TaikoVentures was founded in 2022 as a response to California’s AB5 legislation, which threatened to disrupt the way many taiko artists, instructors, and organizations worked together. As we worked to navigate those immediate challenges, a bigger question emerged: What if we reimagined the business of taiko?
Rather than starting with a fixed blueprint, we chose to learn by doing. We built an unconventional social enterprise that blended nonprofit values with entrepreneurial thinking, testing new ways to support artists, organizations, and the broader taiko ecosystem. Not every experiment succeeded, and many evolved along the way, but each one taught us something about what it takes to build a more sustainable future.
A taiko vocationist is someone who has chosen taiko as their profession, earning all or part of their livelihood through teaching, performing, organizing, or other taiko-related work.
TaikoVentures pioneered a W-2 employment model that gave independent artists the protections of traditional employment (regular paychecks, tax withholding, workers’ compensation, group health insurance, and a retirement plan), while preserving the flexibility to work with multiple organizations.
Behind the scenes, we managed contracts, invoicing, client payments, liability insurance, and other administrative functions on behalf of vocationists. By centralizing these responsibilities, artists gained access to professional business support and shared resources that reduced overhead and allowed them to devote more time to teaching, performing, and creating.
TaikoVentures was committed to preserving the legacy of the pioneers who established taiko in North America. Through interviews, documentaries, concert recordings, and the LegacyLabs initiative, we documented their stories, celebrated their artistic contributions, and helped ensure that the history, traditions, and values of taiko remain accessible for future generations.
TaikoVentures TV was created to preserve, celebrate, and share the art of taiko with audiences around the world. The streaming platform featured concerts, documentaries, and original content while providing artists and organizations opportunities to reach new audiences and earn revenue from their work.
This work would not have been possible without the vocationists who partnered with us in both practice and experimentation. By opening their businesses and careers to us, they helped transform ideas into real-world learning for the entire taiko community.
Kyle Abbott
Santa Cruz, CA
Russel Baba
Mt. Shasta, CA
Carrie Carter
Tokyo, Japan
Elias Chanteloup
Seattle, WA
Chizuko Endo
Honolulu, HI
Kenny Endo
Honolulu, HI
David Gonzalez
Crockett, CA
Rome Hamner
San Jose, CA
PJ Hirabayashi
San Jose, CA
Roy Hirabayashi
San Jose, CA
Ai Matsuda
Oahu, HI
Jeanne Mercer
Mt. Shasta, CA
Kaz Mogi
Los Angeles, CA
Yeeman “ManMan” Mui
Los Angeles, CA
Walter Nishinaka
Los Angeles, CA
Masumi O’Brien
Ukiah, CA
Stuart Paton
Burlington, VT
Mallory Shiroyama
Sunnyvale, CA
Sydney Shiroyama
Sunnyvale, CA
Gavino Takase-Sanchez
Ojai, CA
Tiffany Tamaribuchi
Sacramento, CA
Seiichi Tanaka
San Francisco, CA
Karen Young
Boston, MA
Over the course of our four years, the following organizations received funding and/or administrative support from TaikoVentures. We sincerely thank them for their partnership and for being part of this shared effort to strengthen the taiko community.
Actually Autistic Artists
Asano Taiko U.S.
Asayake Taiko
Bonbu Stories
Buddhist Churches of America
Burlington Taiko
Evergreen Taiko
Inochi Taiko
Gendo Taiko
Grand Vision Foundation
Great Lakes Taiko Center
kaDON
Kodo Arts Sphere America
Kotobuki Taiko
LA Miyake Kai
Mark H. Rooney Taiko
Makoto Taiko
Matoi No Kai L.A.
Miyako Taiko
Mujo Dream Flight
Portland Taiko
Rhythmic Flow Taiko
Rhythmix Cultural Works
Ryugen Taiko
San Jose Taiko
San Francisco Taiko Dojo
San Jose Taiko
Searchlights
Taiko Center of the Pacific
Taiko Community Alliance
TaikoArts Midwest
TaikoProject
Taiko Taikai
Unit Souzou
Yamatai Taiko
Zenshin Daiko
TaikoVentures founder, Sue Kanagawa Yuen, has reflected on what we learned through four years of experimentation, challenges, and working alongside artists. This five-part blog series shares those lessons.
This team accepted the unique responsibility of guiding the organization through its final chapter. They honored commitments, cared for the community, preserved the work, and helped ensure that the ideas and relationships built over four years would continue beyond TaikoVentures.
