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Since the beginning of Westernisation in the mid-1800s, Japanese musicians have avidly adopted a variety of foreign genres, including Western concert music, jazz, rock, salsa and hip-hop. However, apart from some notable exceptions, many of them have had difficulty in gaining recognition in the West, particularly in North America. Although the Japanese have been playing these genres for decades, one encounters with regularity Western writers who assume that Japanese musicians are mere imitators who are uncreative and inauthentic, able to capture the technique but not the soul of these genres. Take, for example, English writer Garry Sharpe-Young's description of Japanese heavy metal in Metal: The Definitive Guide (emphases mine):
Critics pointed towards a lack of feeling in the music, perhaps betraying a lack of blues foundation. While Japanese guitar gurus could match and outstrip their Western counterparts, it often seemed that their technicality masked a dearth of true passion. Somehow, it seemed that the Japanese had been able to emulate and expand the heavy metal formula, but somehow failed to get the gut instinct and individuality that was the very heart and soul of it ... the East remains an enigma. (Sharpe-Young 2007, p. 408)
However, the same author views this 'lack of blues foundation' and 'coldness' as positives for German metal:
... what set German metal apart was a strict non-reliance on the blues ... [The Germans'] natural aptitude and fondness for heavy industry meant that Teutonic metal was as cold and unforgiving as it could get. (Sharpe-Young 2007, p. 332)
Similarly, Atkins (2001) and Condry (2006) provide many examples of dismissive commentary regarding the authenticity of Japanese jazz and hip-hop artists.
Why are Japanese artists prone to accusations of inauthenticity and inferiority, evidently more so than European artists performing foreign styles? One answer lies in the West's persistent perception of Japan as a perpetual Other. Marilyn Ivy cites a Time article describing Japan as 'exclusive, homogeneous, ... tribal' as evidence that Americans perceive Japan as 'culturally not modern' (Ivy 1995, p. 2). Moreover, Japan is complicit in this exoticised view, as it cherishes its own image of uniqueness, thereby living up to its difference; it also revels in its image as the master...