JAPAN: Chindonya - Japanese street musicians
This is a photo of a mini band named 'Chindonya' walking by at a zebra zone in our neighborhood of the Keio campus. In old times they were also called tozaiya or hiromeya.
They play music with a drum, a saxophone, and a couple of other instruments dressed in fancy clothes. Their purpose is to make passers-by know that there will be a sale or new opening of a store nearby. When I was a kid, which means half a century ago, in Tokyo this kind of "street bands" were regularly seen on the streets. They didn't have any other means of advertising or promoting of a sale or a new store. Any way they were very impressive at that moment and they reminded me of my childhood for a while.
by Hideyuki Baba, Japan - Keio Girls' High School
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