By Patrick Markey
Mention of Japan often conjures up images of high-speed trains, sushi and salarymen. But inside New York’s Japanese consulate this week, the talk is all about St. Patrick. Or, more specifically, the march, the pipes and the drums.
Japan’s consul general to New York, Ambassador Seiichiro Otsuka, a piper himself, will be joining the 30 members of the Tokyo Pipe Band as they march up Fifth Avenue for the first time in the band’s 24-year history.
Otsuka, a career diplomat who has worked in New York for two years, discovered his passion for the bagpipes while stationed at the Japanese consulate in Edinburgh. Walking at dusk on the city’s old walls, he heard the tones of a lone piper, and was immediately captivated.
"That sound has a very evocative quality. I feel in it the Samurai warrior spirit," Otsuka said.
During his time in Scotland, the ambassador also developed a love for the poetry of Robert Burns. Even now, he holds regular Burns nights — a Scottish celebration — and can recite stanza after stanza from the poems of Scotland’s most famous son. Even the Scots accent is there.
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His enthusiasm for highland culture seems infectious. Otsuka’s 9-year-old son, Seisuke, has also recently taken up the pipes. "He started a year ago and he’s already surpassed me," his father said.
The Tokyo Pipe Band was created in 1975 after a visit to Japan by Queen Elizabeth. What started as a small troupe of ex-pats and Japanese enthusiasts has grown to a band with more than 50 pipers and drummers. The band has already won several international competitions, but the invitation from organizers to march in the New York St. Patrick’s Day parade is the greatest honor so far, Otsuka said.
"They are really thrilled. It’s the greatest parade in the U.S.," he said.