Six mornings a week in rain or shine, trainees at the Kodo Apprentice Centre on Sado Island, off the coast of Nigata Prefecture, north of Tokyo, get up at dawn to jog up and down hilly rural roads, followed by a ritual cleaning on hands and knees of the building in which they board, a converted schoolhouse with no central heating. They grow much of their own food, carve their chopsticks and drumsticks, and are schooled in tea ceremonies. No computers or phones are permitted, and so their only contact with families and friends off the island is via handwritten letters.

The apprentices have come to this verdant but isolated island in the Japan Sea for just one thing: drumming. For many hours each day the men and women aged 18-25 beat out rhythms on taiko drums, which range in size from lap-based units to shells of about 1.5 metres in diameter.

Taiko drumming dates back to at least the sixth century, it is an enormously physical endeavour. As a group of apprentices work through a routine, they constantly rotate and seamlessly swap roles. Some are seated, some are upright and some clamp their feet into ankle slots, leaning back with their legs stretched and abdominals straining as they pound out blistering rhythms on the biggest drums. As the routine reaches its ear-splitting crescendo, their faces contort and eyes bulge with effort, and they emerge at the end with chests heaving and sweat pouring.

Watch the very impressive Taiko drumming here: