Bachi

Batchi (also bachi or buchi) is the name for the wooden sticks used to play taiko drums. Batchi are made in a wide variety of sizes and materials, as appropriate to the drum it will be used to play. A typical batchi is about 7/8” in diameter, 16 inches long and made out of a hardwood such as oak. These would be suitable for a wide variety of playing styles.

A batchi for playing a larger drum like the O-daiko would be bigger both in circumference and length. Similarly, smaller batchi are used for smaller drums.

Some other woods commonly used to make batchi are: maple (kaede), pine (matsu), cypress (hinoki), magnolia (hoo), beech (buna) and bamboo (take). – (Japanese names in parentheses)

Taiko drumming is a highly visual art form, so it is not surprising that batchi are sometimes decorated with bells and/or tassels for use during performance.