[History of Japanese Drum Corps ]　 Sadao A. Yokota

US Occupation’s influence in late 60’s

              In February, 1998 Japan had the Winter Olympic Game in Nagano. It was a truly exciting event and gathered millions of people from the world in the Japan Alps. Now we can travel to Nagano by newly built bullet trains for only one hour from Tokyo. When the Tokyo Olympic Games was held in 1964, the first bullet trains started to run between Tokyo and Osaka. Recovering from the aftermath of the World War II, Japan started to grow economically at the amazing speed.

              In 1968 the Beatles visited Japan. During the unforgettable Vietnam War, there was the incredible turmoil and chaos in colleges and universities over the issues of liberation and the anti-war. Those days there were almost no drum corps and marching bands in Japan.

              Historically speaking, band music was not a part of Japanese music tradition at all before the War. Only military music units copied after the European bands just for the ceremony purpose. All efforts during the Japanese westernization were concentrated on the industrial fields. The Japanese government has never tried to adopt band music into school education officially.

              No music school teacher has never been asked for the prerequisite knowledge of band education before the enrollment. Most school band directors are not music teachers. School band activity has never been related to the career of those who graduated from music schools.

              Even today school band activity is completely after school. No need to say drum corps activity has never been recognized as sort of musical activity at all in Japan . In fact, marching activity has been one of most difficult subjects to talk with school band directors.

              After the War, the General MacArthur, head of occupation army forced Japan complete demilitarization and kept Japan from future rearming by the constitution. As the result, the military band activity was confined for long till Japanese self-defense forces was organized. People’s antipathy and hate to the militaries has never been weakened in Japan . For example, about 10 years ago a high school marching band applied the toy rifles to their show. Then the marching band organization prohibited the use of such immediately. This is completely opposite reaction to those US activities initialized by the VFW.

              Thus “emotionally” marching band activities in Japan has never been welcome in schools. And the military bands were not good samples to civilian band activities. Meantime, in stead of enforcing the military band activity, local governments organized police and fireman’s bands in all over Japan after the War. They are nothing to do with the militaristic drill activities, but just for their musical enhancement of their business. And in the elementary schools the governments applied the activity of drum and fife corps to their music education. The style was not based on the Japanese music tradition but just US drum and fife corps. It was easily introduced to schools because of financial reasons. Meantime nobody thought this educational program would be a reason to delay the official band education in schools for coming 3 decades.  

During the course of their activities the geographical benefits of the Yokohama Fireman’s band and Kanagawa Prefecture Police Band, located close to Yokosuka, Atsugi Tachikawa and Zama where US forces stationed, started to give them musical influence. In the late 60’s those two groups in Yokohama bought US made bugles and started to copy after the US military corps with purely musical interest. At the same time, a private school in Yokohama also started to march with the bugles. They were just impressed by the clean sound and marching maneuvering of well trained military units. Gradually, most of them have switched to the regular concert band brass horns because of the difficulty to obtain the G-bugles in Japan . Though, their enthusiasm for marching band parade kept growing and many school bands around that region organized the Japan Parade Festival in Yokohama in 1967.

              In the early 70’s in the Western Japan Sumanoura All Girls High School in Kobe and Soka Gakkai (religious sect of Buddhism) in Kansai area organized drum and bugle corps for their own interest. Meantime high school bands in Japan started series of contests in Tokyo . And the National Sport Festival events started the drill show in addition to the sport mass game shows at the opening and closing ceremony in Mie Prefecture . Mr. Tsutomu Nishiyama of Umemura Gakuen (won the National Champs) and Mr.Shohei Yamazaki (Instructor and manager of the Japan Marching Band and Baton Organization) helped its project of this sole national sport event.

              During the same period Japanese drum corps started to learn from the USA after the DCI was formed, Mr. Tomio Yamamoto, Director of the Sumanoura Ventures Drum and Bulge Corps and Mr.Tsutomu Nishiyama, and their friends flied to DCI Madison to research the US drum corps activity in 1972. Sumanoura competed at the National Marching Band Contest in 1973. The Rising Sun, Nippon Bugle Band, traveled to Philadelphia for the exhibition in 1975. However in the late 70’s there was not too much increase of drum corps in Japan . Only Soka Gakkai continued to support a few local groups in Japan in 70’s.

