ALL1441 University of Minnesota

The most interesting of aspect of Pope’s writing on wartime popular music to me was the effects of the changing culture and context on the reception of popular music of the time. As the culture of Japan changed, so too did the reception and interpretation of lyrics and musical styles.

The power of Western influence on Japanese reception of music because apparent early in the reading as Pope explains the changing interpretation of a popular gunka. The popular song “Sen’yu” was written in the yonanuki scale and apparently was popularized before and after Western influence in music had become widespread in Japan. Initially the scale would have been heard as a variant of the miyako bushi scale from the Edo period (Pope 255). He then goes on to explain that when the song became popular again Japanese listeners had more experience with Western modes and scales and therefore may identify the song with both the Western minor sadness motif and the traditional Japanese style. I think it was interesting that even though the culture and musical tastes of Japan were changing the same song could find new meaning based entirely on the changing context of its reception.

I also found it interesting that the musical signifiers considered by the Japanese to refer to the Chinese or sometimes Manchurians seem to be largely the same as what Americans perceive them to be today. In “Manshu Omoeba” (Pope 298) a Western instrument (mandolin) is used in the introduction as a signifier for Manchuria. The piece is written in A minor pentatonic and when plucked on the mandolin clearly evokes an image of China or Manchuria even to the modern Western listener (though if the mandolinist were to adjust the pattern and add an F the listener would clearly hear the mandolin solo from Rod Stewart’s “Maggie May”). I find it even more interesting that they used a mandolin instead of a traditional instrument such as pipa which would have had the same tone but isn’t inconveniently tuned to fifths.

I had a hard time understanding how the arrangements were decided and why they chose certain instrumentations. As best I can understand from this article there is a complicated history of instrumentation and signifiers in Japanese history. I’m still not entirely sure why instruments like a violin (also inexplicably tuned to fifths) are used to sound like a kokyu which is a Chinese signifier because it seems to be a Japanese derivative of the Chinese erhu or some other traditional Chinese instrument. Why would Japanese composers chose a violin when an actual Chinese instrument would be better suited for the role and easier to play for what I presume was a large pool of traditionally trained Japanese musicians?

Pope’s chapter on martial songs was interesting as it chronicled gunka development before and after the establishment of the record industry. Before records became standard fair, martial songs sprung primarily from traditional narrative and were not particularly meant for an audience, per se. They were created to be “sung by soldiers themselves or by people at home gathered in support of the soldiers.” (Pope 253). Dissemination by Enka-shi street singers and literary exhibitions were principally responsible for the spread and popularity of such songs; these songs were strictly not a commercial product (Pope 255).

Then, after the Manchurian Incident, and especially during the Fifteen-Years War, gunka began to change and the innovation of the record made it into a product of manipulation and exploitation. Rather than narratives, these martial songs became lyrical and featured themes such as “patriotic self-sacrifice”, “reverence for dead comrades”, and “a desire to win” (Pope 271) that were commissioned by authorities for distribution among the general public (Pope 257). The idea was to control the “public consciousness and emotion” (Pope 257), construct a “idealized view of a soldier’s actions, thoughts, and feelings.” (Pope 258), and “forge a collective patriotic consciousness around a set of shared images and ideological constructs.” (Pope 260). The control was so absolute, that the military had editorial authority and rights of censorship of any song published.

Interestingly enough, Pope does point out that due to this military clout, “songs of this period do not, then, necessarily express the prevailing attitudes of soldiers or the general public in Japan.” (Pope 270). A remarkable example is in the song “Manshu Omoeba”. Categorized as a loneliness song but featuring lovers separated by war in Manchuria (Pope 279), the song resonated with Japanese people who had experienced the sadness of separation upon sending their loved ones to Manchuria (Pope 299). The song set a precedent “about the loneliness of the family members of departed soldiers [that] might well have been seen by the ideological authorities as detrimental to war spirit and hence undesirable,” but because it originated as merely a bon odori, in a marginal space, and gained in popularity before it was noticed, it was not censored (Pope 300). In fact, some officials probably realized “that dark feelings about the war were too widespread and too strong to be suppressed through censorship.” (Pope 300). Instead, the military resorted to absorbing loneliness into ideological songs such as “Gunkoku no Haha” which features “Japanese mothers, bravely suppressing their tears as their sons are sent off to war.” (Pope 302). The result is that “even loneliness could be turned into a component of war spirit” (Pope 302).

Just the idea that an innovation as seemingly innocuous as a record could be turned into a veritable weapon or type of mind/emotional control device is both captivating and disturbing all at once, like an impending car crash.

My response paper for this week is on the first half of Pope’s article on songs of ideology and loneliness. First I’d like to say that I liked the short explanation on the yonanuki minor scale. I don’t know much about scales or musical technicality so it was nice to learn about it a little bit. Also the following paragraph gives somewhat of a reason for the melancholia of the Japanese songs of that time (nostalgic patriotic feeling), and I really liked that too. Although I think the songs discussed in this paper are quite different from the jazz songs of the previous paper. I guess this paper provides the other side of the 1930s--when jazz signified the Western modern, this paper shows the desired traditionalism/Japanese idealism that fought with jazz.

Something I’d like to point out is, when the paper goes into gunka of the 1930s, it makes a contrast between 1930s gunka and the earlier narrative gunka of the Sino- and Russo-Japanese Wars. It said that the emphasis of the songs had changed. However I would argue that glorifying singular acts of bravery also emphasized patriotism (through self-sacrifice) in the same way that previous gunka had done.

Another thing I’d like to point out is that a line in “Tairiku Koushinkyoku” translates to “building a fortress against communism (Anderson p160)” and yet some of the actions of the Japanese government, in order to preserve Japanese identity, could translate to communism, such as suppressing the lyrics of songs and using new recording technology to “control publich consciousness and emotion (Anderson 158).” I also found interesting that the Japanese expected the Chinese to be a welcoming body. My first thought was that if that was so, then why are they at war? Pope does a wonderful job of answering this question later on in the paper, explaining that this time around, the main enemy is Chang Kai-Shek and communism and this “welcoming other” that is China was to be liberated and then assimilated. It’s funny though how the Japanese ended up adopting more Chinese concepts than the Chinese did Japanese concepts--for example the shakuhachi flute (granted they that was adopted way before the Manchurian Incident) and Watanabe Hamako’s “Shina no Yoru” sounds quite a lot like modern Chinese pop to me.

My response paper for this week is on the first half of Pope’s article on songs of ideology and loneliness. First I’d like to say that I liked the short explanation on the yonanuki minor scale. I don’t know much about scales or musical technicality so it was nice to learn about it a little bit. Also the following paragraph gives somewhat of a reason for the melancholia of the Japanese songs of that time (nostalgic patriotic feeling), and I really liked that too. Although I think the songs discussed in this paper are quite different from the jazz songs of the previous paper. I guess this paper provides the other side of the 1930s--when jazz signified the Western modern, this paper shows the desired traditionalism/Japanese idealism that fought with jazz.

