japanese music

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Outside of Japan, the country’s music has an image closely tied to its pop music, which is generally bubblegum songs with Japanese lyrics and often incomprehensible English refrains. Pop stars (idoru kashu) of this scene are generally attractive singers, boy bands and girl groups. However, music author John Clewley has described Japan’s musical output as a «wide range… from ancient Buddhist chanting and court music to folk and old urban styles, from localised popular styles like kayokyoku and enka to Western classical, jazz and every form of pop… found in the West».

Japanese music has long been tied to Japanese rituals, literature and dance. Theatrical music is the most historically important field of Japanese music, which East Asian musical scholar Isabel Wong attributes to the «Japanese love of storytelling and preoccupation with ritual». She also notes the Japanese preoccupation with the «words and literature» of music, as opposed to the instrumentation, and that all Japanese instruments were «developed to emulate the human voice». She describes Japanese instrumental music as inherently chamber music «in its conception».

The taiko is regarded as a simple but spiritual instrument
Classical music
There are countless types of classical music in Japan. Two of the oldest are shomyo , or Buddhist chanting, and gagaku , or orchestral court music, both of which date to the Nara and Heian periods.

Gagaku is a type of classical music that has been performed at the Imperial court for since the Heian period. Kagurauta , Azumaasobi and Yamatouta are relatively indigenous repertories. togaku and komagaku are the music originating in Chinese Tang dynasty and Korea. In addition, gagaku is divided into kangen (instrumental music performed as such) and bugaku (dance accompanied by gagaku).

Noh is usually accompanied by music, uta and hayashi Theater also developed in Japan from an early age. Noh or no arose out of various more popular traditions and by the 14th century had developed into a highly refined art. It was brought to its peak by Kan’ami (1333-1384) and Zeami (1363?-1443). In particular Zeami provided the core of the Noh repertory and authored many treatises on the secrets of the Noh tradition (until the modern era these were not widely read).

Another form of Japanese theater is the puppet theater, often known as bunraku . This traditional puppet theater also has roots in popular traditions and flourished especially during Chonin in the Edo period (1600-1868). It is usually accompanied by recitation (various styles of joruri) accompanied by shamisen music.

During the Edo period human actors (after 1629 only men; after 1652 only male adults) performed the lively and popular kabuki theater. Kabuki, which could feature anything from historical plays to dance plays, was often accompanied by nagauta style of singing and shamisen performance.

The biwa, a form of short-necked lute, was played by a group of itinerant performers (biwa hoshi) who used it to accompany stories. The most famous of these stories is The Tale of the Heike, a 13th century history of the triumph of the Minamoto clan over the Taira. Biwa hoshi began to organize themselves into a guild-like association (todo) for visually impaired men as early as the thirteenth century. This guild eventually controlled a large portion of the musical culture of Japan.

In addition numerous smaller groups of itinerant blind musicians were formed especially in the Kyushu area. These musicians, known as moso (=blind monk) toured their local areas and performed a variety of religious and semi-religious texts to purify households and bring about good health and good luck. They also maintained a repertory of secular genres. The biwa that they played was considerably smaller than the Heike biwa played by the biwa hoshi.

Lafcadio Hearn related in his book Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things «Mimi-nashi Hoichi» (Hoichi the Earless), a Japanese ghost story about a blind biwa hoshi who performs «The Tale of the Heike»

Taiko
The taiko is a Japanese drum that comes in various sizes and is used to play a variety of musical genres. It has become particularly popular in recent years as the central instrument of percussion ensembles whose repertory is based on a variety of folk and festival music of the past. Such taiko music is played by large drum ensembles called kumi-daiko. Its origins are uncertain, but can be sketched out as far back as the 6th and 7th centuries, when a clay figure of a drummer indicates its existence. Chinese and Korean influences followed, but the instrument and its music remained uniquely Japanese. Taiko drums during this period were used during battle to intimidate the enemy and to communicate commands. Taiko continue to be used in the religious music of Buddhism and Shintoism. In the past players were holy men, who played only at special occasions and in small groups, but in time secular men (rarely women) also played the taiko in semi-religious festivals such as the bon dance.

Modern ensemble taiko is said to have been invented by Daihachi Oguchi in 1951. A jazz drummer, Oguchi incorporated his musical background into large ensembles, which he had also designed. His energetic style made his group popular throughout Japan, and made the Hokuriku region a center for taiko music. Musicians to arise from this wave of popular included Sukeroku Daiko and his bandmate Seido Kobayashi. 1969 saw a group called Za Ondekoza founded by Tagayasu Den; Za Ondekoza gathered together young performers who innovated a new roots revival version of taiko, which was used as a way of life in communal lifestyles. During the 1970s, the Japanese government allocated funds to preserve Japanese culture, and many community taiko groups were formed. Later in the century, taiko groups spread across the world, especially to the United States. There is now a video game, called Taiko Drum Master, about taiko.

Yukar
Among the minority Ainu of the north, yukar (mimicry) is a form of epic poetry. The stories typically involve Kamui, the god of nature, and Pojaumpe, an orphan-warrior.

Min’yo: Folk Music

Geisha with her shamisen, 1904Japanese folk songs (minyo) can be grouped and classified in many ways but it is often convenient to think of four main categories: work songs, religious songs (such as sato kagura, a form of Shintoist music), songs used for gatherings such as weddings, funerals, and festivals (matsuri, especially Obon), and children’s songs (warabe uta).

