午夜剧场

The starting point for my research on piano culture was when my son, who had been dedicated to the piano for 16 years, quit just before his music college entrance exams and enrolled in the 午夜剧场 Faculty of Science and Technology a few months later. My son's sudden change of path and his admission to 午夜剧场 inspired me to explore the sociological meaning of the piano, which had always been by my side since childhood, leading me to enroll in the 午夜剧场 Graduate School of Human Relations. Meeting Professor Emeritus Hisashi Yano during my first year of the Master's program became the motivation for me to proceed to the Doctoral Programs and eventually publish this book.

Japan originally had no piano culture, but looking at the 140-year evolution of piano culture from the Meiji era—when the piano was first imported as an instrument—to the present, it can be argued that Japan did not simply inherit Western piano culture, but created a unique piano culture of its own. Therefore, I divided the 140 years of the piano's evolution into the stages of emergence, dissemination, and maturity. I then analyzed these periods from a historical-sociological perspective using Pierre Bourdieu's concept of "cultural capital" and Yosuke Koto's concept of "hybrid modern."

Today, the image of the piano in Japan as merely a hobby for young girls has faded, and the culture has progressed even further than in the West where the piano was born, as seen in the existence of "high-level amateurs" with performance skills rivaling those of music college students. There must have been a uniquely Japanese way of accepting piano culture that does not exist in the West. As a means of exploring that background, this book positions interviews—the raw voices of those involved—as vital source material. The interviews reveal the yearnings for the piano held by people before the war, as well as the true feelings of parents, children, and piano instructors involved with the instrument after the war. I also included the voices of parents who, despite having their children take piano lessons, do not place much importance on the instrument, capturing the true state of Japanese piano culture. The evolution of piano learners' performance techniques was analyzed using Chopin's Etudes, which are often used as required pieces for competitions.

By reading this book, I believe you will see that no other instrument has influenced the Japanese people as much as the piano, and that many things can be understood through the lens of the piano. For those who have experienced piano culture, I think it will also provide an opportunity for self-reflection. I would be delighted if you would read it.

Chihiro Honma

Koyo Shobo

324 pages, 4,180 yen (tax included)

*Affiliations and titles are those at the time of publication.