Japan

(Jap. Nihon [Nippon] Koku: ‘Land of the Rising Sun’).

East Asian country. Some 370,000 km² in area, it comprises four main islands – Honshū (the mainland), Kyūshū, Hokkaidō and Shikoku –as well as the Ryūkyū archipelago (including Okinawa), extending south-west from Kyūshū, and various smaller outlying islands. The population of about 126·43 million (2000) is almost entirely Japanese, within which Okinawans are often considered a separate subgroup. Several thousand Ainu, an aboriginal people, live primarily on the island of Hokkaidō. Early cultural influences flowed from its adjacency to Taiwan and South-east Asia to the south, China and Korea to the west, and Sakhalin and Siberia to the north.

I. General

II. Instruments and instrumental genres

III. Notation systems

VIII. Regional traditions

IX. Developments since the Meiji Restoration

SHIGEO KISHIBE (I, 1–2), DAVID W. HUGHES (I, 3–4; II, 1–2; III, 4; VIII, 2(v); IX, 1), HUGH DE FERRANTI (II, 3), W. ADRIAANSZ (II, 4(i)–(iii)(b)), ROBIN THOMPSON, (II, 4(iii)(c); VIII, 1), CHARLES ROWE (II, 4(v); IV,5), DONALD P. BERGER/DAVID W. HUGHES (II, 5), W.P. MALM/DAVID W. HUGHES (II, 6; III, 1–3), DAVID WATERHOUSE (IV, 1–4), ALLAN MARETT (V), RICHARD EMMETT (VI, 1), W.P. MALM (VI, 2–3), FUMIO KOIZUMI/DAVID W. HUGHES (VII), KAZUYUKI TANIMOTO (VIII, 2(i–iv)), MASAKATA KANAZAWA (IX, 2), LINDA FUJIE (IX, 3), ELIZABETH FALCONER (IX, 4)

Japan

I. General

1. History.

The modern period of Japanese history dates from the Meiji Restoration of 1868, when a constitutional monarchy was established after nearly seven centuries of feudalism. During this period the country was opened to the outside world and its influences, so that by the mid-20th century music in Japan reflected mixtures of three basic types: Japanese traditional music, Western traditional music and international modern trends. In Tokyo audiences enjoy concerts of music ranging from Bach to Webern, played by Japanese orchestras, while on nightly television programmes young Japanese singers perform Western or Japanese popular songs. On the surface, traditional music seems neglected. But although there has been a decrease in the number of professional performers and lovers of such music, and a few genres have disappeared, the surviving traditions have been maintained at a high standard. An important factor in this is the continuing presence of a strong musicians’ guild system, which has since ancient times (see§3 below) reinforced the various styles of each musical genre. Such continuing traditions are sustained not only in art music but also in the rich variety of folk music that flourishes throughout the country.

Japanese traditional music has retained most of the major genres of each historical period before modernization. For example, from the early Middle Ages (11th–15th centuries) one finds gagaku (ancient court music), shōmyō (Buddhist chant), narrative music on the biwa (lute) and nō drama, while the later Middle Ages (17th century–1868) are represented by music for the koto (zither), shamisen (lute) and shakuhachi (end-blown flute) and by much folk music. Another regular feature of Japanese music is its sensitive combination of drama and dance, this synthesis perhaps being best represented by the nō and kabuki dramas.

The history of Japanese music can be divided into five stages of stylistic development, corresponding to stages in the country’s socio-political and economic history (see Table 1).

(i) Indigenous music.

Features of the music of the early ancient period are only vaguely known through archaeological materials (see §II, 2 below) and historical sources of the 8th century; the latter describe musical instruments such as the koto (zither), fue (flute), tsuzumi (drum) and suzu (bell-tree). These instruments have native names and are thought to be indigenous, whereas most of those that appeared later originated in China. The performing arts were a reflection of the way of life in Japan’s Neolithic and early Bronze periods. During this time the ancient clan system was developing into an imperial state. The basic shamanism of early antiquity became systematized into a state religion called Shintō (‘The Way of the Gods’), which helped to strengthen the political power of the imperial court. The music and dance of Shintō ceremonies had already become the main body of court music by the end of this period when, in the 5th and 6th centuries, mainland Asian styles began to stream into Japan.

(ii) Continental Asian music.

The introduction of continental East Asian music and dance, first from Korea and then from China, greatly changed the character of Japanese music. The introduction of Buddhism through Korea in the 6th century also had considerable influence. The first Chinese performing art to reach Japan at this time was gigaku (masked dances and pageants), which were imported by Koreans during the Asuka period (c552–645 ce); the Hōryūji, the world’s oldest surviving wooden building, was constructed during this period. Gigaku was followed by gagaku, which consisted of various kinds of Korean and Chinese court music and dance. These were organized, together with indigenous music, under a government music department called the Gagakur-yō. During this period an important governmental musical event took place as part of the celebration in 749 of the completion of a colossal bronze statue of the Buddha for the Tōdaiji monastery in Nara, then the capital. The Shōsōin, the imperial treasury of the Emperor Shōmu (d 756) in Nara, contains 75 musical instruments of 18 kinds that were used in these ceremonies. They are excellent and rare evidence of the international origins of gagaku, for although some instruments came from Tang dynasty China or Korea, others originated in India, Persia or Central Asia. However, the international features of gagaku were modified to Japanese taste and style when the aristocracy replaced the government as the major sponsor of such music in the early Heian period (794–1185 ce). Buddhist chant (shōmyō), which had its origins in India and was introduced into Japan via China, was another major imported genre of the period.

(iii) National music.

In the later Heian period feudal warriors (samurai) began to exert influence on the cultural and political activities of Japan. The Minamoto [Genji] family established the first feudal government (shogunate) in the Kamakura period (1192–1333) and was followed in the Muromachi period (1338–1573) by the Ashikaga family. The names of the periods are derived from these clans’ respective capitals, Kamakura being a city about 50 km south-west of Tokyo and Muromachi being the name of an area in the city of Kyoto. Cultural activities in the first half of the Middle Ages were centred on such samurai clans and Buddhist priests.

Besides the modified courtly and Buddhist music of this period there were two important new genres that seem quite national in character. One was heike-biwa, a unique style of vocal narrative music accompanied on the biwa lute. Originating during the Kamakura period, heike-biwa would later give rise to the satsuma-biwa and chikuzen-biwa traditions and to some genres of shamisen music, particularly gidayū, the highly developed narrative music of bunraku (puppet theatre) (see §II, 3 and 6 below).

The second major genre that developed in the Muromachi period is a theatrical form called nō (see §VI, 1 below). Representing the highest expression of Japanese aesthetic theory, it is a perfect marriage of drama, theatre, music, dance and costume. The beauty of nō music lies in its refined symbolism and its combination of simplicity with sophistication and of stereotypes with flexibility. The style and spirit of nō have been regarded as the outstanding achievement in Japan’s indigenous performing arts.

Whereas support for music in the early Middle Ages came primarily from the upper classes (samurai and Buddhist priests), the three new major genres of the Momoyama (1573–1603) and Edo (1603–1868) periods arose among the merchants and artisans of the cities. The Tokugawa family shogunate dominated the nation throughout the Edo period, but it could not suppress the new culture that developed naturally from the increasing rise of the merchant class and, in fact, affected all classes. Women from both the samurai and merchant classes, for example, enjoyed performing songs accompanied by the 13-string koto (long zither), a style that had been first established by blind musicians. The most popular forms of lyrical and narrative vocal music of the period are found in genres accompanied by the three-string banjo-like shamisen or samisen lute. Though the instrument developed from the Chinese sanxian, its structure became quite different, and its music was derived primarily from Japanese kabuki and puppet theatre traditions. Kabuki in particular provided a context for numerous genres of shamisen music to meet and develop. Another popular instrument was the shakuhachi, an end-blown bamboo flute. Used at first by itinerant priests of the Fuke sect of Zen Buddhism, it became popular among people of every class, and soon a cadre of professional secular players developed, many of whom became associated with koto-based chamber music in the 19th century.

Although these three new genres of music (defined here by their respective main instruments, koto, shamisen and shakuhachi) were held in great esteem, the older musical styles such as gagaku and nō also retained a respected position as the art music of the upper classes. By this time, however, gagaku and nō had already lost their original function as entertainment and became formalized into a kind of cultural ritual for the court, shrine, temple or élite samurai society.

(iv) Western influences.

The period of national music ended with the modernization of Japan when the country was opened to the outside world in 1868. Since then Japan has developed under liberalism and capitalism as well as socialism and has delved enthusiastically into all kinds of Western classical and popular music. Traditional music has gradually lost some of its importance, and many efforts have been made to combine traditional Japanese and Western idioms in both art and popular music. It is evident also that Japan has, with its remarkable energy and talent, contributed to the creation of new styles in international contemporary music.

Since the 1970s Japan has also become more involved with other non-Western musics: thus one might encounter young Japanese performing Balinese kecak among the skyscrapers of Tokyo. The growth of ethnomusicology, ease of travel, the ‘World Music’ phenomenon and increased media access to diverse cultural products have all had an impact on music activity in Japan.

Japan, §I: General

2. Aesthetics.

The aesthetics of Japanese traditional music, like its theory and style, must be understood in the context of Japan’s historical periods. The Japanese emphasis on monophonic or non-harmonized music has produced other specific characteristics: the delicate use of microtones, the importance of timbre and the refinement of free rhythm. Musical aesthetics have varied from period to period, although in later times the aesthetics of earlier periods lingered and often mingled with one another. If representative ideas are chosen from each period, they may be summarized as follows: purity (kiyosa) from early antiquity; refined and courtly taste (miyabi) from late antiquity; symbolism and sober poverty (wabi, sabi, yūgen, hana) from the early Middle Ages; and smartness and elegance (iki and sui) from the later Middle Ages. The philosophies of Shintō and Buddhism, especially Zen Buddhism, provide the aesthetic bases of the Japanese approach to most arts and, together with Confucianism, form the moral framework within which the different arts exist. Multiplicity, rather than symmetry and unity, might be regarded as the basic feature of the style and form of Japanese music. Japan has a rich variety of seasons and climates; its people have thought that human beings must be in harmony with nature, rather than resistant to it. Such thinking has been reflected in Japanese music throughout the ages.

Japan, §I: General

3. Transmission.

The nature of Japanese music is in close symbiosis with its modes of transmission. For many genres, the right to perform was severely restricted. For example, court performers’ roles were hereditary, with transmission from father to son; moreover, each instrument or skill was passed on in a separate lineage. Professional (i.e. profit-making) performance of certain traditions, such as biwa (see §II, 3(iii) below), koto and jiuta shamisen (see §II, 6(ii) below), was for several centuries legally restricted to blind performers’ guilds, principally the Tōdō-za or Tōdō shoku-yashiki. Shakuhachi performance was also legally restricted to members of the Fuke sect of Zen for two centuries. Such restrictions were often violated, but in any case they were lifted in 1871 as part of modernization. Women were also excluded from various genres; even now, most Japanese consider it inappropriate for a woman to perform, say, shakuhachi or ‘official’ forms of the theatre genres nō and kabuki.

Modernization did not, however, lead to total liberalization. Most genres of traditional classical music and dance and, recently, even folksong are now taught within the iemoto (‘househead’) system, via hierarchically structured ‘schools’ or ‘lineages’ (ryū(-ha)) with an autocratic iemoto at the head, who makes decisions about repertory, performance style, licensing of teachers and so forth. Such institutional transmission is much debated. On the one hand, it tends to restrict creativity and access and can be economically exploitative. On the other, it is considered responsible for the survival of many traditions that might otherwise have died or altered beyond recognition (alteration over the centuries, extreme in the case of gagaku and nō, is often denied or downplayed by performers). Many aspects of teaching methods can be related to such restrictive transmission. Thus musical notation (see §III below) is often comparatively vague, partly as a way to limit access. The emphasis is on exact imitation of one’s teacher; deviation can best be achieved by starting one’s own ‘school’.

Westernization brought threats to the survival of traditional genres. The national education system, created along Western lines in the 1870s, has always virtually ignored traditional music. One 20th-century response was the emergence of Preservation Societies (hozonkai), especially in the folk world, where the iemoto system was absent. A hozonkai is usually an organization under local control devoted to ‘preserving’ (but also usually developing and propagating) a local song or dance, often a single item. Hozonkai have the same virtues and drawbacks as the iemoto system.

Beginning in the mid-20th century, the survival of certain traditions has been helped by government intervention. To encourage young performers of the music theatre genres, there are now government training schools based in national theatres. More important is the Ministry of Education’s elaborate system of National Cultural Properties, which designates particular traditions as ‘important intangible cultural properties’ (jūyō mukei bunkazai) and certain artists as ‘living National Treasures’ (ningen kokuhō) and provides some financial support.

