Kosaku Yamada was the first major Japanese composer to study the European tradition, and the first to write in the symphonic and operatic forms.
[1] He was responsible for introducing Japanese audiences to much of the European orchestral tradition through his conducting.
[2] In his compositions, Yamada had been working to combine European traditions with Japanese classical music since at least 1921, when he composed Inno Meiji which combined Japanese and western instruments.
[3] Composed in 1857,[4] the text celebrates the Emperor of Japan and the imperial court.
[3] The Nagauta Symphony uses a western orchestra and voices, as well as an ensemble of traditional Japanese musical instruments.