Something I’d like to point out is, when the paper goes into gunka of the 1930s, it makes a contrast between 1930s gunka and the earlier narrative gunka of the Sino- and Russo-Japanese Wars. It said that the emphasis of the songs had changed. However I would argue that glorifying singular acts of bravery also emphasized patriotism (through self-sacrifice) in the same way that previous gunka had done.

Another thing I’d like to point out is that a line in “Tairiku Koushinkyoku” translates to “building a fortress against communism (Anderson p160)” and yet some of the actions of the Japanese government, in order to preserve Japanese identity, could translate to communism, such as suppressing the lyrics of songs and using new recording technology to “control publich consciousness and emotion (Anderson 158).” I also found interesting that the Japanese expected the Chinese to be a welcoming body. My first thought was that if that was so, then why are they at war? Pope does a wonderful job of answering this question later on in the paper, explaining that this time around, the main enemy is Chiang Kai-Shek and communism and this “welcoming other” that is China was to be liberated and then assimilated. It’s funny though how the Japanese ended up adopting more Chinese concepts than the Chinese did Japanese concepts--for example the shakuhachi flute (granted they that was adopted way before the Manchurian Incident) and Watanabe Hamako’s “Shina no Yoru” sounds quite a lot like modern Chinese pop to me.

In Pope's Songs of the Empire, the description of the so called “martial songs” seemed to be focused mainly on evoking a sort of enthusiasm for war among both the citizenry and the soldiers participating in the war. I think it's a good strategy in gaining support for a war the country is fighting in another land, and I wonder how well it accomplished this job. The article offers support with the popularity of these songs once they went on record, but in regards to the actual feelings on fighting the war, I wonder how well the songs did.
One thing that intrigued me, though I must admit it did not surprise me, was that the Japanese government had such a hand in choosing which songs were produced and which songs didn't make the cut. In the example of Fujita Masato, who was commissioned to write lyrics for the song “Mugi to Heitai,” the original lyrics: “Oh Mother, I'm alive, I'm alive, I'm alive,” were rejected on the basis that that was not how a true soldier should think. According to the government, a true soldier's goal is to die for the Emperor. I've always known that the Japanese culture has always been rather preoccupied with the concept of honor and duty, their entire society is based on it after all, but it was interesting to see it come out so strongly in these martial songs of the war eras.
Another question this article brought up in my mind is this: did America have songs like this back in the war eras? It seems like it worked rather well in Japan and I know that the American government distributed or showed through media certain propaganda to convince the citizens that war was necessary and to gain their support. However, I don't remember hearing anything about songs. There are always a couple musical artists who will create patriotic songs, I realize, but did the government ever actually commission a song in order to try and alter how Americans thought about the war, or what they thought about the soldiers who were fighting it? Is this sort of creation limited to Japan, or is it common in other countries as well. I haven't ever studied music in depth, so I think it would be interesting to know if other countries used this same tactic during war times.

It comes as little surprise to me that the Japanese government controlled nearly everything from the shadows. I took a class last year about Korean history that provided examples of just how strong the censorship was throughout Japanese colonies. The government had an agenda and it did not let any separate sentiments reach the mainstream. America wasn't all that different during wartime either. The wartime economy is basically one illustration of a government that mobilizes its citizens towards a specific goal. Censorship may not have been as strong, but propaganda reared its head along our shores as well. "I'm proud to be an American" is one example of a song that could be related to Japanese gunka in seeking to unify the country.
Something that I would like to know is how the Japanese music about Manchuria and China (and Korea, for that matter) was viewed by citizens of those colonies. Did Shina no Yoru have any influence on Chinese music? If so, was it a rejection of such a format due to anti-colonial sentiment, or did they find the sounds appealing? Judging from what I know about history, I would assume that China, on the surface, outright rejected many forms of Japanese culture, but it would be interesting to see if there was any long-lasting implications of this introduction to Japanese sounds.
I think it is also important to note the change from min you songs to furusato no uta music. Historically, Japan never really has a problem uniting under necessary circumstances. This switch, however, demonstrates a definite growth in western sentiments, of which individuality is one, throughout Japan. That the government put so much effort into censorship expresses to me an ability to express dissenting opinion that rarely shows itself prior to the Meiji era.

In the first part of the Pope reading, I found it interesting how much importance was placed on symbolism. Symbolism through lyrics and music was just another way that Japan was shaped by the music of the time. The symbolism and imagery were so effective in shaping the country that the government took advantage of that to instill a national sentiment. The government had control over what songs were released and what their lyrics conveyed. By doing that, one can see how powerful music is. In essence, music was used to sway or influence people’s attitudes and opinions in favor of Japan’s government and occupational endeavors. Another point I found interesting in the reading was the themes of the songs. Themes evolved over time in light of new political and national situations, and at one point, sad or somber themes took precedence. I wondered why that would occur especially when a lot of songs dealt with the wartime state. War is depressing enough, so why would you want to listen to songs that further emphasize the grimness of war? Perhaps these sad songs struck a deeper chord with the masses, and were thus more effective in shaping their attitude toward war. Furthermore, it seems that although these songs were sad, they didn’t go against the wars. Instead, they helped garner support for the wars by highlighting the sacrifices people made.

I thought the second part of the Pope was a little repetitive, but some good points were still made. Pope reiterates the importance of symbolism, and he goes on to talk about how the lyrics and musical elements worked together to create stronger symbolism and associations as well as create the intended atmosphere for a song. I agree that separately, neither the lyrics nor the musical elements would be strong enough to create that symbolism. Together, however, they established those relationships, which set the stage for other or future songs. Another point that Pope brings up is the emphasis on exoticism. Numerous songs sought to evoke a sense of exoticism. It seems as though the Japanese people had a love for exotic things. The exoticism was used “to take the listener on an imaginary journey” (321), which I think goes hand in hand with the nation’s expansion goals. With so much focus on occupying other nations and land, it would make sense to produce songs that would encourage the Japanese masses’ awe of other places. I think doing this could garner more support for occupying other countries, as people would be eager to learn more about and even visit these places. One could even argue that by presenting these other nations as exotic, it would justify Japan’s desire to occupy those lands. After hearing numerous songs about these great and exotic places, who wouldn’t want to gain control of them?

According to Edgar W. Pope articles, three major “boom” periods of wartime songs in Japan were in correspondence to the three major wars: the Sino – Japanese war of 1894-1895, the Russo – Japanese war of 1904 -1095, and the Fifteen – Year War that began with the Manchuria Incident in 1931 (p. 253). Such popular songs were known as gunka – songs that are concerned with soldiers, warfare, and patriotic war – were played during these times. The songs during the Japanese wartime remind the people of Japan of their soldiers who are fighting and died, or families that are separated far away because of the war. After reading the articles, it reminded me about some wartime songs within the Hmong community. Modern Hmong group artists are raising voices about the war with the Hmong back in Thailand and Laos with the government and sending messages of awareness. It’s been more than 30 years since then, and still these songs continue the memories of soldiers who fought and died defending their people and nation.

