This book explores the policy, ideology and practice of preservation in respect to East Asian music. It constitutes the first book to situate considerations of Japan, Korea, China and Taiwan together - states that have in place legislation and well established systems designed both to preserve and promote indigenous traditions. Calls to preserve the intangible heritage have recently become louder because of the increasing pace of change and the speed at which local cultural markers are being lost. China, Korea, Taiwan and Japan each have one article featured that incorporates a foundational overview of policy and practice in the preservation of musical Intangible Cultural Heritage at the state level, complemented by a set of chapters based on rich ethnographic data collected through extended fieldwork that explore how the practice of policy has impacted on specific musics, from Confucian ritual through Kam big song to the Okinawan sanshin. The contributors are a team of authors who give both insider and outsider perspectives and observations as they are a mix of East Asian and foreign authors. The book both accounts for, and critiques, policy, ideology and practice in the musical Intangible Cultural Heritage of East Asia.