Hometown of ZA ONDEKOZA is the city of Mt.fuji in Shizuoka.
They subjects themselves to the discipline which spontaneously generated from their group living and perform all over the world as “Fuji no yama ONDEKOZA.”
ZA ONDEKOZA was conceived by director Tagayasu Den, and organized on Sado Island in 1969.
In 1975 youngsters shocked their audience when they jumped on stage for its debut performance just after running the Boston Marathon.
Their Taiko drum stage, including collaboration with Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Mr. Seiji Ozawa in 1976, have overwhelmed their audience and been acclaimed.
Performance of ZA ONDEKOZA is based on the logic “Sogakuron”, “Running” and “ Music” are one, and it is a reflection of the drama and energy of life. ONDEKOZA’s unprecedented running tour, beginning in 1990 at Carnegie Hall in N.Y., was a compilation of its thought. Until the returning memorial concert at Carnegie hall in Nov. 12, 1993, 355 performances through running 1,071days and 14,910 km were done.
After performing at opening ceremony of the Paralympics Nagano in 1998, a new running tour “long Journey” (12,500km) in China began in April, looking for completion before the 2010 Shanghai EXPO.
For the memorial of Mr. Tagayasu Den who past away on the 11th of April, 2001.
ZA ONDEKOZA held the first Marathon Live Tour in Japan, running about 600km from Sado Island to Fuji and had three memorial concerts during the tour in Spring, 2002.
Collaborating performance with would-famous female percussionist Evelyn Glennie in 2003 winter is included in the documentary film “Touch the sound – The Rhythms of Evelyn Glennie ” produced by German movie director Thomas Riedelsheimer and came out in 2004.
In 2004 ZA ONDEKOZA went back to Boston Marathon where they debuted in 1975 and ran 1,200km spending about 1 and a half months from April to June, 2005 by "Taiwanese marathon live tour" in Taiwan, and performed in various places and performed from January to February, 2006 to the EU tour (14 time performance) in the Croatia, Italy, Switzerland, and Germany.
Running, Beating, and Dancing on the earth.
Their challenge still continues for the 21st century.