Pope pointed out that many songs were written at the direct request of the government or the military to the general public for the express purpose of raising war spirit (p. 257) and reflect a soldier’s actions, thoughts, and feelings (p. 258). Presumably, the production of gunka was constrained in the government policy as instruments for public support and enthusiam for the war and therefore, inspire pride in expanding the Japanese Empire and its soldiers (p. 258).

One interesting thing that I found in these articles was that songs have a focus on the environment surroundings, the action happening, and a certain theme. For example, Pope mentioned the song “Kokkyou wo Koete” (Crossing the Border, 1934). The narrator of this song is walking endlessly along a vast land in Manchuria (“Is it Harbin, where the elm trees bloom? … Shall I cross the Songhua River tomorrow?”). Even though he is with other people, the lyrics can tell you that he’s probably wandering between nations (“The vast fields to the south The border hundreds of leagues to the north”) (p. 294). I like how Edgar also helped interpret the songs. In addition to that, he also included what the music settings were like too, which I thought was helpful in imagining how the songs sounded like.

All in all I found Pope to be an interesting reading, despite the author's repetitiveness. The discussion regarding the technical aspects of music went almost entirely over my head. If I could read music or had any technical knowledge of music I'm sure it would have been interesting--instead it just gave me a headache.

Like the other respondents, I found the import of symbolism quite interesting. Furthermore, I was fascinated by how the Japanese created the symbolism of other countries.

For instance equating Manchuria with the exoticism of Russia (until the late 30's). After 1938 Chinese imagery became more common, not only in songs about Manchuria, bu also with the birth of popular music about China itself.

I found it interesting that a lot of the imagery used by the Japanese regarding China are images that we still commonly think of even though the stereotypical images are far less prominent in Chinese society now. I suppose it makes sense, in a way, because in the late 1930's the Japanese adopted the Western "China" in favor of the Japanese "Shina" to increase the exoticism in their scenery songs.

One thing that kind of confused me was the image of a willow being Chinese, yet several songs we've listened to over the course of the semester refer to Japanese women (specifically the mogos and socialites) as Ginka Willows.

After reading the bit about narrative songs about the soldiers in “Martial Songs”, I tried to think of some such songs that we might have in America. I tried to think of songs about that “tended to glorify individual acts of bravery” in specific wars. One of the only ones I can really think of at the moment would be Johnny Cash’s cover of “The Ballad of Ira Hayes” (a Native American war hero who helped raise the flag at Iwo Jima, no less), even though it wasn’t a wartime song and it was more about the sad plight of Ira after the war as well as the Pima Indians. But it still celebrates his heroism in fighting in the war. The other song I thought of is Billy Joel’s “Goodnight Saigon”, a song which details the horror and confusion of the Vietnam War – and the camaraderie in the face thereof – from the point of view of one soldier. It tells of the naivety of the soldiers and how they changed, how the narrator and his troop would “all go down together”. I suppose we could also count “Snoopy’s Christmas” by The Royal Guardsmen, in which Snoopy battles the Red Baron but they reconcile briefly in the spirit of Christmas to celebrate together. Snoopy is everyone’s hero, after all.
Again, none of these were actually wartime songs, but I can see why songs about the heroism of individual soldiers (even if they might not have acted in the most strategic fashion) could be effective in encouraging national pride and pride in ones countrymen. It’s interesting to hear songs about war heroes. The listener can be proud that the subjects of the songs are so brave and have so much faith and loyalty to their country and their people. The listeners may aspire to love their country as much as the heroes did. It can be a good strategy for gathering the citizens together under the cause of the country. If nothing else, they can at least strive for the sake of the sung-about heroes.

I found Pope’s “Songs of the Empire” to be very interesting. I was surprised to find out how much control the Japanese government had over the music industry. Towards the end of the “Martial Songs” portion, it mentions that record companies responded to the government authorities and “probably produced more of these songs than the public really wanted to hear.” It then goes on to say that the people were moved by them and took the message to heart. I found this interesting because it seems strange that the people would be moved or touched by songs they didn’t necessarily want to hear. I liked reading the gunkoku kayo songs by professional songwriters because these songs showed more clearly what the actually soldiers and Japanese people were feeling in contrast to what the government wanted them to feel.
I also found the part about the Japanese singing songs with Chinese people very intriguing. The Japanese were imagining a New Order in East Asia, which would include the Chinese people and together they would sing the Japanese anthem. I can’t even imagine what the Chinese people thought of this. For them it was probably a nightmare, and for the Japanese, a dream. It is hard to believe that the Japanese actually thought that this could be a reality, that together with 400 million Chinese people, they would sing the Japanese national anthem. They made it seem so peaceful describing the two countries forming one enormous choir, singing to the Japanese emperor. But if this really ever happened, it would’ve been by forcing the Chinese people to sing. There is no way this could have ever gone over well.
I played the first song in the article that appeared in sheet music form on the piano and I would definitely agree that it sounds much more Japanese than Western. It reminds me of old Japanese music or music you would play on a shamisen or something similar to that. I was surprised while I was playing it because I was somewhat expecting a western style sound because we have heard so many western influenced songs so far in this course. I liked this song because it sounded depressing which went along with the lyrics and because it sounded Japanese. It is a song about Japanese soldiers so it seems appropriate that it has a Japanese sound, evoking patriotism.

Position paper for week 5
Japanese music and media
By Eric Michelson

The propaganda in the form of music that is used is a very interesting topic. When Japan was taking military action against the other East Asian countries, they attempted to justify themselves through music. It has always been very useful to stir public fervor in favor of the war. It is all too similar to the various country songs that came out right after the Iraq war started. Which leads me to believe that the government wasn’t just responsible for this. Most likely it was the people writing the songs themselves that thought this would be the type of song that would to good today, and many of them were probably trying to promote patriotism.

The Japanese girl that played members of many different races of Asian in the Japanese film used to promote the war is another interesting point. This probably was due to government intervention, but the interesting thing is that in Americas current dilemma there is no film similar to this out, or coming out. This type of propaganda film to me suggests another attempt to turn public opinion in favor of the war. Such a thing probably isn’t possible in America due to the media system not being as controlled as it appears to have been in Japan at the time.

In the Japanese marches at the time I can hear a lot of American sounding tunes. This is probably because March songs aren’t that different where ever you go. The heavy sound and repetition lend themselves good to marching. But the influence of American music cannot be denied in these marches, because they sound so similar. If we replaced the Japanese lyrics with American lyrics we could release it and no one would know that it came from another country and another time.

Another thing I was wondering from the lecture the other day is what the spelling of china “chugoku” sometimes “shina” I have never heard of it being called that before, yet the other day that seems to be exactly what had happened. This seems to be very strange considering if indeed it was “shina” that seems to be the Japanese adaption of a western word. Which would be very odd for them to use in a song. O perhaps they called it “shina” back in the day and I am simply misinformed.

