Researching Military Music in Japan: An Interview with Emily Lu, Ph.D. Candidate in History
I am in my fourth year in the Ph.D. program and am working on military music in Japan during World War II. I discovered that topic in my very first semester at FSU. I took a seminar on the history of medieval England with Dr. Ben Dodds and for the final project we were asked to deliver a lecture on the connection between an aspect of medieval England and modern life. I chose the theme of music.
Right before I came to FSU, I had lived near the Appalachian Mountains in eastern Tennessee for two years. Country music and bluegrass are hugely popular in that region. I had gotten involved with the local bluegrass community and knew about the Celtic, Scotch-Irish folk music traditions that were part of the Appalachian soundscape. I knew quite a bit about music and presented on the connections between medieval English folk music and the music performed in modern day American Appalachia.
This project gave me the inspiration to work on the history of music. I chose Japan, especially the Japanese Empire, because it combined my earlier interest in transnational history with the history of music. While World War II music scholarship has focused on Nazi Germany, not much has been written on wartime Japan. There was quite a vigorous musical exchange between Germany and Japan, and I wanted to explore the Japanese side. Music was used as a form of soft propaganda in Japan too.
When Japan began its period of modernization in the mid-19th century, it set out to learn from Western nations about modern politics, governance, science, and so on. Western music became popular. During the war years, because of the close connections to Nazi Germany, German composers that were celebrated in the Reich like Richard Wagner, were also celebrated in Japan. German music and musicians were held in high social and cultural esteem.
The music that I look at specifically is called ‘gunka,’ which literally means military or martial music or songs. This too is an import from the 19th century. As Japan reorganized its military along western lines, it also introduced marching bands and military music. Music was considered important for boosting the morale of the soldiers.
I examine this music specifically during World War II, because that was the period that gunka became very popular among both the soldiers at the warfront, as well as those remaining back home. A lot of music began to incorporate martial elements. Gunka expanded beyond strictly military music to include the music of the stage, pop music, too. Because it was so widely listened to, artists wrote, performed and recorded their own gunka songs, both as patriotic acts supporting the war effort and also to become more successful within the music industry.
When I began my research, I was interested in finding out how gunka portrayed non-Japanese people, how that was achieved lyrically and melodically. Then I found a lot of material that explained how music and politics are inseparable, how the individual and the state are equally inseparable. That made me look at the intelligentsia’s philosophy about people and authority in wartime society and how music was used as a propaganda tool. My big question now is: How did people use music to negotiate individuality in a collectivist wartime society? What is the relationship between those who are making music, composers and musicians, and those who are consuming music, at the front and at home, and the music itself.
To find out what kind of music people consumed, I have looked at or listened to music scores, booklets, songs, music curriculum textbook, records, films, and radio programs. Gunka lyrics were also printed on postcards, teacups, mugs, and everyday items. During my stay, I saw a lot of antique with gunka lyrics in flea markets. Of course, I bought one of those postcards! There is something special about holding your research in your hand as a physical object. It gave me a direct connection with the past.
But most of my research is grounded in textual archival sources. I worked in the National Diet Library of Japan, which is the biggest library in Japan. There I consulted music-themed journals and magazines from the war. In Kyoto, I worked in the Nichibunken, which is the International Research Center for Japanese Studies, where they had collections of music scores, song books and textbooks. In yet another music library at Tokyo’s Bunka Kaikan, I found records of community events involving music that were hosted regularly during the war.
Japanese is not my native language, but I tried to use it, as it was important for the Fulbright-Hays program that funded my stay in Japan that I communicated in my host country’s language as much as possible. It wasn’t always easy, though. Especially in the beginning, I had a bit of a culture shock when I realized that I would have to speak Japanese for the next seven months exclusively! But I gradually got comfortable with speaking the language for everyday affairs and my research–and I think it was also more respectful to not automatically fall back on English. The biggest surprise was attending graduate-level seminars at Waseda University and realizing that I did not understand anything. It made me think about overseas students at FSU and what it must be like to attend classes when you are a non-native English speaker.
I was affiliated with Waseda University and was also able to find a place to live through their housing program for foreign researchers. On a typical day, I would have a solid breakfast to sustain me to work in the archives intensely for four to five hours – no food or drink during that time! After that, I’d go for a walk in a park or have a meal to release the stress. In the evenings, I sat down to organize the sources that I had found that day. I was able to take pictures in most archives, and sometimes I could print out PDF versions of magazine articles I needed.
I also started writing my dissertation during my stay. I was writing while I was doing research. I had so many thoughts swirling around my head that I felt it was important to write those down as soon as possible. I wrote different chunks of the dissertation, disjointed for sure, but it was important for me to connect the dots while doing research. I am hoping to defend in summer 2025.
While this was not my first time in Japan, it was my first time as a researcher. That gave me a new role, a more formal and professional position. I needed to look and behave in a certain way. It made making friends more difficult: to move from the professional to a personal plane. It was a very different way of interacting with people, and there were days when I felt quite lonely. All the people I knew were either family or Japanese friends I had made back in the U.S. I traveled to different places in Japan to meet up with them. I was able to befriend other scholars and researchers though. I made several contacts with other Ph.D. students, both from within Japan and from without.
I learned to do things by myself. I loved eating out; the food was so very fresh and tasty. I went to see shows and gaming arcades by myself, and it was very normal to go on your own. No one looked at me weirdly, when I went for karaoke, paid for my 30 minutes and then sang. Tokyo is just bustling with entertainment venues, and they are a great way to release stress.
I loved going to museums. There is this neighborhood in Tokyo called Ueno which houses many national museums for the art, history, science, and so on. There is also a park and a zoo. It was my favorite place to hang out and people watch and then go and visit a museum. It was the perfect third space to relax in. If you wanted to talk to people, you could - but there was no obligation. You could be alone surrounded by people. That was very comforting.
I have three pieces of advice to others going abroad for research. One is to familiarize yourself with resources in your host country. For instance, think about how you will feel being away from family and friends for a prolonged period. If that seems fine, no worries. But if you feel anxious about feeling homesick or living on your own far away, then it is important to discover mental health resources that you can use while away. Waseda University had a counselling service for students and there was also a volunteer-run hotline manned by English-speaking volunteers that one could talk to or text at any time. That is good to know because Florida or FSU services will not transfer abroad. In addition, make sure you know basic law of the country, be able to identify legal and community resources available to foreign residents.
The other thing is to apply for the maximum time you can spend abroad. I had chosen to stay for seven months but I could have applied for 12. I tried to extend my stay once I was already in Japan but unfortunately it wasn’t possible. Especially, if your place of research is very far away, and you might not be able to go back so easily, stay as long as you can. I could have used the extra time: as I got more into my research, I realized that there were other archives besides the main ones that I should visit. Extra time also helps with immersion in the culture. It makes your research itinerary less stressful, especially if you start writing while away. Stay for as long as you are allowed!
Lastly, take care of your health by preparing for the weather and climate where you are going for fieldwork. This past summer in Japan was one of the hottest yet, and I struggled with heat exhaustion. Luckily, there are an abundance of drink vending machines in Japan, but I always brought with me a water bottle, a sweat towel, a pair of sunglasses, a foldable fan, and wore sunscreen. Also, if you will be taking lots of packed public transit, always bring hand sanitizer with you, and wear a mask if you prefer—taking those measures probably helped keeping me from getting sick.