“Jumble Sale”

We’ve had a place on our mind since we came to Graz. It’s the market just by the hotel.
It’s like a recycled-goods shop. At the market they sell retrospective clothes, electric appliances, toys, something which looks usable or unusable and unidentified things, etc.
Any way what we call odds and ends is sold there. Odds and ends means small items that are not valuable but for some reason it made me excited. Whether it is valuable or not depends on individuals, so there may be a buy among a lot of odds and ends. That’s why I’m curious about items at the market, I think. The market is so interesting that I would never be bored to see it.

“Special Talent”

“Tomorrow We Are Going to Perform.”

We start a show tomorrow. During the training camp we bothered the neighbors a lot with noise. We’d like to give a truly enjoyable show to the people in Graz. That’s our only way to express our gratitude.

“First Performance”

This time the venue has a space for the orchestra pit between the stage and the auditorium. We don’t usually use the space in the show, but in the performance of “Rakuda”(Merry Beating), we went through the space to the front of the auditorium. When one of the members, Tetsuro said “Hello” to an audience close to him, we saw the audience’s smiling face. We’d like to see a lot of smiling faces tomorrow, too.

“Keeping Pace”

Immediately after lunch we began practice. Now our keyword is “Keeping Pace.” It’s not the matter of tempo or rhythm but of feeling. If we feel the pace with the whole of our body, we can naturally make one sound, I think. If we keep the same pace together, we can suit our play to any sudden change.

“Repainting of the Stage Settings”

We had time for repair before practice. We did repair on the stage settings; repainted or fixed the staircase, sub-stage, risers and drum-stands. In order to maintain the beautiful stage unified in black, we must always be careful in using the settings. However, they cannot avoid being decayed during the tour. We repainted the stage settings so carefully as to prevent color gap.

“Matinee”

We gave a matinee today. It’s been a long time since we gave two shows a day last time. We had early lunch and quick practice before the opening at 3:00 p.m. A lot of children came to see our matinee and we heard cute laughter. It’s our pleasure to have children enjoy our show. They raised their hands, calling “Hi, hi, hi, hi, hi!” during the encore.

“Final Day in Graz”

Here came the second matinee. As today was the final day in Graz, we had withdrawal work afterward. Before the final show we practiced with high tension, checking our bad points of the matinee. We beat and beat in the final show, sweating over the whole body before the sweat from the matinee had not dried.

“To Stuttgart”

After the two-week-long stay in Graz we came to Stuttgart, Germany. We “Yamato” visited Stuttgart three years ago, so this is our second visit here. This time we are going to perform 8 shows including two matinees on Saturday and Sunday. After that we are going back to Japan one time. We’ve been experiencing various things in various countries. We’d like to make this week fruitful before leaving for Japan.

“First Performance in Stuttgart”

This was the first performance day in Germany during our Europe tour in 2007. They began shooting when we were practicing and preparing for the show before opening time. I guess that our junior members who were not used to a camera looked awkward before the camera. It’s difficult to act naturally either on the stage or before the camera.

“Workshop”

Today we held a workshop of taiko drumming. We beat taiko with 8 participants and the? crew of “Yamato.”. Tetsuro Okubo lead the workshop and when he said, “You’re not powerful!,” we beat as vigorously as possible. We played the practice piece, “A・Un.” The first met people learn to play a piece of music in one hour, unifying their hearts. The process is very interesting in a workshop.

“Body”

We did a basic practice using a shrine drum which is usually used at a festival. We think how to use our body and move slowly from a head to toes and to the tips of sticks. By so doing we realize our body balance and which part is short of muscle. It’s very hard to move naturally without showing awkwardness and incongruity. Sometimes it requires a .lot of muscular strength. We “Yamato” members repeatedly practice walking, standing and sitting suitable for the stage. Even in just walking across the stage, we need to control various parts of the body. The crew members curiously watch us walking around the stage.

“Shin-on (Heartbeat)”

We started a day with jogging as usual. We ran about 5 minutes from the hotel into a residential area to find stairs which had about 100 steps. A head runner, Tetsuro Okubo stopped before the stairs and shouted, “Dash up the stairs!” Then each of us dashed upstairs as fast as possible. Next we hopped up the stairs. I began to feel my leg hurt only a quarter way up the stairs but I managed to climb hopping up to the top because I didn’t want to give up in the presence of the other members. At the top of the stairs there stood an old lady looking surprised. She was talking in German with her hand putting on and off her heart. “Are you all right to hop up these stairs? Your heart must be beating fast!” she seemed to be saying. In reply I pat my heart, on which she put her ear and looked surprised, saying something like “Take care!” in German. Today I had the old lady listen to my living heartbeat.

“Background Drumming”

Today we practiced background drumming. It is likely to be regarded as a secondary role but actually it is essential to make solo drumming stand out. It plays an inconspicuous but vital role. We took turns drumming solo and then background but it didn’t work very well. Background drumming often sounded hindering solo play. We ended up realizing how important it is to feel for others.

“Good- by, Stuttgart”

We finished the last show in Stuttgart with warm hearted applause by a lot of audience.It’s time for us to go back to Japan tomorrow! We’ve gotten successfully through one big part of the EU tour which started in February. After our three-week stay in Japan, we’ll be back with more vigor.

“Back to Japan”

I wonder if Japan has changed in any way during our half-a-year absence. I’m looking forward to arriving in Japan. All of us are thinking the same way. I want to go there and eat that … as soon as we reach Japan.