The wide variety of “martial songs” and the history they have in Japan surprised me. I guess it really shouldn’t given most cultures long history of martial stories, poetry, and songs as a form of entertainment. But it seems that popular songs had drifted away from the martial genre in the West while it remained popular in Japan during much of the early 20th century. I imagine there was some sort of resurgence in popularity while there was a war going on, but during the interim I think other forms enjoyed a share of popularity. I had never really thought about the different types of martial songs before but recognize most of them as having parallels with songs in the English language. Many share themes with songs from both English and French that I’ve heard before, the soldier writing home connecting the battlefield to the nation, and songs describing the wonders of a foreign land. I’d say the main difference is with the Emperor or ruler, in the Japanese songs “to live is not the goal of a true soldier, his goal is to die for the Emperor” as an official tells the songwriter to change a lyric (Pope 258). For Western countries I don’t think that this sentiment was existent, certainly not in the numbers it was in Japan, dying was glorified and seen as heroic but it was never a soldier’s primary goal.
I know we only got part of Pope’s paper but I still felt that there wasn’t enough background information to fully make his point. He mentioned katarimono, and some of their theme but didn’t go into detail about their construct. I was wondering if the only thing katarimono had in common with gunka was topic or if they also shared a similar instrumental arrangement or something else like venue.
I liked how Pope mentioned in the part about scenery songs, the personification of a country (like China) and the ignoring of Japanese occupation. I thought it was interesting that China wasn’t referred to by its Japanese name but by “China” written out in katakana as one would a foreign loan word, Pope said this was possibly because of the influence of American movies. Overall it seems to add to the exoticism, as if China has been removed from the East. I think this might also have been about the time when some people in Japan were using the word for china “chūgoku” to refer to Japan.
Despite the lack of background information I liked the article pretty well.
I know we only got part of Pope’s paper but I still felt that there wasn’t enough background information to fully make his point. He mentioned katarimono, and some of their theme but didn’t go into detail about their construct. I was wondering if the only thing katarimono had in common with gunka was topic or if they also shared a similar instrumental arrangement or something else like venue.
I liked how Pope mentioned in the part about scenery songs, the personification of a country (like China) and the ignoring of Japanese occupation. I thought it was interesting that China wasn’t referred to by its Japanese name but by “China” written out in katakana as one would a foreign loan word, Pope said this was possibly because of the influence of American movies. Overall it seems to add to the exoticism, as if China has been removed from the East. I think this might also have been about the time when some people in Japan were using the word for china “chūgoku” to refer to Japan.
Despite the lack of background information I liked the article pretty well.

It’s curious to me to note the huge success of the “Manchurian” songs like “Manshu Omoeha” when considering the massive popularity the style enjoyed upon its release. The reason for my curiosity and interest here is because of the consideration I’ve given to why these songs were popular at the time, particularly considering that many arose in wartime Japan and were very popular despite depressing, and perhaps what some would conceive to be anti-nationalist, themes. However, They’re depressing. Really Depressing. So why all the success? Obviously one can’t attribute success of any product to only one aspect, but I’ve come to the conclusion that an element that at least played a large part in the success of the Manchurian songs is this; Japanese people love depressing drama. More to the point, the basis of a great number of Japanese narratives, whether it be classical Noh theatre, film, literature, or as in case is here, music, tragedy is the name of the game, or at least that seems to be the case. I’ll pull an example from the class in Japanese Cinema that takes place right after this popular media class is over, in which we were discussing narrative forms in Japanese fiction. During discussion Mark mentioned that before the introduction of western themes in to drama, the “Happily Ever After” ending did not exist in romantic dramas in Japan. Instead, the characters who were lovers would both essentially be expected to die at the end. That was traditional Japanese closure; a tragic ending was the rule, not the exception. Not to say that tragedy is never the case in Western literature or drama (perhaps you’re familiar with couple named Romeo and Juliet?) but this is not an idea that permeates as frequently in to our musical themes. Considering the close knit ties and cross promotion common to Japanese media (where music spawns film and vice versa more frequently), its not surprising that the common themes are in both forms of media, but this is a very different way of “marketing sadness” for lack of a better term, than we are accustomed to in the US. Consider that fact that western music, the most popular forms have more often than not been upbeat and with faster tempos and (often) major-based scales. Jazz, rock n roll, ragtime, swing, are all popular American music styles cut from the same cloth that, even if the lyrics are about a depressing or lonely theme, the music stays in a lighthearted tonality. This can still be the case with Japanese music, as in the vocal melodys in yonanuki major scale, as Pope describes them, but the prevalence and popularity of sad, tragic, and lonely songs, both in terms of lyrics and tonality, in minor scales lie “Kokkyo Wo Koete “and the melodramatic “Shima no Musume” seem to suggest a drive toward bittersweet music in the Japanese market beyond even the success of blues (the closest comparative example I can come up with) in America. I was noticing this as I read and was glad to see that Pope offers a theory as to why the popularity of such music exploded in Japan as he notes “Together with the sad or nostalgic association, however, geisha and their music ad come to signify Home, i.e. Japan, in contrast to the various foreign places represented by imported genres.” They seemed to be coming the voice of a Japanese person, lonely in the rapidly expanding and changing world, and the song

was a nostalgic look at home; perhaps this is what struck a chord with Japanese listeners.

I found interesting the contrast in gunka between early wars and WWII, not necessarily the "exoticism" in each song. The gunka songs of patriotism and war spirit that originated in Japan during the Sino-Japanese and Russo-Japanese war were full of pride and wonder dealing with Manchuria and far off lands. "Here many leagues from home, The Red setting sun of distant manchuria, shines down on a stone at the edge of a field, beneath which my friend lies." This verse gives the effect of mysticism and intrigue of a new land and the danger is brings. It also is prideful in the Japanese Self which is embodies and longed for. In the next verse, the singer says the fallen is a brave hero of this distant war. This shows a pride for what they have done and accomplished in this place hundreds of leagues from home.

Then, in the 30's and 40's, these gunka songs are shoved down the public's throat and the general public starts to dislike these songs and want more variety like the "letter songs". Additionally these songs transition from songs about brave soldiers who "contributed to the positive outcome of a battle" but rather to a song that promoted reckless abandon for the self and competition between comrades. These songs became more of a propaganda tool in which they gave an almost Confucian obligation to ancestry and praised the warriors of the earlier wars. In terms of propaganda, they also promoted the Greater East Asian Co-prosperity Sphere in songs like "Tairiku Koshinkyoku" which sings lyrics like "For all the people of the continent, morning has come." This refers to the incorporation of the Chinese into the Japanese empire and how they are now some how liberated from the darkness and haze of their previous uncivilized state.

