Unit Souzou

‘Souzou’ can be written in three ways meaning ‘creation’ (創造), ‘imagination’ (想像), or ‘noisy’ (騒々), alluding to a force by which new ideas are born and take shape in the world. Inspired by these words, the mission of Unit Souzou is to build creative, imaginative works while honoring the history and roots of the taiko art form. The core of Unit Souzou’s artistic voice is personal and authentic, sound shaped and inspired by form and by movement. The essence of Unit Souzou is an expressive blend of taiko and Japanese folk dance, forging new traditions for evolving communities. In addition to creating groundbreaking professional theatrical works, Unit Souzou is deeply committed to share taiko through community performances and collaborations, public classes for adults and youth, and school-based education programs.

Unit Souzou was founded in 2014 by Co-directors Michelle Fujii and Toru Watanabe, relentless innovators at the forefront of a growing artistic movement within the taiko community. Fujii and Watanabe met at Warabi-za, Japan’s foremost traditional folk dance troupe based in Akita, Northern Japan. They have been guest artists and collaborators with many North American and international taiko groups.

Unit Souzou has received support from Regional Arts & Culture Council and the National Performance Network (NPN) Creation and Development Fund, and was a featured showcase performer at NPN’s 2015 Annual Meeting. Unit Souzou has toured throughout the United States including Oregon, Washington, California, Montana, Wyoming, Minnesota and Washington DC, performing professional theatrical work and teaching taiko workshops. They were founding teaching artists with the Right Brain Initiative and are on the teaching artist roster with Young Audiences of Oregon & SW Washington.