Kodo formed in 1981 on Sado Island, off Japan's northwest coast, from members of the earlier taiko group Ondekoza. When Ondekoza's leader, Den Tagayasu, departed and retained that group's name, the remaining members needed a new one. Performer Eitetsu Hayashi — who went on to his own solo career — suggested Kodō, a name carrying a deliberate double meaning: "drum children" and "heartbeat."

The group debuted internationally at the Berliner Philharmonie in Berlin that same year, and spent the following seven years touring Europe, Japan, and the Americas before establishing a permanent base, Kodō Village, in Ogi on Sado Island's southern coast, completed by 1992. Since then, the ensemble has maintained a deliberately balanced yearly schedule: roughly a third of the year overseas, a third touring Japan, and a third on Sado Island developing new material.

That rhythm has produced nearly 4,000 performances since 1981, including three sold-out shows at the 1984 Olympic Arts Festival in Los Angeles and contributions to Hollywood film soundtracks, including Hard Target (1993) and The Hunted (1995). The group also founded and continues to run the annual Earth Celebration arts festival on Sado Island, bringing international musicians together for performance and cultural exchange. Awards include the MIDEM Music Video Award (1994) and the Matsuo Performing Arts Award (2012).

Kodo operates as a large, rotating ensemble rather than a fixed small group — Discogs's own listing of current members (as of a March 2026 update) runs to more than forty performers.

Kodo's music draws on traditional Japanese taiko drumming while incorporating a wide range of percussion, vocal, and world-music influences absorbed through decades of international touring and the cultural exchange fostered by the Earth Celebration festival.