Taiko drums, a broad range of Japanese percussion instruments, were
introduced to Japan through Korean and Chinese cultural influence as
early as the 6th century, and a mythological origin is mentioned in the
Nihon Shoki, the second oldest book of Japanese classical history. They
have seen use in Japan for communication, theatre, religious ceremonies,
and festival and concert performances. In feudal warfare, taiko drums
were used to summon troops, call out orders and set a marching pace. In
modern times, they have played a role in social movements for minorities
within and outside Japan. Taiko performances can vary in their rhythms,
forms, stick grips, clothing, and instrumentation. Ensembles typically
use different types of barrel-shaped nagadō-daiko drums, as well as the
smaller shime-daiko. Many groups accompany their drums with vocals,
strings, and woodwind instruments. The popular ensemble style called
kumi-daiko was developed in 1951 through the work of Daihachi Oguchi,
and has continued with groups such as Kodo. Kumi-daiko performance
groups are active in Japan, the U.S., Australia, Canada, and Brazil.
Read more: <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiko>
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Today's selected anniversaries:
193:
Septimius Severus seized the throne of the Roman Empire after
the death of Pertinax during the Year of the Five Emperors.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Septimius_Severus>
966:
After his marriage to the Christian Dobrawa of Bohemia, the
pagan ruler of the Polans, Mieszko I, converted to Christianity, an
event considered to be the founding of the Polish state.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Poland_during_the_Piast_dynasty>
1865:
Actor and Confederate sympathizer John Wilkes Booth fatally
shot U.S. President Abraham Lincoln at Ford's Theatre in Washington,
D.C.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Abraham_Lincoln>
1935:
A massive dust storm swept across Oklahoma and northern Texas,
removing an estimated 300,000 short tons (270,000 t) of topsoil.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Sunday_(storm)>
1999:
A storm dropped an estimated 500,000 tonnes of hailstones in
Sydney and along the east coast of New South Wales, causing about A$2.3
billion in damages, the costliest natural disaster in Australian
insurance history.
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1999_Sydney_hailstorm>
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Wiktionary's word of the day:
hapax legomenon:
A word occurring only once in a given corpus.
<https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/hapax_legomenon>
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Wikiquote quote of the day:
I agree with Freydis that, for various reasons, nobody ever,
quite, knew Manuel well. The hero of "The Silver Stallion" is, thus, no
person, but an idea, — an idea presented at the moment of its
conception... I mean, of course, the idea that Manuel, who was yesterday
the physical Redeemer of Poictesme, will by and by return as his
people's spiritual Redeemer.
--James Branch Cabell
<https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/James_Branch_Cabell>