Tokyo School of Music

The Tokyo School of Music, established in 1890, was a pivotal institution in Japan's musical education during the Meiji period. It emerged from a teacher-training program that aimed to integrate Western musical influences into Japanese education. Initially, the curriculum focused on Western music, with early efforts involving American music teacher Luther Whiting Mason. The school's music department, now part of the Tokyo University of the Arts, is located in Ueno Park and continues to teach both traditional Japanese instruments like the koto and Western music. For a significant period, music education in Japan was predominantly Western-oriented, with traditional Japanese music being introduced more broadly only in the latter half of the 20th century.1