Japan, §I: General

4. Scales and modes.

Discussion of modal theory for individual genres will be found in some sections below (see also Mode, §V, 5(ii)). There is great diversity among these genres; despite or because of this, researchers have been keen to establish a modal theory that could encompass many or all types of traditional Japanese music. Prior to the late 19th century the only extensive modal theory was that for gagaku (court music); early theorizing did not extend to detailed analysis of tonal function or melodic patterns, and the focus was mainly on scales (tonal material), tunings and modal classification of pieces. It was recognized, however, that court music modes fell into two groups, ritsu and ryo, each with an anhemitonic pentatonic core with two ‘exchange tones’ (hennon, from Chinese bianyin) that could replace two of the core degrees (in ascending melodic passages in the case of ritsu, in descent for ryo). The modal terminology of gagaku was sometimes applied to other genres but rarely provided insight.

The first significant Japanese attempt at an overview, important to all subsequent work, was Uehara’s Zokugaku senritsu kō (1895). Focussing on folk and popular musics, he distinguished two basic Japanese pentatonic ‘modes’ (senpō, as opposed to onkai or ‘scale’; this terminological distinction is often ignored). These he called in and yō (similar to Chinese yin and yang), or miyako-bushi (‘urban melody’) and inaka-bushi (‘rural melody’) respectively. If C is used as a ‘tonic’ (kyū; a court-music concept of Chinese origin), then Uehara’s ‘urban melody’ in mode is C D F G A C, but with A replaced by B (and sometimes D by E) in ascending passages. The yō mode (identical in this thinking with the ritsu category of court modes) differed from this only in using D and A instead of D and A (outside court music absolute pitch is of little significance; all pitches in this section are relative).

Koizumi, in his 1958 book, created the model that is now followed overwhelmingly by Japanese researchers. He expanded Uehara’s scheme to four ideal-typical modes that he felt accounted for the vast majority of Japanese musics, abandoning Uehara’s octave-based theory and focussing instead on the tetrachord as the basic modal structure. In this he acknowledged Lachmann (1929) as his inspiration. However, other Western researchers had also proposed similar approaches (Knott, Abraham and Hornbostel, Peri). Knott identified trichords and was followed by Peri, while the Germans stuck with the tetrachord. The successful application of this ancient Greek approach to Japanese music is doubtless the major contribution of early Western researchers to Japanese music studies. Koizumi’s tetrachord consists of two stable ‘nuclear tones’ (German: Kernton; Japanese: kakuon) a 4th apart plus a single infix, the position of which determines the species of tetrachord. He calls for four types: the in or miyako-bushi (C, D, F), ritsu (C, D, F), yō or min’yō (‘folksong’) (C, E, F) and Ryūkyū (C, E, F). These combine to form various octave species characteristic of particular types of music. An important difference from Uehara is that Koizumi abandoned the Chinese-derived tendency to think in terms of a single ‘tonic’ and recognized that the various nuclear tones may compete as tonal centres, leading to various types of modulation (for an English summary of his model, see Koizumi, 1976–7).

M. Shibata (1978) proposed another general model, indebted to Koizumi’s yet differing significantly. Whereas Koizumi focussed on the frame created by the 4ths, Shibata shifted attention to their upper and lower neighbours. For example, in a melody basically using the in scale, a passage such as f–d–c–B might occur, where B substitutes for the expected A, especially when serving as a lower neighbour between two occurrences of the c. Koizumi’s approach requires positing a change of the lowered tetrachord from in to yō, whereas for Shibata it is just a matter of yielding to the centripetal force of the nuclear tone c (a process recognized also by Koizumi). Among the few adherents to Shibata’s approach, Tokumaru has applied it to shamisen music (e.g. 1981) and Sawada to Buddhist chant (in Nihon no onkai, 1982). Matsumoto (1965) seems to have had no influence.

Koizumi’s and Shibata’s models work well for most genres, if applied flexibly. Japanese 4ths and 5ths are near-perfect, but the ‘infixes’ of Koizumi’s theory are often quite variable in intonation. For example, the semitones of the in mode are often 90 cents or less, although Western influence (plus electronic tuning devices for koto etc) are moving this towards 100.

Western influence has also led to the adoption of the ‘pentatonic major’ (yona-nuki chōonkai: C, D, E, G, A) and ‘pentatonic minor’ (yona-nuki tan’onkai: C, D, E, G, A). These are, in effect, versions of the yō and in scales with their tonics re-located to suit Western-style harmonization, and they occur particularly in ‘new folk songs’, school songs and the enka popular song style (see §§VII and IX, 3 below), all genres in which a flavour of traditional pentatonicism is desired.

Japan, §I: General

BIBLIOGRAPHY

and other resources

history and aesthetics

F.T. Piggott: The Music and Musical Instruments of Japan (London, 1893, 2/1909/R)

H. Tanabe: Japanese Music (Tokyo, 1929, 3/1960)

K. Machida: ‘Japanese Music and Dance’, Japanese Music and Drama in the Meiji Era, ed. T. Komiya (Tokyo, 1956), 329–448

W.P. Malm: Japanese Music and Musical Instruments (Tokyo, 1959)

E. Kikkawa: Nihon ongaku no rekishi [A history of Japanese music] (Tokyo and Osaka, 1965, 9/1974)

S. Kishibe: ‘Music’, K.B.S. [Kokusai Bunka Shinkoka] Bibliography of Standard Reference Books for Japanese Studies with Descriptive Notes, vii/B (Tokyo, 1966), 121–72

S. Kishibe: The Traditional Music of Japan (Tokyo, 1966/R, 2/1982/R)

P. Arnott: The Theatres of Japan (London, 1969)

P. Landy: Japon, les traditions musicales (Paris, 1970)

Y. Inoura and T. Kawatake: A History of Japanese Theater (Tokyo, 1971, rev. 2/1981 as The Traditional Theater of Japan)

E. Harich-Schneider: A History of Japanese Music (London, 1973)

W.P. Malm: ‘Chinese Music in Nineteenth Century Japan’, AsM, vi (1975), 147–72

Asian Musics in an Asian Perspective: Tokyo 1976

Studien zur traditionellen Musik Japans (Kassel, 1977–)

Musical Voices of Asia: Tokyo 1978

T. Havens: Artist and Patron in Postwar Japan (Princeton, NJ, 1982)

E. Kikkawa: Vom Charakter der Japanischen Musik (Kassel, 1984)

W.P. Malm: Six Hidden Views of Japanese Music (Berkeley, 1986)

G. Tsuge: Japanese Music: an Annotated Bibliography (New York, 1986)

E. Kikkawa: ‘The Musical Sense of the Japanese’, CMR, i/2 (1987), 85–94

L. Fujie: ‘A Comparison of Cultural Policies Towards Traditional Music in the United States and Japan’, Music in the Dialogue of Cultures: Berlin 1988, 68–76

A. Tamba: La théorie et l’esthétique musicale japonaises du 8e au 19e siècle (Paris, 1988)

E. Kikkawa: Nihon ongaku bunkashi [A cultural history of Japanese music] (Osaka, 1989)

L. Fujie: ‘East Asia/Japan’, Worlds of Music, ed. J.T. Titon (New York, 2/1992), 318–75

transmission

M. Shimazaki: ‘Geinō shakai to iemoto seido’ [The performing arts world and the iemoto system], Shakaigaku hyōron, no.3, 131–56; no.4, 101–34

B. Ortolani: ‘Iemoto’, Japan Quarterly, xvi (1969), 297–306

M. Nishiyama: Iemoto monogatari [Tales of iemoto] (Tokyo, 1971)

G. Kakinoki: ‘Nagauta Kokaji ni mieru ryūhasei’ [Sectarian differences as seen in the kabuki dance Kokaji], Geinō no kagaku, ix (1978), 153–204

I. Kumakura: ‘The Iemoto System in Japanese Society’, Japan Foundation Newsletter, ix (1981), 1–7

C.B. Read and D. Locke: ‘An Analysis of the Yamada-ryū Sōkyoku Iemoto System’, Hōgaku, i (1983), 20–52

P. O’Neill: ‘Organization and Authority in the Traditional Arts’, Modern Asian Studies, xviii/4 (1984)

D. Hughes: The Heart's Home Town: Traditional Folk Song in Modern Japan (diss., U. of Michigan, 1985)

U. Eppstein: The Beginnings of Western Music in Meiji Era Japan (Lewiston, NY, 1994)

M. Nishiyama: Edo Culture: Daily Life and Diversions in Urban Japan, 1600–1868 (Honolulu, 1997)

B.E. Thornbury: The Folk Performing Arts: Traditional Culture in Contemporary Japan (Albany, NY, 1997)

scales and modes

C. Knott: ‘Remarks on Japanese Musical Scales’, Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan, xix (1891), 373–92

R. Uehara: Zokugaku senritsu kō [The melodies of popular music], ed. K. Hirano and others (Tokyo, 1895)

O. Abraham and E. von Hornbostel: ‘Studien über das Tonsystem und die Musik der Japaner’, SIMG, iv (1902–3), 302–60; repr. as ‘Tonsystem und Musik der Japaner’ in Sammelbände für vergleichende Musikwissenschaft, i (1922), 179–231; repr. with Eng. trans. in Hornbostel: Opera omnia, i, ed. K.P. Wachsmann, D. Christensen and H.-P. Reinecke (The Hague, 1975), 3–84

R. Lachmann: Die Musik des Orients (Breslau, 1929)

N. Peri: Essai sur les gammes japonaises (Paris, 1934)

F. Koizumi: Nihon dentō ongaku no kenkyū [Research in Japanese music], i (Tokyo, 1958)

T. Matsumoto: Nihon senpō [Japanese modes] (Tokyo, 1965)

F. Koizumi: ‘Musical Scales in Japanese Music’, Asian Musics in an Asian Perspective (Tokyo, 1977), 73–9

M. Shibata: Ongaku no gaikotsu no hanashi [The skeletal structure of music] (Tokyo, 1978)

Y. Tokumaru: L’aspect mélodique de la musique de syamisen (diss., U. Laval, 1981)

Nihon no onkai [Japanese scales], ed. Tōyō Ongaku Gakkai (Tokyo, 1982)

K. Hirano and T. Kojima: ‘Nihon no onkai’ [Japanese scales], Nihon ongaku daijiten, ed. K. Hirano and others (Tokyo, 1989), 139–44

A. Tokita: ‘Mode and Scale, Modulation and Tuning in Japanese Shamisen Music: the Case of Kiyomoto Narrative’, EthM, xl (1996), 1–33

Japan

II. Instruments and instrumental genres

Japan, §II: Instruments and instrumental genres

1. Introduction.

Japan possesses a rich variety of traditional musical instruments: there are over 200 distinct types and subtypes. Despite this abundance, only four instruments have played a particularly prominent role in traditional music and merit individual discussion – biwa, koto, shakuhachi and shamisen (see §§ 3–6 below). Many other instruments are of importance in one genre or (like the shō and hichiriki of gagaku) occur in only a single genre; they are discussed in the relevant sections below. Still others, such as bamboo transverse flutes and various stick drums, are widespread in a variety of musics.

Although most genres of Japanese music involve singing, there exist several important examples of pure instrumental music: solo pieces (honkyoku) for shakuhachi; improvisatory solos for tsugaru-jamisen; matsuri-bayashi festival music of the Tokyo area; gagaku; and the danmono subtype of popular koto music. There are also long instrumental solos (tegoto, ai-no-te etc.) in many predominantly vocal pieces, and long instrumental dance pieces in the nō theatre. Even when instruments are sounded with vocals, their importance is sometimes reflected in the traditional folk and modern scholarly names for the genres: heike-biwa for the battle narratives accompanied by biwa lute; sōkyoku (‘koto music’) for the entire secular koto repertory; uta-sanshin for Okinawan ‘song-[plus]-sanshin’.

Virtually all Japanese instruments have close relatives in China, and it is likely that they originated there before being modified significantly to suit local needs. Most major instrumental types occur (or have occurred) in Japan, but some are rare. Thus the one traditional fiddle, the Kokyū, is of limited use; the kugo harp of court music fell into disuse over a millennium ago; and trumpets are now represented primarily by the hora conch of Buddhism.

The 20th century saw considerable experimentation with instrumental construction and composition, mostly under Western influence. Few recent innovations (e.g. the nine-hole shakuhachi, the bass shamisen, the 30-string koto) have caught on, but some will doubtless stand the test of time, as has the 17-string koto. A general trend toward pure instrumental composition and ensemble music is clearly due to Western impact. The phenomenon of large stick-drum (taiko) ensembles, which is gaining worldwide fame, is of recent vintage (see Kumi-daiko).

Japan, §II: Instruments and instrumental genres

2. Archaeology.

Dozens of court musical instruments of the 8th and 9th century are excellently preserved in the Shōsōin imperial storehouse in Nara. Most were gifts from the Chinese court, reflecting the major importation of élite Chinese culture at that time. Since Japan's historical era begins in the 8th century with the first written sources, knowledge of musical life before that time must depend largely on archaeology (see Hughes, 1988).

The people of the Jōmon period (c10,000–300 bce) lived largely by hunting, fishing and foraging and had developed the art of pottery. Lacking written or iconographic evidence, we are often at a loss to know whether particular artefacts were intended as sound-producers. For example, dozens of pots with small holes around their rims have been suggested as possible drum bodies, the holes being used to affix a membrane with pegs or cord; however, numerous types of evidence eliminate this possibility, at least for most of the pots. More intriguing are the flattish hollow clay objects found from 2500 bce onwards, mostly 8 to 15 cm long and often in stylized animal or human shapes. These often have a single hole on each surface but at opposite ends, suggesting orifices of the body. It is possible to blow into these, but it is not clear if these were intended as aerophones.

