The purpose of this book is to address older adults' musical group activities and their relation to quality of life in Japan, situated on a crossroad between deep Eastern cultural traditions and broad contemporary innovations and Western influences. This is the first book that offers both insider and outsider perspectives on older adults' music participation in Japan. It is the result of a collaborative effort of a team of academics in Japan led by a Fulbright researcher from the United States, who resided and worked on the project in Japan for six months. The collaboration continued for a few years beyond the Fulbright residency period.
The book consists of 10 chapters in three parts. The first part includes an introductory chapter that sets the stage with strong cultural traditions in the contemporary ambience for older adults' music participation. Part two contains studies of seven diverse cases jointly conducted by native Japanese researchers and a researcher with Chinese-American background. The majority of the researchers received training in the UK and the US. This allows each study with built-in perspectives from within and outside of Japan and with deep Asian, Japanese, and Western insights. These case studies are set in rural areas (Kojima, Nishio, and Uonuma), mid-size cities (Miyazaki and Sendai), world class metropolises (Nagoya and Tokyo), and suburban areas (Odaka and Seto). Three of the case studies include non-musical groups in comparison with the musical groups. Part three contains two chapters. One is a synthesis of the case studies in the seven locations, identifying the main factors that make older adults' music participation positive and impactful to their quality of life. The final chapter includes implications relevant to older adults' music participation in support of their quality of life. Recommendations can be applicable far beyond the locales of the cases being studied.
C. Victor Fung (ORCID: 0000-0002-8114-2312) is Professor of Music Education and Director of Center for Music Education Research at the University of South Florida, USA. He was awarded as a Fulbright Researcher in Japan (2018) and as a Fulbright Specialist in Brazil (2025). He is author of A Way of Music Education: Classic Chinese Wisdoms (Oxford University Press, 2018) and co-author of Music for Life: Music Participation and Quality of Life of Senior Citizens (Oxford University Press, 2016) and Music, Senior Centers, and Quality of Life (Cambridge University Press, 2023). He also co-edited, and contributed chapters in, Meanings of Music Participation: Scenarios from the United States (Routledge, 2023) and The Oxford Handbook of Asian Philosophies in Music Education (Oxford University Press, 2024). He has published articles in, and served as a reviewer for, numerous professional journals. His research interests include older adults' music participation, culturally diverse musical preferences and pedagogy, and Asian philosophies in music education. He has served as Board Member for the International Society for Music Education, College Music Society, and Florida Music Education Association and as Executive Committee Member of the International Society for the Philosophy of Music Education and the Society for Research in Music Education (National Association for Music Education, USA).
Hiromichi Mito (ORCID: 0000-0002-0460-822X) is Professor of Music Education in the Faculty of Psychology at the Meijigakuin University, Japan. He holds a master's degree (Musashino Academia Musicae, Japan, 1986) and a Ph.D. (Roehampton University, UK, 2007) in music education. As a member of the International Society for Music Education since 1995, he was a Commissioner for the Research Commission (2004-2010, 2022-present) and a Board Member (2010-2012). He is a member of the editorial board of Research Studies in Music Education and the International Advisory Board for the British Journal of Music Education. His research in informal musical learning has been supported by competitive national grants in Japan. He has published extensively in many journals such as the Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, Research Studies in Music Education, and Japanese Journal of Music Education. He has also contributed chapters to books such as The Routledge Companion to Music, Technology, and Education (Routledge, 2017), Creativity, Culture, and Development (Springer, 2015), Creativity in Music Education (Springer, 2019), and The Preparation of Music Teachers: A Global Perspective (Associação Nacional de Pesquisa e Pós-Graduação em Música, 2015).
