Report Title:

Praising Taiko Master Kenny Endo

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.R. NO.

171

TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2001

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

ON PRAISING TAIKO MASTER KENNY ENDO ON HIS CONTRIBUTIONS TO MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING BETWEEN EAST AND WEST.

 

 

WHEREAS, Kenny Endo, born and reared in Los Angeles and now a resident of Hawaii, became interested in drumming at five and as a teenager was attracted to the sounds and rhythms of the Japanese art of Taiko, literally the "fat drum," used for traditional celebrations, ceremonies and festivals; and

WHEREAS, Kenny Endo's dedication to Taiko led him to study, perform and compose in Japan where he was the first foreigner to receive a stage name, Mochizuki Tajiro, as a master in classical Japanese drumming; and

WHEREAS, Kenny Endo, with his training in both western music and classical Taiko drumming, became an innovator, blending elements of traditional Japanese and Western music into his compositions and by collaborating with a variety of artists from the theater, dance, orchestras, big band, and traditional masters in his performances; and

WHEREAS, Enny Endo, upon settling in Hawaii in 1990 with his wife, Chizuko and two sons, Miles and Zenya, formed the Taiko Center of the Pacific Youth Group that has encouraged 1,500 Hawaii students, from five to eighteen, to learn, maintain and promote the art of Taiko drumming; and

WHEREAS, Kenny Endo has performed many times in Hawaii, is such recent and upcoming events as the Molokai Community Festival, the Honolulu Festival, the 3rd Annual Hawaii International Taiko Festival, the Pearl City Rotary Club Multi-Cultural Festival, Leeward and Windward Community Colleges, and the Cherry Blossom Festival; and

WHEREAS, Kenny Endo has brought his art to the Mainland, Japan, Egypt, England, Belgium, France, Russia, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore and Canada; and

WHEREAS, Kenny Endo's performances and compositions have created a new sound reflecting both Eastern and Western cultures in one universal sound, bringing different peoples and cultures together; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2001, that this body hereby congratulates and commends Moshizuki Tajiro Sansei Kenny Endo, Taiko Master, for his many accomplishments, and for his special contributions to Hawaii and its people and to the spirit of international mutual understanding, and expresses its warmest aloha and best wishes for continued success in all of his endeavors.

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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