Photographer: Talal Alamri

Last night a Taiko (”drum” in Japanese) performance was hosted by the Embassy of Japan at the King Fahad Cultural Center in Riyadh, and it was an open invitation. the group performing was made up of three members; with the famous percussionist and composer  Joji Hirota being the lead, along with my sister’s classmate and friend Moriya Keisuke and Akinori Fujimoto.

The show was brilliant, the music was lovely and Joji Hirota really swept the crowd off its feet with his performance and attitude. He is a true legend, it’s worth checking his official website to learn more about his accomplishments and talent.

Furthermore, I was very much pleased with the whole set up. it was quite organized and the crowd showed much enthusiasm and support that got the performers to add new elements to the show that were not originally part of the it! Joji Hirota asked the crowd to sing along some of the songs with him, and they did a great job. Even the performers were amazed by the crowd’s excitement and by how fast they picked up the lyrics they were asked to sing along with them.

In short, it was a success. I only hope for more events of this kind in the future of Riyadh.