Join session facilitators PJ & Roy Hirabayashi to share your reactions, comments, and insights sparked by the film “Because of You, I Am” that will be shown at the conference’s plenary session.
Film synopsis:
Because of You, I Am is a short 30-minute documentary film about PJ & Roy Hirabayashi, two quietly radical Japanese American taiko drummers who defied traditional cultural expectations in their quest for identity and purpose. Together, they spent over five decades using the drum as a platform to catalyze social change, build community from the ground up, and champion a new category of Asian American music despite facing the unrelenting challenges of anti-Asian hate, racial injustice, and cultural appropriation.
“Because of You, I Am” websitePJRoyTaiko websiteThe dialogue in this session is intended to be an inflection point for continued contemplation, self/group inquiry, and action with regards to “why” you play taiko, “how” your taiko playing can be a deeper expression of intention, and reimagining “what” your commitment is to the taiko art form in light of this conversation.
