New Books in Music

Margaret Mehl, "Music and the Making of Modern Japan: Joining the Global Concert" (Open Book, 2024)

Nov 23, 2024

Margaret Mehl, a music scholar, dives into how Western classical music influenced Japan's nation-building in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She discusses the concept of 'musicking' and how music shaped Japanese identity while also integrating local traditions. Mehl highlights cultural intersections during trade and occupation, revealing how these dynamics affected societal changes. Moreover, she explores the fusion of Western and Japanese musical styles, showcasing how this blend transformed the national music culture and ongoing dialogues about cultural heritage.

58:20

Episode guests

Margaret Mehl

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

Western classical music significantly influenced Japanese nation-building by fostering emotional connections and community engagement during modernization efforts.

The interplay between Western and Japanese musical traditions led to unique expressions of identity, illustrating a mutual transformation rather than mere appropriation.

Deep dives

The Impact of Music on Japanese Nation Building

Music played a pivotal role in shaping Japanese nation building during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The introduction of Western classical music was not merely about adopting foreign sounds but involved understanding music as a functional medium that aligned with modernization efforts. Leaders recognized that suitable musical functions were more critical than the music itself; therefore, Western music's perceived superiority was evaluated based on its applicability to national identity and community engagement. This functionality of music included its ability to foster emotional connections and contemporary performances, becoming part of Japan's evolving sense of identity and the global stage.

Intro

2min

Musical Modernity in Japan

14min

Cultural Intersections: Music, Politics, and Japan's Global Connections

3min

Cultural Convergence in Japanese Music

23min

Songs as Instruments of Global Integration

2min

The Deep Roots of Western Music in Japan's Cultural Fabric

3min

Fusion of Melodies: Japan Meets the West

8min

Margaret Mehl’s Music and the Making of Modern Japan: Joining the Global Concert (Open Book 2024) examines the ways in which Western classical (or “art”) music contributed to Japanese nation-building in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Mehl’s analysis of this critical half-century or so in modern Japanese history is sensitive to the power of the participative “musicking” in shaping shared understandings of national and local community and their place within a larger world. The book, which is split into the global, national, and local, also demonstrates that as much as Western art music shaped Japan, Japan shaped back. In doing so, “Japanese” music was defined in important ways that have continued to influence a sense of national self and culture.

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