Minyo Crusaders

Minyo Crusaders is coming near you with an approach that places minyo, Japanese folk song, at the centre of a global musical dialogue.

Based in Tokyo, the collective rearranges traditional Japanese songs through Latin American, African, Caribbean, and Asian rhythms. Its members emerged from Tokyo's jazz, Latin music, and Afrobeat scene. Their work revives the ambition of postwar ensembles such as the Tokyo Cuban Boys and Noche Kubana, which also brought Japanese folk music into contact with Latin rhythms.

The debut album Echoes of Japan, released in 2017, reworks songs associated with fishers, coal miners, and sumo wrestlers. It includes Kushimoto Bushi, Tanko Bushi, Aizu Bandaisan, and Sumo Jinku, drawing on cumbia, boogaloo, reggae, Afro-funk, and Ethiopian jazz. In 2020, Minyo Crusaders collaborated with the Colombian collective Frente Cumbiero on Minyo Cumbiero. The group followed with Tour of Japan in 2023 and From Japan with Love in June 2026. The new album includes Hanagasa Ondo with Frente Cumbiero, as well as Hokkai Bon Uta, Waido Bushi, and Shigesa Bushi. Minyo Crusaders appears with guests at Bar le Ritz PDB on September 27, 2026.

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