Army musicians with the USARJ Band from Camp Zama, perform in the 2003 St. Patrick's Day Parade in Tokyo. (Juliana Gittler / S&S)
Army musicians with the USARJ Band from Camp Zama, perform in the 2003 St. Patrick's Day Parade in Tokyo. (Juliana Gittler / S&S)
Sgt. Clarissa Emanuelson and Spc. Bethany Combs, clarinet players from Camp Zama, performed with the USARJ Band at the 2003 St. Patrick's Day Parade in Tokyo. (Juliana Gittler / S&S)
TOKYO, Japan — The U.S. Army Japan band will perform Saturday in a festival parade celebrating the 400th year of the Edo Shogunate.
The 36-member band will perform at 2 p.m., during the 1.5-mile-long Edo Tokyo Hana Parade to the Ginza district.
The parade starts in front of Mitsukoshi department store at Mitsukoshi Mae station on the Ginza and Hanzomon subway lines. It then heads down Chuo Dori to the Ginza district, where it is expected to end at 5 p.m.
Approximately 70 groups composed of 5,600 people will participate, parade organizers said.
This year’s parade will be longer and bigger than last year’s, band coordinator Tatsuo Hayakawa said.
Hayakawa, who is also Camp Zama’s community relations specialist, said this year’s celebration is a combination of annual Ginza and Nihonbashi parades celebrating 400 years since the beginning of the Edo Shogunate — when the Japanese capital was moved from Kyoto to Edo (now Tokyo).
The parade will be divided into segments, with each section representing different Japanese historical periods.
The lead section, which includes the Army band, features modern brass musicians including the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Central Band, Tokyo Metropolitan Police Band and Fire and Disaster Management Agency color guards.
Other sections feature floats representing different eras with participants dressing in period clothing. Participants also will perform era-specific dances and music.
