The Spread and Development of Jazz in Pre-War Nagoya (4): Jazz Performance Conditions in Nagoya in the Early Showa Period - On Jazz Performances by Japanese Musicians (Part 1)
In the previous installment, I clarified that the Kawai Dance troupe made a significant contribution to the spread of jazz in Nagoya from the early Showa period. However, their primary profession was dance, and their jazz band performances (though they had acquired a reasonably high level of performance skill) were merely presented as part of their repertoire between dance acts. As for professional jazz band performances in Nagoya, as previously discussed, there were performances by the University of California Glee Club in 1922 (Taisho 11) and the Carlton Jazz Band in 1927 (Showa 2), but these were all by musicians invited from overseas, and there were no jazz band performances by Japanese people.
At the time, the main battlegrounds for Japanese jazz bands were dance halls and movie theater attractions. Music performances in theaters and halls were centered on classical music, and jazz band performances were not very common. In Tokyo, however, from the end of the Taisho period to the early Showa period, concerts held by student bands such as Hosei University's Lakan-San Jazz Band and Keio University's Red and Blue Jazz Band at the Mitsukoshi Hall in Nihonbashi are considered the pioneers [Note 1]. In Nagoya, where there were no professional jazz bands, jazz bands would come from Tokyo, Osaka, and elsewhere, providing opportunities for the people of Nagoya to hear "authentic" jazz. So, what kind of people were performing jazz in Nagoya? In this article, I would like to trace the jazz performances held in Nagoya during the very early Showa period, roughly up to 1930 (Showa 5).
Kansai Public Jazz Orchestra
As far as I have been able to determine from newspapers of the time, the first confirmed performance by a professional Japanese jazz band in Nagoya is considered to be the performance by the Kansai Public Jazz Orchestra held at the Shinmori-za theater on July 28, 1928 (Showa 3). An announcement article was published in the Nagoya Shimbun on July 25, 1928 (Showa 3), with the headline "Kansai Public Jazz Band Coming: Soon at Shinmori-za."
The Kansai Public Jazz Orchestra, an authority on jazz music, is a revolutionary musical group with the heat and power to open up a new frontier in the stagnant music world since its founding. With lighthearted New York Black Bottom, gorgeous jazz symphonies, and orchestral jazz moods, jazz music—a representative creation of the modern age that has recently caused a major sensation in the world's music scene—is nothing less than a cocktail of life that deeply permeates our souls. This time, over twenty members of the association will take their first step in popularizing jazz in this city, adding several beautiful dancers from Dotonbori's Akadama and Union to present gorgeous and maddening Charleston and tango dances.
The Kansai Public Jazz Orchestra appeared on JOBK's daytime radio broadcast in Osaka on July 27 of the same year, arrived in Nagoya the following day, and after making rounds to greet newspaper companies, performed at the Shinmori-za that same day. The stage background was handled by Osamu Shibuya, an avant-garde artist who was famous at the time as a Futurist painter. The program for the day was introduced in the Nagoya Shimbun on July 27 as follows.
(A) 1. When Rastus Plays (Trot) 2. Magnolia's Brew (Trot) 3. Goodbye Hawaii (Trot) 4. Sevilla (Greatest Tempo Trot) 5. My Little Nest (Trot)
(B) First National Pictures Special Production: Charlie Murray, Jobyna Ralston in 'Sweet Daddy'
(C) (Small Members) 1. Sweet Child 2. That My Baby (Trot) 3. Happy 4. Baby Face 5. Dotonbori March
(D) 1. (Selection undecided) 2. Charleston Dance (Foo) 3. (Undecided) 4. Miburo Dance (Indian) 5. (Undecided) 6. Tango Dance 7. (Undecided) 8. Mon Paris 9. (Undecided)
Judging from this program, it seems that the performance was composed of four parts: jazz performances in the first and third parts, the screening of the comedy film "Sweet Daddy" starring Charlie Murray, produced by First National Pictures, in the second part, and the fourth part was likely a dance segment by the dancers from Akadama and Union. Since all dance halls in Nagoya had just been closed three months prior, I suspect that dance-loving audience members were itching to get on stage and dance at the sight of the dancers performing gorgeously to the accompaniment of live jazz.
