meeting and dinner are required.

The Leisure Hour Club, established in September of 1896, is Carson City’s oldest continuously operating social organization. Continuing to celebrate its 119th year, the organization is focused on its goal of promoting knowledge on important issues, science, music and literature.