Pop-culture and propaganda, again we are shown that the Governmental leaders of Japan from the turn of the century to the end of World War II used music to help influence the minds and motivations of their soldiers and citizens. However the way this music was used is much more complex then one might initially think. Perhaps the reason for some of these more subtle yet still unifying and motivating songs, discussed in Pope’s dissertation, Songs of the Empire: Continental Asia in Japanese wartime Popular Music, come from cultural differences in thought and approach to war between the United States and Japan. In America the first song that comes to my mind as wartime propaganda song is Johnny Comes Marching Home Again, with its implied statement of victory, and direct declarations for heroism and military service it is a clearly a war anthem, or more specifically a soldiers anthem.
However the songs discussed and dissected by Pope, are songs of longing for family members, loneliness on the front (at duty), and the beauty of foreign lands. At first pope is surprised that some of these songs are allowed by the military censors to make it into the marketplace. This is expressed when he writes,
“But the idea of a song about the loneliness of the family members of departed soldiers had no such precedent, and might well have been seen by the ideological authorities as detrimental to war spirit and hence undesirable.”(Pope p.300)
He goes on to further suggest that these censors may have realized that, “suppressing dark feelings about the war were too wide spread and too strong to be suppressed through censorship.” (Pope p. 300) Though it is true that on the surface it would seem that these songs were counter to the goals of the Japanese military government, It is doubtful that these officials let these songs slip by because they understood sadness and wanted to let the people of Japan emote. These songs express longing for family members, and home (town and country), or loneliness during military and civilian wartime efforts. These songs create a connection and imply love and strong bonds to Japan, which is essential to fostering a drive for individuals fighting abroad and working on the home front. If one longs to be home they fight to protect and promote home. If you long for a loved one abroad you conserve and work hard to ensure that supplies are made ready so the soldiers have the tools to do their job. These songs also show a dedication to civil and military duty that even though one’s heart longs for family and home; one must do their duty and go on to the completion of their assigned to task so as to better serve the land which they fight for. Also allowing only one type of entertainment out is sure to bore and harm moral these songs seem like intelligent, yet underhanded, ways to allow for more diverse emotion while still motivating soldiers and citizens.
Later on Pope agrees with his when he writes,”[J]apanese mothers, bravely suppressing their tears as their sons are sent off to war. Even loneliness could be turned into a component of war spirit.”(p.302) It is surprising though that he did make this connection more explicit earlier.

I think it is interesting to see how much the government would censor. I mean after years of war, you would think hat the people (no matter how dedicated o the emperor they are) would become sick of hearing the ma things over and over. So from a social psychological understanding of people, it interesting to think if the government let some non war songs pass through censorship to let the people think they are "more" lenient. I think this wold help people "forget" about the hardships and losses of war, while still having a moral sense and an obligation to the emperor. In all of our readings so far, Pope is he only person to have a section focused on the social psyche and possibly more on and individual level (people often have personal thoughts about the government, state, religion etc but never express them until they hear or feel that it somewhat safe to do so. So if the government were to understand this and let a few songs go untested, then maybe they could control the minds of the people. Put them at ease and then remind them of he obligations that they have to the emperor). Also the exoticism of the songs may help the forget about the war and become fascinated with the foreign/ exotic. One thing that i find extremely interesting is how America played such a big role in Japan's thoughts of China (Shina). One sentence in particular can sum it up "When called upon to compose a piece of China-exoticism, apparently recalled American-made images (movies) of China as a source of inspiration (Pope, 328 (190 course reader). So Japan is fighting with China (to give the unfortunate/ savages a helping hand and civilize them) and they used films made in America about China as sources of inspiration to make songs about how exotic China is. Maybe because the name China spelled in Katakana made it sound even more exotic. But to me it doesn't really make any sense, they have been fighting a war in Manchuria and occupied China, shouldn't that give the writers enough to create songs of war/ imperialism?

Continuing with Songs of the Empire, Pope added more songs. Starting from
“Manshu Omoeba” and other songs, it is written for listeners to hear
the narrator’s loneness and is written in yonanuki minor scale. Most of
these songs are about war songs, and Geisha’s voice singing it. They long
for their loved ones to come home from the war. Everything in Manchuria is
boring, sad. As he mentions in “Manshu Gurashi” or translate to “Life
in Manchuria” life there consists of snow, melancholy, and homesickness.
All the samurais want to go home, because the life style is different. This
is during the war in the late 1800’s to 1900’s. Back at home, Geishia
are lonely, so songs like these are sung by them.
About the article on Songs of Exoticism, which include songs of the scenery(fukei mono). Songs which describe what is to be seen. The first type
“Songs full of scenery and landscape”, this is the typical scenery
scene movie makers shoot. There are usually little shot to no shots of
human(s). If there is a human figure, it is usually the woman’s hair and
her back. I think the reason why they shoot scenery scenes is because they
want to capture the innocence and the beautifulness of nature and bring us
to utopia and not about the real world full of violence and negative things
and war, because that is where these writers are at. Another thought is that it lets us remember thier home (home country) and everything they miss at home, their wife, children etc. These songs are also propaganda referring to the thought of something they long to have.
“China Nights” is
one of the example of this, the main point is only briefly described and
shot, while most of the scene consist of China. Since there are a lot of
words in a song and song titles with “China” in it that represent
China. Are there songs that have “Japan” or “USA” in it during this
time that could represent Japan and US and other countries?

I really enjoyed the part about scenery songs because it gives the listener visuals of some sort of landscape. I probably like it because I enjoy fantasy like games and stories where reality is the least of concern. In “Shina no Yoru,” the song describes the evening as “violet,” which gives a dream like visual of the sky. Violet is a color that in my opinion relates to dreams. Then the second line that describes the ships as they come in as “ships of dreams,” adds even more to that imaginary setting in my mind. The part about the red bird cage and a Chinese girl reminded me of China’s flag. I’m not sure how to describe the girl but it must be another dream like visual of falling in love with a girl. The rain and the man’s flowers scattering gives a melancholic feeling of not being able to have everything go your way. Yet, I think it’s kind of contradicting because the dream like scenery is something you could wish for but the characters in the song to have to go through something sorrowful.
I thought that it was interesting as to how the song was composed as well. Apparently an American film’s scenes inspired him. The opium den and the Buddhist temple bring out a lot of those “dreamlike” images. Opium caused many to enter a “euphoric” state as described by unreliable sources. This euphoric state also brings up the images of fantasy again. I guess it’s kind of like a drug in song form without any of the side effects such as addiction but let’s not go there. It’s also interesting that one of the lines was changed to avoid censorship and it referred to opium.
The essay also compared “Shina no Toru” to the French song “Nuits de Chine.” There were many similarities such as the references to birds, lovers, and opium. Some might think that it was a “copy,” but I think it’s possible that the French guy and the Japanese guy just seemed to interpret the nights of China in the same matter. (Although the author of this article provides a lot of evidence saying that there was heavy influence from the French version.)
China Tango also gives off that dreamy vibe. It descriptions of the sky is hazy and it gives the listener a sense of being in a dream. Even the word dream is in there and it also feels mellow at the same time.

