Japan, the Land of the Rising Sun, is a sovereign island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies off the eastern coast of the Asian mainland, and stretches from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the southwest.

The Japanese archipelago consists of about 6,852 islands. The four largest--- the home islands of Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku--- make up about 97 percent of Japan's land area. The country is divided into 47 prefectures in eight regions, Hokkaido being the northernmost prefecture and Okinawa the southernmost.

Influence from other regions, mainly China, followed by periods of isolation, particularly from Western Europe, has characterized Japan's history. From the 12th century until 1868, Japan was ruled by successive feudal military shoguns who ruled in the name of the Emperor.

Japan entered into a long period of isolation in the early 17th century, which ended in 1853 under United States naval pressure. After nearly two decades of internal conflict and insurrection, the Imperial Court regained its political power in 1868 through the help of several clans from Chōshū and Satsuma, and the Empire of Japan was established.

The music of Japan includes a wide array of performers in distinct styles, traditional and modern.  Japan is the largest physical music market in the world, and the second largest overall music market.

Traditional Japanese music is quite different from Western music, as it is often based on the intervals of human breathing rather than mathematical timing.

There are hundreds of variations on traditional Japanese folk music, but for this documentary, we will focus on the Taiko and the Okinawan (Ryuku) traditions.