Survey on the acoustics of early concert venues for western classical music in Japan

The aim of the research presented here was to examine the most important venues for music performance in the period when concert life started to develop in Japan, including where these concert halls were located, their appearance, who built them, and how these architectural features might have influenced their acoustical conditions. Based on computer models of the buildings a number of common acoustical measures were calculated from the modeled impulse responses. These measures give an idea of the acoustical circumstances of the buildings that existed in the early period of concerts of western classical music in Japan. Furthermore, they allow a comparison of the development of a public concert life in Japan and Europe.