More convincing still are the objects in fig.1, which are taken to be two-string zithers and date from the first five centuries bce. Strings would have been tied to the tooth-like projections, but no strings or bridges survive. Most are 35 to 55 cm long. The overall shape of these zithers recalls the Ainu tonkori (see §VIII, 2 below) of historical times, the antecedents of which are unknown.

The ensuing Yayoi period (c300 bce–300 ce) saw the beginning of metal-working. Only three instruments will be discussed here, all of which have Chinese antecedents but differ from them in ways that suggest native artisans struggling to imitate instruments they did not possess. All three are extremely varied in Japan, lacking standardization.

Dozens of egg-shaped ocarinas (tsuchibue, ‘earthen flutes’) clearly derive from the Chinese Xun but differ in having their more pointed end at the bottom, opposite the extremely wide blow-hole; they have four finger-holes on the front and two thumb-holes on the back, as opposed to more diverse arrangements in China. No safe conclusions about tuning can be drawn: a 15th-century Korean source notes that one must simply make a large number of ocarinas (hun) and then throw out the ones that are out of tune, so whether we have recovered the good ones or the bad remains uncertain. After this period, ocarinas disappear.

The Yayoi period has also yielded several hundred cast bronze bells known as dōtaku. These range in height from 20 to over 100 cm and can exceed 25 kg in weight. The cross-section is elliptical with pointed ends. There is no precise Chinese model for these. Early dōtaku seem suited for playing, but later ones were so fragile and decorous that they must have been intended only as art works or perhaps signs of political power, as they were often cached on remote hilltops near power centres. Several caches of a dozen or more bells have been found, but given the diversity of form and tuning within each cache, these were clearly not intended for actual playing as bell-chimes like the Chinese bianzhong. Oddly, dōtaku also disappear after this period.

The third Yayoi-period instrument of relevance, the Wagon, appears in mid-Yayoi and continues to the present. Now a six-string zither with movable tuning bridges, used to accompany indigenous court vocal music (mi-kagura; see §V, 2 below), it originally had either five or six strings. Prior to standardization as an elaborate, highly decorated instrument by the 9th century, several dozen diverse examples of actual instruments have been found, as well as clay funerary sculptures (haniwa) showing the instrument being played (see figs.2 and 3). In the earliest written sources, the word koto indicated this instrument; wagon is a later term, derived from two Chinese characters meaning ‘Japanese zither’. Indeed, native scholars claim it as Japan's only indigenous string instrument. While its relationship to Chinese zithers with movable bridges is undeniable, each string is attached to a ‘tooth’, very much like those on the Jōmon two-string zithers but unlike any continental string attachment method. The following Kofun period (c300–710 ce) has yielded no important new instruments, but the haniwa funerary sculptures that date from this period at least confirm that the wagon was held on the lap, recalling somewhat the Korean kayagŭm rather than any current Japanese zither.

Drums and transverse flutes, which dominate folk ritual music today, are virtually absent prior to the 8th century, but drums are known from haniwa depictions, and both are known from poems presumed to be of Kofun-period date. All other major Japanese instruments were imported in or after the 8th century and subsequently indigenized.

Japan, §II: Instruments and instrumental genres

3. Biwa.

The several forms of biwa introduced from the Asian continent by at least the 8th century are thought to have been of Central and South Asian origin. The Sino-Japanese characters for biwa are equivalent to the characters for the Chinese pipa, for whose etymology see Pipa. Many forms of biwa have existed, but common to the structure of all types are fretted necks, four or five strings, the use of variously shaped large plectra and relatively shallow soundboxes cut from the same piece of wood as the neck. Discussed here are the history of the instrument and schools; for construction and tunings see Biwa.

The biwa is important in the histories of both music and literature, for apart from its use in various repertories of gagaku and in new instrumental compositions, it has been played primarily in the context of musical recitation, that is, as accompaniment to oral narrative. As such the biwa was a vehicle for the development of a primary stream of narrative music (katarimono) in the Kamakura and Muromachi periods (roughly 13th–16th centuries), and gave impetus to the early forms of jōruri, the principal katarimono of the bunraku and kabuki theatres. The prominence of biwa narrative in the music culture of central Japan waned after the introduction of the shamisen in the late 16th century. During the early decades of the 20th century, however, the satsuma-biwa and chikuzen-biwa styles enjoyed nationwide popularity.

(i) Gaku-biwa and gogen-biwa.

(ii) Heike-biwa.

(iii) Mōsō-biwa and zatō-biwa.

(iv) Chikuzen-biwa and satsuma-biwa.

Japan, §II, 3: Instruments and instrumental genres, Biwa.

(i) Gaku-biwa and gogen-biwa.

Since the late Heian period, the only lute that has been played in Japanese court music ensembles is the gaku-biwa, an instrument brought to Japan in the Nara period with the continental repertory of gagaku (fig.4). The gaku-biwa is a large, four-string form of pipa first referred to in Chinese sources of the Han dynasty (206 bce–220 ce). A second biwa introduced at that time was the gogen-biwa (Chin. wuxian pipa), a five-string, straight-necked lute probably of Indian origin, first recorded as being played in China during the 6th century. A superb example of the gogen-biwa exists in the Shōsōin treasury at Nara. Although the gogen-biwa performance tradition did not continue beyond the 9th century, an 11th-century copy of a single scroll of notation for the gogen-biwa has survived (Nelson, 1986).

In Heian period élite society, both the gaku-biwa and the gakusō zither were instruments especially favoured by nobles and courtiers of both genders, and accounts of outstanding performers are given in literary works of the 10th to 14th centuries. During the Heian, Kamakura and Muromachi periods, the gaku-biwa was played not only in the standard gagaku ensemble, but also solo, in consort with one or more instruments, and in accompaniment to saibara songs. A corpus of stories about individually named instruments brought from Tang China and a tradition of secret techniques and compositions attest to the contemporary prestige of the courtly biwa repertory and its complex performing practice.

The principal modern contexts for gaku-biwa performance are as one of two string instruments in the kangen ensemble, and as one of a group of string, wind and percussion instruments that accompanies saibara. In these contexts the gaku-biwa is played so as to produce a sparse, slow-moving series of staggered cross-string strokes and isolated tones whose relation to the melodic wind parts of modern practice has a percussive aspect that belies its actual heterophony. The work of the Cambridge Tang music research group has shown, however, that the Heian and Kamakura forms of tōgaku melodies are represented most closely in the modern gaku-biwa and shō parts (see §V below).

Japan, §II, 3: Instruments and instrumental genres, Biwa.

(ii) Heike-biwa.

One of the principal genres of Japanese music of the Kamakura and Muromachi eras is the narrative performance tradition now called heikyoku or heike-biwa. Heikyoku entails performance with biwa of individual stories or episodes from a corpus referred to as Heike monogatari (‘Tale of the Heike’), an account of the late 12th-century Genpei wars that is regarded as the paragon of Japanese medieval literature of the katarimono (narrative derived from an oral performance tradition) genre. The earliest stories appear to have been orally composed and circulated by blind, itinerant biwa players called biwa hōshi, who engaged in both secular and ritual performances of various kinds, including rites of appeasement (chinkonsai) for the spirits of warriors killed in battle. Heike katari (Heike recitation) may first have been performed to give solace to deceased Heike clan courtiers and samurai.

Although Heike katari remained a popular form of narrative performance until at least the late 16th century, by the early 14th century there existed multiple text versions associated variously with authors, scribes and biwa players. The significance of such texts for oral performance by blind professionals has yet to be sufficiently assessed, but the literary and performance traditions must be considered as complementary and mutually influential. A ‘performance-text’ (kataribon) of 1371 created under the supervision of the biwa hōshi Akashi no Kakuichi was treated as the source for printed, reading texts during the Edo period (1603–1868) and has long been acknowledged as the definitive, standard form of the Heike monogatari. It remains unclear whether performing practice continued to involve oral compositional skills, as kataribon texts came to be circulated widely among performers.

The authority of the shoku-yashiki or Tōdō-za guild of blind professional musicians is an important consideration for any assessment of the performance tradition during the Muromachi and Edo periods. Established in the 14th century, the Tōdō-za secured patronage from the highest levels of feudal society. Among six principal schools recognized by the guild, only the Ichikata-ryū continued beyond the end of the Muromachi period. Governed by a heike-biwa player appointed with the approval of the Shogunate, the Tōdō-za guild acted as an administrative body that sought to regulate the activities of all blind musicians until 1871, when it was dissolved by the Meiji government.

By the early Edo period, Heike katari performance had ceased to be a popular art; it had become an élite tradition associated primarily with the upper strata of society, practised under direct patronage of the Shogunate, high-ranking samurai and Buddhist priests. Blind performers began to teach amateur enthusiasts, for whom they provided numerous fixed ‘text-scores’ (fuhon) such as the Heike mabushi of 1776, now acknowledged as an authoritative source by both blind and sighted practitioners. It was at this time that Heike katari came to be referred to as heikyoku (‘Heike music’). This terminology reflects changes in both the reception of the music and its relative textual and performative fluidity; what had been enjoyed as a unified narrative series presented over several hours came to be viewed as a sequence of discrete repertory items in which text and music were fixed and memorized.

The characteristics of modern heikyoku practice suggest its multiple layers of historical formation; each narrative episode (ku) is a patchwork of named vocal and instrumental pattern segments (kyokusetsu or senritsukei), each of which comprises a series of distinctive formulaic phrases interspersed with short introductory and intermediary biwa figures, suggesting an original oral compositional practice. Both the names and melodic character of many patterns suggest the influence of Kamakura-period shōmyō of the Tendai sect. While not aurally verifiable, some instrumental patterns may have been modelled on elements of the gaku-biwa solo repertory. The influence of Edo-period koto and shamisen musics is immediately audible in miyako-bushi tetrachordal formations (1–1– 4) that are prevalent in many kyokusetsu segments.

In recent practice heikyoku has been maintained by two performance traditions based in Sendai and Nagoya. The Sendai tradition is referred to as the Tsugaru school, deriving from the practice of sighted amateurs who were vassals of the Tsugaru daimyō. It is now represented by Tokyo-based students of Tateyama Kōgo (1894–1989). Through use of the Heike mabushi text-score, Tsugaru school performers have had access to a repertory of all of the tale's nearly 200 episodes. Performers of the Nagoya tradition have been blind professional musicians active as practitioners of both heike-biwa and Ikuta-ryū koto, shamisen and sometimes kokyū. They have maintained a repertory of eight heikyoku episodes. In the late 1990s, only one Nagoya school musician, Imai Tsutomu (b 1958), remained active as a performer.

Since the mid-1980s, some attempts have been made to refurbish the heike-biwa performing tradition and to build new audiences, both through modifications and arrangements of repertory items transmitted in the Tsugaru line and reconstructions of items no longer transmitted in the Nagoya line.

Japan, §II, 3: Instruments and instrumental genres, Biwa.

(iii) Mōsō-biwa and zatō-biwa.

Several biwa performance traditions have been practised by blind males in south-western Japan. The most commonly used collective term for these practices is mōsō-biwa (‘blind priest biwa’), for the majority of biwa players in the region have been active in rites of local religious practice, and many have been certified as Buddhist priests. The term zatō-biwa has gained currency in the 1990s, however, as a means of historical distinction between those blind biwa players who were certified priests and men who had no such formal affiliation.

Affiliation among blind priests is a common institution within East Asian Buddhism. Korean sources include evidence of organizations of blind priests and sūtra texts nearly identical to forms transmitted in mōsō practice, but no substantial evidence for transmission to Japan of either texts or the practice of chanting sūtras to the sound of biwa has yet been found. Reliable documentary histories held by the Japanese mōsō sects are all of Edo-period origin, but they record the following traditional accounts. Jijinkyō, sūtras in praise of the earth deity Jijin, were first taught by Shaka (Sakyamuni, the historical Buddha) to a blind follower, then transmitted through China and Korea to Japan in the reign of Emperor Kimmei (539–71 ce). The efficacy of the Jijinkyō was such that groups of mōsō from diverse regions of Kyūshū were summoned to perform the sūtra in purification rites during the construction of the Tendai sect's head temple, Enryakuji, in 785. Thereafter, mōsō temples with Tendai affiliation were established in all regions of Kyūshū, and mōsō groups were active at temples in the Kyoto and Nara regions during the Heian and Kamakura periods.

