Construction Overview

Types of Drums

Inventory

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Construction Overview

I did not build either of my drum shells, so the instructions below are mainly concerned with preparing the heads and fixing them to the drum body. For an okedo, this is the most critical part of the construction process.

An okedo-daiko's body is made of staves, like a standard wine barrel or conga drum. However, unlike a Western barrel, Japanese oke are straight-sided, with no curvature. The bodies of okedo are of a rather soft wood, such as hinoki (Japanese cypress). Even though I used laminated bodies for my okedo, the instructions below can be used with a drumshell of any construction.

Once you have a shell, there are two main tasks: preparing the heads by fixing the hide to two metal rings, and assembling the shell, heads, and rope into a drum.

Types of Japanese Rope-Tuned Drums

Before you collect your materials, you may want to determine whether you are trying for a traditional drum or striving for the cutting edge. You may have seen okedo in festivals like Sansa Matsuri, Chankoko, or during a Kodo performance. These drums mostly follow traditional construction methods and design closely. However, as okedo gain in popularity, there is a growing trend in Japan for high-tech models.

Traditional okedo have stave-barrel (oke) shells, steel rings, cow or horse hide heads, and natural rope. They are often painted with black lacquer, which may be applied to the edges of the heads as well as the shell. Some, particularly those from Okinawa, are of red lacquer. Still others retain a natural or stained wood color.

Today, modern versions of okedo are spreading among the young, and not-so-young, players in Japan. Many are painted in garish colors. Top taiko-maker Asano has models in either bright orange and chartreuse. Many companies, like Kawada Taiko, produce drums with synthetic fiber bodies. Rope is often of nylon, polyester, or other synthetic material which has more durability and less stretch than cotton or hemp.

Below are some variations of Japanese rope drums all using the same basic design. I derived some of the names myself. So often, there are no standard names for the many variations of Japanese drums.

Katsugi
A very popular form of okedo, becoming for Japanese taiko groups almost like the Stratocaster has been for rock guitarists. The black nebuta is particuarly popular. This drum is of a medium size and worn over the shoulder. It is played with two bachi a little skinnier and a little shorter than the standard oak bachi used for miya-daiko. Often players "cross-stick", which means playing both heads with the left hand while playing the right head with the right. This adds a lot to showmanship.

Generally, the heads in Japan are made of horse hide. The ones at right arecalfskin.

Katsugi Components

Head material: cowhide, calfskin, horse, or deer
Head size: anywhere from 36cm (14") to 56cm (22")
Shell diameter: from 25cm (10") to 45cm (18")
Shell depth: 36cm (14") to 50cm (20")
Shell thickness: very thin to medium
Rope: thin to thick

Sankyaku Components

Head material: cowhide, calfskin, elk
Head size: from 40cm (16") to 56cm (22")
Shell diameter: from 30cm (12") to 45cm (18")
Shell depth: 36cm (14") to 56cm (22")
Shell thickness: very thin to thick
Rope: thin to thick

Ôkatsugi
This is a name I coined for a larger katsugi, one designed to play bass parts. The construction is slightly different. Because the heads do not have to be very tight, they can be of smaller diameter in proportion to the shell, and require only a single line of stitching.

I used elk hide for the heads. It has a softer sound than cowhide of the same thickness.

Ôkatsugi Components

Head material: cowhide, elk
Head size: 56cm (22")
Shell diameter: 50cm (20")
Shell depth: 45cm (18") to 56cm (22")
Shell thickness: very thin to medium
Rope: thin to medium

Daibyôshi
I was inspired to build this drum after Otodaiku's shimejishi. The dimensions are similar, but the shell is laminated wood, as all my shells are. The shimejishi has wood shells carved from tree trunks. Also, both heads are made of horse, whereas one of the shimejishi's heads is cowhide, the other horse. The closest drum in Japan to this one is a traditional style from kabuki performances called a daibyôshi. The daibyôshi, shimejishi, and this drum to the right are all played with take-bachi, flat bamboo sticks.

The pitch is very high, and I think it could be used as a substitute for a tsukeshime-daiko. Because the heads are so much tighter than a Japanese daibyôshi, and I use it differently, I may change the name of my drum.

Daibyôshi Components

Head material: horse or cow
Head size: 39cm (15”)
Shell diameter: 25cm (10")
Shell depth: 45cm (18")
Shell thickness: thick
Rope: thin to thick

Tsukeshime Components

Head material: cowhide
Head size: 39cm (15”) or 42cm (16.5")
Shell diameter: 25cm (10")
Shell depth: 15cm (6") to 25cm (10")
Shell thickness: very thick
Rope: very thick

1.6 Shaku Katsugi Inventory

The description below is based on my experiences building both of my okedo. Most of the photographs are of the first drum.

• 16" diameter by 50cm (20") deep wooden drum shell
• Two 6-10 mm (1/4"-3/8") steel rings, 18" inside diameter
• horse or cow hide, cut to 26" diameter disks
• 1.8m-2m (60-65 feet) of rope, no thicker than 8 mm (5/16")
• Synthetic sinew
• Teflon or light-colored electrical tape

List of Tools

• Nylon twine with which to stretch the hides onto the rings
• Leather punch to make holes for the nylon twine
• Leather awl
• Big leather-working needle
• K-Y Jelly
• Tough gloves with good grip
• Hobby razor blades with scraper handle
• Cardboard for template
• Soft charcoal pencil or white chalk

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