Finding Rhythm and Building Community: Alex Pine's Taiko Journey in Maine
In Portland, Maine, the steady rhythm of a Taiko drum echoes across the community, calling together a group of drummers in Maine from all walks of life. Some are Japanese-born Mainers, some are Japanese Americans, others are simply drawn to the heartbeat of the Japanese culture that pulses through the music. At the center of this community is Alex Pine, whose journey with Taiko is deeply intertwined with their family’s past and their search for a Japanese community in Maine.
Alex Pine
Alex’s family history is like many Japanese Americans. Their mother’s side of the family came to the United States from Japan in the early 1900s. “My grandmother’s parents weren’t the typical Japanese immigrants," noting that their great grandparents were college-educated, a rarity at the time. That legacy, however, came with hardship, due to the discriminatory policies towards Asian immigrants in the U.S. at the time. During World War II, Alex’s ancestors were incarcerated in the internment camps because of their Japanese heritage. This injustice helped spark the Asian American Movement—a wave within the broader civil rights movement of political and cultural awakening around issues that affected Asian Americans. “It was my mom’s generation, the sansei (the third generation), that really pushed for greater recognition of Japanese American issues” says Alex.
“The first Taiko group in the US, San Francisco Taiko Dojo, was founded in the late 1960s by Grandmaster Seiichi Tanaka. Tanaka Sensei was originally from Japan, but his work inspired many Japanese Americans, people from my mom’s generation, to start their own Taiko groups.” Alex explained. “Many of the members of these early groups used taiko as a way to explore their identity and find their voice as Japanese Americans.”
Alex grew up in Torrance, a diverse Los Angeles suburb with an active Japanese and Japanese American population. Taiko often played a part in community celebrations but they never imagined playing it themself. “Playing music doesn’t come easy to me,” they said. It wasn’t until they moved to Maine for college, and later settled in Portland, that they reconnected with the rhythms of their childhood.
Alex (third from left) with fellow members of Taiko Maine Dojo
In 2014, searching for a sense of the Japanese community in Maine, Alex attended an Oshogatsu, a Japanese New year celebration hosted by the now defunct Japan America Society of Maine. There, they saw a small Taiko group performing. Among them were familiar Maine-Japan faces like Atchan the fish seller and Toshi the car mechanic. “I thought, ‘Hey, I could do Taiko in a group like this,’” Alex said. And so they began. Spring of 2015 marked the start of their Taiko journey. Since then, the Portland-based Taiko Maine Dojo has grown to a vibrant group of 9 to 10 active members and Alex has become the leader after the retirement of the group’s founder, Liz Berg . “We’re certainly not perfect, nor are we a professional group,” Alex said, “but we enjoy it and have fun.”
Alex at one of the Taiko events in Maine
Furthermore, their vision of community didn’t stop with Taiko. Alongside Yuko Handa, Alex co-started a new Maine-Japan initiative, with a new vision that strives to bring together Japan-affiliated individuals across the state. Drawing on their experience as a board member of the previous Japan Society of Maine, Alex helped shape the Japanese Cultural Association of Maine with an open, inclusive, and community-rooted vision. Whether through the echo of a drum or a grassroots cultural gathering, Alex Pine’s Maine-Japan story really reflects how one’s identity is not simply static; instead, it’s built with one connection at a time. As the Maine-Japan community grows, they will continue to lead Taiko Maine Dojo with humility, joy, and a deep belief in the power of gathering.
Find out more about Alex and Taiko Maine Dojo at:
https://www.facebook.com/taikomaine/
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