At the same time a Japanese major band instrument manufacturer started to have the drum and fife corps in the elementary schools to switch to drum and trumpet corps by sending their sales reps as brass instructors. Because school music teachers are officially never been trained to teach brass instruments at all, brass education has depended on those traveling brass instructors visiting only after while as after-sales service. It must become a reason to cause the decline of their brass band activity when the band instrument company didn’t gain the profits after the sales. I myself witnessed many elementary school brass bands with extraordinarily many Bb trumpets appear and disappear in 2 decades. No governmental involvement was seriously introduced. Only a few these elementary bands survived by themselves with qualified teachers turned into excellent marching brass bands after. If this could continue as official band education millions pupils are more than glad to play in high school bands and drum corps when they grew.

Development in 80’s

             During the 60’s the Japanese drum corps activity staled. No increase of groups and no educational progress were observed. Practically only Sumanoura and Soka Gakkai groups continued to work. And in the early 80’s, I found myself in Whitewater and watching the marching showcase. It was a lot more exciting than I knew. As matter of fact, when I went to DCI Miami, I found a tremendous gap in this musical field between the States and Japan . Soon after I came home, I started to research all about Japanese marching band activity and drum corps.

              Incidentally some people intended to split the Rising Sun to organize a new drum corps. I was glad to help them and they organized a new group, “The Yokohama Inspires”. At the same time I established DEG Japan Corporation and started the drum corps business in Japan being encouraged by  Mark Schafer, one of my old friends in US. There was only three or four drum corps in Japan bu immediately I had to start the promotional campaign all over Japan . Any type of activities of drum corps had poor impression to band educators due to the emotional and cultural reasons.

              Frank Dorittie, Tim Salzman, and Robert Smith were invited and traveled all over Japan with me, one after another. Meantime, I have organized the DCI Championship tour in every August since 1984. Most Japanese marching band and corps leaders attended this tour. No serious marching band and drum corps music education has existed in Japan for years. Naturally drum corps started to increase steadily then.

              In the early 80’s Okayama Police Band was one of best marching units in Japan . Their band chief, Masahiko Yasuda was a member of Fanfare Corps at 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games. He and his fellows desired to switch to a police drum and bugle corps. They could double the horns and bought the horns from their pocket money even before the local governmental concern. A great bugler like Yoshimi Kobayshi made himself chief of Okinawa Police Band after. Hiroshi Yamazaki, Drum Major of Okayama Police Drum Corps, and Masahiko Yasuda and Akira Kamei, Okayama City Councilor, started the Okayama Marching Band Festival in 1989. I also attended as general coordinator and as sponsor, Dynasty Japan .

In the same year the Yokohama Inspires won in the Open Class at the National Marching Band Contest, which still mixes bands and drum corps to judge. The Yokohama Inspires continued to win 1993, 5 years in row. The Prime Minister of the Japanese Government has started to award the Grand Champions since 1991. Aimachi or Soka Renaissance Vanguard take their places continuously after then.  

More Drum Corps in 90’s

              Since 1993 Dynasty Japan and USA have sponsored Okayama to start the first Japan Drum Corps Championship. Japanese drum corps had looked for the academic and fair adjudication for long. To be a good sample of contest adjudication for Japan, I have worked as contest coordinator and translator for the DCI judges, 3 judges (Brass, Drum, Visual) for first a few year and 5 judges (3 Performance and 2 Ensemble/GE) in addition to 3 Japanese official judges today. This is the first international championship not only for drum corps but also all marching bands ever held in Japan . No need to say the delineation of all caption judge sheets were translated and delivered to all contestants. And the critiques have been held successfully and have become the sole place for those Japanese drum corps to find the new dimension and confidence. This championship has given more fair chances to small groups and even to new groups. The adjudication in Okayama has been managed by International Marching Institute, which is organized by academic volunteers in Japan and US.

