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In this first book-length study of chindon-ya, Marie Abe investigates the intersection of sound, public space, and sociality in contemporary Japan. Chindon-ya, dating back to the 1840s, are ostentatiously costumed street musicians who publicize a business by parading through neighborhood streets. Historically not considered music, but part of the everyday soundscape, this vernacular performing art provides a window into shifting notions of musical labor, the politics of everyday listening and sounding, and street music at social protest in Japan. Against the background of long-term economic downturn, growing social precarity, and the visually and sonically saturated urban streets of Japan, this book examines how this seemingly outdated means of advertisement has recently gained traction as an aesthetic, economic, and political practice after decades of inactivity. Resonances of Chindon-ya challenges Western conceptions of listening that have normalized the way we think about the relationship between sound, space, and listening subjects, and advances a growing body of interdisciplinary scholarship that examines the ways social fragmentation is experienced and negotiated in post-industrial societies.

Street musicians --- Music in advertising --- Street music --- Music --- Chindon-ya. --- Marching bands --- Art music --- Art music, Western --- Classical music --- Musical compositions --- Musical works --- Serious music --- Western art music --- Western music (Western countries) --- Street music and musicians --- Advertising --- History and criticism. --- Social aspects --- Chindon-ya --- J4365 --- J4010 --- J6700 --- History and criticism --- Japan: Economy and industry -- business methods and management -- marketing and advertising --- Japan: Social sciences in general -- ideology, socio-political and socio-economic movements --- Japan: Performing arts and entertainment -- music