"Published in conjunction with the exhibition Songs from Modern Japan: Popular Music and Graphic Design, 1900 to 1950, organized by the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, April 13 - September 2, 2024."--Colophon.
"All of the objects listed here, unless otherwise noted, are in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and part of the Robert and Mary Levenson Collection of Japanese Sheet Music"--Page 214.
Biographical / Historical Note
Kendall Brown is Professor of Asian Art History at California State University Long Beach. Anne Nishimura Morse is William and Helen Pounds Senior Curator of Japanese Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Hiromu Nagahara is Associate Professor of History at M.I.T.
Summary
"The years between 1900 and 1950 were a whirlwind of change in Japan, with increasing modernism, consumerism, and influence from the West, alongside a revolution in sound and mass-produced images via movies and radio. Like no other objects, sheet music covers graphically embody this vortex of sights, sounds, events, and ideas. Music scores presented songs ranging from traditional Japanese folk tunes to movie scores, Western jazz, opera, and patriotic marches. Publishers of music churned out sheets bound in graphic covers as diverse as the music within, illustrated in both Japanese- and European-influenced styles. Featuring vibrant reproductions alongside essays by leading scholars, Songs for Modern Japan provides a window into Japanese society and culture during this half century of immense change.."-- Publisher's website.
Format
Books
Language
English
Added to Catalog
October 16, 2024
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 211-213) and index.