The regional styles of mōsō-biwa in Kyūshū have been administered by two Buddhist organizations, based in the northern and southern regions known until the Meiji period as Chikuzen and Satsuma. The Gensei Hōryū is based at the Jōjuin temple in Hakata and has authority over branch temples in Fukuoka, Yamaguchi, Ōita, Saga, Nagasaki and northern Miyazaki prefectures, while the Jōrakuin-Hōryū has been based at and administers temples in Kagoshima and southern Miyazaki prefectures. The former group claims as its founder Gensei (766–823 ce), a priest given the name Jōjuin after helping to build the Enryakuji. The founder of the Jōrakuin-Hōryū is said to have been Hōzan Kengyō, 19th head of the Kyoto mōsō tradition, who left Kyoto in 1196 to accompany Shimazu Tadahisa to his post as the first daimyō of Satsuma. Knowledge of the historical performance activities of both mōsō sects is scant, but in recent practice the primary rituals of both groups have been group ceremonies within the controlling temples and on seasonal household rites (kaidan hōyō) centred on exorcism of deities central to local belief, the earth spirit Jijin (the Jijinbarai) and various manifestations of Kōjin, the spirit of the hearth or oven (Kōjinbarai or kamadobarai). In formal group ceremonies of the Jojūin and Jōrakuin groups, the mōsō play biwa and chant sutras in ensemble, sometimes with the addition of flutes, drums and conch shells.

Many mōsō once performed secular biwa narratives to supplement their incomes and entertain people in the localities where household rites were conducted. Performance of secular narratives, called kuzure or biwa gundan, continued to be common among mōsō in northern Kyūshū until the early 20th century but was discouraged by the Gensei Hōryū organization. In remnant forms of that repertory, as also in the ritual repertory, the biwa is often played concurrently with the vocal chant, rather than in a punctuating role.

For zatō, lowly blind musicians who were unaffiliated with the mōsō sects, secular repertory has been a mainstay of livelihood (fig.5). Despite their lack of Buddhist certification, zatō also learnt ritual texts for use in the kamadobarai and other exorcism rites, such as those for wells (suijinbarai) and for new houses and buildings (watamashi). Since at least the 1930s, however, the primary income of zatō came from engagement as performers of oral narrative on celebratory occasions (zashiki-biwa) and from performance on an itinerant basis (kadobiki). Since the 1950s zatō have been active only in central Kyūshū, in and around the former Higo province. The term higo-biwa was apparently devised in the last decade of the 19th century by enthusiasts of secular biwa narrative in central Kyūshū; it was used by few biwa players until the 1960s, whereafter it was propagated in academic writings and in the Education Ministry's 1973 designation of higo-biwa as an Intangible Cultural Property.

Most research on zatō-biwa has focussed on extensive tales called danmono (or in the case of some battle tales, kuzure). Danmono are narratives performed as one or more discrete sections (dan), each usually lasting at least 30 minutes. The danmono repertory includes chronicles of Kyūshū history, tales from the Heike narrative complex, and versions of legendary and historical stories that are the subjects of sekkyō recitations, kōwaka, ningyō jōruri and kabuki plays. Other zatō-biwa repertory includes relatively short pieces referred to as hauta and comic pieces known as charimono, kerenmono or kokkeimono.

Japan, §II, 3: Instruments and instrumental genres, Biwa.

(iv) Chikuzen-biwa and satsuma-biwa.

These two styles of biwa narrative have been most widely practised throughout Japan since the late Meiji period (1868–1912); they bear the names of their respective regions of origin in northern and southern Kyūshū. In both styles, instrumental playing has been developed to a level of complexity beyond that found in the modern practice of other biwa styles. Since the 1960s a small repertory of new, purely instrumental compositions has been produced for five-string chikuzen and satsuma instruments (see Biwa and fig.6).

Muromachi and early Edo period references suggest the presence of heikyoku performers in the Satsuma region, but the primary forms of biwa music were those of mōsō and zatō unaffiliated with the Tōdō-za. In the mid-16th century, the priest and philosopher Nisshinsai (Shimazu Tadayoshi, 1492–1568) composed poems on themes of morality, which are said to have first been performed by senior mōsō priests of the Jōrakuin temple. Traditional accounts also credit Nisshinsai and the 31st patriarch of the mōsō sect, Fuchiwaki Juchōin, with remodelling the mōsō instrument to make possible a style suiting the tastes of the Satsuma lord.

Edo-period sources distinguish the shifū style of samurai and high-ranking Satsuma mōsō (who were themselves of samurai families), the zatō style of blind professional musicians, and the machifū style of merchant-class biwa players who took up biwa performance as a pastime from the early 19th century. A style drawing on all three elements of Satsuma tradition was made known in Tokyo by prominent practitioners such as Nishi Kōkichi (1859–1931) and Yoshimizu Kinnō (1844–1910). From the 1890s, both newly composed and traditional narrative poetry for biwa gave voice to a nationalist fervour that glorified the martial code of the samurai. Attempts were soon made to modify biwa singing by incorporating elements of Edo shamisen song styles. Nagata Kinshin (1885–1927), who gained fame as a performer and recording artist in a new style, founded the Kinshin-ryū school in 1915. The older style of satsuma-biwa soon began to be distinguished from the Kinshin style by the term Seiha, or ‘orthodox school’, and by the elaborate instrumental patterns that had been developed by Satsuma players. Suitō Kinjō (1911–73) supplemented aspects of Kinshin-ryū technique with her own innovations in founding the nishiki-biwa school in 1927, developing a five-string instrument with this name. Between 1910 and 1930, satsuma-biwa was widely enjoyed by young men and a smaller number of women, and its reception was as an art of the populace, rather than a classical tradition.

Although satsuma-biwa suffered neglect after World War II due to its prior associations with militarist ideology, some performers trained during the music's heyday remained active as teachers and performers, including the Seiha performers Yoshimura Gakujō (1888–1953) and Fumon Yoshinori (b 1912), the Kinshin-ryū musician Enomoto Shisui (1892–1978), as well as Suitō Kinjō and Tsuruta Kinshi (1912–94). Tsuruta slightly remodelled the nishiki-biwa and gained international fame from the late 1960s through her collaborations with the composer Takemitsu in compositions such as November Steps and Eclipse.

The origins of chikuzen-biwa are in the practice of mōsō-biwa in the Chikuzen region. As part of the Meiji government's attempts to bolster state Shintō at the expense of Buddhism, mōsō sects were banned during the 1870s. The man considered to have been the founder of the chikuzen-biwa tradition, Tachibana Chijō (1848–1919), was the sighted grandson of a senior mōsō in Hakata (Fukuoka), who had previously not been allowed to learn biwa because it had been considered an instrument solely for the blind. After making a study of satsuma-biwa instrumental techniques, he sought to develop a new narrative style that would appeal to a contemporary urban audience. During the late 1880s he worked to this end in collaboration with the geisha Yoshida Takeko and with Tsurusaki Kenjō, another sighted performer from a mōsō family. They devised new vocal melodies and sets of preludes and interludes for a remodelled version of a four-string biwa played by mōsō. The result was narrative music that could be performed as entertainment and that bore an elegance and subdued sensuality familiar to audiences of Edo shamisen music. The new style was introduced to Tokyo in the mid-1890s as tsukushi-biwa, but was called chikuzen-biwa from 1902.

Like satsuma-biwa, chikuzen-biwa was received as a popular narrative form. Considered more genteel than shamisen song styles associated with the geisha world, but more lyrical in both poetic and vocal style than satsuma-biwa, it attracted both female and male students. A differently tuned, five-string form of the instrument was developed so as to provide a much greater technical range, though the original four-string instrument continued to be common until the 1940s. The original Asahi-kai school, founded in 1909, divided in 1920 when the founder's son-in-law, Tachibana Kyokusō, left to found the Tachibana-kai. Many of the style's finest players joined Kyokusō, and the Tachibana-kai has since held the reputation of maintaining the genre's highest artistic standards. The foremost chikuzen-biwa performer of the post-war period is Yamazaki Kyokusui (b 1906), a student of Kyokusō, who as a performer, teacher and composer has been a central figure in shaping the nature of modern practice. In 1995 she became the first biwa player to be named a ‘Living National Treasure’ by the Education Ministry.

The compositional activities of leading Asahi-kai musicians since 1945 have also broadened the expressive range of chikuzen-biwa. Of particular importance are the works of Tachibana Kyokuō III (1902–71) on themes from nō drama, which incorporate elements of utai singing. A modified style of chikuzen-biwa has been popularized since 1980 by Uehara Mari, daughter of the prominent Asahi-kai player Shibata Kyokudō. Uehera has elicited a substantial audience that is largely independent of that for more traditional styles of biwa music.

Japan, §II: Instruments and instrumental genres

4. Koto.

The Koto (fig.7) is the Japanese member of the family of long zithers with movable bridges found in several East Asian countries. The best-known members of the family are the Zheng and the se in China, the kayagŭm and the Kŏmun’go in Korea (see Korea, §I, 4(ii)), the Đàn tranh in Vietnam and the Wagon and the koto in Japan. All these instruments probably originated in China with the possible exception of the wagon, which has been claimed to be indigenously Japanese. The exact date of the introduction of the koto into Japan is unknown but is generally assumed to have been at the beginning of the Nara period (710–84) or shortly before.

During the Nara and Heian (794–1185) periods the word ‘koto’, the original meaning of which is obscure, was applied to several types of string instruments, like the Sanskrit word ‘vīnā’ in India. Examples were the kin-no-koto (the shichigen-kin, kin or Chinese qin); the sō-no-koto (the sō or koto); the shitsu-no-koto (the shitsu, or Chinese se); the biwa-no-koto (or biwa); the yamato-goto (or wagon); the kudara-goto (the harp, kugo); and the shiragi-goto (the Korean kayagŭm). Later the term came to be applied exclusively to the sō-no-koto. The shitsu-no-koto, kudara-goto and shiragi-goto are no longer used in Japan, while the names of two of the other instruments lost the suffix -no-koto to become simply kin and biwa, and the yamato-goto became wagon.

(i) Construction and performing practice.

(ii) Repertory and social context.

(iii) Schools.

(iv) Innovations since the Meiji era (1868–1912).

(v) One- and two-string koto.

Japan, §II, 4: Instruments and instrumental genres, Koto.

The first song of the most typical kumiuta, Fuki, demonstrates the characteristic features of kumiuta (see ex.3). Form and content are directly related to the first part of the gagaku composition Etenraku. In this uta the beginning of each four-bar phrase is marked by an ornamented octave pattern (the octave is on the third beat of the first and the first beat of the second bar of each phrase); in addition, equally standardized figures occur at the conclusion of several phrases (bars 4, 8, 12 and 16). The third and fourth phrases are slightly varied repetitions of the first and second. The eight phrases of the first 32 bars can be divided into three groups: phrases 1–4 (bars 1–16: ex.3), phrases 5 and 6 (bars 17–24) and phrases 7 and 8 (bars 25–32). The first group is characterized by the use of a high register and great stability (all phrases end on E, the first degree of the mode); the second group moves in a middle register and is less stable (phrases end on fifth and first degrees); the third group uses the lowest register and is relaxed in quality, reaching a conclusion on the first degree in bar 31. The last bar and a half of the koto part, ending on the fifth, is a characteristic short interlude between uta; it never occurs at the conclusion of the final uta, which normally ends on the first degree in both voice and koto parts.

The three parts reflect the jo-ha-kyū concept. A rough translation of these three terms might be ‘prelude’ or ‘introduction’ (jo), ‘breaking away’ (ha) and ‘rapid’ or ‘hurried’ (kyū). They always appear in this order, although some compostions may use only two of the three kinds of movement. The basic concept in this type of organization is to place slow-moving pieces before pieces that have more movement, and to end with pieces that are called ‘rapid’. This regular quadratic structure, the grouping of the phrases into three groups following the jo-ha-kyū order and the descending tendency throughout the uta can be seen throughout the kumiuta repertory. Because voice and koto simultaneously realize an individual, idiomatic version of the same underlying melody, their parts are closely related; occasional dissonances are the result of melodic activity and have no harmonic function. The temporal relationship between voice and koto is rather complex: whereas the koto tends to play on the beats, the voice frequently falls between the beats, often resulting in a characteristic lagging effect. The tempo of the first uta of a kumiuta is always slow (M.M. crotchet = c42). Virtuosity has no place in this form.

As with tsukushi-goto, the repertory of the Yatsuhashi-ryū remained stagnant. The school flourished throughout the Edo period, after which it gradually declined. Through the activities of Sanada Shin (1883–1975), for a time the sole carrier of the tradition, there was a minor renaissance in the 1960s. The tradition has been preserved in a sufficiently reliable state to make responsible scholarly study possible.

Japan, §II, 4(iii): Instruments and instrumental genres, Koto., ii) Schools.

(c) Koto music in Ryūkyū.

Supplementing its role as an accompanying instrument in Ryukuan classical and folk music, in which it plays a role subsidiary to the sanshin, the Ryukyuan koto possesses a small but distinctive solo repertory of its own, consisting of instrumental pieces and songs, all with Japanese associations. The instrumental repertory consists of five sugagaki pieces (Takiotoshi sugagaki, Ji sugagaki, Edo sugagaki, Hyōshi sugagaki, San’ya sugagaki) and two danmono (Rokudan, Shichidan). The vocal repertory comprises three songs (Genji-bushi, Tsushima-bushi, Sentō-bushi).

