Dragon King Taiko presented by Youth Friendly Wings of Kagawa of Japan in 1981

Dragon King Taiko is a traditional folk activity of Kagawa Prefecture of Japan. There is a river in Kagawa Prefecture. It is said that once upon a time, the river was usually enveloped by fog and harassed by violent storms. Villagers thought that the Dragon King was angry. Thus this river was known as "Dragon River". Since crop harvest relied on the Dragon River, villagers usually convened all sorts of activities to worship the Dragon King. They beat drums, danced and cried praying toward the Dragon King for not striking disasters and endowing people with more bumper harvests. As time goes by, the drum they played started to be known as "Dragon Drum". Today, the Dragon King Taiko has been preserved and carried forth as a cultural heritage of Kagawa Prefecture. Performance of Dragon King Taiko is performed on every festival and sacrificial occasion.