Chindon-ya (brass, wind and percussion bands peddling goods or services on the streets) might not immediately spring to mind as a part of Japanese musical "tradition." Indeed, chindon has never been fully recognized as even a legitimate form of music.
Chindon has had a checkered history. A thriving street trade in the 1920s, it was banned during World War II. A postwar resurgence was soon threatened again by new forms of advertising. It has been kept alive since by a few revivalists.
At an upcoming Tokyo concert, it will be possible to hear both the archetypal chindon and a radical departure taken by the group Cicala Mvta (pronounced "Shikala Moota").
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