The koto is thought to have been introduced into Ryūkyū in 1702 by Inamine Seijun, who had studied the Yatsuhashi-ryū in Satsuma. The sugagaki items he introduced on his return to Ryūkyū are short pieces for unaccompanied koto no longer extant in Japan. However, the titles of several appear in materials such as the Japanese koto primer Ōnusa (1699) and are thus known once to have been performed in Japan. Rokudan (‘six sections’) and Sachichidan (‘seven sections’) are similar to the Japanese versions of these two danmono, the main difference lying in the use of the anhemitonic pentatonic scale in the Ryukyuan version and the hemitonic pentatonic scale in the Japanese versions. Since Inamine Seijun studied the Yatsuhashi-ryū and not the Tsukushi-ryū, with which the anhemitonic pentatonic scale is associated in zokusō styles, and since composition of the danmono is attributed to Yatsuhashi Kengyō, the Ryukyuan versions are thought to reflect an early stage of development of the danmono within the Yatsuhashi-ryū, prior to their adaptation to the later anhemitonic pentatonic scale.

The three koto songs employ variants of Japanese texts contained in anthologies of ofunauta, songs to pray for safety at sea. Their titles and musical style also suggest a Japanese provenance, although no pieces with these names are known to have existed in Japanese music. They may, however, be the sole surviving remnants of the ofunauta musical tradition, which is thought to stretch back to the Heian period.

The earliest notation for the Ryukyuan koto is contained in the two-volume Koto kuroronshī compiled by Tedokon Junkan in 1895. This contains the ten items of the solo repertory together with the accompanying koto parts of a further 42 pieces from the sanshin repertory. The three-volume edition currently in use was compiled in 1940 and consists of 193 pieces.

Japan, §II, 4(iii): Instruments and instrumental genres, Koto., ii) Schools.

(d) The Ikuta-ryū.

The music of the Yatsuhashi-ryū and of tsukushi-goto was so firmly rooted in aristocratic musical traditions that it soon lost contact with the developing bourgeois culture of the 17th century. By the Genroku period (1688–1704), when the new culture was fully developed, kumiuta offered little more than historical interest. In contrast to the somewhat formal koto, with its highly respected tradition acting as a brake on stylistic development, the more popular shamisen, unburdened by such venerable traditions, had succeeded in keeping abreast of the changing times. In 1695 Ikuta Kengyō (1656–1715) founded a new school in Kyoto that established close collaboration between the koto and the shamisen in the performance of jiuta. In doing so, he opened the door to new developments in koto music. In this context the term jiuta (‘regional songs’, i.e. songs from the Kyoto–Osaka area) refers to predominantly lyrical songs composed to contemporary texts in a flexible musical form. Jiuta were originally sung with shamisen accompaniment. In the Ikuta-ryū the shamisen could be replaced by the koto, although the combination of koto and shamisen was more common. It is typical of the Ikuta-ryū that in such ensembles the leading musician plays the shamisen, not the koto.

Jiuta composers were greatly interested in instrumental techniques. This interest eventually led to new forms as the musical interludes (ai-no-te) were gradually extended until they were frequently longer than the sung parts. These long ai-no-te were called tegoto, and the form in which they occurred was tegotomono. This development assumed its definitive shape in Osaka around the Kansei period (1789–1801) in the works of Minezaki Kōtō. Basically the tegotomono form, which occurs in many variants, consists of three parts: mae-uta (‘fore-song’), tegoto and ato-uta (‘after-song’).

The relationship between the shamisen and the koto gradually changed from the almost complete dependence of the koto on the shamisen in the earlier jiuta to an increasing independence of the two instruments. When koto and shamisen play equally important, although interdependent parts, one speaks of kaete-shiki sōkyoku. Kaete refers to an ornamental version, added to the original part, called honte. This development, although begun in Osaka during the Bunka period (1804–18) in the compositions of Ichiura Kengyō, reached the peak of its development in Kyoto, especially in the works of Yaezaki Kengyō (d 1848), where such compositions were called kyōmono. Yaezaki’s strength lay in his virtuoso arrangements as kaete-shiki sōkyoku of shamisen compositions by other composers, especially Matsuura Kengyō (d 1822) and Kikuoka Kengyō (1792–1847). The development of instrumental virtuosity can be seen in the beginning of the fifth dan of Godan ginuta (ex.4), a composition for two koto by Mitsuzaki Kengyō (d 1853). As in most traditional Japanese music, its two parts are closely related. A characteristic feature of 19th-century combinations of a koto pair (or koto and shamisen) is the occasional rapid alternation of short motifs between the two instruments, as in the fourth bar.

In the middle of the 19th century a reaction against the strongly shamisen-dominated sōkyoku resulted in a neo-classical movement that attempted to revive pure koto music. Inspiration was sought in the old kumiuta. The most important composers in this movement were Mitsuzaki Kengyō in Kyoto, best known in this connection for Akikaze no kyoku (a danmono followed by a kumiuta, both conforming strictly to the old forms); and Yoshizawa Kengyō (d 1872) in Nagoya, the composer of the Kokingumi, in which kumiuta have been used as stylistic examples without their structures being followed.

The repertory of the Ikuta-ryū was not limited to new types of composition but also incorporated the kumiuta and danmono from the Yatsuhashi-ryū. For this purpose kumiuta and danmono were subjected to a final polishing process, in the course of which all compositions were made to adhere to strict structural schemes. As the structure of three of Yatsuhashi’s kumiuta deviated too markedly from the norm, they were replaced by new compositions but retained the old texts. They continued to be referred to as Yatsuhashi no sankyoku, however, and remained the object of the same veneration as the original compositions. The musician responsible for this final adaptation was Kitajima Kengyō. Later kumiuta composed within the Ikuta-ryū, mainly by Mitsuhashi Kengyō (d 1760), usually follow the standard form.

Japan, §II, 4(iii): Instruments and instrumental genres, Koto., ii) Schools.

(e) The Yamada-ryū.

The Ikuta-ryū remained chiefly confined to the Kansai (Kyoto–Osaka) area. Attempts during the 18th century to export the school to Edo met with little success, partly because the repertory of the city still consisted largely of the, by then, thoroughly old-fashioned kumiuta and partly because the modern jiuta were so typical of the Kansai area that they did not appeal to the taste of Edo. Only at the end of the 18th century did Edo acquire its own school of koto music, the Yamada-ryū, named after its creator, Yamada Kengyō (1757–1817). A remarkable parallel between the creation of the Ikuta-ryū in Kyoto in the late 17th century and the Yamada-ryū in Edo a century later is that both schools adopted modern styles by absorbing features of certain shamisen styles. A significant difference, however, is that in this process the Ikuta-ryū sought inspiration in lyrical, the Yamada-ryū in narrative and dramatic shamisen (and other) styles (katō-bushi, itchū-bushi, tomimoto-bushi among the shamisen styles; yōkyoku of the nō theatre; and heikyoku, epic poetry with biwa accompaniment). Another typical difference between the two schools is the relative importance of the performing instruments. In the Ikuta-ryū the shamisen is the main instrument, played by the leading musician of the group; in the Yamada-ryū, which also combines the koto and the shamisen, the main function is assigned to the koto, the shamisen having no more than an obbligato part.

The Yamada-ryū repertory contains a selection of kumiuta and danmono; saku-uta, including Yamada Kengyō’s own compositions; shin saku-uta, which contains all works other than kumiuta, saku-uta, tegotomono and shin sōkyoku (‘new koto music’); tegotomono, a small group containing a few compositions adapted from the Ikuta-ryū, as well as some composed within the Yamada-ryū; and jōrurimono, arrangements from narrative shamisen literature, such as katō-bushi and tomimoto-bushi.

The beginning of the section gaku from Kogō no kyoku by Yamada Kengyō (ex.5) illustrates the combination of tradition and original elements, a typical technique of this composer. Gaku refers to reminiscences of gagaku, which are prompted by the text. Because such allusions are not made by mere imitation, the result is an interesting combination of gagaku and zokusō styles. The gagaku element is strongest in the second koto part, which consistently plays four-bar phrases consisting of gagaku-based octave patterns (e.g. bars 504–5) and single notes (e.g. bar 506). This may be compared with similar gagaku-inspired phrases in kumiuta (see ex.3 above). In spite of the four-bar phrases in the second koto part, however, the actual structure of the gaku section does not produce the effect of a similarly predictable, regular quadratic structure. The gagaku element in the second koto part requires a tuning providing major 2nds and minor 3rds. Thus the notes used in bars 503–26 are e', f', a', b' and d''; after the instrument is retuned in bar 527 (retuning never occurs during a true gagaku composition), these become e', g', a', b' and d''. The voice is ambiguous in its allegiances: it joins the second koto in using anhemitonic pentatonic material; structurally, however, it aligns itself with the first koto and the shamisen, which remain completely in the zokusō sphere, as shown by the frequent occurrence of minor 2nds and major 3rds. The simultaneous use of gagaku and zokusō elements results in different key signatures, which here indicate the simultaneous use of two different modes, built on the same tonic, E.

The Yamada-ryū is as typical of the Kantō area (Edo and surroundings) as the Ikuta-ryū is of Kansai. The most significant composers in the Yamada-ryū were Yamada Kengyō and three of his pupils: Yamato Kengyō, Yamaki Kengyō and Yamase Kengyō.

Japan, §II, 4: Instruments and instrumental genres, Koto.

(iv) Innovations since the Meiji era (1868–1912).

During the last decade of the 19th century sankyoku (‘music for three’) became especially popular: this was a special performing practice in which a third instrument was added to the usual ensemble of koto and shamisen. Earlier this third instrument had often been the kokyū (spike fiddle), but it was gradually replaced by the shakuhachi (end-blown flute); it plays another variant of the existing melody. Since then the Yamada and Ikuta schools have continued to flourish, transmitting their traditional repertories.

At the same time, the koto proved to be a favoured instrument for experimentation with combinations of traditional Japanese and Western music. Within sōkyoku the initial changes were slight and involved modest experimentation with different modes and an increased use of left-hand plucking, which created harmony-like effects. Contrasting with this Meiji shinkyoku (‘new music of the Meiji period’), which flourished mainly in Osaka, was the response to Western music of Suzuki Koson (1875–1931) in Kyoto around 1900; he attempted in his works to combine modern poetry and romantic feeling with classic practices of the Heian period. His school, called Kyōgoku, commanded attention for a short time but declined rapidly. More drastic Westernization was accomplished by the koto musician Miyagi Michio: this included the composition of chamber music for Japanese instruments, the orchestral use of Japanese instruments, the combination of Japanese and Western instruments and the invention of new instruments, notably the 17-string bass koto (jūshichigen). Miyagi’s influence was, and still is, very strong, and his historical importance cannot be denied.

More recent initiatives have sprung particularly from Japanese trained in or influenced by Western music (see IX, 1 below). Miyagi’s 17-string koto, aside from also becoming a solo instrument in recent decades, has been followed by others with extra strings (called by scholars tagensō, ‘many-string koto’). The ‘20-string koto’ (nijūgen(-sō)), devised by the performer Nosaka Keiko and the composer Miki Minoru in 1969, added a 21st string almost immediately and in 1991 spawned a variant with 25 strings as compositional demands expanded. The ‘30-string koto’ (sanjūgen(-sō)) has been championed mainly by the performer and sometime composer Miyashita Susumu. Composers for these instruments experiment with various tunings but generally use the extra strings to ‘fill the gaps’ in the traditional pentatonic tunings.

Unlike traditional times, most recent works for these new koto are by specialist composers rather than koto players and may demand a virtuosity that exceeds the grasp of all but the most skilled performers. New compositions for the standard 13-string instrument also flourish. All kinds of koto are now combined with a wide range of other instruments, Japanese or otherwise.

Japan, §II, 4: Instruments and instrumental genres, Koto.

(v) One- and two-string koto.

Unlike the 13- and 17-string koto (sō), the smaller one- and two-string koto (ichigen-kin, nigen-kin) do not have movable bridges (ji), and thus belong to the same class of instruments as the Chinese qin.

The single-string ichigen-kin (also called suma-goto or hankin) seems to have been invented (or, according to some, introduced from China) in the late 17th century and appears to have been modelled on the qin. As the name hankin (‘board zither’) suggests, the original type has a body consisting of a single board, with two slight ‘waists’ as on the qin, although recently instruments have come to be made with a hollowed-out body and a flat backboard. The whole instrument is approximately 110 cm long and 10 cm wide and is set on a stand approximately 25 cm from the ground. The silk string passes over a bridge at the player's right and is attached directly to the vertical tuning peg at the left. Twelve position markers, covering a compass of two octaves, are set into the face of the instrument. The player obtains different pitches by touching the string lightly with a diagonally-truncated bamboo or ivory cylinder worn on the left middle finger, and plucks the string with a similar but shorter cylinder worn on the index finger of the right hand. Frequent use is made of the delicate portamento technique made possible by the left-hand cylinder.

An early revival of the ichigen-kin was brought about by the Buddhist priest Kakuhō (1729–1815), but the music of the ichigen-kin as it is now performed is largely the result of the activities of Manabe Toyohira (1809–99). Of the so-called kokyoku (‘old songs’), only two have survived, and many of the songs in the present-day repertory are Toyohira's own compositions. The ichigen-kin is typically played by a solo performer who both sings and plays. Opportunities for hearing this music today are rare, but traditions of ichigen-kin performance, all tracing their origins to Toyohira, are to be found in Kōchi, Kyoto, Tokyo and Suma.

