Hono-o-Daiko and Tokyo Dageki Dan

Hono-o-Daiko and Tokyo Dageki Dan. Istana Budaya, Kuala Lumpur. Two hours of non-stop excitement.

That’s what I was doing on Saturday night. Yours truly was fortunate enough to get tickets to the Japanese Drum Concert, Beating and Blazing organized by the Japan Foundation KL and The Embassy of Japan. The show featured two groups of world-renowned drummers.

First was the all-female group, Hono-o-Daiko, consisting Jige Akemi, Kinoshita Chieko and Yamada Mizue.

Next was the all-male group of Tokyo Dageki Dan. This group consists of 6 members, Kato Takuya, Sekine Makoto, Yokoyama Ryousuke, Murayama Jiro, Tagawa Tomofumi and Tsuyuki Kazuhiro.

Hono-o-Daiko was flawless in their drumming techniques and managed to get the audience to give them a standing ovation for the sheer power and intensity of their performance. Jige Akemi-san was the most expressive drummer, dancing in beat to the music and getting the audienced hyped-up with shouts and powerful drumming. Kinoshita Chieko-san was elegant in her hand movements but there was no mistaking the power of her beats on the drum. Yamada Mizue-san AMAZED me with her sheer stamina. I was staring at her hitting the drums, fast and furious, and wincing, thinking of the burning of her arms. It’s no wonder that her arms are so well-toned. Hono-o-Daiko has done 2 world tours and have an album to their name, “The Hono-o-Daiko Sound”. They have also represented japan in many cultural performances all over the world.

Picture courtesy of Japan Foundation Kuala Lumpur. Please do not use these pictures for your personal use.

Tokyo Dageki Dan. Where do I start? They came on strong and left an impression with the audience with their versatility and improvisations. Each member stepped forward for a minute to show off their skills. They were more creative and less conventional than Hono-o-Daiko, with costume changes and a short funny skit before their performance entitled “Cross”. And it definitely helped a lot for yours truly to gawk and drool at their perfectly sculpted arms in their sleeveless costumes. Unfortunately, sitting so high up in the hall, I was unable to see their faces clearly, so I can’t give personal comments regarding their drumming styles. There was also a difference in Tokyo Dageki Dan’s repertoire, as Murayama Jiro-san performed a Shino-Bue flute solo. It was a refreshing change of pace to the intense drumming. The melody was haunting and you could not help but close your eyes and be caught up with the music. Tokyo Dageki Dan was founded by Kiranuma Jin-ichi in 1995. They performed with the Korean National Dance Troupe at the closing ceremony of the FIFA World Cup in France. They have also performed a European tour and performed in Africa.

All pictures were taken from ARTWILL Ltd. Please do not use these pictures for your personal use.

Members of Tokyo Dageki Dan:

from left to right: Murayama Jiro, Tagawa Tomofumi, Kato Takuya

from left to right: Sekine Makoto, Yokoyama Ryosuke, Tsuyuki Kazuhiro

All pictures were taken from ARTWILL Ltd. Please do not use these pictures for your personal use.

All in all, it was a FANTASTIC experience, and I thank JFKL and the Embassy of Japan for this wonderful chance to expose our country to another culture and strengthen our ties with Japan.

Hontou ni tanishikatta.
Domo arigatou gozaimasu!

Kore wa na...hen na yume da

Konbanwa, minnasan!

I’m actually a few days late in updating this. Hopefully I still remember how the dream went. So, I had this seriously whacked out dream on Saturday night. Why? I have no idea. I shall just chalk this up to my hyperactive imagination.

It started of fairly decently. I was going to have a pool party at this HUMONGOUS mansion. Whom does the mansion belong to? Your guess is as good as mine. Anyhow, there I was, sitting nicely at my writing desk in my room with an open window in front of me. Romping around in the garden were my two tigers, Ashura and Yuki. Ashura is, well, your usual Asian tiger with a grumpy attitude. Yuki is a white Bengal tiger that’s playful and likes to pounce on people and lick them. On the writing desk was a stack of invitation cards. The card itself was black with silver and gold decorations.

[Brain yells: CUT! Ok, next seen! Aaaaand…. ACTION!]