Position paper – Week 5
Kevin Tieng (3698825)
My position paper is on the second part of Pope’s article, Songs of Exoticism and Scenery Songs. On page 322 (184 of the course packet) in the article, it’s quoted that “the lyrics of most scenery songs never even hint at the reality of Japanese military occupation,” but I find it interesting that a lot of these songs were made during war-time. While Japan is trying to take over certain areas of other countries, there are scenery songs that provide images of “exotic” places that Japan is about to take over. This provides the listener with a sense of wanting to go there, which in turn, helps the public to support the occupation. Scenery songs of Japan also helped the soldiers who are in the conquest. They provided images of home and safety while the soldiers themselves are surrounded by death. I guess this helps the soldiers reminisce about their own homes and for a short period, are able to take their minds off the things occurring around them.
Another part of the article that interested me was the part about “China” and “Shina.” How did the word for China go from Shina (in the 1930’s) to what it is now, Chuugoku? In the article it states how it probably went from Shina to China, which was that Hollywood used the name China, “and by using this word, Japanese songwriters could evoke the feeling of Hollywood exoticism in the listener’s mind.” But how did it go from Shina or China to Chuugoku or was Shina just a slang.
One section of the article that I found funny is the quote on page 184 of the course packet. The quote states that “The most common words that evoke visual images associated with China: “willow,” “junk,” “red lantern,” “Chinese girl,” and so on… The image of junk sailing off into a quiet sea was also used by travel agencies advertising trips to China and Manchuria.” If you have junk sailing towards China or Manchuria as an advertisement for traveling, wouldn’t that signify that whoever sails towards China or Manchuria was junk? I just found it interesting that to advertise travelling, they would call people junk.

Define exoticism and Dictionary.com claims it to be “anything exotic, as a foreign word or idiom”. It’s funny that things are only considered exotic if it’s alien and foreign; “the charm of the unfamiliar”. Juxtaposed with the music industry, when exoticism is used, it becomes a genre in which the lyrics, rhythms, melodies, are designed to evoke atmospheres of far off lands or ancient times. Pope’s chapter eight entitled, Songs of Exoticism, quotes “the lyrics of most scenery songs never hint at the reality of Japanese military occupation”. Thus, Japan presented to the world scenery songs that made its conquests appear exotic and beautiful. Ironically, these scenes were the battlefields in which many died covering it in bloody dead bodies. But apparently this was the propaganda in which Japan could expose these incidents to the public passing the general censorship. Propaganda again survives as an aesthetic in which the government utilized to influence and indirectly control the thoughts of their citizens.

Referencing Japanese Haiku in particular, the short phrases of these war time songs were purposely composed to suggest more than met the ear of the listeners. It’s always appeared that the Japanese language’s form of communication is indirectly suggested instead of directly being stated. It’s evident that these scenery songs did this as well. It’s unfortunate that foreigners are limited to their understanding of these songs since they can only understand it through provided mere word for word translation. And many times, these translations lose or shift the emphasis of these songs. Thus, they’re left with their own interpretations and views. The whole Japanese language suggestion only brings further study insight to the culture as a whole. Listening to these songs, though, give the listener a fantasy world in which they are able to imagine these places and their emotions even though they’ve never been to such a place. “Whether or not to make ideological sense of these images and sensations is ultimately up to the listener.”

It’s curious that popular vocabulary were essentially successful in evoking an atmosphere in which the listener could picture these sensations. Maybe this is upon one of those words in which the meaning is lost in translation, but the article mentions that a common word used to visualize China was “junk”. Curiously, junk can be made to reference material means that are old. So, even though when one may first read this they might laugh that such word would describe China, it can be concluded that junk means more than it’s negative connotation of something of disregard.

While reading Pope's "Songs of the Empire", it is clear that Pope is referring to three different kinds of sentiment regarding the occupation of Asia: loneliness, patriotism and exoticism. Most songs show at least two of these sentiments, giving them a conflicting message. "Sen Yu", for example, expresses a foreign land in a negative light: "the red setting sun of distant Manchuria". A sense of loneliness and a desire to return home. The sun also represents the patriotic aspect of the war, that it is Japan's job to bring civility to Asia and save it from White colonialism. Constant symbolism of the hi no maru flag and cries of banzai reflect these "martial" pieces, as Pope refers. A line is drawn, however, as patriotic songs shift from friendship, like "Sen Yu" to bravado, glorifying foolish and reckless acts in protection of their flags. Strangely enough, "Letter" pieces and songs expressing the desire to return home were censored. How strange that a culture would so badly hide their soldier's pain and loneliness, but the sentiment was to continue onward, as many believed that war was the only way to help those of China, Taiwan, Manchuria and Korea.
Following this ideal, many believed the so-called "colonized" were selfish and ungrateful, resisting assistance with such force. With the occupation of new lands, Japan has been exposed to different cultures in their Co-Prosperity Sphere. A new sense of exoticism was to be found. This leads to another puzzle, why would Japanese people be so interested in "exotic" China and Korea? Modernity and western ideals were always on the brink of rejection and Soldiers were forbidden to downplay the war. Whatever the case may be, the song "Shina no Yoru" is a perfect example of exoticism. The lyrics expressed Japanese views of how China was, the junk, lanterns, willow trees, etc. A combination of western-style and Japanese style stereotypes in music and symbolism. Patriotism and dominance are also apparent from the movie of the same title. A young Chinese girl resists a Japanese soldier's attempts to help her. Only the use of force does she "realize" he ungraciousness and even comes to love this soldier. A clear instance of propaganda to be sure, but it follows the pattern of working on multiple levels, and conflicting emotions. What I feel is interesting is that this is probably the only instance of modern expansion in which the aggressor’s actions, although deplorable, actually show some interest in the culture they are absorbing. Compare this to German and American propaganda at the same time.

Week 5

In the article “Songs of Ideology and Loneliness”, Pope mainly talks about martial songs of Japan. As the daughter of an armyman, I lived in the military area command since I was very young. And I grow up with a lot of martial songs of China. Now I can sing a lot of martial songs of even 60 or 70 years ago. I love the martial songs. However, I listened to these Japanese Gunkas, on the holidays of 60th anniversary of the foundation of People’s Republic of China; I definitely want to discuss some issues concerning the Japanese Gunkas.

The song named “Tairiku Koshinkyoku” is a song which has strong relationship with China, because it actually wrote for the fifteen years war between Japan and China. Overlooking the lyrics, I really appreciate the tone and rhythm of “Tairiku Koshinkyoku” as a martial song. The tone is so bright and optimistic, and the feeling of rhythm is so strong and easy to remember, which could successfully help the government to evoke the war spirit of the general public. It was very cunning for the government to use musical culture to influence even control the consciousness of the public. Music is a kind of thing that can influence people by osmosis in a large area. Just like Pope said in the end, even though these songs were not what the public wanted to hear, however, “there is little doubt that many people were moved by them and took their messages to heart”. The reason that music can impact people so much maybe a myth which is worth solving, but the outcome of this myth is obviously strong. In this circumstance, the country of Japan had no liberty for expression. The government wanted to control everything, not only the context of songs, but also the emotion of the general public. A good example, which the author didn’t mention in his article, is that the song “Sen yu” which was first very popular among families and young girls in Kansai region, then appreciated by the whole country, was finally banned since the Pacific War. The reason for banning this song is that it told a story about the death of a comrade and expressed deeply sorrow which made the government think that this kind of sorrow and sadness were able to depress the soldiers at the front. From my perspective, such popularity of this song may be caused by the resonance of the song and the families who lost their soldier child, the soldiers who face their comrades’ death every day.

