First Lady gets into the groove in Kyoto
Print Edition
UNITED States First Lady Michelle Obama beat the drum for Japan yesterday — literally — as she tried her hand at traditional taiko drumming in the historic tourist hotspot of Kyoto.
Winding up her three-day stay in the country, she picked up the cosh-like sticks players use to hit the huge drums in complex but hypnotic rhythms.
Michelle appeared to be having a great time as she thumped the ancient drums and blew a whistle alongside high school students in a performance at Fushimi Inari Taisha.
The 1,300-year-old shrine, one of the most important in Japan’s native Shinto religion, is famed for having 10,000 torii gates. Passing through the gates is supposed to help wishes come true.
She earlier visited the 1,200-year-old Kiyomizu Buddhist temple, a stunning UNESCO World Heritage wooden structure set in the hills around Japan’s ancient capital.
Escorted by the chief monk and accompanied by US Ambassador to Japan Caroline Kennedy, she watched “Noh,” a form of classical Japanese musical drama.
Michelle was in Japan to launch the “Let Girls Learn” program, which helps to get girls around the world into school. Tokyo and Washington are both big donors.
On Thursday, she addressed an audience of women in Tokyo, where she spoke of the value of education and the “crisis” of 62 million girls globally who are being denied an education.
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