July 31, 1928 (Showa 3), Shin Aichi
Even after the Shinmori-za performance, the Kansai Public Jazz Orchestra remained in Nagoya for a while, appearing at the "Jazz Dance Evening" at the Shin-Maiko Entertainment Hall [Note 2], and on July 31, they performed foxtrots, tangos, and the Dotonbori March on Nagoya's JOCK.
Regarding this Kansai Public Jazz Orchestra, there is no mention of it in any literature on Japanese jazz history, and the reality of its members and the like cannot be grasped. The only clue is that on October 21, 1928 (Showa 3), there was a jazz music broadcast by the "Public Jazz Band" on JOCK, and the name Kazuei Onishi is listed as the conductor in the newspaper's radio program column [Note 3]. Kazuei Onishi's name appears in the list of musicians for movie theaters nationwide published in the "Japan Film Yearbook 1924-1925," which states that Onishi was born in Matsuyama City on March 22, 1898 (Meiji 31), graduated from Matsuyama Middle School, and belonged to the Shochiku Orchestra (in charge of trombone).
Also, in Seitaro Omori's "Japanese Western Music 1," there is a description of a drummer named "Sakae (Kazuo) Onishi" as a representative Japanese jazz musician who was active in Shanghai. After performing movie accompaniment music and intermission music at the Kabuki-za in Shin-Kyogoku, Kyoto, around 1923-24 (Taisho 12-13), he went to Shanghai in 1925 (Taisho 14). Although there is a discrepancy in the instruments they played, given the similarities in their backgrounds and names, it is safe to assume that they are the same person as Kazuei Onishi. While it is not entirely clear whether the Public Jazz Band is the same as the Kansai Public Jazz Orchestra, given that Onishi was a person with ties to the Kansai region, that possibility is quite plausible.
Regarding Onishi's personality, Seitaro Omori states the following in "Japanese Western Music 1."
(Omitted) Sakae Onishi was a small-bodied man who wore glasses, but he was a courageous, helpful man who stood by his principles. Almost all jazz musicians who went from Japan to Shanghai to study jazz music were helped by him. He was deeply trusted by Japanese people, of course, as well as by many Filipino and Chinese jazz musicians, who called him 'Onishi no Shi-san' (Mr. Onishi). (Omitted)
As described, Kazuei Onishi left a significant mark as a jazz musician in Shanghai, but around 1927 (Showa 2), he participated as a drummer in Ichiro Ida's Cherry Land Dance Orchestra at the Union in Osaka, and in 1929 (Showa 4), after serving as the bandleader of the Shinjuku Dance Hall (later the Koka Dance Hall) in Tokyo, he went to Shanghai with Taizo Sugihara [Note 4]. Since Onishi's visit to Nagoya falls right in between those times, it is thought that he was mainly active in Japan from 1927 to 1929 (Showa 2-4).
The Public Jazz Band also appeared on a JOCK radio program on October 30, 1928 (Showa 3) [Note 5], but no traces of their subsequent activities can be found, including those of the Kansai Public Jazz Orchestra. It is speculated that they were a group temporarily assembled from musicians who were playing jazz in movie theaters, dance halls, and cafes in the Kansai region for the purpose of popularizing jazz, but they are people whose names should be recorded as the Japanese jazz band that performed the first full-scale jazz concert in Nagoya.
Keio University Red and Blue Jazz Band
About a month after the Kansai Public Jazz Orchestra performance, the Keio University Red and Blue Jazz Band performed at the same Shinmori-za theater on August 22. The Nagoya Shimbun that day announced the performance with the headline "Keio University Band at Shinmori; Shochiku Actresses Also Appearing," reporting as follows:
The Keio University Jazz Band will perform at Shinmori-za this evening at 7:00. The first part will feature a guitar solo by Mr. Kai, the band's coach, and a xylophone solo by Mr. Hiraoka. The second part will feature a Charleston ensemble and piano solo of the band's specialty, 'Chinese Novelty' frantic music. Furthermore, there will be greetings from Shochiku Kamata stars Emiko Yagumo, Yurie Hioki, and Yoko Kozakura, as well as a comic talk by Deamiao Yokoo, adding even more entertainment (omitted).
