Because of You, I Am.

お陰様で Because of You, I Am.

BECAUSE

OF YOU,

I AM. PHOTOGRAPHS BY DOUG MENUEZ

TAIKO IS A BEACON. IT’S UNABASHED ENERGY THAT’S COMING FROM WITHIN.

— PJ Hirabayashi

Internationally acclaimed artists PJ and Roy Hirabayashi championed taiko drumming as an art form and helped create a new genre of Asian American music. They are part of a handful of Japanese American musicians whose e orts established taiko’s popularity across the US and around the world. And over their 50 years of marriage and musical partnership, taiko became a powerful platform for PJ and Roy to foster Japanese American identity and community, advance social change and to ﬁght racism.

I took these photographs while directing “Because of You, I Am,” a short ﬁlm about PJ and Roy that brings viewers into their lives as musicians, teachers, and activists. Invited by our ﬁlm’s producer, Pear Urushima, to direct this project, I was honored to be trusted and given the access needed. It helped that Pear is a taiko drummer, former student of PJ and Roy’s, and remains close.

As children of Japanese immigrants, PJ and Roy grew up in a virulently anti-Japanese and racist post-World War II California, navigating between cultures to ﬁnd their own identities as Japanese Americans. Once they discovered taiko, they began to incorporate polyrhythms from rock, jazz, and other forms of music. They co-founded San Jose Taiko and began touring nationally and internationally.

In the film, we sense the depth of sacrifice, determination, and grit that PJ and Roy needed to stay true to their beliefs and accomplish their dreams as artists. By pursuing their art in service to their community, they built a meaningful, creatively satisfying life together, as well as a profound legacy. The generations of taiko drummers they influenced continue to bring people together through taiko, spreading their message of peace and tolerance.

What would it take for you to live the life you dream of?

Doug Menuez

WHEN I DISCOVERED TAIKO, I SOON REALIZED THAT IT COULD BE OUR VOICE.

— Roy Hirabayashi

SAN JOSE TAIKO, IN

OUR VERY BEGINNING, WE

REALLY

WANTED TO HAVE ORIGINAL SOUND, ORIGINAL MUSIC.

— PJ Hirabayashi

WHEN WE FIRST STARTED, WE WERE PLAYING FOR FUN. WE DEVELOPED A GROUP INTO AN ENSEMBLE THAT WAS ABLE TO START TOURING NATIONALLY AND EVEN INTERNATIONALLY.

— Roy Hirabayashi

I GUESS WHAT’S IMPORTANT FOR ME IS RESPECT. AND UNDERSTANDING HISTORY.

— Roy Hirabayashi

WHAT’S AT STAKE IS NOT ONLY THE HISTORY OF TAIKO IN AMERICA, BUT THE HISTORY OF JAPANESE AMERICANS IN AMERICA.

— Roy Hirabayashi

THE ANTI-ASIAN HATE CRIMES IN THE COUNTRY REMIND ME OF WHAT HAPPENED TO MY OWN FAMILY. MY PARENTS WERE INTERNED, INCARCERATED DURING WORLD WAR II.

— Roy Hirabayashi

“RACE FOR FREE SPIRIT, A 50 YEAR UPRISING” IS ABOUT BEING AN INDIVIDUAL, STRUGGLING TO BECOME A PERSON OF A COLOR WHILE TRYING TO MAKE A VOICE MUSICALLY, HERE IN OUR COUNTRY.