Flower Travellin' Band

Flower Travellin' Band
Company type	Band
Industry	Music
Founded	1967
Defunct	1973, 2011
Fate	Disbanded after vocalist Joe Yamanaka's death
Headquarters	Tokyo, Japan
Products	Music albums, singles, live performances

Adapted from the English Wikipedia article Flower Travellin' Band, available under CC BY-SA 4.0Updated 29 November 2025

was a Japanese rock group established in 1967, associated with the country's 1960s counterculture. They gained recognition for merging elements of early heavy metal with psychedelic and progressive rock. Although praised by critics, commercial triumph remained out of reach, resulting in their disbandment in 1973 as members embarked on solo endeavors. The band reunited briefly in late 2007 but ultimately dissolved permanently following the passing of vocalist Joe Yamanaka in 2011.

While their commercial impact was limited, their albums continue to be available and are issued on high-quality audio formats such as SHM-CDs. Former members still perform Flower Travellin' Band material live under the name Flower Power.

History

The origins of the band trace back to a side project initiated by Yuya Uchida after returning from England in the mid-1960s, where he experienced the work of artists like Cream and Jimi Hendrix. Intent on bringing this style to Japan, he formed the "Flowers" cover band featuring group sounds musicians and vocalists Hiroshi Chiba and Remi Aso. Their 1968 album Challenge! consisted mainly of covers from Hendrix, Cream, and others; its nude cover image attracted media attention.

In 1969, following Aso and guitarist Katsuhiko Kobayashi's move to the United States, Uchida kept drummer George Wada and added guitarist Hideki Ishima, vocalist Joe Yamanaka, and bassist Jun Kobayashi to create Flower Travellin' Band with ambitions for international exposure. They collaborated with jazz trumpeter Terumasa Hino on "Crash" and released a mini-album titled Anywhere in 1970, continuing their use of nude album artwork.

At Expo '70, the Canadian group Lighthouse invited them to Canada. To prepare, they rapidly recorded their original album Satori (1971). After relocating to Toronto, they shared stages with artists such as Dr. John and Emerson, Lake & Palmer, including four performances alongside Lighthouse at Ontario Place. During this period, they recorded Made in Japan and secured a contract with GRT Records.

Returning to Japan in 1972 for a concert at Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, they were scheduled to tour with the Rolling Stones in 1973; however, all shows were canceled due to visa complications involving Mick Jagger. They released the partially studio, partially live album Make Up and performed at Maruyama Park in Kyoto.

Following this final concert before an extended break, Uchida engaged in various projects while band members pursued solo careers. Joe Yamanaka issued solo albums and collaborated with reggae icons The Wailers Band. In 1990, Ishima ceased playing guitar and began studying sitar under Indian musician Manilal Nag starting in 1998, eventually inventing the sitarla—a fusion of electric guitar and sitar—in 2000.

On November 25, 2007, Flower Travellin' Band officially reformed with the addition of keyboardist Nobuhiko Shinohara. Ishima mentioned that previous reunion discussions centered on nostalgia, which he opposed; the reunion succeeded when new compositions were introduced alongside classic tracks as part of a three-year plan. Despite years apart, Kobayashi and Wada enthusiastically returned, motivated by Ishima’s innovative instrument breathing new life into older material. In 2008 they released We Are Here, performing in New York City and Canada. Tours ceased in March 2010 after Yamanaka was diagnosed with lung cancer. His death on August 7, 2011 marked the end of the band. Uchida passed away from pneumonia on March 17, 2019 at age 79.

