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The Apprentice Centre
If you follow the twisting road half way up a mountainside, nestled in the forest āfar enough away from the nearest village so as not to disturb anyone with the drumsāyou will come upon Kodo Cultural Foundation's Apprentice Centre. (see Vol.41) The trees suddenly open up to a unique and secluded universe, until March '95, the former Iwakubi Junior High School. The last toki (Japanese crested ibis) seen in the wild chose this spot as it's final, quiet refuge. On a sunny day if you peer south across the Sea of Japan through the cherry trees that ring the grassy playing fields you can see the mountains on the mainland. The wooden buildings and grounds have been kept in beautiful shape by alumni and locals and still retain the warmth of lively school days. This is now the home and training centre of nine apprentices.
Where once the programme was available only to those who intended to join Kodo, as of this April, the apprenticeship has been opened to anyone up to 25 years old, and has been extended from one to two years. The same principles that go towards making a Kodo performer or staff member also, we believe, apply to helping someone prepare to become a positive member of society at large.
The first year General Curriculum includes flute, drumming, dancing and singing, an introduction to traditional culture, the building up of physical strength and flexibility, and the experience of communal living. Apprentices can also expect to get their fingernails dirty in areas like farming and woodworking.
In the second year the curriculum will be tailored to the individual aspirations and abilities of each apprentice. Players will delve more deeply into their given area of performance. Those interested in production work for instance, will be given hands-on training and experience in the myriad of fields necessary to operate a group like Kodo. This could include everything from desk top publishing to administration. Lectures and field trips will be given throughout the year on the extraordinarily unique and rich history, culture, environment and lifestyle of Sado, described by one international scholar as a 'living treasure island of traditional culture'.

The First Year
Now nine months into the first two year apprenticeship, here is a sample of this year's programme. Great importance is placed upon tapping into the tremendous human resources available on Sado, both intellectually, and through direct experience with people living the traditions.
One of Sado's most famous anthropologists, Masahiko Honma's first lecture was entitled 'The coming and going of Sado islanders and their culture: From where ā and where to?'
Toshio Sato, familiar to those readers lucky enough to have tagged along on his peripatetic lectures at Earth Celebration, has been giving talks on the life, culture and nature of Sado, illustrated with his valuable collection of slides. The apprentices also visited a local farm and learned how to make straw sandals.
Naturalist Kunio Ito's field trips focused on the appreciation of natural beauty and an understanding of nature's balance. He also points out plants closely related to peoples' daily lives. Fishery Centre Director, Tetsuo Fukushima's first lecture was entitled 'Things one can learn from fish'. His second class focused on the ecology of common fish and shellfish. He also introduced Sado's marine life as they appear in poetry and song.
Veteran Kodo players are teaching basic performing techniques and talked about their way of life.
The Kodo Cultural Foundation also invited masters of various traditional arts such as Noh and Kyogen drama and the Tea Ceremony.
Farming this year included planting and harvesting of rice and looking after this year's persimmon crop. Next year's project is to plant, harvest, and learn to prepare for eating soya beans and buckwheat.
Woodworking/tool maintenance included making one's own bamboo chopsticks, drum sticks and even model planes.
The very full daily routine includes getting up at 5:25 (4:50 in summer) and jogging 10km (not so bad when everyone's doing it). Breakfast is followed by house cleaning and drum tightening, then 5 hours training and study follow, broken by lunch. KP duty is done by everyone on a daily rotating basis, so everyone learns to cook. After dinner is free time, usually taken up with individual study and practice.

Voices of the Apprentices
'I found someone new inside me when I took a week long Kodo workshop so I wanted to face that 'new her' directly.' (aged 26, from Aichi prefecture)
'I've met many people since I came here. Some of the apprentices are much older than I. I met all kinds of people at EC and at Kodo Juku. I talked to people whose lives have been totally different from mine. Sometimes I receive letters from those people.' (23, Iwate)
'I came here right after High School. I didn't know anything about social life or manners. After learning Tea Ceremony and talking to local people on various occasions I feel I have grown up a lot.' (20, Kyoto)
'I may be able to drum to some extent but I have found it hard to express my feelings through the drum.' (19, Fukuoka)
'Before I came here I had a job, long holidays and enough income to support myself. I did whatever I wanted and was free. But looking back, I think I was wasting my time. Now I treasure it.' (24, Saitama)