Minyo Crusaders

OriginFussa City, Tokyo, Japan

Genres

• Min'yō
• Caribbean
• Latin
• African
• World music

Years active2011 (2011)–present

Labels

• Mais Um
• P-Vine Records
• Universal Music Japan

Minyo Crusaders
The ensemble after performing at the 2023 Japan Festival
Background information
Origin	Fussa City, Tokyo, Japan
Genres	Min'yō Caribbean Latin African World music
Years active	2011 (2011)–present
Labels	Mais Um P-Vine Records Universal Music Japan
Members	Fready Tsukamoto（vocals） Katsumi Tanaka（guitar） Moe（keys） Koichiro Osawa（sax） Sono（timbales） Mutsumi Kobayashi (bongos and percussions） Irochi（congas）
Past members	DADDY U（b） Meg（vocals, pianica） Yamauchi Stephan（tp） Shoji Ishiguro（b）
Website	minyocrusaders.com

Minyo Crusaders (Japanese: 民謡クルセイダーズ) is a Japanese musical group that reworks traditional Japanese folk songs (min'yō) with arrangements inspired by various international music genres, including Caribbean, Latin and African music. The group was co-founded by Katsumi Tanaka and Freddie Tsukamoto, with the goal of reviving min'yō as a "music for the people".^[1][2]

The pair played casually around Fussa for a number of years, with an assortment of musicians dropping in and out and eventually including Fussa "drumming legend" Sono. The turning point came when Tokyo roots scene veteran DADDY U joined the band as bass player and provided connections to a varied pool of musicians working across Tokyo. Through him, the rest of the band was introduced. ^[3]

They released their first album, Echoes of Japan, in 2017 on P-Vine Records.^[4] In the album, the Minyo Crusaders attempt to bring Min'yo back to its 'common man' origins, going against the recent trend that Min'yo at-large had of appealing to the upper classes despite its working class roots.^[5] The album was later reissued on Mais Um in 2019.^[6]