San Jose Taiko

What San Jose Taiko does

San Jose Taiko is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit performing arts organization founded in 1973 in San Jose, California, specializing in contemporary taiko (Japanese ensemble drumming). As the third taiko group formed outside Japan and a recognized pioneer of the art form in North America, the organization delivers professional concert performances, school assembly and residency programs, corporate and private event performances, and the critically noted immersive theater production Swingposium (which combines taiko, jazz, swing dance, and theater to tell the history of Japanese American WWII internment). Its core methodology is grounded in the Four Principles philosophy (Attitude, Kata, Musical Technique, Ki), which has been adopted by taiko groups worldwide.

The business operates a diversified revenue model spanning five primary streams: performance fees from concerts, corporate events, and private celebrations (160+ events annually); educational programs including 45-minute school assemblies and 3-7 day tour residencies reaching 20,000+ students annually; ticketed Swingposium immersive theater performances; donations and fundraising through the Champions program ($2,500+ annual contributions) and a Donorbox-powered online giving platform; and conservatory tuition and workshops through the San Jose Taiko Conservatory sub-brand. Distribution is multi-channel: direct bookings via the SJT office, exclusive US touring representation through Siegel Artist Management, and a Conservatory-direct channel for classes and corporate teambuilding.

The organization serves corporate clients across technology, retail, sports, and entertainment (including Google, Apple, Cisco, Hewlett Packard, Sony, Gap, Uniqlo, Golden State Warriors, San Jose Sharks, and San Francisco Giants); K-12 and higher education institutions nationally; festival and community event organizers; and individual private event clients. Founders Roy and PJ Hirabayashi were named 2011 NEA National Heritage Fellows, and the organization was only the second North American taiko group to receive Japan's Foreign Minister's Commendation (2010). The organization reaches 75,000+ audience members annually and has helped nurture an ecosystem of 500+ taiko groups across North America.

Name

San Jose Taiko

Legal name

San Jose Taiko

Website

https://taiko.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1973

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

San Jose Taiko is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit performing arts organization founded in 1973 that delivers professional taiko (Japanese drumming) performances, the Swingposium immersive theater production, school assembly and residency programs reaching 20,000+ students annually, and conservatory classes, serving corporate, educational, festival, and community audiences across the US.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Performing Arts

NAICS

Musical Groups and Artists (711130), Dance Companies (711120), Sports and Recreation Instruction (611620)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Cultural Centers & Community Cultural Organizations (BPAGAHAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Cultural Festivals & Events Organizations (BPAGAHAG), Community Music & Dance Festivals (Non-Commercial/Local) (MPAGAEAH), Music Camps (Band, Choir, Instrument Intensive) (EDAMALAJ)

Keywords

• Taiko performances
• Japanese drumming
• Cultural arts education
• Performing arts ensemble
• Community workshops

Headquarters

HQ city

San Jose

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Performance Fees: Revenue from concerts, corporate events, private events (weddings, birthdays, anniversaries), and festival performances. Venues range from small stages to large theaters at schools, colleges, and performing arts centers. SJT performs over 160 events annually.
2. Educational Programs: School assembly programs for all grade levels, reaching over 20,000 students annually. Programs include 45-minute school performances with travel fees for locations beyond Santa Clara County, plus tour residencies lasting 3-7 days with master classes.
3. Swingposium Ticketed Events: Ticketed immersive theater performances combining taiko, jazz, swing dance and theater. Swingposium Hawaii tour featured sold-out shows in Maui, Hilo, and Honolulu.
4. Donations and Fundraising: Annual Champions program requiring $2,500+ contributions with special privileges. One-time donations, monthly donations, employer matching programs, and donor-advised fund donations through Fidelity Charitable, Schwab Charitable, and BNY Mellon. SJT is a registered 501(c)(3) charitable organization.
5. Conservatory Programs: Revenue from Junior Taiko program, Adult Recreational Classes, Public and Corporate Workshops, Taiko Intensives, and Master Classes through the San Jose Taiko Conservatory (taikoconservatory.org).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

San Jose Taiko is a Japanese taiko drumming ensemble that delivers live performances, educational workshops, and community cultural programming. The organization produces concerts and participates in festivals, while also offering instructional classes and artist-in-residence experiences for schools and community groups.

Product overview

San Jose Taiko is a performing arts organization offering taiko (Japanese drumming) performances, education, and community programs. The core offering consists of professional concert performances featuring synchronized choreography and eclectic musicality, alongside the acclaimed immersive theater production 'Swingposium' that combines taiko, jazz, swing dance, and theatre. The organization operates the San Jose Taiko Conservatory, which encompasses educational programs including School Assembly Programs, Junior Taiko Program, Adult Recreational Class, Public & Corporate Workshops, and the annual Collegiate Taiko Intensive. Additional offerings include Tour Residencies, Corporate & Private Events, and the Taiko for All program for special needs communities. The organization also maintains a donor engagement program (Champions) and accepts online donations through Donorbox. As a 501(c)(3) charitable organization founded in 1973, SJT reaches over 75,000 audience members annually and has been instrumental in establishing taiko as a recognized art form in North America.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Swingposium: An acclaimed immersive theater production combining taiko, jazz, swing dance, and immersive theatre that tells the hidden history of Japanese Americans maintaining morale in WWII Internment Camps through swing dances.
• San Jose Taiko Conservatory
• Rhythm Journey Tour

