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Japans Early Twentieth-Century Violin Boom
Margaret Mehl University of Copenhagen
Introduction
Invasion from the Orient; Young Violinists from Asia Gain Major Place on American Musical Scene; Suzukis Pupils Learn Music First:1 in the 1960s, headlines such as these drew attention to how successfully Asians had made Western art music their own; violinists from Japan were among the rst. Observers have speculated on the reasons, but few know enough about Japanese history to realize that the phenomenon had its roots in developments during the Mei period (18681912).
Aer the Mei Restoration of 1868, the government systematically introduced Western music as part of the general Westernization and modernization policies. Of particular importance for the violin was its use in teaching singing in schools from the 1880s onwards. While the American reed organ soon became the instrument of choice for schools, many schools could not aord one until the twentieth century; meanwhile the violin, in the hands of music teachers, reached the remotest parts of the country. Of equal importance was that cheap, domestically produced violins became widely available from around 1890, making it possible for individuals who were not rich but reasonably well-o to own a violin. For some, a violin may well have been an attractive Western gadget (one of the earliest newspaper advertisements for a violin appears on a page with advertisements for factory machines, umbrellas and top hats). At once interestingly exotic and reassuringly familiar (Japan had stringed instruments of its own), it had the additional benet of providing entertainment. By 1907, music magazines were observing that the violin had become extremely popular (ryk).
I thank the Institute for Advanced Study (Princeton, NJ) and the Edward T. Cone Foundation for granting me a membership at the Institute, which enabled me to write this article. Japanese names in the main text are given according to Japanese convention with the surname rst. Violin is transcribed variously in Japanese phonetic katakana script as baiorin, vaiorin, and so on; in transliterating I have attempted to follow the original Japanese transcription as far as possible.
Invasion from the Orient, Time, no. 3 (Nov. 1967), http://www.time.com/time/ magazine/article/0,9171,837457,00.htm (accessed 27 Nov. 2009); Donal Henahan, Young Violinists From Asia Gain Major Place on Americal Musical Scene, New York Times (2 Aug....