Japanese Western Classical music

Western classical music has a strong presence in Japan and the country is one of the most important markets for this music tradition. Japan is also home to the world's leading wind band, the Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra, and the largest music competition of any kind, the All-Japan Band Association national contest. Japanese Western Classical music does not represent Japan's original culture. Japanese were first exposed to it in the second half of the 19th century, after more than 200 hundred years of national isolation during the Edo Period. But after that, Japanese studied classical music earnestly to make it a part of their own artistic culture.