There are two types of two-string zither in Japan, together known as nigen-kin: the yakumo-goto and the azuma-ryū nigen-kin. The yakumo-goto is said to have been invented in 1820 at Izumo shrine by Nakayama Kotonushi (1803–80), but it seems that the koto and shamisen player Kuzuhara Kōtō (1812–82) also played a part in its development. Kotonushi, it is said, made the first instrument from a half-tube of bamboo, and although later instruments are made of Paulownia wood, three grooves are carved into the surface to represent the nodes of the original bamboo instrument. Approximately the same size as the ichigen-kin, the yakumo-goto has a convex upper board and a flat backboard that extends beyond the upper board to the player's left and holds the two tuning pegs. The yakumo-goto does not have the two waists that characterize both the ichigen-kin and the qin. The strings pass through separate holes to the surface and over two bridges before passing down through a common hole at the left-hand end to the tuning pegs. Either 30 or 31 position markers cover a compass of three octaves. The player stops the strings with a cylinder worn on the left middle finger and plucks them with a plectrum worn on the right index finger; these are similar to those used by the ichigen-kin player. The instrument rests on a stand approximately 20 cm above the floor. Tassels decorate both instrument and stand. The strings are tuned in unison, and the playing technique is similar to that of the ichigen-kin. A characteristic of yakumo-goto performance is that the left-hand cylinder is not released from the strings except to play the lowest (open-string) note, and therefore a light portamento effect is heard throughout.

As with the single-string instrument, the yakumo-goto is typically played by a solo performer. A number of songs do, however, contain extended instrumental passages (tegoto), for which there exist ornamental parts (kaete) for a second yakumo-goto. For a time the yakumo-goto enjoyed considerable popularity in western Japan, for both sacred and secular use, but today it is little heard outside a few religious establishments, notably the ‘new religion’ Ōmoto (see §IV, 5), where it has provided liturgical music since 1909.

The azuma-ryū nigen-kin (‘eastern school two-string zither’) was developed from the yakumo-goto in Tokyo around 1870 by the kabuki drummer Tōsha Rosen (1830–89), and rapidly overtook the yakumo-goto in popularity in that city. The main difference between the yakumo-goto and the azuma-ryū nigen-kin is the absence in the latter of the flat backboard of the yakumo-goto. Rosen published a book of his own compositions for azuma-ryū nigen-kin in 1885. Free of the religious interdictions laid down by Kotonushi for the yakumo-goto, the azuma-ryū nigen-kin has been used as a solo instrument, in offstage kabuki music and in ensemble with other instruments.

Japan, §II: Instruments and instrumental genres

5. Shakuhachi.

The modern standard version of this end-blown Notched flute of Japan has four finger-holes and one thumb-hole. Originally imported from China by the early 8th century, it reappeared around the 15th century in a Japanized form and has since come to be used in several quite diverse types of music: meditative solos, small ensemble pieces, folksong and modern works by both native and foreign composers. The impressive range of the shakuhachi's sound potential has been well described by Malm (1959): ‘From a whispering, reedy piano, the sound swells to a ringing metallic forte only to sink back into a cotton-wrapped softness, ending with an almost inaudible grace note, seemingly an afterthought’.

The fundamental pitches of the standard-size instrument (54·5 cm) are approximately d'–f'–g'–a'–c''; a skilful player can cover about three octaves, although traditional pieces rarely exceed two octaves and a fourth. Pitches in between the basic ones are produced by a combination of part-holing and embouchure. The shakuhachi is manufactured in a graduated series of sizes a semitone apart; the size used depends on the genre, the other performers (if any) and the personal preference of the player (see §(v) below). Women have rarely played the shakuhachi in recent centuries, although they commonly played its ancestor in China. There are sociological, symbolic and musical reasons for this virtual taboo, all of which are being overcome in modern Japan.

(i) Early history.

(ii) Emergence of the modern shakuhachi.

(iii) Construction.

(iv) Notation.

(v) Playing technique and performing practice.

Japan, §II, 5: Instruments and instrumental genres, Shakuhachi.

(i) Early history.

The direct ancestor of the modern shakuhachi is the so-called fuke-shakuhachi, the instrument of the Fuke sect of Zen Buddhism. By the early 18th century at the latest it was clearly distinguishable from previous shakuhachi types, and it has continued to evolve up to the present. The history of the shakuhachi begins, however, much earlier. The Chinese end-blown flute chiba (see Xiao) was imported to Japan by the early 8th century as part of the orchestra for gagaku (court music); shakuhachi is the Japanese pronunciation of the ideograms for chiba. The name was derived from the length of the basic instrument: 1 chi/shaku and eight-tenths (ba/hachi) of another, i.e. 1·8 shaku. This term soon came to designate all sizes of the instrument.

Japanese scholars call this earliest version the ‘archaic’ (kodai) shakuhachi. Eight of these instruments are preserved in the Shōsōin, the 8th-century imperial repository in Nara, Japan (fig.10). They range in length from about 44 cm with a lowest pitch near f' to 34 cm with a lowest pitch near a'. The former would have been the standard 8th-century instrument, since 1·8 shaku at that time was about 44 cm; today, however, 1 shaku is 30·3 cm, so 1·8 shaku is 54·5 cm – the length of the modern standard d'-shakuhachi. The Shōsōin instruments are quite uniform in shape and scale (although among them are specimens made from bamboo, jade, stone and ivory). They differ most importantly from later shakuhachi in having five rather than four front finger-holes. When the six holes (counting also the thumb-hole) are opened in succession the result is a close approximation of a major scale – in keeping with Chinese modal practice but quite unlike the modern instrument's anhemitonic pentatonic tuning. The feature linking these specimens most closely with later shakuhachi is the bevelled mouthpiece. It is cut diagonally towards the outside of the instrument, so that the blowing-edge is on the inner rather than the outer surface of the bamboo cylinder – the opposite of the structure of modern Chinese end-blown flutes. (This distinction should be of help in evaluating the claim that the modern shakuhachi derives from a Chinese end-blown flute imported during the 14th or 15th century.) The ‘notch’ itself is wide and shallow as on modern instruments; it lacks, however, the thin inlay of horn or ivory that gives a sharp blowing-edge to the modern instrument – a feature apparently invented no earlier than the 17th century.

Other traits distinguishing these eight specimens from the fuke-shakuhachi include the absence of external flaring at the bottom and the relatively thinner walls. Both outside and inside diameters are considerably narrower than for the fuke-shakuhachi: typical outside diameters would be 2·4 cm for a Shōsōin specimen and 3·5 cm flaring to 5 cm for a similarly pitched modern instrument. Three bamboo nodes are visible on the surface (although of course they have been drilled through internally); even the stone and ivory models preserve this feature. Modern shakuhachi have three nodes in approximately corresponding locations, but they have additional nodes at either extremity (see §(iii) below).

By the 10th century the shakuhachi had been dropped from the court orchestra, and for several centuries there is virtually no trace of the instrument. No notation survives for the archaic shakuhachi, and there exist no manuscripts or specimens to help the scholar bridge the gap to the next stage. When references to the shakuhachi reappear in the 15th and 16th centuries, we seem to be dealing with the hitoyogiri(-shakuhachi), which like all subsequent instruments has only four front finger-holes (fig.11).

The hitoyogiri was shorter, straighter and rounder than the modern shakuhachi. There was only one bamboo node in the length of the instrument, hence its name: ‘one-node cutting’. Musically it had a smaller range (about an 11th) and was less susceptible to altering pitches by embouchure or half-holing. The earliest shakuhachi notation, from 1664, was for hitoyogiri.

Some of these medieval references connect the instrument with Buddhist priests of both high and low status. It seems that in addition to its use in the accompaniment of popular songs, the hitoyogiri was played by wandering beggar-priests called komosō (‘rush-mat priests’). This was an early step on the path to the fuke-shakuhachi's later exclusive role as a Zen instrument. On the other hand, the tale of the importation of the shakuhachi from China in the 15th century via a Zen priest seems to be no more than a ‘justification myth’ fabricated by the nascent Fuke sect in the 18th century to obtain monopoly concessions from the government.

The hitoyogiri and the Fuke instrument seem to be close relatives, but the greater range, richness and flexibility of the latter were surely major factors in the decline of the hitoyogiri during the late 18th century. Another related instrument, the tenpuku (lit. ‘blow heaven’), is of uncertain origin but seems unlikely to be a direct ancestor of the modern shakuhachi. First appearing among warriors of Satsuma, southern Japan, during the late 16th century, it had faded out by the late 19th century, leaving a repertory of seven short solo pieces. Extant examples vary in construction, averaging a mere 30 cm in length though all with 4+1 holes like the modern shakuhachi. The mouthpieces, however, were of both the shakuhachi type (slanting outward) and the Chinese type (slanting inward), the latter being more common. There were usually three bamboo nodes, the bottom one only partially open, and the instrument had a slight reverse conical bore. The range was about an 11th, as for the hitoyogiri.

Japan, §II, 5: Instruments and instrumental genres, Shakuhachi.

(ii) Emergence of the modern shakuhachi.

The standard shakuhachi of today, a slightly evolved version of the fuke-shakuhachi, took shape during the 17th and 18th centuries. It is much thicker than previous types, and the lower end is flared. These features are often claimed to have developed in response to the instrument's use as a defensive weapon by the priests of the Fuke sect. This sect was formed by ex-samurai who, finding themselves unemployed in the late 17th century, used the cover of religious asceticism to gain a government-approved monopoly on the use of the shakuhachi in begging for alms, in exchange, apparently, for serving as government spies. Under cover of the basket-like tengai hats that hid their faces, these komusō (‘priests of nothingness’) wandered the country freely at a time when travel was restricted (fig.12). It is at least equally probable, however, that the thicker, flared fuke-shakuhachi was influenced in its development by the similarly proportioned south Chinese dongxiao, which could have entered Japan with the flood of Chinese immigrants during the 17th century.

At any rate, during the 18th century, as the hitoyogiri continued to be used for vocal accompaniment and in the sankyoku (chamber music) ensemble, the Fuke instrument developed a solo repertory for use in meditation and by lone wandering mendicants. At one time there were about 40 komusō temples around the country, many of which developed their own repertories. In the mid-century the master Kurosawa Kinko (1710–71) visited many such temples in search of local pieces; he eventually ‘arranged’ or ‘composed’ over 30 tunes, which today form the bulk of the repertory of honkyoku (‘basic pieces’) for the Kinko school (Kinko-ryū) of shakuhachi. Kinko also seems to have been a leader in teaching fuke-shakuhachi to laymen, thus contributing to the downfall of the hitoyogiri.

In 1871–2, during the wave of ‘modernization’ that swept Japan, the Fuke sect was banned and the playing of the shakuhachi for religious purposes outlawed. To protect their livelihood the leading teachers concentrated on secularizing the instrument. It is during this period that the fuke-shakuhachi became a fully-fledged member of the sankyoku trio. The sankyoku repertory was known as gaikyoku (‘outside pieces’) in opposition to the basic honkyoku. Various teachers vied in making new arrangements of sankyoku melodies for shakuhachi. Among these was the young Nakao Tozan (1876–1956), who founded his own Tozan school (Tozan-ryū) in 1896. Concentrating at first on the gaikyoku, which were much more metrically regular than the rubato honkyoku, he pioneered the precise notation of rhythm in shakuhachi music. This orientation, plus his contacts with Western music, surely influenced him when he came to create honkyoku for his own school, beginning in 1904. The Tozan honkyoku are much more rhythmical and more clearly structured than the Kinko ones; they tend to follow the pitches of sankyoku scales rather than the less precise Kinko honkyoku intonation. Most are intended as duets, trios and quartets, often including homophonic chordal sections rich in parallel 4ths and 5ths, a feature unknown elsewhere in Japanese music and clearly an attempt to blend Japanese melody and Western harmony. The founder also encouraged the use of the shakuhachi in shinkyoku (‘new-style pieces’), primarily Western-influenced compositions for shakuhachi with other instruments.

The Kinko and Tozan schools are now of approximately equal strength and dominate the shakuhachi world today. Several other smaller schools exist; most are outgrowths of local Fuke temples that have kept alive part of their original repertories. The term Meian or Myōan school is often applied to these non-Kinko Fuke traditions as a whole, although in fact there is no organizational unity among them. Most of these ‘sub-schools’ do not include any gaikyoku in their repertories. It should also be mentioned that, except in the Meian schools, the shakuhachi is not commonly considered by its performers to be primarily a religious instrument (hōki or zengu) any more, but first and foremost a musical instrument (gakki). This is not to deny a spiritual element in shakuhachi music and performance, but simply to correct a common misconception among non-Japanese. Some players, however, still believe in the concept of ichion-jōbutsu (‘Buddha-hood in a single note’), a reminder to listen in honkyoku for individual musical moments, the elaboration of long-sustained pitches, more than for flowing melodies. Often a pitch is sustained for over 20 seconds with only subtle bending, ornamentation and timbral changes.

