ABSTRACT
“Japanese popular music” is a phrase that lends this book its title, yet what does the phrase mean? Some scholars define it by its differences to “Western” music (Cahoon 1993: 1284) while others are focused on departures (or lack thereof) between Japanese popular (implying contemporary) music and Japanese traditional music (de Ferranti 2002). This chapter explores cultural markers associated with Japanese popular music and reexamines some of the notions that inform our concepts of “Japanese-ness” and national identity as expressed through music.
