(I found this an interesting read as I live less an hour away from
Bristol, Tennessee, considered the birthplace of country music.)

From: https://shorturl.at/Q7mSh (theeopochtimes.com [paywalled])

===
From Tokyo to Tennessee: Japan's Love of Country Music

During World War II, Japanese people were introduced to the genre
through the Armed Forces Radio Service.

Rebecca Day
10/20/2025 | Updated: 10/20/2025

As country music grew in popularity in America throughout the 1940s and
1950s, the roots of the genre also took hold in an unlikely place:
Japan.

During World War II, the Armed Forces Radio Service provided
entertainment for American troops stationed in Japan. But in the days
after the war ended in 1945, the United States established a more
permanent, far-reaching band of stations for its servicemembers
remaining on bases in the rebuilding country. Until it was disbanded in
1997, this was known as the Far East Network.

Despite the ban on American music in Japan at the time, there was a
local demand for it. Japanese people found ways to tune into Far East
Network radio stations to hear singing cowboys and Appalachian banjo
pickers. By listening in, they got a formal introduction to country
music-to the art of the fiddle and Western twang.

Music Inspires 'Cultural Exchange'
Japanese culture became increasingly acquainted with American culture
during WWII, and country music's themes resonated far beyond those
listening to it in the United States.

Toru Mitsui, author of "Popular Music in Japan: Transformation Inspired
by the West," is featured in "Far Western," a documentary covering the
rise of country music in Japan. According to music site Whiskey Riff,
"Mitsui explains how the Western ideals of freedom, individuality, and
personal storytelling began to resonate through the music itself."
"It wasn't just music anymore. It was a cultural exchange."

A Good Story
One of Japan's longstanding musical forms, the Enka genre, is sometimes described as "Japanese blues." The narrative style focuses on lyrical
themes like those found in American country music-love, loss, hardship,
and triumph-and this helped pave the way for Japanese people to relate
to the music of a culture so seemingly different from theirs.

In other words, like America, Japan loves a good story. It is through
that love of story that a bridge was built between the two cultures.

Japanese listeners of country music were enthralled by the genre's
artistic tradition of emotive storytelling. They embraced singing
cowboys like Roy Rogers and Gene Autry, as well as pioneering artists
like Hank Williams and Johnny Cash.

In September 1945, the first radio station for the Far East Network went
live in Tokyo: WVTR. The station aired a cowboy-themed radio show called
"Chuck Wagon Time" featuring country music. By the late 1940s, the show
had grown significantly in popularity. Today, some of Japan's most
well-known singing cowboys were first inspired by the program.

The influential radio program became a "catalyst for the development of
a western or cowboy band movement in the capital city, a function
duplicated by WVTQ in the Kansai area (western Japan)," wrote Michael Furmanovsky, professor at Kyoto's Ryukoku University.

In his paper, "American Country Music in Japan: Lost Piece in the
Popular Music History Puzzle," Furmanovsky noted:

"According to Mitsui, the first ever 'cowboy' group was the Western
Melodians, formed in 1947 by Toyama Takehiko. . A year later Toyama
formed the Western Ramblers and recruited vocalist 'Teddy' Hara, a
17-year-old high-school student from a wealthy family who had first
encountered cowboy songs on a short morning-time western music show
broadcast by WVTR."

'Country Gold'

One of Japan's most popular singing cowboys from the 1950s is musician
Charlie Nagatani. Born in 1936, he discovered the genre when he was 20
years old while taking in a night of live music to celebrate his
birthday. He quickly fell in love with the genre and began performing
with a series of bands, ultimately heading up his own band, The
Cannonballs. In 1989, he organized Japan's first country music festival, Country Gold, held in his birthplace of Kumamoto. The inaugural event
drew around 8,000 people, sparking a movement that made it a yearly
festival.

In 2013, the international country event celebrated its 25th anniversary
and featured contemporary artists who have popularized some of country's
modern classic hits, including Aaron Tippin and the late Daryle
Singletary. The 2013 show garnered a 25 percent increase in festival
attendance compared to the previous year. Over its tenure, country stars
like Dierks Bentley and the Charlie Daniels Band took the stage.
In 2019, the festival opened its gates for the final time after running
for 31 years.

But Nagatani hasn't slowed down. He remains a pioneering figure of
country music in both his home country of Japan and in America. He makes
the long trek to Nashville on a regular basis, where he has performed
many times at the Grand Ole Opry. His Opry performance in May 2025
marked his 30th appearance on the iconic country stage.

Over time, America and Japan have developed a symbiotic relationship,
with music-lovers of both cultures embracing each other's tastes and
styles.

Today, Rocky Top is a frequented live music venue in the Ginza district
of Tokyo. It features country, bluegrass, and Americana performers. The
musical hub is named after one of country music's classic hits made
famous in 1967 by the a bluegrass band called the Osborne Brothers.

Like America, the bluegrass genre also has a significant following with
our neighbors in the Pacific. The annual Takarazuka Bluegrass Festival
features Japanese performers each year who honor the genre. The festival
first took place in 1972, and it is considered to be "the third
longest-running bluegrass festival in the world."

The 2023 Chigasaki Jamboree festival featuring bluegrass music was in
part inspired by the father of the genre, Bill Monroe, and his band, the
Blue Grass Boys.

Western classical music remains an active part of Japanese culture, and
America has since embraced pop stylings emanating from the country.

Lasse Lehtonen from the Finnish Music Quarterly notes the delicate
balance that Japan fosters to maintain their cultural autonomy.
"The country has a rich musical culture that today is closely aligned
with the West yet continues to explore its own unique pathways."
===

-- Sean

... I'd like to start a diet but I've got too much on my plate right now.
--- MultiMail/Win
* Origin: Outpost BBS * Johnson City, TN (618:618/1)