War is cruel. Death is anguished. Although the Japanese government shouted that self-sacrifice for the emperor is pride, I think die for an aggressive war is ridiculous. Japan did have very small land if compared with China, however, as a independent country, Japan was not dedicated to how to solve the conflict between large population and small land, but hold aggressive wars to other countries, which made people in other country suffer the pain of losing beloved ones and homes. This kind of action is to build one’s own happiness on someone else’s suffering, which totally lacked of humanitarianism. No matter how they gave enormous publicity to the concept of “Great East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere”, the truth that they invaded and did atrocities to other Asian countries, such as Nanking Massacre in China, was unchangeable.

Al Anderson

While reading the article “Songs of the Empire” by Edgar W. Pope, I found the subject of scenery songs (fuukei mono) most interesting. These songs were meant to evoke a sense of an imaginary journey to an exotic place through the use of lyrics and music. Sure, most songs have to use imagery somehow to entice the listeners to imagine the scene, but these songs took the listeners to far away places that they've never visited before.
This rung a bell with me because I read many sci-fi and fantasy books and tend to keep only to these genres. These genres are completely fictional, at least in principle, and mainly on landscapes and sceneries that you must suspend disbelief for a while. Instead, you must imagine the scene as you read along lead on by the words in the book. In science fiction, you can go on a perilous dive to the molten core of the Earth while evading spikes of said molten material with an almost empty fuel gage to save the world from imploding, to a vital search for a viable planet to inhabit because of said implosion occurring imminently, at the same time dodging diabolical aliens that want nothing more than to dissect you. And in fantasy, you can visit a magical world where people furiously wave wooden sticks and utter nonsensical incantations whilst fighting off snake-like wizards wielding even more horrible sounding chants, or you can go on a merry romp across a fantastic world with air-headed elves, surly dwarfs, disguised kings, and bumbling half-wits (sorry, halflings) evading black-clad, shrill screeching horseman and warped orcs that don't die even if you stab them with a sword. However, none of these exciting adventures could occur without the use of words to create these fictional worlds. I've never thought that lyrics for songs were the same as words for books, evoking images of far off scenery.
I also listen to Celtic music fairly often. I took up Celtic music because my parents play Celtic music every year before Christmas. When people think of Celtic music, they think of bag-pipes and the imagery it evokes such as lush green hills and clear skies of Ireland. But for myself, I associate Celtic music to Christmas and the crackling and warmth of the fireplace and bright, flashing lights on the pine Christmas tree. Indeed, lyrics and music can both convey a sense of place to the listener.

Sorry for the late post. The entry wasn't up last night and I've been away from my desk all day.
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I found the story of “Manshu Omoeba” to be the most interesting part of the essay, mostly because I found it poetic that a song which may have been intercepted by military authorities was allowed to slip through by being substandard, only to become popular.

I’m sure Pope describes what he means by the word more fully earlier in the essay, but I felt he used “exotic” as a descriptor too often for me to understand what he meant with consistency. Without knowing exactly how Japanese nationalism functioned, I’m confused as to how the Chinese could simultaneously be “exotically” foreign and yet part of the Asian race Japan must raise up (though, according to Pope, not as equals). How an American media perspective affected the view of China, as Pope said Hollywood showed the country, is easier to understand, and the fact that the western word "China" was used to represent China in song helps to show how meaning of the country may have been interpreted by a Japanese person.

However, his wording about the link between nostalgia and the desire for foreign lands seemed pretty far-flung. The word "nostalgia" evokes a lot more than simply the longing for a different time, and usually evokes a desire for a different way of life from the past. Pope makes a pretty strong statement in saying there is an emotional connection between the desire for home and the desire for a different place, and I think the two feelings are tightly bound to finding meaning in a culture, but I think this is a generally obvious notion that he goes about identifying in a confusing way. I have no idea if this would actually be the case in Japanese culture at the time, but it seems possible to me by the essay that China was viewed as a soon-to-be Japanese land, since Japan viewed itself as liberator rather than enemy of the country. If this was the case, it’s pretty easy to see how songs could portray China as part of the Asian collective, and therefore home. Pope seems to support this in explaining how “Shina no Yoru” became wildly popular, even though it romanticized a country with which Japan was at war with ( in a way).

This opinion paper is on “Songs of the Empire: Continental Asia in Japanese Wartime Popular Music” by Edgar W. Pope. This reading was very interesting because I had never heard of any of the things that were mentioned in the reading. The fact that in the late 1800s and early to mid 1900s, the Japanese used a type of song known as “gunka” in the military and in households to evoke a sense of patriotism and support for the country. I think that it is very interesting that the Japanese used music as a form of propaganda just like the U.S. sort of used it in times in which they needed to get the support of the people during times of war. It’s interesting that most of the songs were in the forms of narratives and told stories of things that happened out on the battlefield, showing the courage and determination of the soldiers that are fighting in other countries for the sake of Japan. A lot of the songs described scenes that took place in China. The Japanese national anthem was used to try to spread the Japan-centered ideology of the New Order in East Asia. A Japanese military band would on occasion perform at Chinese elementary schools and would play the songs that the Japanese used to evoke pride in their country for the Chinese children. They would also, at the end of the concerts, have everyone sing together, the “Kimi ga yo”, which is the name of the Japanese national anthem. A lot of these songs were sang by a chorus and performed with the chorus singing in unison. This evoked a sense of unity and would make it seem more like the country itself was singing the music to you. I think that this was a smart thing to do because from my experiences, like at sporting events when everyone is cheering at the same time, you feel more connected and excited with everyone around you. During the Manchurian Incident, there were many songs that portrayed Manchuria as a cold, bleak place that is far away. This was used to get the people in Japan to feel sympathy with the people who were in Manchuria fighting. I think that using music as propaganda is very effective because music has the ability to bring about and evoke emotions in people even if they are from a different country and don’t necessarily speak the same language as that of the music they are listening to.

What I found most interesting about Pope’s first article was the mix of elements that were used in the music genre. The exotic elements to signify images of a lonely distant Russia or Manchuria paired with the very familiar voice of the geisha. It’s not that surprising that the geisha became a symbol of Japan, the homeland, because of how they represented the past of Japan and tradition. Even though the exotic signifiers of the songs were meant to make them foreign and seem distant to make the feeling of loneliness stand out, the songs were still very much about Japan. The faraway place being sung about is also about missing home, even though it’s not explicitly stated in the lyrics. Another thing that stood out in the articles was how people’s emotional responses to these songs based on their feelings and experiences were used as a tool for war propaganda. Just like the last line of the first article says, “even loneliness could be turned into a component of war spirit”.

