Nishi no Dan

(Epic of the West)

Chapter 5: Epic of Internment

The journey across the ocean is full of sea sickness, celebration, laughter, boredom and wondering at the great empty horizon. Yet, the final labour of days at sea proves tiresome. Just as the excitement begins to fade away to boredom and exhaustion, the mountains of British Columbia can be seen in the distance, looking not so different from the coast of Japan, the travellers are alighted, and spirits rise in the ‘epic of the west’.

Nishi no Dan consists of three movements:

Movement I: Vancouver
Movement II: Tsukare (Exhaustion)
Movement III: Yama Mieshi (The Mountains Appear)

Level of Difficulty

Beginner to Intermediate

repetition of rhythms

tempo changes

swing

syncopated rhythms

Duration

approximately 3 minutes

Tempo

Movement 1: Vancouver

140 bpm

Movement 2: Tsukare

75 bpm

Movement 3: Yama Mieshi

107 bpm

Instrumentation

Ohayashi-style ensemble

miya daiko

shime daiko

atarigane

shinobue

Video

This video was filmed after a 1.5 hour workshop inThis video was taken after a half-day workshop and depicts participants in the Sofu no Nikkiden launch workshops held in our 2024 outreach series. The performers here did a wonderful job, and there are participants from a variety of backgrounds and experience levels with only a few hours to learn the materials.

Please use this video as a reference in tandem with the materials provided to expand your understanding of the music and develop performance ideas.

In the future our team will upload the material performed as a ‘model version’ for your consideration and learning.