The word taiko means large drum.
Nobody really knows when it was introduced to Japan.
It probably came over with the migration of people from mainland Asia. It is known that the barrel- shaped body originally came from India through China, Mongolia, Southeast Asia and Korea. The inside cavity is shaped like a ball with the two ends cut off. The hitting surface is cow skin, specially processed and skinned to remove the hair. It is then soaked in water and stretched by extreme pressure over the ends and attached by large headed tacks.