Whenever and wherever people move, so too does their music. Unsilent Strangers: Music, Minorities, Coexistence, Japan addresses several contexts for movement to explore the practice of sounding and listening to music as a facet of community making. Almost two decades ago, the Japanese government proposed the possibility of “multicultural coexistence” (tabunka kyōsei 多文化共生) between Japanese citizens and newly arriving migrant groups. However, it has committed little to realizing the idea in practice. Instead, individual regions, cities, and civic groups have taken on the challenge of multiculturalism with varying degrees of support and success. The prefixing “co-” of coexist implies an equality of position between groups which is not seen at present. The title Unsilent Strangers points toward that premise: “newcomer” groups to Japan in recent decades are not treated as co-equal, but more often as “strangers” whose voices in civil society may be variously allowed or disallowed depending on circumstances, location, and ability to navigate linguistic and cultural hurdles. As the editors note in the introduction, persistent beliefs about the homogeneity of Japanese society leave space only for an ideal form of minority group: those who “contribute the exotic flavours of a fantasised, even fetishised otherness, yet in public are expected to remain silent and obedient in the face of the host society” (13). Personal and cultural human expressions become silenced under the expectation to blend in, effectively excising the “multicultural” aspect to retain only cautious co-proximity. Performing music, this volume argues, can reclaim agency and lift the veil of silence to restore voice and personal expression in public and/or private settings.

Discussion of music and Japan tends to focus on performance and consumption by and for Japanese audiences. Migrants, minority groups, and multiculturalism are uncommon topics, and the central concern of Unsilent Strangers is a noteworthy, concerted turn toward these issues. Largely focusing on so-called “newcomer” migrant groups whose numbers and recognition have increased in recent decades, this volume is a worthwhile contribution toward studies of migrant cultures in Asia and a significant step forward in the study of both Japan and music. Editors de Ferranti, Shishikura, and Yoneno-Reyes make a strong case for connecting and documenting the lived experiences of migrants during Japan’s “new immigration era” (shin imin jidai 新移民時代) and how music can realize community and even overcome differences to exemplify the ideal of “multicultural coexistence.”

Divided into three parts and ten chapters, Unsilent Strangers is a broad survey of musical community making. The three parts are organized to resonate with one another and together raise a series of examples of Japan’s relationship to migration. Part 1, “Music in Japanese Migration Experiences,” offers two chapters based on historical accounts of music-making by Japanese migrants to California and Australia in the early twentieth century. These are meant to arouse comparison of historical experiences of migrants with the reciprocal treatment of migrants to Japan in the present. In both situations, migrant groups find themselves among political landscapes which espouse multiculturalism while offering little means of actual support towards its realization. Part 2, “Domestic Migration and Community-making through Music,” includes another two chapters, each of which examines groups of Japanese nationals experiencing peripheralization through geography and policy: Ainu people navigating cultural identity in Tokyo and Ogasawara islander communities using music to bridge social divides. Both groups are entangled with the Japanese center while experiencing disputed relationships of belonging to the image it upholds. Part 3, “Music and Japan’s Newcomer Migrants,” introduces ethnographic case studies of musical performance among Brazilian descendants of Japanese who have returned to Japan, Filipinos, Iranians, Carnatic music performers from the South of India, and Nepalis. These studies together make up the majority of the book and give primacy to groups whose numbers have increased rapidly in the last three decades after new visa statuses became easily available.

As a whole, Unsilent Strangers is topically unified by the overlap of the four supporting words in the subtitle, “music, minorities, coexistence, Japan.” These four keywords weigh differently based on chapter; however, their presentation in the subtitle does seem to imply their level of importance. “Music” plays a large role in every chapter as the binding topic for exploring cultural life. The type of music discussed is often that which is performed in-person, with little discussion of recorded music as a form of creating or sustaining cultural connection. As many of the chapters draw on observation, the availability of performance and the events at which they occur are likely a factor in understanding that gap, though it is also a place for future inquiry. “Minorities” is equally important in discussing the role these groups play with relation to the majority culture they inhabit. While many chapters focus on migrant and immigrant communities in Japan, others discuss a geographical minority (Shishikura on Ogasawara islanders, chapter 5) or ethnic identification (Martin on Tokyo Ainu, chapter 4). The term “minority” is broadly applied, which the editors are aware of. They note that despite invitations to author working with multiple minority groups, authors who responded were limited by social circumstances or researcher positionalities/relationships as the standing of every minority group within Japan is not equal. Noteworthy groups absent include multiple generations of Chinese and Korean immigrants and various groups originating from modern-day Okinawa Prefecture. As the editors write, the absence of chapters focused on these groups “points to the complexity and sensitivity of the situation of minorities and migrants in Japan” (18). Demonstrations of “coexistence” are presented more often as “cohabitation” (2) to allow for the variability in how groups can or are able to exist together, be it through public community interaction (Saitō on Brazilians of Japanese descent, chapter 6 & Joshi on Nepali performance, chapter 10) or negotiating majority/minority social and musical events (Inoue on Carnatic music performance, chapter 9 & Yoneno-Reyes on the Filipino Utawait singing competition, chapter 7). Finally, though minority groups exist throughout “Japan,” sizeable groups are often found in the larger cities. Depending on the count, the Tokyo region is home to anywhere from a quarter to a third of the nation’s population and is home to many universities which fosters a certain degree of Tokyo-centrism in scholastic work on Japan. Unsilent Strangers is not able to escape that gravity, with only the chapters focused outside of Japan’s geographic boundaries and Shishikura’s chapter 5 on the Ogasawara islands not located in the capital.Footnote ¹ By beginning the work of detailing migrant relationships to Japan through music Unsilent Strangers presents an opportunity for further studies of migration related to Japan, and, as such, it is well overdue.

This volume adds much-needed context and documentation on the lives of people moving to and within Japan. Scholars of migration, and in particular those interested in cases in Japan, may draw on this work for comparison or further study. Parts 2 and 3 present recent observations and contemporary contexts of migrant community building in the present. Musically minded as it is, this collection is also a fine reference for readers interested in community making and identity maintenance of minority groups. Music as a sound object is somewhat absent from the collection, and some may wish for greater discussion of the styles, forms, and formats of performance discussed. Much of this description can be found elsewhere, though, as almost every contributor has previously published other studies of musical participation in Japan. Scholars interested in local, regional, or national policy efforts may find less than hoped for given the early discussion of “multicultural coexistence” and part 3’s specific focus on migrant groups, but they might find the observational details of how these groups organize within each community interesting. As the editors note in their introduction, works on music and migration in Japan are infrequent. The collected writings of this volume remind the reader that music is an able site for exploring how migrant communities navigate the ambiguous proposition of “multicultural coexistence.” As Japan’s “New Immigration Era” continues, it is my hope that Unsilent Strangers can become the first of many books elaborating on the social and cultural role of musical in migrant experiences.