Japrocksampler: How the Post-war Japanese Blew Their Minds on Rock 'n' Roll, was written by author and musician Julian Cope

Julian Cope

Julian Cope is a British rock musician, author, antiquary, musicologist, poet and cultural commentator...

 and published by Bloomsbury on September 3, 2007. This 304-page hardcover book is a companion piece to his 1995 book on Krautrock

Krautrock

Krautrock is a generic name for the experimental music scenes that appeared in Germany in the late 1960s and gained popularity throughout the 1970s, especially in Britain. The term is a result of the English-speaking world's reception of the music at the time and not a reference to any one...

, Krautrocksampler

Krautrocksampler

Krautrocksampler: One Head's Guide to the Great Kosmische Musik - 1968 Onwards, written by musicologist and former The Teardrop Explodes singer, Julian Cope, is a book describing the underground music scene in Germany from 1968 through the 1970s. The book was first published in the United Kingdom...

, and covers in extensive detail the post-war

Japanese post-war economic miracle

The Japanese post-war economic miracle is the name given to the historical phenomenon of Japan's record period of economic growth following World War II, spurred mainly by Japanese economic policy, in particular through the Ministry of International Trade and Industry...

 democratizing and westernizing of Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, plus a detailed 28-page analysis of the experimental music

Experimental music

Experimental music refers, in the English-language literature, to a compositional tradition which arose in the mid-20th century, applied particularly in North America to music composed in such a way that its outcome is unforeseeable. Its most famous and influential exponent was John Cage...

 scene from 1951-69. The unusual relationship between Japanese experimental theatre

Butoh

is the collective name for a diverse range of activities, techniques and motivations for dance, performance, or movement inspired by the movement. It typically involves playful and grotesque imagery, taboo topics, extreme or absurd environments, and is traditionally performed in white body makeup...

 and rock music is carefully explained in the 14-page essay 'J.A. Caesar and the Radical Theatre Music of Japan'. There are also detailed biographies of the bands Taj Mahal Travellers

Taj Mahal Travellers

The Taj Mahal Travellers were a Japanese experimental music ensemble founded in 1969 by former Group Ongaku leader and Fluxus member Takehisa Kosugi. The rest of the group were several years younger than Kosugi, and were all inspired by the spirit of the day...

, Flower Travellin' Band

Flower Travellin' Band

is a Japanese heavy psych outfit that was first active in the late 1960s and early 1970s. They reunited in 2007. Vocalist Joe Yamanaka died on August 7, 2011 after a battle with lung cancer.-History:...

, Les Rallizes Denudes

Les Rallizes Denudes

Les Rallizes Dénudés were an influential, yet reclusive Japanese avant-garde band. They originally began in 1962 as a musical theatre troupe, however the formation of the band was not until 1967...

, Far East Family Band and Speed, Glue & Shinki

Speed, Glue & Shinki

was a Japanese psychedelic rock power trio formed in 1970 by guitarist Shinki Chen, and Ikuzo Orita, the president of Polydor Records.Orita had previously produced an LP featuring Shinki Chen; who was considered the Japanese equivalent of Jimi Hendrix. The self-titled album Shinki Chen featured...

.

See also

• Krautrocksampler
  Krautrocksampler
  Krautrocksampler: One Head's Guide to the Great Kosmische Musik - 1968 Onwards, written by musicologist and former The Teardrop Explodes singer, Julian Cope, is a book describing the underground music scene in Germany from 1968 through the 1970s. The book was first published in the United Kingdom...
  
  , a similar book by the same author about the German rock scene of the late 1960s and early 1970s.