The Oldest Concert Band in Japan

In the center of Japan is a big city called Nagoya. One of its satellite towns, Owari Ichinomiya, has long been famous for its textile industry, but it also has a municipal band dating back to 1895.

It is around one hundred years since European music and instruments first came to Japan, so it is around that time that the Ichinomiya band was born. In those distant days there were hardly any military bands in Japan.

The Ichinomiya band was founded by Shinichi Saburi, manager of the local bank. He wanted to bring musical culture to his town so he gave his employees wind instruments (which in those days hardly anyone had ever seen) and formed a band.

The photograph was taken in 1901, when piped water arrived in Ichinomiya. The players in the photo performed at the opening ceremony. Their instruments are German, purchased from a German import agent in Yokohama.

Aren’t the children behind the band funny, watching so curiously? It was probably the first time that they had ever heard wind instruments. In those days cameras were also rare of course. Note too the kimono worn by the girl on the right (nowadays women hardly ever wear kimono except for special occasions).

Although the band broke up during World War II, it was revived after the war thanks to the local people’s efforts and enthusiasm for music, and continues to this day. In Japan it is extremely rare to find a band that is as old as ninety.

Today the band has its office in the headquarters of the local fire brigade. It receives financial assistance from Meitaroh Mori, Owari Ichinomiya City mayor, and from the Ichinomiya Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The band is a mixture of professional and amateur musicians ranging from twenty to seventy-four years old. It is like a living picture gallery of Japanese musicians from the Meiji era, when western culture was first introduced to Japan, to the present day.