Products and services

• Taiko Live Performances Live Japanese taiko drumming performances delivered at festivals, cultural events, schools, and community gatherings for general audiences and event organizers.
• Taiko Workshops and Classes Instructional taiko drumming classes and workshops for students, community members, and groups interested in learning Japanese percussion.
• Artist-in-Residence Programs Extended residency programs in which the ensemble provides immersive taiko performance and instruction at schools or community organizations.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reaches 75,000+ audience members annually
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Siegel Artist ManagementcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorExclusive US representation for San Jose Taiko bookings. Regional managers cover Mid-Atlantic/South, Midwest/Mid-America, New England, and Mid-America/West regions. Contact: www.siegelartist.com, 570-258-5700. Handles Rhythm Journey Tour bookings.
• Epic ImmersivecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-created Swingposium production with San Jose Taiko and Wesley Jazz Ensemble. Epic Immersive provides immersive theater expertise for the production about Japanese American WWII internment camps. Steve Boyle serves as Director.
• Wesley Jazz EnsemblecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey collaborator in Swingposium production. Led by Wayne Adachi. The ensemble provides big band music for the immersive theater experience about swing dancing in WWII internment camps.
• Stanford University Asian American Studies ProgrammajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost institution for Swingposium Stanford performance. Supported the production through the Asian American Studies Program.
• East-West CentermajorGTM or Marketing PartnerSponsor of Swingposium Honolulu production. Supports cross-cultural understanding and Asian American community programs.
• The BangerzminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration (Ji: A Common Pulse) with this artistic group.
• ASWAT EnsembleminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration including collaborative piece with Geoff Noone (Echoes Into The Future).
• Abhinaya Dance CompanyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPast collaboration including 'Synergy' (2011 Isadora Duncan Dance Award for Outstanding Achievement in Music/Sound/Text).
• American Conservatory TheatreminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPast collaboration in performing arts.
• San Jose Repertory TheatreminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPast collaboration in performing arts.
• KodominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRoy Hirabayashi toured with Kodo. Historical collaboration between the pioneering groups.
• OndekozaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRoy Hirabayashi toured with Ondekoza. Historical collaboration between pioneering groups.
• Maui TaikominorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTaiko extras from Maui Taiko participated in Swingposium Maui. Mitchell Fukumoto began playing taiko at age 3 with Maui Taiko.
• Japanese Cultural Center of HawaiiminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSpecial thanks for Swingposium Hawaii tour, supporting Japanese American cultural preservation.
• Taiko Center of the PacificminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSpecial thanks for Swingposium Honolulu, supporting the production.
• Humboldt State UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJazz Orchestra (Music Director Dan Aldag) performed for Swingposium Humboldt. University departments including Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Library supported the production.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Ondekoza: Japanese taiko group founded in 1969 by Tagayasu Den where Roy Hirabayashi trained. Founding-era pioneering taiko performance organization whose choreography and philosophy directly influenced the entire North American taiko movement, including SJT, making it a foundational artistic peer.
• Stomp: Percussion-driven theatrical ensemble that tours globally with corporate-event and theatrical bookings. Same business model as SJT — earned revenue from live performances at festivals, corporate functions, and touring residencies — using a distinctive percussion-focused artistic identity rather than music-only shows.
• Pilobolus: Dance and physical-performance ensemble that combines movement, music, and theatrical innovation for corporate events, festivals, and touring shows. Directly comparable as a "physical-performance" touring company serving both corporate event buyers and educational markets.
• Blue Man Group: Live performing-arts ensemble using percussion and visual art as its medium, with significant corporate-event and touring revenue. Same customer base (enterprise events, private functions, family entertainment) as SJT, and a similar mix of earned performance revenue plus ancillary programming (exhibits, education).
• Mark Morris Dance Group: Nonprofit dance company combining touring performances with extensive education and community programs — the same hybrid revenue model (performance fees + grants + education tuition) and 501(c)(3) structure that SJT uses. Strongest comparable in scale, program mix, and institutional set-up.
• Maui Taiko: Hawaii-based taiko ensemble with deep ties to SJT through Swingposium collaborations and alumni exchange (Mitchell Fukumoto joined SJT from Maui Taiko). Regional peer with overlapping repertoire, customer base, and donor network in Hawaii.
• Kodo: Japanese taiko ensemble founded in 1971 on Sado Island; world-renowned touring percussion performance group. Co-founder Roy Hirabayashi toured with Kodo, and they are the most direct peer — same art form, same founding-era influence on global taiko, similar touring-performing model that places the group at corporate and festival venues.
• Epic Immersive: Strategic collaborator that co-created Swingposium and operates large-scale immersive theatrical productions in the Bay Area. Operational peer as an immersive theater producer that partners with performing ensembles, sharing production economics and audience-development model.
• Stanford Taiko: Collegiate taiko ensemble at Stanford University that serves as a launchpad for the North American taiko talent pipeline — SJT Executive Director Wisa Uemura started at Stanford Taiko. Direct peer in the North American taiko ecosystem that SJT helped cultivate, comparable in repertoire and audience.

Broad incumbents

• Cirque du Soleil: Global leader in live touring performing arts with corporate entertainment, residency, and show-licensing revenue. Broader incumbent in the live-events performing-arts space, with the same kind of corporate engagement and touring economics as SJT, but at materially larger scale and with broader audience appeal.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/sjtaiko
• Instagraminstagram.com/sanjosetaiko
• Xx.com/sanjosetaiko
• Facebookfacebook.com/sanjosetaiko
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/san-jose-taiko

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about San Jose Taiko