This is a piece for 4 Japanese taiko drums. It is named after the Uto area of Japan, where there is a Taiko festival and where the commission came from.
As it was first time for me to write for Japanese Taiko drums, I naturally researched the instruments but I also researched the culture of the area. I was particularly interested that they seem to have a traditional taiko piece for rain. I was not inspired by the actual music itself, but more interested in the fact that they have a piece for seeking rain (perhaps from heaven?) for their crops, I imagine. The middle section of the piece is the "rain" section for me.
Dai Fujikura