So the food is all prepared properly on a long table set up near the pool. The music’s on and the bubbles are bubbling away in the jacuzzi. I’m just putting the finishing touches on the decorations and making sure the bar is well-stocked. Of course, there’s the customary hot hunk of a bartender there as well. He’s dressed in an ancient Greek sort of costume. At least, I think it’s ancient Greek. It’s all white and made from a single piece of cloth. Sleeveless (showing off perfectly toned arms), plunging neckline (nice chest!) and a bottom that sort of ends in a short skirt (showing off wonderfully well-muscled legs and just a hint of a nice, perky butt) with sandals.

[CUT! Stop drooling over the bartender guy. Actually, this part is rather PG-18]

This next part is rather choppy. Think of a doorbell ringing, the front door opening and different people appearing with different costume. And repeat. On loop. OK, doorbell rings, front door opens, Stef appears dressed as an apple, holding a bottle of Mondavi (the ultimate double sin!). Next, Pauline appears in her dinner dress she bought for Chia Yee’s sister’s wedding dinner (but oddly enough, she had a tail). Then, Chia Yee and Bin Bin appeared in identical angel get-ups (black suits with cool shades, wings on the back and a halo above their heads). *ding dong* Yen Ling appears in a yellow rubber ducky costume. Doreen dressed as a schoolgirl (no, not the Malaysian kind…the naughty Japanese/US kind). Huan Lin came as a pro wrestler kind of thing (think Nacho Libre). *door opens* Jit Sheng in a lion get-up, complete with long, luscious mane (*braids said luscious mane*). Hannah came as a gothic lolita rock chick. Mike flashed by (as a camera).
The next doorbell just happened to be my alarm.

Now, I’d be REALLY grateful if anyone could tell me the whole point of this dream.

Sore ja, oyasumi nasai!

Getting to know you.... Getting to know all about you.....

Grabbed this off vampire_otaku from LiveJournal. Feel free to fill this in! I might discover something new about you! ^^

You're HERE! At my cosy little blog. We should get to know each other over some teaJD and junk foodbiscuits.
I want to know 26 things about you. I don't care if we never talk, never liked each other, or if we already know everything about each other.


1. Can you cook?

2. What would you do if you were stuck in an elevator?

3. What talent do you wish you had?

4. Favorite place?

5. Favorite vegetable?

6. What was the last book you read?

7. Are you Dirty or Clean?

8. Any Tattoos and/or Piercings?

9. Worst Habit?


HERE COMES THE FUN ... ... ...


1. Do we know each other outside of Livejournal?

2. What's your philosophy on life?

3. Negative or Optimistic?

4. What was your dream growing up?

5. Worst thing to ever happen to you?

6. Do you think I'm hot or not?

7. Tell me one weird fact about you:

8. Would you have my back or kick me when I'm down?

9. Do you Trust me?

10. Have you ever kept anything from me?

11. What do you think of me as a Person?

12. Do you think I'm sane or insane?

13. Would you cry for me if I died?

14. Would you be my crime partner or my conscience?

15. If you could change anything about me, would you?

16. How do you fall asleep?

17. Would you come over to yell at me or just call?

18. Would you go on a blind date if I set you up?

19. If I only had one day to live would you be honest or lie?

20. A million bucks.. what would you do with it?

21. What is your worst fear?

22. Favorite thing to do in your spare time?

23. How many times did you curse at me while filling out this?

24. Can you sing or dance?

25. In one word, how would you describe me? Be honest....

26. Will you re post this so I can fill it out?

My Last Will and Testament

	I, Stephanie Chan, being of sound mind, hereby bequeath my entire estate to a Ferrari. I do this because they understand my needs. My only regret in this life was that ... Rosebud....
'What will your Last Will and Testament say?' at QuizGalaxy.com

Wow...I have a Ferrari? That beyond cool! Now I just need to get enough harta to match the Ferrari. And of course, I'll be cremated INSIDE the Ferrari.
What?! I like my toys....inclusive of boytoys
I need to bring everything with my to the afterlife, so I can bribe Yim Lou Wong for a good time there. And even if it's not for bribing, I can always use it to zip around Hell while waving my leather whip.
Hmm....that's a good idea

Make sure my obituary says this EXACTLY

'What will your obituary say?' at QuizGalaxy.com

Yes, I've caught the meme craze. Yes, I'm bored. Yes, I need something to distract me. And YES, I'm currently stomping on Taiwan for screwing up my internet.