This work investigates how musical compositions and performances have functioned as primary vehicles for constructing, maintaining, and altering American perceptions of Japan and Japanese culture over the last 150 years. W. Anthony Sheppard, a professor of music, utilizes a vast archive of scores, recordings, and performance histories to analyze the phenomenon of American Japonisme. He argues that music serves as a critical site where racial identity, geopolitical relations, and artistic exchange intersect, revealing how exoticism has been both a tool of fascination and a mechanism of marginalization.

Scholars and musicologists frequently cite this work as a definitive resource for understanding the intersection of Orientalism and American musical development. Readers often note the academic density of the prose, which provides a rigorous framework for analyzing complex cultural exchanges.