Yohei Natsui

Director of CORE
President of UNISON COMPANY, Inc.

CORE was formed in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, the birthplace of marching bands in Japan, as Japan’s first drum performance group using marching drums. At that time, drum line entertainment only existed in the United States, the home of marching bands. It did not exist in Japan, and CORE could not even find marching instruments in Japan at that time. As the first marching drum line in Japan, CORE began with a performance in “Yokohama”, directed by Amon Miyamoto. In 2011, Natsui founded his own management production company, UNISON, directing CORE as its professional drum line group.

In 2019, CORE brought their original show JAPANESQUE MATSURI at Tokyo Asakusa, featuring film director Yukihiko Tsutsumi, with whom they had previously worked on a Taro Hakase concert. It was a piece that presented a lot of challenges for CORE. The show was well received by a wide range of audiences. The time we spent with Director Tsutsumi was very precious to us. Although marching and drumming has roots in the West, the use of drums to make music has a long history in Japan in taiko drumming. Our vision is to combine the expressiveness of taiko drumming with this western art form using western drum line instruments to produce a performance experience that is uniquely Japanese. 

As a pioneer in this genre, CORE inspires, enlightens, and charms audiences with its unique performances.

CORE would like to create exciting, joyful, and delightful experiences for the audience, not to mention the charm of this genre, as a pioneer of the performance group using marching drums in the future. We look forward to your continued support and encouragement.

Director of CORE, President of UNISON COMPANY, Inc.
Yohei Natsui

About Yohei Natsui
Born in Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture, Natsui attended Kanto Gakuin Junior High School, which has a long history of marching bands. There, he played in the marching band as a marching percussionist for the next six years. After graduating, he joined Pioneer Drum & Bugle Corps, a band of DCI (DrumCorps International), the largest marching organization in the United States, playing snare drum. Throughout American life and culture, he learned instrumental performance techniques and the American marching rehearsal system. After returning to Japan, he was a member of the “Yokohama INSPIRES Drum & Bugle corps” ensemble for two years.
In 2006, while working for a IT company, he founded Japan’s first drum line performance group, CORE After leaving the company for five years to concentrate on CORE activities, marching instruction and arranging, he founded UNISON COMPANY in 2011. He has created a variety of performances using marching drums. He also trains and instructs younger students to learn the joys of percussion and marching.