ABOUT LA Mugen Taiko
The group was established in 2014 under the direction of Tomomi Hongo and we strive to share the art of taiko to communities across Los Angeles. Some members of the group began playing taiko at El Marino Language School in Culver City with their taiko group, El Marino Rainbow Taiko created by Etsuo Hongo. Tomomi became the lead taiko instructor for El Marino Rainbow Taiko in 2007 so that her father could pursue his dreams of teaching taiko in South America. Tomomi continues teaching taiko to students from ages 6 to 14 at El Marino.
After the passing of Etsuo Hongo Sensei, Los Angeles Mugen Taiko (夢元太鼓) strives to honor Hongo Sensei’s life work of taiko. Our dream is to not only to continue his legacy, but to also blend in the styles of the next generation of taiko players.
Our sister group, Mugen Taiko in Chile was also established by Hongo Sensei. Together we wish to do our very best to spread the art of taiko. While talking with a member of Mugen Taiko in Chile, Hongo Sensei stated, “…being [in Chile] teaching far away where taiko isn’t known was a dream for [me]…and with that, dreams can come true…”
ABOUT TOMOMI HONGO
Tomomi Hongo began playing taiko at the age of eight at El Marino Language School in Culver City. Her father, Etsuo Hongo, is a renown taiko artist who established several taiko groups including Los Angeles Matsuri Taiko, San Fernando Mugen Taiko, Venice Koshin Taiko, and El Marino Rainbow Taiko. Her father and mother met through the taiko classes he taught, and Tomomi is fortunate to be exposed to taiko at a very young age. She watched her father put on various concerts with groups from Los Angeles as well as Japan.
Tomomi's father was her very first teacher. She joined El Marino Rainbow Taiko at the age of eight, then joined Venice Koshin Taiko in the early 2000's. In 2007, Tomomi ventured on her own and joined TAIKOPROJECT where she became a performing member as well as an instructor for both their youth and adult classes. Tomomi toured in the U.K., Mexico, and states across the U.S. with TAIKOPROJECT. She also became the lead taiko instructor for El Marino Rainbow Taiko in 2007 where she teaches taiko to students from ages 6 to 14. Tomomi also joined UC Irvine Jodaiko in 2010 and was involved in the collegiate taiko community for two years. In 2013, she traveled to Japan to study under Yuu Ishizuka and Taro Kobayashi where she was able to study the basics and fundamentals of taiko playing. Tomomi has also led naname or slant style drumming workshops at the World Taiko Gathering in 2014 as well as the North American Taiko Conference in 2019. Tomomi also taught with Taiko Together, a program designed for parents and children to learn taiko together led by Yeeman Mui. Tomomi helped lead the production of the Los Angeles Taiko Festival in 2022 at the Aratani Theater in Little Tokyo in collaboration with the Hongo Taiko Groups and Grandmaster Seiichi Tanaka of San Francisco Taiko Dojo. She currently performs with the Los Angeles Taiko Collective and is part of the Education Team with TAIKOPROJECT.
Tomomi worked as an early childhood educator for six years with children ranging from 2 and a half to 5 years of age. She has led summer taiko camps at Methodist Preschool with children from ages 3 to 5. She is currently works as a school psychologist, supporting students from diverse backgrounds. Tomomi wishes to continue her father's taiko legacy as well as establishing herself as taiko artist. Her goal is to always share and spread the art form in a respectful manner.
