I found this half hour BBC radio programme interesting.
"Chopsticks at Dawn" looks at how popular Western music has parodied "oriental" music. It mainly deals with Chinese themes but some of it applies to Japan. The programme is available to listen to until next Saturday.
One of the points mentioned in the programme is that real Chinese music didn't sound particularly Chinese to Western ears. Most people were unaware that Frankie Laine's "Rose, Rose I Love You" was originally a Chinese pop song.
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