This volume of essays and research papers is dedicated to David Hughes in honour of his contribution to research, teaching and dissemination of the music of Japan, South-East Asia, and other countries over many years. Dr Hughes' academic output from the 1970s to the present has covered many aspects of Japanese traditional music-making, in particular the min'yō (folk song) genre of which he remains the primary scholar outside Japan. His groundbreaking work has also encompassed theories of musical grammars, oral notation systems in cross-cultural perspective, as well as several papers on cultural heritage and preservation societies. The contributors to this volume comprise many of David's former students, as well as scholars from Japan and elsewhere with whom Dr Hughes has collaborated over the years. The papers reflect the depth and breadth of Hughes' research output, demonstrating his continuing influence over ethnomusicologists around the world.