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The Steelband Perspective in Japan and the
Far East
Yoko Kimura,
Nagoya University Graduate School of Letters, Japan
The steelbands in Japan have developed differently from those in
Britain and the Caribbean Countries. I will show a history of the
steelbands in Japan and focus on the people who contributed to the
promotion of steelband activities and discuss Japanese steelbands
through my field work. Steelpan was first introduced to Japan in
1961 by a Japanese entertainer who was living in U.S. In 1970s
steelbands from Trinidad came to Osaka Expo and Marine Expo in
Okinawa. Some of the Japanese artists started to include steelpan
music in their repertoire. The history of the development of
steelbands in Japan is divided into two periods: pre and post 1990s.
In 1990s Renegades, Panberi and Caribbean Magic from Trinidad
came to Japan and Japanese people who were influenced by this music
went over to Trinidad. On their return, they began establishing
steelbands and teaching individuals how to play steelpans. Akihiro
Ishiguro went to Trinidad several times and founded ‘Tokai Trio’ and
then a steelband called ‘Pansonide’ in Nagoya in 1999. Ryo Sonobe
went to Trinidad and had some training to become a steelpan player.
He is the only Japanese who can tune steelpans and makes them at his
studio. He teaches how to make and play a steelpan to all the
students at a private high school near Yokohama. Sonobe was invited
to tune and make steelpans in Taiwan and Hong Kong.
In 1993, the Sea Gaia, an ocean resort, opened in Miyazaki and a
Trinidadian pan player, Michael Robinson, was invited to play there.
He started his pan lessons and founded a steelband there in 1995. He
has had considerable influence on the development of steelbands in
Japan. The image of a steelpan is something like
‘paradise’,‘Caribbean’ and ‘blue sea’. TV or mass media have created
good images on steelpans in Japan. In 1995 the first steel orchestra
‘Sukiyaki Orchestra’ was established in a remote town in Toyama. It
joined in the Trinidad Carnival in 1997 and this event was
broadcasted on NHK TV.
In 2000, 150 steelpan
players from all over Japan gathered and steelband festival started
in Yokohama in 2002. This event was promoted by Kiyoshi Kawashima, a
product manager of Nonaka Trading Company which imports steelpans
from Trinidad.
It has its own steelpan orchestra and provides pan yards and
instruments for the orchestra. The members of the orchestra are
advanced students of Pan Village Steelpan School, where Yuki
Murakami is the director. He also directs ‘Fantastics’ in Kobe,
which was founded in 2001 to rejuvenate a town in Kobe after the
Hanshin and Awaji Earthquake. The leader, Kenji Akashi, with the
help of a local authority, performed at a steelband concert with an
audience of 100.
In conclusion I will explore during my presentation how Japanese
steelbands were established and analyze the people who are involved
in steelbands and their motivation for joining the bands according
to the results of my questionnaire.
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Programme