Among the student bands that made their presence felt during the dawn of jazz, such as Hosei University's Rakansan Jazz Band and Rikkyo University's Happy Nine Jazz Band, the Keio University Red and Blue Jazz Band had already built a reputation, having been the first to record "Arabian Song" (new release, May 1928, Japan Phonograph Co., Ltd.), which shines brilliantly in record history as Japan's first jazz song. The members included leader Shigeiya Kikuchi on piano, Ikuo Koga on saxophone, Toru Sakai on banjo, Kotaro Fukui on violin, and Mitsuaki Takahashi on drums, with support members from the Shinkyo orchestra such as saxophonist Kyosuke Kami and trumpeter Hiroyoshi Saito also joining.
Two months before the Nagoya performance, on June 23, 1928 (Showa 3), the Red and Blue Jazz Band held a major performance at the Japan Seinenkan in Tokyo, inviting Ernest Kaai, who had come to Japan from Hawaii that year and served as the band's coach, as a guest performer. They also welcomed a luxurious cast of Shochiku actors as guests, including xylophonist Yoichi Hiraoka, film director Kuhiko Ushihara, and film actors Denmei Suzuki, Deamiao Yokoo, Tokio Seki, and Emiko Yagumo [Note 6]. This event seems to have been quite popular, and they subsequently went on to perform in various places in Tokyo and even embarked on regional tours to Nagano and the Kansai region. It is believed that the Nagoya performance at Shinmori-za was a stopover during their tour in the Kyoto-Osaka area.
December 10, 1926 (Taisho 15), Shin Aichi
The tie-up with Shochiku film actors seems to have stemmed from the fact that the Red and Blue Jazz Band's practice space was near the Shochiku Kamata Studio, and the actors often came to hang out [Note 7]. The sight of a student band playing jazz lightly while accompanied by star actresses like Emiko Yagumo, Yurie Hioki, and Yoko Kozakura (mother of Yuzo Kayama) was the very image of the modern boy at the cutting edge of fashion, and it must have looked dazzling to the young people of Nagoya.
From top: Emiko Yagumo, Yurie Hioki, Yoko Kozakura
August 21, 1928 (Showa 3), Shin Aichi
Student bands with members from Nagoya
Regarding student bands other than the Red and Blue Jazz Band, Rikkyo University's Happy Nine Orchestra came to Nagoya on September 5, 1928 (Showa 3) and performed a radio broadcast on JOCK [Note 8]. This broadcast included vocal solos by Kikuyo Amano and Kiyoshi Utsumi, and it is believed to have served as a promotion for the new Nitto record release (though the record featured Teiichi Futamura instead of Kiyoshi Utsumi), but there is no indication that they held a public performance, only the radio appearance. The Hosei University Rakansan Jazz Band, considered a giant among student bands alongside the Red and Blue Jazz Band, shows no trace of having visited Nagoya. However, it is not widely known that the Rakansan Jazz Band had a member from Nagoya, and as an aside, I would like to introduce that in detail here.
In a series of articles titled '1930 Type Modern Girl's Household Guide' published in the Nagoya Shimbun on January 23, 1930 (Showa 5), a modern girl named Tatsuko Tominaga appears. She is introduced as the beloved daughter of Kakuryo Tominaga (Tominaga-gumi, established in 1897 (Meiji 30)), who ran a civil engineering contracting business in Nagaya-cho, Nagoya [Note 9], and the following description is found in the interview with Tatsuko.
(Omitted) 'My ideal for a husband is extremely complex. He must be as tall as a white person, as tanned as Weissmuller, and as healthy as Dempsey. Naturally, I like travel, and I want him to understand music. He must not lack even one of those conditions. Especially if he lacks an understanding of music, in my case, that man is a target with a fatal flaw.' Tatsuko's older brother is a member of the Hosei Jazz Band, which is said to even surpass professional jazz bands. Moreover, Tatsuko herself is a soprano and a pianist (omitted).
