Sounds of Authority: The Cultural and Social History of Western Music in Japanese-Occupied Hong Kong

Abstract This article examines Japan’s cultural policies in occupied Hong Kong (1941–45), focusing on the promotion of Western music as a strategic political tool within the broader context of Japan’s imperial ambitions in East Asia. Through transimperial comparison, it analyzes how different imperial powers approached cultural governance within the same colonial space, contrasting Japanese deliberate cultural intervention with previous British administrative disinterest in systematic artistic development. Drawing on pre-war political concepts like Datsu-A Ron and the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere, this article analyzes how these complex and sometimes contradictory ideologies shaped the Japanese administration’s approach to musical activities, including the establishment of Hong Kong’s first symphony orchestra, military music performances in public spaces, and visits by prominent Japanese musicians trained in Western classical traditions. Through detailed analysis of previously underexamined primary sources from the occupation period, this article demonstrates that the Japanese military government implemented Hong Kong’s first explicit cultural policy, thereby challenging established historiographical assumptions about cultural development in the colony under previous British administration. While not glorifying Japan’s military aggression or diminishing the suffering experienced under occupation, this study provides new and nuanced perspectives on cultural formation during this pivotal yet understudied period of Hong Kong’s history, offering insights into the relationship between cultural governance and imperial power.