Taiko is the Japanese word for any drum, but outside Japan it usually means the large wadaiko drums and the ensemble style called kumi-daiko. Historical records and archaeology suggest drums reached Japan through Chinese and Korean influence by the 6th century, and clay figures from the Kofun period show them. Their uses have ranged from signalling and military action to theatre and religious ceremony. In 1951 Daihachi Oguchi developed kumi-daiko as an ensemble, and the group Ondekoza popularised it in 1961, with many groups now active worldwide.

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.