In the second article I thought that it was interesting how the Japanese used music and the exoticism of places like China, to paint themselves in a better light in terms of what was actually going on with the spread of the Japanese empire. Of course by portraying China, or Korea or Taiwan, as fantastical or magical places instead of the ravaged and death-ridden is an obvious propaganda tactic. That just speaks to the appeal of these songs in that they did create a utopian like vision, so that when people listened to them they could escape the feelings of the reality of war. On a more positive note, I liked how this article goes in detail about how the songs could evoke certain moods or images or even a specific place, by just using certain words instead of full sentences in the lyrics.

Edgar W. Pope (not to be mistaken with Edgar Allen Poe) wrote about the marching songs and war songs of the three modern war eras of Japan. The Sino-Japanese war (1894-5), the Russo-Japanese war (1904-5), and the Fifteen Years war (known more commonly as WWI and WWII 1931-45). Most of these songs were tales of the battlefield, and camaraderie.
As for my position on this… I don’t know what to say really for this one. Ok, I take that back, I do have one thing to say, it’s a big fat Oi. *bangs head on keyboard* One thing that defiantly caught my attention though was the difference between our war songs and Japanese war songs.
Most of the war songs I’m familiar with are some of the American ones that say how much they want to get out of where they are or why are we going? Country Joe and the Fish’s "Feel Like I'm Fixing To Die" comes to mind. However Japanese war songs are more positive about the send off, and sing about the glory of the nation, and the Emperor. …Um…I don’t know what else to say.

What I found most interesting about Pope's first half of the article was about the War songs and its significance. It's interesting how there are shifts between certain wars that cause a slight change in lyrical writing for songs. You have the sino-japanese war, russo-japanese and the fifteen years war.

From reading the lyrics, you can tell that some of the lyrics' meanings are deep and the writers had true feelings. On couple, the lyrics are vague, and need a bit more interpreting. I definitely enjoyed reading the songs that helped boost one's faith in winning the war.

I think it's interesting to think about how these lyrics are composed and as to why they are composed the way that they are. I'm no music expert so I was mostly confused by the explanation of notes and music terms per couple songs that were analyzed.

After listening to a couple songs, it's funny how you can actually feel and hear the march theme in it. Overall, I find it most interesting how deep the meaning of these war songs have. They're not your simple, typical lyrics you'd hear or read about.

The most interesting part of Popes article to me was the musical theory about how the Gunka and other songs evoked different feelings and senses of place. The discussion about how certain parts of the music lead the listener to get an impression of a foreign country like China or Russia. I especially enjoyed this because I always thought about why you would hear something and think that it sounds Chinese, Japanese, French et cetera... without actually hearing any lyrics. The fact that these sound patterns may be cross-cultural became evident when pope starts talking about the some China nights and the original French version using similar sounds to invoke of feeling of China. I found this both surprising and a little sad as I assume that these identifying sound patterns are not created by the country they are attempting to invoke. There is also discussion in the reading about how the war time songs elicited emotions, the prominent on being the Gunka-Snap, I think that is what it was called. The it was interesting trying to listen for it, but I still don't think I quite know what is going on. This paper was in the end a little bit difficult for me because of the musical theory and the sheet music that was provided as a why of trying to explain it. I got a little lost in this section and was able to derive some stuff, it was just stuff I already knew like that the minor scale is evocative of Asian musical patterns. Despite that I found this reading very enjoyable and I do feel marginally more skilled at interpreting music from the time period and identifying some of the things in the reading.

Songs of Ideology and Loneliness
The first thing I thought of after reading this story is, Gunka just like the special potion in games that make your strength or something higher for 30 minutes! Around World War Two, Japan started this type of song called Gunka, what it basically does is to raising the patriotic spirit so that people will want to attend to the front line. I remember when I was in second or third grade, school will have us practice singing some songs like Gunka and have a contest on it to see which class did the best, and I thought that’s very interesting because that’s just like what the article was talking about, and that they have school kids performed those songs.
And keep going on, the article talked about how the music is made in the same pattern that they all sound sad or/and dark. Mashimo Hisen is the one who wrote those lyricists, and I think the reason that it was so popular was because he wrote those based on the stories of soldiers, those are my personal opinion. Then the “Gunka Snap” appeared, in 1930 the song”Tairiku Koshinkyoku”, surprisingly that’s the songs that tell people (Japanese) to sacrificing their life for the country. In the songs, however, there were all positive, telling people to join the war. The song from that time, then, is most likely like that. But there is this one song which really caught my eyes, “Kojo no Shakuhachi” is a song written by a professional writer on his own, and it played by bamboo flute (which make me really want to hear it), and the lyricist is really nice and sad, it’s about lost friend, missing hometown and family, but I take it differently, I personally think that he and his friend got something going on that’s way he missed him( the dead one) that much that he play his dead comrade’s shakuhachi. Around 1930-40s, Japan government at that time started to pushed a lot of the songs that the public dislike, but the reason it’s so popular is that the radio keep playing it.
Then the most successful song came out in 1934 written by Koga Masao, the songs about Manchuria loneliness “Kokkyo wo koeta”, whom did all the songs we heard in class, not just sad and dark and I think that’s what makes it so popular.

I find the wartime songs absolutely fascinating because in their lyrics they embody the emotions of the people at that time. . For example some songs would deal with loneliness and ideology. The target market for this particular song would be the wives and families still in Japan. Some songs dealt with the exoticism of China, the target audience of which were men off at war. The idea that many of the songs delt with emotions of the people helps one get a better picture of what was going on historically. For example there were many songs about china which gave china an exotic feel because Japan was at war with china as in the song “Shina no Yoru”. The idea of Manchuria brought both feelings of conquest as well as being lonesome. There were also songs called furusato which means hometown. These songs applied to people wishing to be home or for a particular city.
Japanese nationalism played a large part in constructing the Japanese identity. The idea behind nationalism of any kind is the preservation of one’s cultural identity. War itself is a threat to the idea of nationality because if a country loses they are at the mercy of their aggressor and could potentially be assimilated. Japan was fearful of its own oppressors and that if Japan were to be taken over there would be a loss of Japan’s national identity. So to counter this, Japan employed music to serve as a reminder of Japan’s heritage and encourage people to be proud of that identity. This type of music can be found in many songs dealing with soldiers or songs specifically made as propaganda to express Japan’s superiority to the soldiers to encourage them. This music just as it was made to be comfort for the soldiers off at war it was also for the women and children back home of the soldiers were many songs were about loneliness and separation.

One question I complete have though is actually more about how you go about developing a blog which cultivates individuals actually leaving comments along with moving from passive people to proactive contributors. any specific thoughts?

War songs are meant to ease the pain and help people realize that the stupidest and most irrational thing on Earth is happening again - people slaughtering each other for no good reason at all.