The shakuhachi has proved attractive to modern Western-style composers both in Japan and abroad (see §IX, 4 below). Takemitsu's November Steps (1967) brought it to worldwide attention (along with the Biwa), keeping closely to traditional honkyoku technique and mood. The instrument has also been used in jazz (for example, by John Kaizan Neptune) and occasionally in other non-traditional genres.

Japan, §II, 5: Instruments and instrumental genres, Shakuhachi.

(iii) Construction.

The bamboo selected for shakuhachi construction is of the type called madake (Phyllostachys reticulata). It is typified by large joints that are more widely spaced than those of other types of bamboo. The portion of bamboo stalk used in making the instrument incorporates the root, although much of this is cut away for the sake of appearance. The typical instrument incorporates seven nodes (seven being a mystical number in Japan): three positioned approximately as on the ancient shakuhachi and tenpuku; one at the upper extremity; and three closely spaced at the root end. Positioning the blowing-edge on the uppermost node gives it a harder consistency than would obtain on the softer internodal section.

The older instrument, constructed in one piece, has largely been replaced since the late 19th century by a two-piece (nakatsugi) instrument that is easier to carry about. After a period of heating and drying to remove oils and moisture, the bamboo is shaped first by heating it and then by applying pressure to straighten out any irregularities in the material. During this process the bell is given a slight upward curve to enhance the instrument's appearance. The bamboo is then stored for six months to allow further evaporation.

The bamboo is then cut to approximately its final length and hollowed out. The bore is somewhat reverse-conical, narrowing from about 2 cm in the upper part to about 1·5 cm at the lower end on a standard instrument. This follows the structure of the bamboo itself, the internal diameter of which narrows even as its external size swells near the root. The bore is slightly elliptical, and the external cross-section even more so – slightly wider than it is deep.

The bamboo is then cut into two sections. The bore of each one is enlarged by a gouge to accommodate a tube joining the lower and upper sections. This process allows fine adjustment of the spacing of the nodes in relation to the finger-holes to produce a pleasing symmetry, but it also eases the remaining stages of production and aids portability.

Next, the finger-holes are drilled or burnt out. Since each piece of bamboo differs, the precise position, size and angle of the holes must be adjusted during manufacture by testing the sound: the maker must therefore also be a skilled player. Until recently the front four holes were often spaced equidistantly, separated most typically by a tenth of the instrument's total length; but this rendered the f' and a' holes a bit flat and sharp respectively, which might not concern a solo player but caused difficulties when playing in ensemble with other instruments. Intonation was then corrected either through angling the holes (usually toward the top of the instrument) or through embouchure. This problem is now eliminated by variable spacing of holes. Exact size and shape of the holes may also be varied to suit a particular performer, but the standard diameter is around 1 cm.

The Japanese sense of temperament has always been relatively flexible, but Western influence has led to the adoption of A 440 as the standard, with intervals increasingly approaching Western-tempered ones. Shakuhachi makers have generally followed suit, although both climate and individual playing style affect the final result.

The mouthpiece is fashioned by sawing inwards towards the top of the instrument at an angle of about 30°. A small insert of water-buffalo horn or ivory is then inlaid into the blowing-edge and glued into position. This insert is trapezoidal in the Kinko-ryū instrument and crescent-shaped in the Tozan-ryū.

Finally comes jinuri, painting the bore and the inner surface of the finger-holes with up to five coats of a mixture of black or red lacquer, water and an extremely fine polishing powder (tonoko). This requires great skill, as the thickness of the coat at each point affects not only timbre but also pitch.

Mass-produced shakuhachi of lathe-turned wood or moulded plastic have become popular since the 1970s. These have the advantage of being cheap and are resistant to splitting, but they are considered inferior both aurally and visually.

Shakuhachi may range in size from about 1·1 shaku (pitched a 5th above the standard instrument) to well over three shaku. For sankyoku ensembles only two or three sizes are necessary, since singers are expected to conform to the standard tessitura. For modern folksong accompaniment, a professional player may carry up to 12 shakuhachi (from 1·3 to 2·4) to adjust to all possible singers. In modern compositions as well as honkyoku, almost any size may be used depending on the mood of the composer or performer or on other factors.

Western influence in the 20th century led some to feel that more finger-holes were needed to play ‘modern’ melodies or even the meri pitches of traditional pieces. The seven-hole and nine-hole shakuhachi were invented around 1930 and 1950 respectively, but they are quite unsuitable for honkyoku and are now rarely used except in modern music. Another short-lived experiment was the ōkurauro: invented in the late 1920s, it married a shakuhachi-style mouthpiece with a Boehm-system vertical metal flute body.

Japan, §II, 5: Instruments and instrumental genres, Shakuhachi.

(iv) Notation.

The notation for the first end-blown flute used in the Japanese court music ensemble is not known. However, in 1664 a book entitled Shichiku shoshin-shū gave a system of hitoyogiri notation of 13 syllable-characters, each representing a different fingering. This system was successively altered by the Meian, Kinko and Tozan schools. The pitch-determining characters in shakuhachi notation are stylized versions of katakana, one of the Japanese syllabaries. They are written in customary Japanese fashion, in vertical columns from right to left. High and low registers and rhythmic indications are also included in the notation, as is the text in the case of songs.

Rhythmic detail remains largely minimal in notations for the free-rhythm honkyoku of the Kinko school, but the more metrical style of most Tozan honkyoku led to a much more precise rhythmic notation. Gaikyoku of all schools are notated comparatively precisely, with vertical lines corresponding to the horizontal ones of the Galin-Paris-Chevé system (see §VI, 3, and fig.24 below).

Japan, §II, 5: Instruments and instrumental genres, Shakuhachi.

(v) Playing technique and performing practice.

The shakuhachi is held at a downward angle of about 45°. The lower edge of the upper end rests in the hollow of the chin below the lip. Through a narrow embouchure a sharp stream of air is directed at the blowing-edge. (For beginners it is generally difficult to elicit a sound at all.) The strength of the air-stream is varied for dynamic purposes, and occasionally an audible non-musical burst of air is emitted for effect – a technique known as muraiki. Through changes in the angle of embouchure alone (kari-meri) a single fingering can yield pitches over a range of at least a major 2nd. Lowering the head (meri) lowers the pitch and raising the head (kari) raises it. Sideways movement of the head also produces a pitch alteration and is used particularly for an ornamental vibrato.

Fingering involves several types of ornamentation. A finger may be slid or rolled slowly off a covered hole. Repeated notes are generally articulated with a rapid finger-flap. (Tonguing is never used for such articulation, although certain ways of flutter-tonguing are common.) A two-finger trill onomatopoeically named korokoro, and karakara, its one-finger version, are common. The difficulty in learning to control all such techniques is encapsulated in the saying kubifuri sannen koro hachinen (‘head-shaking, three years [to learn], koro[-koro] eight years’).

Embouchure and fingering, alone or in combination, can produce any pitch within the range of the shakuhachi. Kinko honkyoku constantly use various sorts of portamento and microtonal ornamentation; the Tozan honkyoku, on the other hand, are closer to gaikyoku in intonation and ornamentation. In gaikyoku it is necessary to match the pitch to the koto, shamisen and/or singer.

Notes sounded by changing the angle of the head or by partial holing tend to be quieter and somewhat less sharply focussed than normal. In honkyoku this fact has become a virtue, and the dynamic and colouristic differences between basic and other pitches is an important part of the aesthetic. In sankyoku the necessity to be heard among the other instruments renders this a less positive factor, and to composers and performers influenced by a Western aesthetic it is often perceived as a shortcoming. It was for such reasons that the seven-hole and nine-hole shakuhachi were invented (see §(iii) above); but they are scorned by almost all players of honkyoku and sankyoku. The importance attached to timbral differences can also be inferred from the use of alternative fingerings for some pitches – not because they are easier in certain contexts, but because the resulting tone colour differs.

Ex.6 shows the opening of the‘ Kinko honkyoku Hifumi’ hachigaeshi in traditional and staff notations. The first three main symbols of the Japanese notation translate into a subtly complex variation around the note d', lasting 24 seconds (p1–2). The first symbol represents e', the next d', and the third is a nayashi, a slow slide up to the preceding pitch from perhaps a three-quarter tone below. All other ornaments shown in the staff version are open to variation or even omission according to player, mood and context. The Japanese notation shown here adds graphic symbols to indicate four specific ornaments, but a good performer will always add more detail, not only of pitch but of dynamics (unspecified in notation) and duration (only loosely notated). The honkyoku tradition (aside from the Tozan school) allows much more individual flexibility than is found in most genres of Japanese ‘classical’ music. As in most genres, however, such freedom is permitted principally to the top-level players.

Japan, §II: Instruments and instrumental genres

6. Shamisen.

A Japanese three-string fretless plucked lute (fig.13) this instrument is calledsamisenin the Kansai area of Kyoto and Osaka, and as part of koto chamber music it is often known as sangen. Since the mid-17th century it has been a popular contributor to the music of many levels of society, from folk and theatrical forms to classical and avant-garde compositions.

A shamisen player usually accompanies a singer; purely instrumental music occurs primarily during interludes. This has implications for construction: instrument must suit voice, and both must suit their context. Appreciation of shamisen music, as of any music, requires an understanding of the context of each genre: physical, historical, aesthetic-philosophical, musical etc.

(i) Construction and performing practice.

There are a number of different shamisen types, varying in size (though all are about 97 cm long), membrane thickness and material, bridge height and weight (fig.14a), string gauge and type of plectrum (fig.14b). A general distinction is made by the comparative thickness of the flat-topped fingerboard: thickest (futozao), medium-sized (chūzao) and thinnest (hosozao). The neck (sao) and pegbox (itokura) are now constructed in three sections so that the instrument can easily be taken apart and transported. The preferred woods for the neck and body are red sandalwood, mulberry and quince. The pegs (itomaki) are ivory, ebony or plastic; the strings are twisted silk, though the stronger synthetic material tetron is now often preferred to the fragile silk, especially for the treble string.

The upper bridge (kamikoma) of the neck is of special interest (fig.15): the two higher-pitched strings pass over a metal or ivory ridge at the pegbox, but the lowest string is set in a niche in the wooden edge of the box. Immediately below the upper bridge there is a slight cavity carved in the neck (the ‘sawari valley’): the bass string will buzz against the edge of this trough (the ‘sawari mountain’) when plucked or when resonating with notes a fifth or octave above it, producing a sound called sawari, which is of special value in shamisen music. Its invention in the 17th or 18th century may relate to the fact that early shamisen players previously used a larger lute, the biwa, which has a similar tonal characteristic, although it is differently constructed. In the 1890s a different method was devised, called azuma-zawari: a screw inserted from the back of the neck could be turned to adjust the degree of buzzing of the bass string against a tiny metal plate. Sawari is not found on the shamisen's Chinese and Okinawan ancestors. (Note that the term for the similar resonance on many Indian plucked instruments is jiwari.)

A tailpiece (neo) of silk rope holds the strings across the rectangular body, which is made of four convex pieces of wood covered at the front and rear by cat- or dogskin. Synthetic membranes are now common, partly for durability. Patterns (ayasugi) carved inside the body of expensive instruments affect the tone of the instrument, as does the quality of the skin. The skins are held by glue and shrinkage, without pegs or lashing. An extra semicircle of skin (bachikawa) is added at the top centre of the front head to protect it from the blows of the plectrum.

Good plectra (bachi) are of ivory or ivory-tipped wood except in certain chamber music (jiuta or sankyoku) and folk genres, for which tortoise-shell or buffalo-horn tips are used. Practice plectra may be made of plastic or wood. In some lighter forms of shamisen music, such as kouta, the side of the fingertip is used instead. For the style called shinnai-nagashi, one of two shamisenists plays a high obbligato using a capo (kase) and a tiny version of the standard plectrum. In most genres the wide edge and triangular tips of the plectrum are as thin as possible, but for gidayū they may be 2–4 mm thick. The sorts of difference shown in fig.15b affect timbre greatly.

The removable bridges (koma) are equally varied. They may be of ivory, tortoise-shell, buffalo-horn, plastic or wood. In jiuta the bridge may have small lead weights to help dampen the vibrations. A gidayū player may have a large graduated set of lead-weighted bridges to adjust to pitch, humidity etc; these can weigh over 20 g, while a nagauta bridge is under 4 g. For quiet practice a very wide ‘stealth bridge’ (shinobi-goma) reduces volume.

A small device (yubikake, yubisuri) of wool knitted over rubberized thread stretches weblike between the thumb and first finger of the left hand for ease of movement. Gidayū players often powder their left hand instead. Left-hand pizzicato (hajiki), slides (koki, suri) and ‘hammering-on’ (uchi) appear in most genres; right-hand up-plucks (sukui) and tremolo are also common. In some genres intended for large theatres or the open air (nagauta, gidayū, tsugaru-jamisen) the plectrum frequently strikes the membrane sharply, producing a percussive accompaniment to the plucked string; in other genres more suited to intimate settings (kouta, jiuta) this is minimized.

The basic pitch of a shamisen depends on the range of the singer, which may vary greatly. The three standard tunings shown in ex.7 may thus be several steps higher or lower. During long compositions the tunings may change frequently, and a few special tunings may appear. Most shamisen music is based on the yō-in scale system and its modes (see §I, 4).

