Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Central Band

The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Central Band (陸上自衛隊中央音楽隊) or JGSDF Central Band is the priemer military band of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. Its main activities include national ceremonies, regular concerts in the Tokyo metropolitan area, chamber music concerts, and national tour concerts. It also appears at a wide range of events such as joint concerts with Bands from the Maritime and Air Self-Defense Forces. The Central Band also presides over all military bands of the Ground Self-Defense Force and is modeled on military bands in the United States and the United Kingdom.

History
The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force Central Band was established in June 1951 under the jurisdiction of the National Police Reserve, predecessor of the JGSDF. Its history is rooted in the long heritage of Japanese military music, and more specifically the Imperial Japanese Army Band beginning in the 1880s. Throughout the last 60 years, it has remained one of Japan's best-known wind ensembles.

Purpose and Tradition
The JGSDF adopted a more western style military band, which originated in Japan during the Meiji Restoration, which saw the reform of the armed forces to the standards of Western armed services. The JGSDF's bands also carry on the practice of bugle call playing, with bugle platoons present in every unit in the JGSDF using G major bugles.

As a JSDF military band, the JGSDF Central Band often takes part in performances to welcome state guest and official visitors and at national events.

Organization of the JGSDF Ground Forces Bands
The JGSDF Central Band, as the premier band of the service, is also the principal ensemble of the Ground Forces Bands Service, which is modeled on the United States Army Bands and the British Army Corps of Army Music. The other bands that compose the service are:

Army Bands

 * Northern Army Band (Camp Makomanai, Sapporo, Hokkaido)
 * North Eastern Army Band (Camp Sendai, Sendai, Miyagi)
 * Eastern Army Band (Camp Asaka, Nerima, Tokyo)
 * Central Army Band (Camp Itami, Itami, Hyōgo)
 * Western Army Band (Camp Kengun, Kumamoto, Kumamoto)

Division Bands and Brigade Bands

 * 1st Band (Camp Nerima), a part of the 1st Division
 * 2nd Band (Asahikawa Air Field, Hokkaido), a part of the 2nd Division
 * 3rd Band (Camp Senzo), a part of the 3rd Division
 * 4th Band (Camp Fukuoka), a part of the 4th Division
 * 5th Band (Tokachi Airfield, Obihiro, Hokkaido), a part of the 5th Brigade
 * 6th Band (Camp Jinmachi), a part of the 6th Division
 * 7th Band (Camp Higashi-Chitose), a part of the 7th Division
 * 8th Band (Camp Kita-Kumamoto), a part of the 8th Division
 * 9th Band (Camp Aomori), a part of the 9th Division
 * 10th Band (Camp Moriyama), a part of the 10th Division
 * 11th Band (Camp Makomanai), a part of the 11th Brigade
 * 12th Band (Camp Soumagahara), a part of the 12th Brigade
 * 13th Band (Camp Kaitaichi), a part of the 13th Brigade
 * 14th Band (Camp Zentsuji), a part of the 14th Brigade
 * 15th Band (Camp Naha), a part of the 15th Brigade

Awards and Honours

 * April 2008 – The Central Band was awarded the 18th Academy Award of Band Performance by the Japan Musical Education and Culture Promotion Society.
 * 2009 - The Central Band was awarded the Colonel George S. Howard Citation of Musical Excellence for Military Concert Bands by the John Philip Sousa Foundation.
 * August 2017 - At the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo 2017 in Scotland, the Central Band was awarded the Polly Sword, the award to the best-performing band in the tattoo.