TaikoVentures was strengthened by the many talented staff members who contributed throughout its four-year journey. We are grateful for their dedication, creativity, and the lasting impact they had on the taiko community.
Ed Banayat
Grants Assistant
Calvin Chiang
Data Management Administrator
Chris Chung
Fellow
Bennett Elder
Fellow
Loreen Ellsbury
Project Specialist
Min Fruman
Fellow
Elise Fujimoto
Program Specialist
Sarah Gilbert
Operations Specialist
Karl Gorski
Fellow
Yumi Higa
Program Specialist
Yumi Ishihara
Project Manager
Leilani Kanagawa
Fellow
Kade Kaneshiro
Fellow
Hannah Kruz
Intern
Ryan Matsumoto
Intern
Arthur Mok
Videographer
Yeeman “ManMan” Mui
Project Manager
Nikki Myoraku
Salesforce Administrator
Yumi Myoraku
Bookeeper
Walter Nishinaka
Brand Manager
Jade Ogoshi
Project Manager
Emily Otoshi
Intern
Ken Rhee
Facilities Manager
Shaun Riel
Intern
Kimi Sano
Intern
Gabe Selaya
Assistant Instructor
Kikuyo Shaw
Fellow
Jesse Unick
Project Manager
Linda Uyechi
Program Specialist
Heidi Varian
Project Manager
Brandon Villon
Fellow
Our advisors offered wisdom, perspective, and honest feedback that strengthened both our ideas and our decisions. We are grateful for the time and expertise they shared along the way.
Michele Chin-Purcell
Donna Ebata
Michelle Fujii
Elise Fujimoto
Kay Fukumoto
Rome Hamner
Shoji Kameda
Janet Koike
Chris Kubo
Dan Kubo
Trish Kume
Meredith Lee
Ron Miyamura
Kirstin Pauka
Peter Spangler
Wisa Uemura
Jen Weir
Qris Yamashita
Karen Young
We are deeply grateful to our generous donors. Their belief in this work made it possible for us to explore new ideas, support our community, and accomplish far more than we could have on our own.
We would also like to thank our nonprofit fiscal sponsors, Jun Daiko (2023-24) and Social Good Fund (2025-26), whose partnership enabled many of our donors to make tax-deductible contributions.
Please note: We have made every effort to include every donor in this archive. However, there may be inadvertent omissions or inaccuracies. We want to recognize everyone’s contribution, so if you notice an error, please contact us so we can correct it.
Calvin Abe
Kelley Abe
Jill Ackerman
Cindy Ai
Ana Akaosugi
Hideko Akashi
David Alexander
Steve Alexander
Samar Aljishi
Jeffrey Allen
Rising Stars Alumni
J.D. Andrade
Etsuko Angel
Larry & Eileen An-Ho
Nozomi Anzai
Carissa Aoki
Juliana Aoki
Amy Arakaki
Masako Asahina
Russel Baba
HanBin Baik
Nathaniel Bainton
Sarah Bakhiet
Ryan Batche
Yukako Beatty
Jordan Beeston
Julie Bennett
Ellen Bepp
Elizabeth Berg
Kris Bergstrom
Linda Bergstrom
Devin Beringer
Cameron Blakemore
Susan Broder
Anthony Brogna
Cynthia Brown
Kumiko Bruecker
Jennifer Caballero
Kathryn Cabunoc
Erica Caloiero
Pat Calvelo
Adrian Carrera
Audrey Carter
Carrie Carter
Monina Cervone
Kasi Chakravartula
Cheryl Chan
Stephen Chan
Eric Chang
Hwai Chang
Elias Chanteloup
Jason Chanteloup
Chien-Hsun Chen
Kenny Chen
Amy Cheung
Calvin Chiang
Yurika Chiba
Kenneth Chin-Purcell
Michele Chin-Purcell
