抄録
This is a monograph on steelpan history in Japan for the past thirty years. Steelpan, a melodious percussion instrument made from oil-drums, was invented and developed in Trinidad and Tobago. Study of musical instruments within a traditional ethnomusicological approach aims to clarify the society where a particular instrument is invented and developed. However, with new directions in the study of musical instruments, this article aims to clarify the society where an instrument is accepted and diffused, paying particular attention to the phenomenon of displacement. Considering the World Music Boom to be a border between different periods, the author divides the history into “Period of Professionals (about 1970-1989)” and “Period of Amateurs (after 1990).” On this basis, the Japanese use of steelpan is discussed in terms of the social frameworks, images and technologies that exist.
