Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: Japanese nationals such as conductor Seiji Ozawa, pianist Mitsuko Uchida, and violinist Midori, and Japanese Americans such as conductor Kent Nagano and pianist Jon Nakamatsu are among the first wave of Asian and Asian Americans who have become international stars in the field of Western classical music. Following this wave of Japanese and Japanese Americans who began to be visible since the 1960s and 1970s, the Koreans and the Chinese have entered the classical music scene in the United States in large numbers, and the considerable presence of Asians and Asian Americans in classical music has been a phenomenon noted by the mainstream media as well as by classical music fans. This paper discusses the lives and careers of Japanese and Japanese Americans in classical music in the context of globalization.

The paper first provides a historical context for the rise of Japanese and Japanese Americans in the world of classical music in the postwar decades. It also examines how the audiences and critics on both sides of the Pacific have responded to these musicians’ success and how they saw the significance of the musicians’ Japanese identity. Based on interviews with the musicians, the paper then discusses how the Japanese and Japanese American musicians themselves understand the relevance of their racial, ethnic, and cultural identity to their pursuit of Western classical music. The paper shows that it is in many ways the musicians’ experiences and awareness about their Japanese and/or Asian identity that have led them to believe in, and to consciously embrace, the transcendent power of classical music. Conversely, classical music is the very medium through which these musicians experience, understand, shape, and negotiate their racial and cultural identities. In some cases, such identity formation involves a rather essentialist notions of “Japanese-ness” or “Asian-ness.” In other cases, the musicians’ experiences and thinking lead to a sophisticated, complex reflection upon what constitutes “Japanese-ness,” “Asian-ness,” and “American-ness.” In all cases, it is through their lives as musicians that they make their own meanings about their racial, ethnic, and national identity. This paper looks at the ways in which Japanese musicians’ identity as musicians is shaped in relation to their evolving understanding of their “Japanese-ness” and “Asian-ness.”