Japan's best high school marching band readies for Rose Parade performance

Connor Sheets, Los Angeles Times on Dec 31, 2024

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PASADENA, Calif. — The ebullient thrum of staccato snares, thumping sousaphones, and tramping shoes all acting in unison filled the gray morning air in the parking lot outside Angel Stadium recently. Piles of travel-worn cardboard boxes and pristine instrument cases stood stacked at one end of the cracked asphalt as scores of young performers marched, danced and played in tight formation, round and round the vast expanse.

It was just days before the Rose Parade and one of the last chances the Kyoto Tachibana Senior High School Green Band had to practice its eight-song medley and accompanying choreography.

One of 24 bands slated to perform in the Pasadena procession, the Japanese school will mark its third appearance there on New Year's Day. It will join an international contingent of bands from Mexico, Panama and Denmark.

The Japanese band's whirlwind visit to Southern California began Christmas Day, when the performers and their instruments started arriving at Los Angeles International Airport. For most, it was their first visit to the United States.

They spent Thursday and Friday practicing and retiring to a nearby hotel, escorted back and forth in long charter buses while a local volunteer transported their instruments in a Penske moving truck.

Asked about their first impressions, many of the young band members remarked on how friendly the Americans they had met had been. And several raved about the food, especially the hotel's bacon and eggs — an uncommon breakfast in Japan.

"Everything is huge. Lots of cars and freeways," 18-year-old saxophone player Kokoro Kumagai said through a translator. "We went to the supermarket and every item is quite huge and its color is quite vivid. Everything seemed delicious."

The group is considered Japan's best and most innovative high school marching band. Until just several years ago — when the school began to admit boys — the band was made up entirely of girls. This year, 109 enrolled students and 82 recent graduates made the trip to California.

Over the weekend, band members dispersed across Southern California for home stays with families from Seal Beach to Ontario. Many said they were excited to experience normal American life and maybe see some tourist attractions or go shopping in between commitments. They had a busy schedule, with a charity concert at John F. Kennedy High School in La Palma on Sunday, an appearance in the Rose Parade-associated Bandfest event at Pasadena City College on Monday and a performance in the parade at Disneyland on New Year's Eve.

Bob Kunihiro said he hosted two band members at his family's house in Anaheim Hills in 2018, and he decided to do so again this year. He takes them to area restaurants and to the outlets, which he said is a popular option because American clothing is typically more expensive in Japan, particularly with the current weakness of the yen.

"It's a lot of fun. I really enjoy it, the kids are really nice," Kunihiro said. "A lot of the kids don't speak much English, so they're very apprehensive. I speak a little Japanese, but I also use Google Translate, which helps."

That trepidation disappears the moment they don their signature yellow-and-black collared tops and orange skirts — or black pants in the case of the few male players — and hoist their instruments in the air. The band is an explosion of coordinated energy, with far more activity than the average marching band as its members skip, high kick and sashay, all while playing a tune.

"Around 200 high school students and graduates are going to make a very impressive performance, with the combination of dance and music," said Yasuda Fumihiko, Kyoto Tachibana's principal, as he watched the Friday practice. "Very skillful steps and very beautiful sounds, they'll play eight tunes."

The band's leaders said they chose songs that American audience members of all ages would enjoy, from Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off" and "Poker Face" by Lady Gaga to the Beach Boys classic "Surfin' U.S.A." and the jazz standard "Sing Sing Sing," made famous by Benny Goodman.

For the band's members, the day of the Rose Parade begins hours before dawn, as they expect to arrive near the parade route around 3 a.m. The actual performance will last about two hours, during which they will perform the eight-song medley in a repeating loop as they make their way through the streets of Pasadena before wrapping up in late morning.

The next day, it's back to Japan for the high schoolers, who have exams to study for. The graduates will stay an extra day in the U.S. to visit — where else — Disneyland.

"We want to make a very good performance. We want to enjoy ourselves and we want every person watching to enjoy themselves, too," Kumagai said. "It's a kind of harmony. We want people in the U.S. to know peace and harmony through our music and marching performance."