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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 18 January 2019
Masu Genjiro (1904-1995) and Kurosawa Takatomo (1895-1987) were two Japanese musicologists who were commissioned by the Government-General of Taiwan to form the Formosan Folk Music Investigation Team with Yamagata Takayasu, then recording engineer of Victor Company of Japan (hereafter Nippon Victor), to carry out a comprehensive survey and make recordings of Taiwanese music and musical life in the spring of 1943. The purpose of the survey was to establish a music cultural policy that adapted to the wartime needs of the people on the island, which became Japan's first colony in 1895, and could also be applied to Japan's newly acquired colonies in Southeast Asia and the Pacific after the outbreak of the Pacific War in December 1941. The team received full support from Taiwan's Government-General and was assisted by local experts, police officers in Aboriginal villages, and filming crews from both Japan and Taiwan. During its three-month stay in Taiwan, the team first conducted fieldwork around the island and then recorded and filmed Han Chinese and Aboriginal music and dance as well as rituals and ceremonies. They also collected data about Aboriginal musical instruments through questionnaires filled out by police officers in 155 Aboriginal villages.