In [minyo], singers are typically accompanied by the 3 stringed lute known as the shamisen, taiko drums, and a bamboo flute called shakuhachi. Other instruments that could accompany are a transverse flute known as the shinobue, a bell known as kane, a hand drum called the tsuzumi, and/or a 13 stringed zither known as the koto. In Okinawa, the main instrument is the sanshin. These are traditional Japanese instruments, but modern instrumentation, such as electric guitars and synthesizers is, also used in this day and age, when enka singers cover traditional min’yo songs (Enka being a Japanese music genre all its own…).

Terms often heard when speaking about min’yo are ondo, bushi, bon uta, and komori uta. An ondo generally describes any folk song with a distinctive swing that may be heard as 2/4 time rhythm (though performers usually do not group beats). The typical folk song heard at Obon festival dances will most likely be an ondo. A fushi is a song with a distinctive melody. Its very name, which is pronounced «bushi» in compounds, means «section» or «node.» The word is rarely used on its own, but is usually prefixed by a term referring to occupation, location, personal name or the like. Bon uta, as the name describes, are songs for Obon, the lantern festival of the dead. Komori uta are children’s lullabies.

Many of these songs include extra stress on certain syllables, as well as pitched shouts (kakegoe). Kakegoe are generally shouts of cheer, but in min’yo they are often included as parts of choruses. There are many kakegoe, though they vary from region to region. In Okinawa Min’yo, for example, one will hear the common «ha iya sasa!» In mainland Japan, however, one will be more likely to hear «a yoisho!,» «sate!,» or «a sore!» Others are «a donto koi!,» and «dokoisho!»

Recently a guild-based system known as the iemoto system has been applied to some forms of min’yo; it is called. This system was originally developed for transmitting classical genres such as nagauta, shakuhachi, or koto music, but since it proved profitable to teachers and was supported by students who wished to obtain certificates of proficiency and artist’s names continues to spread to genres such as min’yo, Tsugaru-jamisen, and other forms of music that were traditionally transmitted more informally. Today some min’yo are passed on in such pseudo-family organizations, and long apprenticeships are common.

Okinawan folk music

Okinawa has been under the control of Japan since 1609, except for a brief period of US domination during and after World War II. Umui, religious songs, shima uta, dance songs, and, especially katcharsee, lively celebratory music, were all popular.

Okinawan folk music varies from mainland Japanese folk music in several ways.

First, instrumentation. Okinawan folk music is often accompanied by the sanshin whereas in mainland Japan, the shamisen accompanies instead. Other Okinawan instruments include the Sanba (which produce a clicking sound similar to that of castanets) and a sharp bird whistle.

Second, tonality. In Japan, the common pentatonic scale Re, Fa, So, La, Do, Re (scale degrees 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6) is often heard in min’yo. Okinawan min’yo, however, is known for scales that include what sounds like a leading tone (Re, Fa-sharp, So, La, Do-sharp, Re)(scale degree 7) which is rare in mainland music.

The arrival of Western music
After the Meiji Restoration introduced Western musical instruction, a bureaucrat named Izawa Shuji compiled songs like «Auld Lang Syne» and commissioned songs using a pentatonic melody. Western music, especially military marches, soon became popular in Japan. Two major forms of music that developed during this period were shoka, which was composed to bring western music to schools, and gunka, which are military marches with some Japanese elements.

As Japan moved towards representative democracy in the late 19th century, leaders hired singers to sell copies of songs that aired their messages, since the leaders themselves were usually prohibited from speaking in public. This developed into a form of ballad called enka, which became quite popular in the 20th century, though its popularity has waned since the 1970s and enjoys little favour with contemporary youth. Famous enka singers include Misora Hibari and Ikuzo Yoshi. Also at the end of the 19th century, an Osakan form of streetcorner singing became popular; this was called ryukoka. This included the first two Japanese stars, Yoshida Naramura and Tochuken Kumoemon.

Westernized pop music is called kayokyoku, which is said to have begun with «Kachusha no uta» (1914; see 1914 in music). This song was composed by Nakayama Shimpei and first appeared in a dramatization of Resurrection by Tolstoy, sung by Matsui Samako. The song became a hit among enka singers, and was one of the first major best-selling records in Japan. Kayokyoku became a major industry, especially after the arrival of superstar Misora Hibari.

Later, in the 1950s, tango and other kinds of Latin music, especially Cuban music, became very popular in Japan. A distinctively Japanese form of tango called dodompa also developed. Kayokyoku became associated entirely with traditional Japanese structures, while more Western-style music was called Japanese pops. In the 1960s, Japanese bands imitated The Beatles, Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones, along with other Appalachian folk music, psychedelic rock, mod and similar genres; this was called Group Sounds.

Since then, bubblegum pop and J-Pop have become some of the best-selling forms of music, and are often used in films and television, especially in Japanese animation. The rise of disposable pop has been linked with the popularity of karaoke, leading to much criticism that both trends are consumerist and shallow. For example, Kazufumi Miyazawa of The Boom, claims «I hate that buy, listen and throw away and sing at a karaoke bar mentality.»

Roots music
In the late 1980s, roots bands like Shang Shang Typhoon and The Boom became popular. Okinawan roots bands like Nenes and Kina were also commercially and critically successful. This led to the second wave of Okinawan music, led by the sudden success of Rinkenband. A new wave of bands followed, including the comebacks of Champluse and Kina, as well as new acts like Soul Flower Union. An updated form of Okinawan folk called kawachi ondo became popular, led by Kikusuimaru Kawachiya; very similar to kawachi ondo is Tademaru Sakuragawa’s goshu ondo.

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