Japanese willow question?

I planted a japanese willow tree last summer. This spring it had all red twigs with what looked like buds on them, and yet no leaves seem to be growing on them, and yet there is a lot of new growth that came up from the center of the trunk. Is this normal? And if so should I trim the twigs that do not have growth or just let them be?

Please advise,
Thank you,
Lisa Kessig

 

All the leafless stems are dead and can be pruned out. It is re-growing from live wood lower down. It grows very fast; by the end of the summer, you wouldn't know it had been in a poor way in the spring.

 

Thank you very much for the solution.
Lisa

 

Maybe it froze back during the winter.

 

That ring around the trunk below the foliage is worrying, looks like a staking tie became embedded in the bark. Might be another possible cause of the die back.