Marcia Chun
Christy Chung
Cathy Clark
Holly Cluff
Miho Connolly
Gae Conte
Julia Cooke
Malia Cordel
Carol Coroniti
Troy Cruz
Kimie Daikoku
Dominique Danco
Jason Dare
Joseph DelSerra
Stuart Dobbs
Katherine Donaldson
Beth Donegan
Jennifer Dorris
Kara Drapala
Rosalie E Alfonso
Alli Eckardt-Kitani
Bennett Elder
Jess Eldredge
Loreen Ellsbury
Jeff Ellsworth
Chizuko Endo
Doris Endo
Kenny Endo
Sarita Escobar
MacConnell Evans
Christopher Fajardo
Jaye Finley
Jen Firlik
Carol Fishwick
Elaine Fong
Jennifer Fong
Sara Freed
Emma Fujii
Naoko Fujii
Robert Fujii
Atsuko Fujikawa
Keiko Fujimoto
Kay and Ronald Fukumoto
Mitchell Fukumoto and Yuzu Kubota
King Family Charitable Fund
Kelsey Furuta
Margaret Fusari
Jessie Gibbs
Sarah Gilbert
Akiko Gladsjo
Yu Goji
Linda Gonzales
Maria Goodavage
Maria Gordon
Charles and Lynda Gousha
Harry Grabenstein
Kyle Graycar
Tom Graycar
Aaron Gruis
Lindsay Gruis
Sherry Gwegorryn
Ella Halbert
Wendy Hamai
Carolyn Hambleton
Rome Hamner
Lynn Harada
Kenneth Harris
Sara Harris
Joshua Hart
Mayumi Hata
Kazumi Hatano
Kharon Hathaway
Ed Havel
Hiro Hayashida
Daniel Hayman
Ryan Heath
Thomas Helm
Kevin Higa
Eric Higashihara
Nancy Hill
Laura Hirayama
Teri Hirota
Eileen Ho
Holly Hoang
Jennifer Hoenigsberg
Shinobu Homma
Mika Hongo
Valerie Hongoh
Jan Hoshida
Jack Hsiao
Christopher Huynh
Katrina Hwang
Janet Hwu
Chanda Ikeda
Marc Ikeda
Michael Ikeda
Vivian Ikeda
Lori Ikeda-Lowe
Sally Ingalls
Aya Ino
Yuki Inoue-Kim
Dean Inouye
Melvin Inouye
Gabriel Ishida
Lin Ishihara
Yumi Ishihara
Steve Ishii
David Ishimaru
Donna Iwagaki
Jani Jackson
Wendy Jedlicka
Christine Johnson
Craig Johnson
Dana Johnson
Ken Johnson
Andrew Jones
Andy Jones
Nicole Jung-Alexander
Leslie Jungemann
kaDON Team
Sravan Kakani
Yui Kamiya
Kade Kaneshiro
Lei Kaniumoe
Yuta Kato
Kim Kawamura
Julie Kikuchi
EA Killpack
Linda Kimura
Syl King
Abby Kingman
Ami Kinnamon
Kiyono Kishi
Barbara Kitashima
Glenn Kitasoe
Lorrie Kitasoe
Janet Koike
Sachiko Kono
Takeo Koshikawa
Ava Kovlakas
Kelsey Kua
Christine Kubo
Dan Kubo
Duane Kubo
Scott Kujiraoka
Yasuko Kujiraoka
Ji Young Kum
Mariye Kume
Samantha Kume
Trish and Stewart Kume
Gena Kuon
Wanda Kurtcu
Denise Kurushima
Atsushi Kuwabara
Harumi Kuwada
Benoit and Ann Laluc
Leslie Lam
Marialuisa Laughlin
Adela Lee
Bonnie Lee
Edwin Lee
June Lee
Lisa Lee
Lydia Lee
Min Hyung Lee
Paul Lee
Paulina Lee
Vivie Lee
Lieven Leroy
Samuel Leung
Oliver Leung
Alison Li
Ting-Chi Li
Wai Mei Li
Lou Liberty
Lily Lockwood
Melanie Loo
Ryan Lowery
Jessica Lunardini
Yuumi Maeda
Francesca Mahoney
Michelle Makino
Marcy Mamiya
Andrea Mano
Leanne Maru
Kim Masumi
Laura Masunaga
Leslie Masunaga
Ai Matsuda
Kellie Matsudaira
Akemi Matsumoto
Irene Matsumoto
Peter Matsumoto
Robert Matsumoto
Shirley Matsumoto
Patsy Matsushita
Sharon McBride
Rebecca McCartney
Margaret McKenty
Consolin McOsker
Jeanne Mercer
Valerie Mih
Ben Miller
Ryan Mills
Lisa Minakami
Scott Mita
Evelyn Mitarai
Kay Miyamoto
Ronald Miyamura
Jody Miyashiro
Scott Miyashiro
Lorin Mizuiri
Sascha Molina
