‘Drum and Fun’ all day long, ‘Taiko no Tatsujin – The Drum Master’ is a joyous Japanese drumming game and arcade activity developed by Bandai Namco (also famous for their cool gachapon toys) that is popular worldwide, both in arcades and home consoles.
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A Japanese video game with real rhythm, no trip to a Japan video game arcade is complete with picking up the bashi drumsticks and playing a round of ‘Taiko no Tatsujin’ either solo or in two player mode. You can really become the Drum Master!
The Taiko no Tatsujin games are common and easy to find in Japan – just follow the sound of intense drumming and laughter and make sure you ‘Beat It’.
From how to play to drumming championships and home entertainment versions, here is our guide to the cult of Taiko no Tatsujin drum ‘n fun arcade machines (with photos).
This article was originally published on 13 March 2024.
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What is the Japanese drumming game – Taiko no Tatsujin?
Taiko no Tatsujin (The Drum Master) is an arcade game developed by Bandai Namco that combines the playing of a traditional Japanese drum (taiko) with a video game.
Your drum beats have to match the game-play and rhythms on the screen at a fast and furious pace.
There are over 70 background tracks to choose from on the arcade versions and it is also quite a fun way to keep-fit, with cute kawaii drum characters, each with their own personality.
Such is the cult of Taiko no Tatsujin in Japan, there have even been collaborations with the likes of Super Mario, Studio Ghibli and Doraemon.
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The basic Taiko no Tatsujin drumming game set-up
Each ‘Taiko no Tatsuji’ drum machine arcade game consists of two screens, two taiko drums plus two pairs of drum sticks (bachi sticks).
Up to two players can play at any one time (so you can see who really is the Drum Master with better rhythm skills) – or you can play solo.
There are different skill / difficulty settings on Taiko no Tatsujin – easy, medium, hard or ‘oni’ (extreme difficulty).
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Taiko no Tatsujin game characters.
There are several drum characters in the Japanese drumming game – the cute red drum character is Don Wada (or Don Chan) who has a drum brother called Katsu Wada with a blue face.
Don’s love interest is Donko the Drum – you’ll see all the Taiko no Tatsujin anime characters as you play the game.
Such is the Taiko no Tatsujin character’s popularity, they even have their own TV cartoon anime series shorts in Japan plus their own YouTube channel.
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How to play the drum master Taiko no Tatsujin
We like Taiko no Tatsujin as it is so easy to play and you don’t need to be a good drummer to get into it (dare we say it is also a bit more fun after a few beers beforehand?)
To play, hit the drum following the musical notes on the screen, keeping to the same rhythm.
You clear / complete the game if your ‘Soul Gauge’ reaches the clear line when the game ends.
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Drum master musical notes
The different characters, faces and colours on the screen dictate what drumming action you need to take.
The red drum (Don Wada character) means you need to hit the surface of the taiko drum with your drumsticks.
The blue drum (Katsu Wada character) means you need to hit the rim of the drum.
The longer yellow drum icon means you need to do a fast drum-roll on the surface or rim.
The Taiko no Tatsujin drumming actions and icons can be seen in the photo below and a full list of icons can be found on their official site.
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How old is Taiko no Tatsujin: The drum master in Japan?
Drum-roll please – Taiko no Tatsujin is soon to celebrate its 25th anniversary in Japan (in 2026).
The very first Taiko no Tatsujin drum machine was launched to the Japanese game-playing public in early 2001.
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Taiko no Tatsujin World Championships Japanese drumming game
We’ve seen the arcade machines across Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, London and more. Such is the worldwide popularity of Taiko no Tatsujin, there are annual Taiko no Tatsujin world championships!
The 2025 Taiko no Tatsujin WORLD SCORE ATTACK @ONLINE is a global online competition and takes place from 20 October 2025 until 8 December 2025.
According to the official website it is a score-attack style tournament, where players compete for the highest score on selected “challenge songs.”
So make sure to drum up some courage and take part in 2025!
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Choosing your music
One of the things that casual drummers and hardened gamers love about the drumming machine is the soundtrack selection and music available to drum to.
There are around 70 tracks you can choose to drum to from techno and J-Pop songs to the likes of international artists like Billie Eilish.
Popular themes and songs to choose from include ‘Into the Night’, Homura, MEGALOVANIA and the ‘Mixed Nuts’ Spy X Family’ opening theme tune.
Our personal favourite drumming ditty is ‘Monster’ by Yoasobi – we can drum all night to this!
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How much does a game of Taiko no Tatsujin Japanese drumming game usually cost?
Obviously it depends (and it costs more in bigger, better and flashier arcades), but a Taiko no Tatsujin arcade game in Japan typically costs 100 Yen upwards per person, as of 2025.
100 Yen is the equivalent of £0.50 / $0.66 USD / 0.60 Euros.
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Taiko no Tatsujin drumming gachapon and plushies
Such is the cult of and popularity of Taiko no Tatsujin Drumming in Japan, you can even buy Taiko no Tatsujin Drumming gachapon toys and win plushie toys in claw machines!
Their range of gachapon toys are widely available across many gachapon stores in Japan and include toy versions of the Don Wada and Don Katsu drum characters.
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Playing Taiko no Tatsujin at home
Although it is fun to play the drumming game in arcades or watch drummers in the wild, such is the popularity of Taiko no Tatsujin that you can now play it at home on gaming consoles such as Nintendo Switch.
It was first released as a play at home version on the Playstation 2 in 2002.
Versions are also available on games consoles such as Nintendo Wii, Playstation, X-Box plus mobile versions.
So you can play Taiko no Tatsujin pretty much anywhere. But nothing beats the drumming noise and arcade atmosphere of a games hall in Japan – because things are always better when travelling in Japan!
Other things to know about Taiko no Tatsujin
- There is an official Taiko no Tatsujin Facebook page plus a Taiko Fandom Wiki page.
- Taiko no Tatsujin often does collaborations with other popular cartoon characters such as Hello Kitty, Doraemon, Kirby, Studio Ghibli, Pokemon, Ultraman and Mario Kart.
- There is a Taiko no Tatsujin cartoon series.
- Game fans and enthusiasts who play the drumming machines regularly can buy their own Taiko no Tatsujin official Bachi taiko drumming sticks in different colours -’beat’ that!
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