Ei Ja Nai Ka? means, “Isn’t life good?!” It’s an affirmation that despite disappointments and setbacks, oppression and evil, life is good. Ei Ja Nai Ka is a dance, a song, a chant, and a drumbeat that pays homage to the early Japanese immigrants, who worked and sweated in coal mines, fisheries, and on the railroad as they strove to make a new life in a foreign and often hostile land.

Thanks to the generosity of taiko artist and TaikoPeace director, PJ Hirabayashi, her beloved composition, Ei Ja Nai Ka, is now accessible beyond the taiko community, from California to Japan and Palestine!

I am very honored to be one of PJ’s “TaikoPeace” ambassadors, and would love to bring the vibrancy of taiko to your organization or congregation.

It’s an amazing way to help your group let go of their stress and start flowing with the sound and movement of this easy-to-learn dance!