              Mr. Mikio Arita and his Tokyo Phoenix Regiment drum corps (Tokyo Jitxugyo HS) made the first entry to the DCI and toured in the States as Japanese group in 1993. They were originally one of excellent Japanese high school marching band. They toured the States with their marching brass horns two years ahead and exhibited at DCI to experience the drum corps tour. Those days there were just a few Japanese students marched with DCI corps in 80’s, but more Japanese players were seen in 90’s.

              Meantime a couple of drum corps around Tokyo and Yokohama area started to get together and exchanged their shows as festival event, called “Drum Corps Forum”, seeking the new opportunity beside the official school marching band organizations. In 1995 they reformed their activity and organized the championship under the new name, Drum Corps Japan Championship led by Mr.Tetsu Konno, inviting US drum corps director and DCM judges as their adjudication panel. Most drum corps in Japan has been self fund raising groups and has been encouraged by the success of Okayama Drum Corps Championship. DCJ started to build their own Japanese adjudication system since then.

              In 1994 Soka Gakkai won the Prime Minister Award first time at All Japan Marching Band & Baton Twirling Association and continued to keep it through 1997. They hired almost all staff instructors and writers of the Blue Devils. At the same time Aimachi has also started to work with US marching educators.

              Occasionally US Marine Drum & Bugle Corps visited Japan and played in Fuji , Tokyo and Okinawa . By the arrangements of Dynasty USA and Japan in the following year the Future Corps from Disney World/Epcot visited Okayama and Yokohama . These two groups are different type of professional drum & bugle corps but no questions that they truly entertained not only Japanese drum corps but also people in general. No need to say they enlightened Japanese marching band and drum corps instructors in the terms of musicality of drum corps. Especially the Future Corps motivated small groups to work harder for more entertaining groups.

              When I got involved in Japanese drum corps activity in early 80’s, there were only five drum corps scattered in Japan . But now in the late 90’s there are almost 50 groups acting all over Japan. There were no organizations to back up the drum corps activity in Japanese society. There was only one religious group adopted the drum corps in their society, yet it didn’t invite any other groups due to their religious exclusivity. At the very beginning some drum corps emphasized their spirit and disciplines same as the old US drum corps but it meant different in different culture. The early stage of Japanese drum corps development was simply based on the duplication of musical style.

              In 80’s people started to realize there is a fun or some more elements to entertain the audience and to experience more artistic and musical excitement through drum corps show. Yet many Japanese marching groups tend to copy after excellent DCI groups, because of the shortage of qualified instructors and writers in Japan . In 90’s more or less educational approach has been taken by Japanese themselves.  

DCI judges influenced them and some drum corps started to work with US drum corps staff. More Japanese young men are visiting US to play with DCI drum corps. After they come back, they teach their young followers in many places through their experiences. No need to say they talk about fun and excitement of drum corps shows and influenced many groups here.

              The Blue Devils visited Osaka , Hokkaido , and Okayama periodically. The Cavaliers came to Nagasaki , Takasaki and Nagoya also. These groups have been sponsored by local communities not the Japanese marching band nor drum corps organizations. This means simply Japanese people love to watch the marching shows. The Blast show has been well accepted 3 years in row in Japan . The Orchard Hall in Tokyo has made the historical profits records with them as Management Company. Yet today the academic band music education including marching still doesn’t exist in any music schools.

              Generally speaking Japanese marching band and drum corps activity don’t have any religious or political back ground. Most schools bands don’t have good educational back ground. Most drum corps have no sponsors. The Soka Renaissance Vanguard and Aimachi are rare cases. Good school marching bands are mostly private high schools. These are the back ground of Japanese drum corps. Possibly with great enthusiastic staff a few groups are growing excellent. But majority of drums corps as well as public schools are to face the financial and educational difficulties.

Sadao Yokota

Marching Consultant of Tokyo Fire Dept. Band & Color Guard Squad since 1999

Judge Coordinator in Okinawa Marching Band Contest since 1990

Coordinator in Okayama Japan Drum Corps Championship since 1993

Honorary Member of Disney World/Epcot, Future Corps

President, International Marching Institute,  President,DEG Japan Corporation