Meet Walter Nishinaka | Taiko Vocationist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Walter Nishinaka and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Walter, what do you attribute your success to?
The most important factors to my success is treating everyone equally, not being afraid to speak your mind, being able to stick to your beliefs, and just being a good person.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I am a full time Taiko Vocationist. I teach, perform, and MC taiko events. Taiko is the art of Japanese drumming. I started in 1996 when I was four years old. After high school I spent a short time in Japan where I trained a bit. After coming back to LA I started working on solo and collaborative projects with various taiko groups and cultural performing artists. In 2021 I started my own in Little Tokyo, Los Angeles with my friend Maceo Hernandez. In 2023 I started two more groups that I currently teach and perform with.
Choosing to make taiko my full time job was not easy. I knew that I would have to hustle more than your regular office worker, and know that there’s going to be times where you feel like it’s impossible. Luckily for me I had family and friends by my side pushing me to success. Some of the lessons I learned along the way are simple: be nice to everyone, stay true to your beliefs, don’t be afraid to mess up, and it’s okay to be the loudest person in a room sometimes.
Taiko is what I do and it’s what I love. If I could inspire someone to have interest in taiko, I’m doing my job.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I was born and raised in Highland Park, Los Angeles. I spend most of my time in my Little Tokyo community.
If my friends were coming for a week I’d break it down like this:
Places to go- Dodger Stadium, BMO Stadium, Little Tokyo, Malibu, Santa Monica, and Venice Beach.
Food- tacos in East LA, Tommy’s on Rampart, Tenshin Chahan at Kouraku in Little Tokyo, and Hop Woo in Chinatown,

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Too many people and groups to thank! My family who have supported everything I do, my soon to be wife Jaymie who is my biggest supporter and best friend, all the amazing artists who I’ve worked with, my taiko groups who have put their trust in me to lead them.

Mentors and organizations: my karate sensei Art Ishii, my taiko brother Maceo Hernandez, The Nisei Week Foundation, the 3252, Taiko Ventures, Asano Taiko U.S., KaDON, Kyo no Kai.

Website: www.walternishinaka.com

Instagram: taiko_walt, jtowntaikoclub, la_taiko_collective

Facebook: Walter Nishinaka

Image Credits
Arthur Mok Ayame Nishinaka Orlans Albert Lien Marc Amba