World of Pageantry

YJ! Yamato Japan to Expand Operations in Japan! [October 9, 2003] Yamato was originally conceived to be a drum corps that competes only in North America. As a member of DCI Division 2 & 3, Yamato established itself as a competitive North American drum and bugle corps having been crowned DCI's first International Division Champion, 5-time DCI 2 & 3 finalists, 2-time bronze and 1-time silver medalists. However, Yamato's name and presence in Japan was almost non-existent. In its seven-year history, Yamato has never performed or competed in Japan. The words, "Out of Sight, Out of Mind," was true in Yamato's case as recruitment suffered the past couple of years. To remedy this situation, Yamato decided to initiate plans to establish a competing group in Japan and qualify for the All Japan Marching Band National Contest held at the Tokyo Budokan Hall in January of 2005....

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http://www.yamatodrumcorps.org/news/news8.html