gunka

is the Japanese term for military music. While in standard use in Japan it applies both to Japanese songs and foreign songs such as "The Battle Hymn of the Republic", as an English language category it refers to songs produced by the Empire of Japan in between roughly 1877 and 1943.

==History== ===Meiji Restoration period=== During the Meiji Restoration Period, Western composers and teachers taught Japanese people to write and make music in the Western classical tradition. Military marches were adopted in Japan, as part of a trend of Western customs integrating into the Japanese culture. Gunka was one of the major Western-influenced musical forms that emerged in this period and were used to encourage patriotism in the post-restoration era.