Otsuka Brothers 12/21/1963 at Kirin Kaikan in Osaka, Japan
Akira Shochan Otsuka-mandolin, Tsuyoshi Josh Otsuka-fiddle, Yutaka Otsuka-guitar

Tex Logan Party August 1971 by Ron Petronko

Alan Munde, Kenny Baker, ?-bass (hidden), Bill Monroe, Tex Logan, Jimmy Martin

Tex, Bluegrass 45: Liao, Sab, Toshio, Akira with Monroe's mandolin, Josh

Sab, Toshio, Liao, Akira (hidden), Josh,
(in doorway) Bill Monroe worrying about his mandolin, Jimmy Martin, ?,
(on the floor) Steve Mandell

Josh Otsuka (guitar), Sab Watanabe Inoue (banjo), Akira Otsuka (mandolin)

In '71, we played at Beanblossom, Country Gentlemen's in Webster, MA, all three Carlton Haney's festival (Berryville, VA, Gettysburg, PA & Campspring, NC), a contest in Callaway, MD.
We played many Country Music shows opening up for Conway Twitty, Loretta Lynn, Merle Haggard and Jerry Lee Lewis.
- Akira Otsuka, November 2016

City Jubilee concert (a series) in Osaka circa 1970 (a concert series) in Osaka circa 1970. Hippie days!
(photographer unknown)
Hsueh-Cheng Liao (fiddle), Akira Otsuka (mandolin), Josh Otsuka (guitar),
Sab Watanabe Inoue (banjo), Toshio Watanabe (bass)

Kishida Photography store in Takarazuka circa 1970 (Photo by Hitoshi Kishida)

Sogo Department store in the fall of 1971 after the US summer tour (photographer unknown)
Hsueh-Cheng Liao (fiddle), Josh Otsuka (guitar), Sab Watanabe Inoue (banjo),
unidentified girl, Akira Otsuka (mandolin).

1970 World Expo, Osaka, Canadian Pavilion - I'm pretty sure my mom (Tama Otsuka) took the picture.
guest fiddler Kunihiko Hayashi, Akira Otsuka (mandolin), Josh Otsuka (guitar),
Sab Watanabe Inoue (banjo) and Toshio Watanabe (bass).

The second weekend in 1972 September, "It's a Crying Time" and "Bluegrass 45" were heading out to
the last festival of our summer before we headed back to Japan. That festival was held at
Timberlake Park in Fairfax Country, Virginia, not too far from Dulles Airport.
The County government denied a permit for this festival so we saw a sign saying "The festival is
banned and anybody attending will be arrested." However, if you drive 100 yards, we saw
"The Festival in ON!! Come on in!" Another 100 yards "You'll go to jail." and so on.

It was scary but everything was fine and we enjoyed Seldom Scene, Country Gentlemen, Earl Scruggs,
JD Crowe and the New South with Rice brothers, Eddie Adcock's IInd Generation, Dillards.

Next Monday morning we were at the Dulles Airport to see some of us off but we had time so we went
into a restaurant for a breakfast. We just happened to notice what a gentleman in a next booth was
reading - it had a huge picture of Bluegrass 45 on stage!!

  
Haruo Kurokawa (banjo), Akira Otsuka (duck), Josh Otsuka (guitar) and Takao Koba (bass)
Not shown is Kouji Takada
The Evening Star 9/11/1972 - That's the newspaper where Mike Auldridge used to work.

Akira Otsuka, Haruo Kurokawa, Satoshi Yamaguchi, Kouji Takada, Eiichi Shimizu & Takao "Joe" Koba

Satoshi Yamaguchi, Eiichi Shimizu, Kazuyoshi Onishi & Akira "May" Katsumi

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