Kuchi shōga phoneticizes (that is, phonetically articulates) drum strokes using Japanese sound symbolism.
Kuchi shōga notation is written in katakana, a syllabary familiar to all literate Japanese language speakers.
Kuchi shōga can be transliterated from katakana to a Latin alphabet using one of the various systems of rōmaji.
Don typically means a deep, sustained sound from the center of the taiko.
If the rest is not sung, the space is often filled with unscripted sounds called kiais.