This is the new, revised and updated edition of the book that has been the standard text on traditional Japanese music and musical instruments since it was first published in 1959. Its width and grasp have never been superseded. Though later single studies have perhaps dug deeper, there has never been another general account of Japanese music this useful. After years out of print, it returns with an updated bibliography and a CD that allows the reader to hear many of the musical examples in the text.
Malm's book was in several senses a pioneering work. Not only was it the first modern survey in English (it was preceded only by Francis Piggott's 1893 volume), it also appeared at a time when the Japanese were still largely ignoring their traditional music.
Study of "hogaku" had only lately been reinstated into official curricula, and, as Malm noted in another context, "the Japanese music industry was most aggressive in promoting Suzuki violins and Yamaha pianos." The appearance of his volume some 40 years ago in a way validated Japan's popular appreciation of its own traditional music.