According to Masato Mohri, the members of the Rakansan Jazz Band (excluding outside support) were: Trumpet = Ryo Watanabe, Ichiro Tominaga, Mitsuyuki Obata; Saxophone = Hitoshi Kurushima, Futoshi Hashida, Mr. Maruyama; Trombone = Ryokichi Hyodo; Piano = Ichiro Yamashita; Banjo = Ren Watanabe; Guitar = Torajiro Ishikawa; Flute = Mr. Maruyama; Bass & Tuba = Tsuneyoshi Shigenobu; Violin = Kikuzo Aoyama, Naochika Mizuno; Chorus = Takeo Akabane; Drums/Vocals/Arrangement = Takeshi Sakuma [Note 10]. Among these, the one considered to be Tatsuko Tominaga's brother and a member of the 'Hosei Jazz Band' would be the trumpeter Ichiro Tominaga. Regarding Tominaga, there is almost no information other than that he performed at the Rakansan Jazz Band's first concert held at Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi in 1925 (Taisho 14), but he was the son of the president of a company doing civil engineering contracting in Nagoya.
January 23, 1930 (Showa 5), Nagoya Shimbun
As for this Ichiro Tominaga, when I checked the pre-war 'Commercial and Industrial Asset Credit Record,' the entry for Kakuryo Tominaga changed to 'Kenichi Tominaga' starting from the 1934 (Showa 9) edition, and since the 'Taishu Jinji Roku' (Popular Personnel Record) lists Tatsuko as 'younger sister of Kenichi Tominaga of Aichi Prefecture' (Tominaga is written as is in the original text) [Note 11], it is believed that his real name was Kenichi Tominaga. Tominaga-gumi was likely taken over by Kenichi Tominaga around 1934 (Showa 9).
Furthermore, regarding Kenichi Tominaga, there is an interesting description in 'Aichi Prefectural Police History Vol. 3' regarding the Nagoya City Police Band, which was founded in 1949 (Showa 24).
In January 1949, the Nagoya City Police Band was established within the Nagoya City Police Department with the aim of boosting the morale of police staff and promoting crime prevention activities. Through the kindness of the Chubu Nippon Shimbun, a full set of necessary instruments was donated, and 17 members were selected from among the police officers recommended by the staff, operating under the jurisdiction of the Education Division. Guidance and training were provided by Kenichi Tominaga, an interpreter at the Showa Police Station, and police officer Senamigame Sasaki of the Economic Crime Prevention Second Division, who served as the bandmaster.
It is said that one of the individuals who provided guidance and training at the time of the founding of the Nagoya City Police Band was Kenichi Tominaga. Regarding this Tominaga, the records only state that he was an "interpreter at the Showa Police Station," so it is not clear whether he was the same Kenichi Tominaga of the Tominaga-gumi (Chimakame Sasaki is noted as having come from the Army Military Band). However, if he was the Tominaga who played trumpet in the Rakansan Jazz Band, he would certainly have been capable of instructing the band, and it would not be strange to think that after closing the Tominaga-gumi business after the war, this Kenichi Tominaga, who happened to be working as an interpreter at the Showa Police Station, was chosen for the role.
January 11, 1949 (Showa 24), Chubu Nippon Shimbun
The Nagoya City Police Band was renamed the Aichi Prefectural Police Band in 1955 (Showa 30) and continues to be active today, focusing on crime prevention and police public relations activities. The Rakansan Jazz Band is known for producing members such as Takeshi Sakuma, who recorded jazz songs under pseudonyms like 'Iron Mask' and served as conductor of the Hosei University Orchestra (the current Hosei University Symphony Orchestra); Ryo Watanabe, who left many recordings with Columbia Records as the bandleader of the Columbia Jazz Band; and Jun Tsuda (Hitoshi Kurushima), who was active in Kenichi Enomoto's Enoken Troupe. The possibility that some of its members were involved in the founding of local police bands that still exist today might provide a new perspective on the history of the spread of Western music in Japan.
(This installment continues to Part 2)
[Note 1] According to Masahisa Segawa's 'Dancing to Jazz: A History of Imported Music and Entertainment' and Masato Mouri's 'Nippon Swing Time,' the Rakansan Jazz Band held concerts at the Mitsukoshi Hall in Nihonbashi in 1925 (Taisho 14) and 1926 (Showa 1), and the Red and Blue Jazz Band held a concert there on January 9, 1928 (Showa 3).
[Note 2] July 30, 1928 (Showa 3), Nagoya Shimbun
[Note 3] October 21, 1928 (Showa 3), Shin Aichi. They performed six other songs, including 'Arabian Song (Trot)'.
