Talk:千本桜 (Senbonzakura)/@comment-182.250.225.172-20130528021906

I don't think it's about the period around WWII at all. In fact, westernisation was actually at its peak during the Meiji period, when Japan ended its isolitation and opened up to the outside world. The lyrics about the "oiran", as well as the character's outfits, the objects which appear such as the old-fashioned bicycle, all belong to the Meiji era (which is a century before WWII).

But most vocaloid songs don't really consider time periods and such seriously, unless directly specified, as long as the atmosphere is there. The Meiji era was a time where the "Wa" of Japan and western culture was just merging together, so the song may be about forlorness towards the disappearing (or diluting) Japanese culture while accepting the new one. Maybe. That's just one of my many interpretations.