and culture, they are surprised to learn that American Bluegrass/Country music
is not only alive, well and thriving in the land of the Rising Sun, but has become
a very popular and integral part of current Japanese culture itself.
that good old country music played but frequent visits to Japan (my wife's native
country) help satisfy my appetite for the music I've enjoyed since childhood.
the year. One of my favorites is a big weekend festival, held twice yearly
(April and November) in the city of Karuizawa (two hours north of Tokyo).
The setting is a golf/country club in a beautiful mountain resort region and
I look forward to attending those get togethers every chance I get; once I
was fortunate enough to be able to attend both. Since I am usually one of
the few non-Japanese ("gaijin") in attendance, I'm sometimes invited to
join in and sing a song and I must confess, I don't have to be asked twice
or have my arm twisted! Although my vocal abilities are certainly no
match for some of the "high lonesome" Japanese tenors, my
enunciation of the English language is a dead on killer!
and my son Nickolas on guitars and Yoshizawa-san on fiddle, it's
yours truly at the mike bringing in the "Wabash Cannonball"
of settlers who came to America in the 18th and 19th centuries. Their music,
"folk music," told the story of hardships, joys and sorrows in carving
out new homes in the unforgiving American wilderness.
and musical instruments of that time. His usual instrument is the guitar but
he is equally proficient on banjo and dulcimer. His plaintive, ringing vocals
are true representations of "songs of the folk!" I would be remiss if I didn't
also add that he's a great fan of Woody Guthrie's music as well and always
is certain to include some of Woody's songs in his performances.
You can find a collection of his videos at YouTube
under the title of "The Old Ridge Ramblers.
drove me back to my Tokyo hotel in his "Big Ben" (once a London taxi cab)
headed up a six piece bluegrass band called "Weeping Grass." Takahashi-san's
group was closely styled after the Lester Flatt/Earl Scruggs "Foggy Mountain
Boys" band and Takahashi-san himself was a sort of Japanese "Lester Flatt."
He probably knew every song that Lester and Earl ever recorded; as a matter
of fact, in honor of Mr. Flatt, Takahashi-san ordered that pricey Stetson hat
from the U.S. which he wore with pride. His gentle nature and sweet voice
will be sorely missed by all who knew him.
Tokyo is headed up by "Dicky" Kitano a fine singer and guitarist. Kitano-san
is probably the busiest fellow at every Karuizawa festival; he's the one in
charge of hooking up all of the sound equipment, wires, speakers, mikes, etc.,
and setting up the program of performers for the week end festivals there.
That's Shinzi Kozima on the far left picking the dobro; Shinzi plays with
many different bands around Tokyo as do most musicians in Japan.
Yasushi, (guitar - b.1931) Hisashi (mandolin - b.1933 -d.2018)
music was saddened to learn of the passing of Hisashi Ozaki
in November of 2018. I will truly miss him as will all others
who knew him and loved him
seventy years, known throughout Japan and more recently in the United States
as well through their performances at Kentucky and Oklahoma festivals.
Before they were born, their father, while studying in the U.S. during the 1920's
became a fan of American jazz and he returned to Japan with a collection of
jazz and country music recordings. It was from this collection, years later,
that the country music songs were to have a special appeal for the two
young Ozaki boys, shaping their musical tastes.
the country music records and memorized the songs. Soon after the war ended
in 1945, the brothers learned to play guitar and mandolin and went around to
U.S. army bases in Japan, performing for the G.I's. You can imagine the
reception these two young Japanese boys received from the troops as the
young Hisashi picked and yodeled his way through "Columbus Stockade
Blues" with older brother Yasushi accompanying on guitar.
(taking the name from the mountains ringing their hometown of Kyoto) and
performed on a morning radio show in Kyoto as seen in this photo of that time:
love, the Ozaki brothers have a hefty "play book" of southern gospel
songs which they work into every performance.
club in Chicago where, after talking to the leader of the country band
performing that night, the brothers were invited on stage to do a few
songs and "Columbus Stockade" once again brought down the house!
by the International Bluegrass Music Museum in Owensboro, Kentucky.
"Nashville" and "Rocky Top"(where drinks are ordered as often by the bottle as
by the glass). Here are the Ozaki brothers in my favorite club,"Rocky Top"
(there's a bottle of 'Early Times' bourbon with my name on it behind the bar
and you can usually find me there from opening to closing most nights when
I'm in Tokyo). That's Shinzi Kozima behind them on dobro and Masuo
Sasabe on guitar. Sixty seats is a full house, packed to the walls!
the club - the room extends back from the stage about 30 feet to a bar,
well attended by Mr. Taguchi. This gives you a rough idea of its size;
very intimate and very friendly as are most such clubs in Japan.
is one of the finest bluegrass singers in Japan and has headed up various bands
including "New Apple Seed," "General Store" and currently, "The Blue Side
of Lonesome." For several years running, Sasabi-san has been invited
to perform at the bluegrass festival in Guthrie, Oklahoma.
a coffee house in western Tokyo. They're called "Tetsu Kabuto" which translates as
"Steel Helmet" and their repertoire ranges from "Earl's Breakdown," "Fireball
Mail," and "Daybreak in Dixie" to a mind blowing version of "Caravan"
featuring some truly brilliant mandolin work by Takeo Nakajima.
so it's quite likely to see the same banjo player, guitarist or vocalist appearing
with another band as is the case with the fiddler from "Tetsu Kabuto"
doing similar duty with the long running "One and Only"
"Keep on the Grass." Here we see the banjo picker from "One an Only"
doing double duty with this group. That's Toshiyuki Mizuyoshi (a "One
and Only" member as well) in the center belting out his spirited
vocal of "Jada" or "Nagasaki" or some other jazz classic.
day jobs; they play for pure enjoyment above all else! In these days, that in itself
is refreshing and believe me, it comes across in their music! No matter where you
hear it played, in Tennessee, Chicago, cities in Europe or Japan, for me there's an
honesty and sincerity to country and bluegrass music that comes across loud and
clear and nowhere do I find this more evident than in the intimate, hospitable
"hole-in-the-wall" clubs and pubs of Japan.
~
And, should you ever get the chance to visit Japan, make one of your stops Tokyo's
Ginza district and drop in to Rocky Top, providing Bluegrass and Country music
for more than forty years. It's located at Ginza 7-8-19, Chuo-ku on the 3rd floor
of the Tokyo building. Tel. 03-3571-1955. Don't worry about not being able to
speak Japanese, the music is universal, the beer is always cold, the price is right,
a smiling Taguchi-san is there to welcome you with a hearty "irrashai" and
there's always someone there anxious to practice their English!
~ NEXT ~
