Reassessing the Premises of the Western Musical Acculturation in Far-East Asia

The penetration of Western European culture at the end of the 19th century all over the world and especially in the Far Eastern realm was and still is an interesting topic for debates, comprising a large area, form accurate historical and sociological research until the most fanatical Europhobic scribbles. One of the most significant fields where this process is unfolding is musical culture. It is well-known that Western music was quickly and enthusiastically assimilated in the every-day life of Japanese and Koreans. Starting from the fruitful co-habitation between Western musical culture and Japanese musical tradition, the present essay proposes a discussion on the forms of cultural contamination and also aims at identifying some possible pre-existent features that might or might not facilitate the interpenetration of two distinct musical cultures.