Roy Hirabayashi

Co-founder

Roy Hirabayashi has been playing taiko and shinobue since 1973 and is one of the original founders of SJT. He has led master classes and workshops throughout the country, composed original works for SJT and other taiko groups, toured with Kodo and Ondekoza, and performed with various jazz musicians, dancers, actors, and performance artists.

Roy is the chairperson of the Executive Committee of the North American Taiko Conference and has been a judge for the International Taiko Contest in Tokyo, Japan. Roy is one of the founders of 1stACT, and is an American Leadership Forum Senior Fellow and Asian Pacific American Leadership Institute Senior Fellow.

He is on the boards of First Voice, Japanese Community Congress of San Jose, and Artsopolis. Roy, along with his wife PJ, received the 2011 National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowship Award for their lifelong contributions to the art form of North American taiko. Roy is a native of Oakland, California.