[Note 4] Koichi Uchida, 'History of Japanese Jazz: Pre-war and Post-war'
[Note 5] October 30, 1928 (Showa 3), Shin Aichi. They performed 'Yakkosan,' 'Hoshukuka (Celebratory Song),' 'Descriptive Piece: Joy,' 'Drigo's Serenade,' and 'Auld Lang Syne' in a Japanese-Western instrumental ensemble.
[Note 6] Masato Mouri, 'Nippon Swing Time'; Masahisa Segawa, 'Dancing to Jazz: A History of Imported Music and Entertainment'
[Note 7] Koichi Uchida, 'History of Japanese Jazz: Pre-war and Post-war'
[Note 8] According to the September 5, 1928 (Showa 3) issue of Shin Aichi, the songs broadcast included 'Katinka,' 'Rio Rita,' 'Hallelujah,' 'Blue Skies,' 'Adio,' 'Who?,' and 'Barcelona'.
[Note 9] Kakuryo Tominaga was involved in the construction of the Yasuoka Power Station in Nagano Prefecture, which is still in operation today as part of the Tenryu River dam system (subcontracted by Shimizu Corporation, completed in 1935 (Showa 10)).
[Note 10] Masato Mouri, 'Nippon Swing Time'
[Note 11] Regarding Yukio Matsurihara, a Kobe-based trader whom Tatsuko Tominaga married. Yukio Matsurihara was the second son of Genjiro Matsurihara, a director of Matsurihara Shoten. Matsurihara Shoten was founded in the early Meiji period and was known as a long-established food wholesaler in Osaka, but it was integrated into Ryoshoku (now Mitsubishi Shokuhin) in 2002 (Heisei 14).
<Headline Image>
Photograph of the front entrance of the Shin-Mori-za (postcard from the author's collection)
<References>
Masahisa Segawa, 'Dancing to Jazz: A History of Imported Music and Entertainment', 2005, Seiryu Shuppan
Masato Mouri, 'Nippon Swing Time', 2010, Kodansha
Asahi Graph Editorial Department (ed.), 'Japanese Film Yearbook 1924-1925', 1925, Tokyo Asahi Shimbun Publishing Office, National Diet Library Digital Collection
Moritaro Omori, 'Japanese Western Music 1', 1987, Shinmon Shuppansha
Koichi Uchida, 'History of Japanese Jazz: Pre-war and Post-war', 1976, Swing Journal Co., Ltd.
Hajime Tanaka (ed.), 'Construction Record of the Yasuoka Power Station of Yahagi Hydroelectric Co., Ltd.', 1938, Doboku Kenchiku Shiryo Shimbunsha, National Diet Library Digital Collection
'Credit Record of Commerce and Industry, 34th Edition: Aichi Prefecture, etc.', 1933, Shogyo Koshinjo
'Credit Record of Commerce and Industry, 35th Edition: Aichi Prefecture, etc.', 1934, Shogyo Koshinjo
Teikoku Himitsu Tanteisha (ed.), 'Popular Personnel Record, 14th Edition: Kinki, Chugoku, Shikoku, Kyushu Edition', 1943, Teikoku Himitsu Tanteisha, National Diet Library Digital Collection
Jinji Koshinjo (ed.), 'Personnel Credit Record, 11th Edition, Revised Edition, Vol. 1', 1938, Jinji Koshinjo, National Diet Library Digital Collection
Teikoku Koshinjo (ed.), 'Imperial Credit Record, 24th Edition', 1931, Teikoku Koshinjo, National Diet Library Digital Collection
Aichi Prefectural Police History Editorial Committee (ed.), 'History of Aichi Prefectural Police, Vol. 3', 1975, Aichi Prefectural Police Headquarters, National Diet Library Digital Collection
'Shin Aichi', Shin Aichi Shimbunsha
'Nagoya Shimbun', Nagoya Shimbunsha
<Reference Websites>
'Shimizu Corporation History Museum', 'Heritage Vol. 12: Yahagi Hydroelectric Yasuoka Power Station'
'Japan Food Journal', October 10, 2001, 'Ryoshoku and Matsurihara to integrate management in December next year, strengthening sales structure in Western Japan at once'
'Aichi Prefectural Police Band', 'History of the Band'
'Hosei University Symphony Orchestra', 'History of the Orchestra'