Nancy Monnat
Laurie Monserrat
Gail Montgomery
Eileen Morgan
Jeffrey and Sandra Mori
Kimberly Morrison
Elena Moschell
Yeeman Mui
Nancy Mullick
Misato Muraoka
Pamela Murotsune
Dennis Murphy
Nikki Myoraku
Yumi Myoraku
Brian Nagata
Michael Naishtut
John Nakagawa
Marian Nakagawa
Dianne Nakanishi
Alina Nakano
Henry Nakata
Tyrone Nakawatase
Mary Neinast
April Nelson
Jade Nelson
Karen Nemsick
Ira Ng
John Nguyen
Jimmy Nguyen
Erika Ninoyu
Gina Nishihara
Victoria Nishikawa
Diane Nishiki
Keith Nishimura
Midori Nishimura
Joanne Nishinaka
Martha Nishinaka
Walter Nishinaka
Wesley Nishinaka
Kendra Nitta
Victor O
Kathy O’Brien
Masumi O’Brien
Marie Ochi-Jacobs
Susan Ogawa
Malia and Jon Ogoshi
Patrick Oiye
Alan Okada
Carley Okamura
Lori Okihara
Lois Okino
Donna Okubo
Daniel Olsen
Jeffrey Onuma
Jon Osaki
Paul Osaki
Kristy Oshiro
Abena Oteng-Agipong
Leeanne Oue
Debbie Oune
Michael Pacelli
Chris Palermino
Pano Papadatos
Gordon Park-Li
Michael Pascua
Benji Pastel
Wenda Paton
Kirstin Pauka
Aria Piekos
Alex Pine
Chizumi Pond
Michael Ponder
Nancy Quan
Ryan Quan
Janice Ransley
Wendy Ransom
Ariel Rassi
Dean Reed
Nik Reed
Kai Retana-Montero
Therese Retherford
Raymond Ricafort
Alexa Riner
Alex Roginski
Mark Rooney
Michael Rosegrant
Jennifer Rosenfeld
Danial Roy
Brandon Ruelos
Emy Sakai
Namiko Sakai
Anna Sakoi
Steve Sano
Valeria Sasaki
Julie Satake Ryu
Momoko Sato
Setsuko Sato
Doug Sawamura
Chris Schilling
Christopher Schulz
Naoko Scott
Gwen Sebay
Lika Seigel
Yucali Seki
Geronimo Serafino
Evelyn Seto
Debbie Shallit
Jeanne Shannon
Kikuyo Shaw
Dane Shepard
Naomi Shibata
Mark Shigenaga
Kiyoshi Shikuma
Stanley Shikuma
Eugene Shin
Lisa Shiota
Sydney Shiroyama
Wendy Sinclair-Smith
Virginia Singleton
Steve Sirch
Barb Skoog
Matt Smith
Miwa Smith
Therese Stephen
Fran Stoddard
Karolyn Stonefelt
Tracy Suchocki
Jushichiro Sudo
Suruki Supermarket
Yuko Suto
Yukari Tagawa
Aiko Tagawa Kimura
Jin Taguchi
Michelle Tai
Melissa Taing
Hisae Takahashi
Jaymie Takeshita
June Takeshita
Alice Talley
Tiffany Tamaribuchi
Hiroshi Tanaka
Lucy Thomas
Neena Tilton
Susan Tom
Tamra Tomlinson
Candice Tong
Tan Tran
Irina Tsekhmistrouk
Victoria Tsou
Gary Tsujimoto
Leanne Tsutsumi
Lydia Turner
Karin Ueno
Linda Uyechi
Naoaki Uyemura
Emma Valentine
Heidi Varian
Melanie Veale
Brandon Villon
Argean Vokes
Gregory Wada
Jennifer Wada
Mary Jo Wade
Teresa Wagner
Patrick Wai
Wadaikokai Wakodaiko
Diane Walder
Yuka Walton
Charles Wang
Pamela Warrior
Laureen Watanabe
Jennifer Watkins
Wanda Welbourn
Tove Wilde
Christine Wilkinson
Ralph Womack
Frances Wong
KA Wong
Katherine Wong
Keith Wong
Kristine Wong
Lynette Wong
Ash Woods
Kohtaro Yamakawa
Sarah Yamamoto
Ann Yamane
Vickie Yamaoka
Carla Yamashiro
Qris Yamashita
Karyn Yamate
Joyce Yang
Lovelle Yano
Barbara Yasui
Sophie Ye
Cheryl Yee
Salina Yip
Marla Yonamine
Angie Yuen
Raymond Yuen
Sasha Yuen
Sue Yuen
Victoria Zhang
Please consider supporting TaikoVentures in providing steady income, administrative support, and a pathway to sustainable careers in taiko.
