This article discusses the cultural process of a local record retailer in a local music market through giving a description of its occupational activities. I take Yamachiku, which is the largest retail chain in Kanazawa, as an example of how a record retailer plays an important role in the production and consumption of music. In order to illustrate the process, I make use of ‘the culture of production’ perspective highlighting the corporate personnels as the cultural intermediaries. Then I focus on the local networks which allow Yamachiku to work successfully and want to show that its unique practices are in large part based on the location of it. In this article I seek to contribute to our overall understanding of Japanese music industry through examining the cultural practices of a local corporate organization.

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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.

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