Seiichi Tanaka is the first Japan-trained teacher of kumidaiko, or taiko

Taiko

means "drum" in Japanese . Outside Japan, the word is often used to refer to any of the various Japanese drums and to the relatively recent art-form of ensemble taiko drumming...

, in the United States and largely regarded as the father of the art form in North America. He is the founder of San Francisco Taiko Dojo and a recipient of a 2001 National Heritage Fellowship

National Heritage Fellowship

The National Heritage Fellowship is a lifetime honor presented to master folk and traditional artists by the National Endowment for the Arts. Similar to Japan's Living National Treasure award, the Fellowship is the United States' highest honor in the folk and traditional arts...

 awarded by the National Endowment for the Arts

National Endowment for the Arts

The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...

.

Tanaka was born in Tokyo, Japan in 1943 and immigrated to the United States in 1967.
He returned to Japan to study the art of kumidaiko with Daihachi Oguchi

Daihachi Oguchi

was a Japanese drummer best known for popularizing taiko.Master Japanese drummer Daihachi Oguchi is credited with inventing kumi-daiko, the taiko ensemble, in 1951...

 in Nagano prefecture, Japan, with Susumu Kowase of Oedo Sukeroku Taiko in Tokyo, and Shosaku Ikeda, of Gojinjo Taiko.

Tanaka's former students, Kenny Endo

Kenny Endo

Kenny Endo is an American musician and taiko master. He is the leader of several taiko ensembles and regularly tours, performing traditional and contemporary taiko music. Endo is also the first non-Japanese national to receive a natori in the field of hogaku hayashi, Japanese classical drumming...

, Russel Baba, Jeanne Mercer, and Tiffany Tamaribuchi, are prominent taiko performers, leaders of their own groups, and teachers of kumidaiko in North America, prompting him to remark, when receiving the 2001 NEA Award, that he "should be known as the grandfather of taiko".

Tanaka and San Francisco Taiko Dojo host an annual International Taiko Festival at Zellerbach Hall

Zellerbach Hall

Zellerbach Hall is a multi venue performance facility on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley. It was designed by architect and professor Vernon DeMars and completed in 1968...

 on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley

University of California, Berkeley

The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...

. His performance credits include work on the soundtrack for The Right Stuff and an appearance playing his signature piece, Tsunami, on Rising Sun

Rising Sun (film)

Rising Sun is a [1993 film directed by Philip Kaufman, starring Sean Connery , Wesley Snipes, Harvey Keitel, and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa...

.

In April 2005, Tanaka and San Francisco Taiko Dojo were the subject of a public television segment that aired on KQED public television.