Members

Joji "George" Wada – drums (1967–1973, 2007–2011)
Joe Yamanaka – vocals, harmonica (1969–1973, 2007–2011, until his passing)
Hideki Ishima – sitarla, guitar, sitar (1969–1973, 2007–2011)
Jun Kobayashi (previously known as Jun Kozuki) – bass (1969–1973, 2007–2011)
Nobuhiko Shinohara – keyboards (2007–2011)
Yuya Uchida – percussion, backing vocals, producer (1967–1973, deceased 2019)
Remi Aso – vocals, guitar (1967–1969)
Katsuhiko Kobayashi – guitar (1967–1969)
Susumu Oku – guitar, backing vocals (1967–1969)
Ken Hashimoto – bass (1967–1969)
Hiroshi Chiba – vocals (1967–1968)
Kento Nakamura – vocals (1968–1969)

Timeline

ImageSize = width:1100 height:350 PlotArea = left:150 bottom:100 top:0 right:50 Alignbars = justify DateFormat = mm/dd/yyyy Period = from:01/01/1967 till:08/07/2011 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy

Colors =

 id:band                value:gray(0.60) legend:Band
 id:Vocals              value:red       legend:Vocals
 id:Guitars             value:green     legend:Guitar 
 id:Sitar               value:teal      legend:Sitar,_Sitarla
 id:Keyboards           value:purple    legend:Keyboards
 id:Bass                value:blue      legend:Bass
 id:Drums               value:orange    legend:Drums
 id:Producer            value:yellow    legend:Producer
 id:Lines               value:black     legend:Releases
 id:bars                value:gray(0.92)

Legend = orientation:vertical position:bottom columns:2 BackgroundColors = bars:bars ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:1967 ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:1967

LineData =

 at:07/25/1969 color:black layer:back
 at:10/21/1970 color:black layer:back
 at:04/05/1971 color:black layer:back
 at:02/10/1972 color:black layer:back
 at:02/25/1973 color:black layer:back 
 at:09/17/2008 color:black layer:back

BarData =

 bar:Flowers text:"Yuya Uchida & the Flowers"
 bar:FTB text:"Flower Travellin' Band"
 bar:Chiba text:"Hiroshi Chiba"
 bar:Nakamura text:"Kento Nakamura"
 bar:Aso text:"Remi Aso"
 bar:Yamanaka text:"Joe Yamanaka"
 bar:katushiko text:"Katsuhiko Kobayashi"
 bar:susumu text:"Susumu Oku"
 bar:Ishima text:"Hideki Ishima"
 bar:sinohara text:"Nobuhiko Shinohara"
 bar:hashimoto text:"Ken Hashimoto"
 bar:kobayashi text:"Jun Kobayashi"
 bar:wada text:"George Wada"
 bar:yuchida text:"Yuya Uchida"

PlotData=

 width:11 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4)
 bar:Flowers from:start till:09/01/1969 color:band
 bar:FTB from:11/01/1969 till:end color:band
 bar:Chiba from:start till:07/01/1968 color:vocals
 bar:Nakamura from:07/01/1968 till:06/01/1969 color:vocals
 bar:Aso from:start till:end color:vocals
 bar:Yamanaka from:11/01/1969 till:end color:vocals
 bar:Ishima from:11/01/1969 till:end color:guitars
 bar:katushiko from:start till:end color:guitars
 bar:susumu from:start till:end color:guitars
 bar:sinohara from:start till:end color:keyboards
 bar:kobayashi from:start till:end color:bass
 bar:wada from:start till:end color:drums
 bar:yuchida from:start till:end color:producer

</timeline>

Yuya Uchida & the Flowers

Studio albums

Challenge! (1969) – The group's inaugural album.

Singles

"Last Chance" backed with "Flower Boy" (1969)
"Flower Boy" backed with "Last Chance" (1969)
"Fantastic Girl" backed with "Yogiri no Trumpet" (1969)

Appearances

Opera from the Works of Tadanori Yokoo (1969) – A multimedia project by Toshi Ichiyanagi featuring contributions from multiple artists.
Rock 'n' Roll Jam '70 (1970) – Live recording including performances of "All Is Loneliness", "Piece of My Heart", "You Shook Me", and "Cozmic Blues".