(ii) History and genres.

The shamisen is believed to have been imported from the Ryūkyū islands in the mid-16th century in a form called the sanshin (see §VIII, 1 below). This instrument has a more oval body, is plucked with a talon-like pick and is covered by a snakeskin: hence its other name, jabisen (jabi: ‘snakeskin’), which is never used by the players themselves. An instrument of this type originated in China as the sanxian and reached the Ryūkyū islands by the 14th century at the latest. In Japan the new lute was first used in folk and party music or by narrators who previously performed on the biwa. Under these influences (and in the absence of large snakes) the construction of the instrument changed greatly. The Chinese, Okinawan and one of the Japanese names for the instrument (sanxian, sanshin, sangen) all mean ‘three strings’; the Japanese names shamisen and samisen mean the same but add the character ‘tasteful’ in the middle.

Historically the shamisen is found in many forms of folk and popular music (see §VII, 3 below). Other genres created for the theatres and tea-houses can be divided into two categories, the narrative (katarimono) and the lyrical (uta(i)mono). A genealogy of these types is given in Table 2, with their founders' names when known. Many genre names can be suffixed with bushi, ‘tune, melody’.

Several shamisen genres are referred to elsewhere in this article, showing the diversity of this instrument type: jiuta (§5 above); gidayū (§VI, 2 below); nagauta, tokiwazu, kiyomoto (§VI, 3 below); folk shamisen (§VII, 3 below); sanshin (§VIII, 1 below). Further proof of its wide importance is that over two-thirds of 74 LPs in the 1980 series ‘1000 Years of Japanese Classical Music’ involved shamisen.

All the variables of construction and technique coalesce to produce each style of shamisen music. Superficially similar instruments may nonetheless vary crucially. Thus the thick-neck, heavy-bodied gidayū shamisen differs from the similar folk tsugaru-jamisen in its plectrum shape, string gauge pattern, sawari and other details, not to mention modal sense and playing technique. Technique and timbre match context: the heavy sawari of the gidayū instrument matches closely the timbre of the voice of the puppet theatre chanter; the finger-plucked kouta shamisen similarly matches the small voice of the singer.

As in many genres of Japanese music, named, stereotyped melodic patterns are common in shamisen music; even when names are lacking, much of any repertory can be analysed into short, recurring motifs (Yakō and Araki, 1998). The relation between voice and shamisen is also similar in most genres: the shamisen, with its sharp attack, keeps the metre clear, while the voice plays against the beat, with syllables often articulated on an off-beat.

The lyrical forms will be discussed first. The term jiuta originally meant ‘local songs’ and was so used until the mid-18th century, after which it represented chamber music with the koto (see §II, 4 above). Tradition credits one of two biwa musicians, Sawazumi Kengyō and Ishimura Kengyō, with the first shamisen music around 1610 in the form of kumiuta (song suites; not related to the koto genre of the same name). Their music was called ryūkyū kumiuta, and six of the original 30 pieces survive from later sources. The earliest collection containing poems of shamisen music and some notation is in the 1664 Shichiku shoshin-shū, and the earliest notation of shamisen kumiuta is found in the Ōnusa volume of the 1685 Shichiku taizen. The 1703 collection of texts, Matsu no ha, begins with ryūkyū kumiuta, which are followed by jiuta no nagauta and then hauta.

The terms hauta (‘beginning/short songs’) and kouta (‘short songs’) were generally applied to popular songs of the period. Distinctions were sometimes made between kamigata songs from the Kansai area and Edo songs from that city. The terms nagauta (‘long songs’) and kouta were used in earlier periods for a variety of poetic forms but eventually became specific genre names. Both terms were connected with early forms of shamisen music in the new kabuki theatre, edo nagauta eventually becoming its predominant genre. Ogie-bushi first appeared in 1766 as part of kabuki music and was combined with music of the Yoshiwara brothel district, becoming a separate form. In utazawa-bushi, by contrast, an attempt was made to create short songs devoid of erotic connotations.

Among the narrative forms sekkyō-bushi, a Buddhist genre of musical story-telling already in existence before the advent of the shamisen, adopted the new instrument when it first appeared. Jōruri has a similar secular background (see §IV, 3 below) and eventually became a generic term for many different kinds of narrative music. Some of the earliest biwa folk narrators came from the Osaka district, then called Naniwa. They originated the genre known as naniwa-bushi, in effect a narrative soap opera set in traditional times, which became tremendously popular in the early days of the recording and broadcast industries. The many other forms of narrative music originated in the theatre, gidayū-bushi being best known for its origin in bunraku puppet drama. Tokiwazu and kiyomoto and rarely katō and shinnai are still used in kabuki. The other genres survive primarily in concerts of old jōruri (ko-jōruri) or ‘classic’ (koten) performances.

(iii) Modern traditions.

The tradition of purely concert (ozashiki) shamisen music began with performances of narratives outside the theatre, in which context onna jōruri (female performers) appeared. In the 19th century new nagauta compositions were created that had no theatrical connections, and the cult of the composer became stronger. By the mid-20th century the amateur study of shamisen music became ‘respectable’, this change having healthy cultural and technical results. 18th- and 19th-century notations, which used syllables or symbols to represent finger positions, were replaced by new notations based on the French Chevé system, with Arabic numbers and Western rhythm and bar systems. Student recitals, concert pieces, specialist journals and recordings by star performers flourished. Since the mid-20th century it has been possible to buy recordings or notations of the basic repertory of the major genres and to attend concerts of all forms or hear contemporary compositions for ensembles of traditional instruments. The traditional guild system of working for a professional name (natori) remains strong, though Western-style lessons exist as well. For example, one may graduate in shamisen at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music.

There have been sporadic attempts at introducing a bass version, but otherwise the shamisen, like the shakuhachi, survived the 20th century essentially unchanged. Each type of shamisen seems to have become ideally suited to its particular niche, and no new niches have emerged as yet to demand further developments.

Japan, §II: Instruments and instrumental genres

BIBLIOGRAPHY

and other resources

W. Malm: Japanese Music and Musical Instruments (Tokyo, 1959)

H. Tanabe: Nihon no gakki [Japanese musical instruments] (Tokyo, 1964)

Shōsōin no gakki [Musical instruments of the Shōsōin] (Tokyo, 1967) [pubn of the Shōsōin office]

K. Hayashi: Higashi Ajia gakki kō [East Asian instruments] (Tokyo, 1973)

Gakki shiryōshū [Musical instrument resource collection], i–ix, ed. Kunitachi Ongaku Daigaku Gakki Shiryōkan (Tokyo, 1980–)

J. Katsumura: ‘Some Innovations in Musical Instruments of Japan During the 1920s’, YTM, xviii (1986), 157–72

archaeology

GroveI (‘Wagon’, D. Hughes)

Shōsōin no gakki [Musical instruments of the Shōsōin] (Tokyo, 1967) [pubn. of the Shōsōin Office]

D. Hughes: ‘Music Archaeology of Japan: Data and Interpretation’, The Archaeology of Early Music Cultures, ed. E. Hickmann and D. Hughes (Bonn, 1988), 55–87

G. Tsuge: ‘Stone and Clay Aerophones in Early Japan’, The Archaeology of Early Music Cultures, ed. E. Hickmann and D. Hughes (Bonn, 1988), 89–96

biwa

Z. Tateyama: Heike ongakushi [A history of the Heike performance tradition] (Tokyo, 1911)

G. Yoshimura: Biwa dokuhon [A biwa reader] (Tokyo, 1933)

K. Atsumi: Heike monogatari no kisoteki kenkyū [Fundamental study of the Heike monogatari] (Tokyo, 1962)

K.D. Butler jnr.: ‘The Textual Evolution of the Heike Monogatari’, Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, xxvi (1966), 5–51

S. Fujii: Saifubon heikyoku [A book of heikyoku transcriptions] (Nagoya, 1966)

G. Gish jnr.: The Biwa in History (diss., U. of Michigan, 1967)

M. Ueda: Literary and Art Theories in Japan (Cleveland, 1967)

Nihon shomin seikatsu shiryō shūsei [Anthology of historical documents on the ways of life of the populace], ed. Geinō-shi Kenkyū-kai, xvii (Tokyo, 1972) [incl. ‘Mōsō-biwa’, 109–254]

S. Matisoff: The Legend of Semimaru, Blind Musician of Japan (New York, 1978)

A. Mayeda: ‘The Musical Structure of Heikyoku’, European Studies on Japan, ed. I. Nish and C. Dunn (Tenterden, 1979), 220–29

Chikuzen no kōjin-biwa [The kōjin-biwa tradition of the Chikuzen region], ed. Fukuoka-ken Kyōiku Iinkai (Fukuoka, 1983)

S. Guignard: ‘Structure and Performance of a Melodic Pattern, Haru Nagashi, in Chikuzenbiwa: Some Observations on its Transmission in Orality and Literacy’, The Oral and the Literate in Music, ed. Y. Tokumaru and O. Yamaguti (Tokyo, 1986), 273–87

S. Nelson: ‘Gogen-fu shinkō – omo ni gogen-biwa no jūsei oyobi chōgen ni tsuite’ [The Gogen-fu, a Japanese Heian-period tablature score for five-string lute: concentrating on the fret system and tunings of the instrument], Tōyō ongaku kenkyū, li (1986), 13–76 [Eng. summary 4–9]

D. Beaumont (née Veyre): La structure musicale du heikyoku (diss., U. of Paris, Sorbonne, 1988)

H. de Ferranti: Seiha satsuma-biwa no kifuhō to sono kinō [On the nature and functions of notation in the seiha satsuma-biwa tradition] (diss., Tokyo National U. of Fine Arts and Music, 1989)

H. de Ferranti: ‘Composition and Improvisation in Satsuma biwa’, Musica asiatica, v, ed. A. Marett (1991), 102–27

Higo-biwa, ed. Higo-Biwa Hozon Kai (Kumamoto, 1991)

H. Hyōdō: ‘Zatō-biwa no katarimono denshō ni tsuite no kenkyū, 1’ [Research on the zatō (mōsō) oral narrative tradition, 1], Saitama Daigaku kiyō, xxvi (1991), 13–60

M. Yasuda: ‘Higo-biwa no denshō’ [The higo-biwa tradition], Minzoku geinō kenkyū, xiv (1991), 1–14

H. Hyōdō: ‘Zatō (mōsō) biwa no katarimono denshō ni tsuite no kenkyū, 2’ [Research on the zatō (mōsō) oral narrative tradition, 2], Saitama Daigaku kiyō, xxviii (1993), 35–78

Y. Kamisangō, ed.: Heike-biwa – katari to ongaku [Heike-biwa – narrative performance and music] (Tokyo, 1993)

H. Nakano, ed.: ‘Mōsō’, Rekishi minzokugaku ronshū, ii (Tokyo, 1993)

Fukuoka-ken shi [Fukuoka prefectural history], ed. Nishi Nihon Bunka Kyōkai, xlvi: Bunka shiryō-hen: mōsō/zatō [Documents on cultural history: mōsō and zatō] (Fukuoka, 1993)

M. Yasuda: ‘Futatabi Higo-biwa ni tsuite’ [More about higo-biwa], Nihon minzokugaku, clxxxxv (1993), 28–56

R. Kimura: Higo biwa-hiki Yamashika Yoshiyuki yobanashi [Evening yarns by the higo-biwa player Yamashika Yoshiyuki] (Tokyo, 1994)

H.E. Schmitz: Satsumabiwa: die Laute der Samurai (Kassel, 1994)

H. Yamashita: Katari to shite no Heike monogatari [The Heike monogatari as narrative] (Tokyo, 1994)

H. de Ferranti: ‘Relations between Music and Text in Higo biwa’, AsM, xxvi/1 (1995), 149–74

T. Shimazu: Meiji izen satsuma-biwa shi [History of satsuma-biwa before the Meiji period] (Tokyo, 1995)

H. de Ferranti: ‘Licence to Laugh: Humour in the Practice of Biwa Recitation in Rural Kyushu’, Musicology Australia, xix (1996), 1–15

H. de Ferranti: Text and Music in Biwa Narrative: the Zatōbiwa Tradition of Kyushu (diss., U. of Sydney, 1996)

A. Nagai: ‘Mōsō-biwa no katari’ [The narratives of mōsō-biwa], Kōshō bugaku I, Nihon bungakushi, xvi (Tokyo, 1996), 88–109

H. Kindaichi: Heikyoku Kō [Thoughts on heikyoku] (Tokyo, 1997)

recordings

Nihon biwa-gaku taikei [Anthology of Japanese biwa music], coll. H. Tanabe, Polydor SLJM 1013–17 (1963)

Biwa: sono ongaku no keifu [Biwa: its musical lineage], coll. K. Hirano and H. Tanabe, Nippon Columbia CLS 5205–10 (1975)

‘Gagaku, shōmyō, biwa-gaku’ [Gagaku, shōmyō and biwa music], Nihon koten ongaku taikei [1,000 years of Japanese classical music] i, Kodansha (1982)

Yoshitsune: Songs of a Medieval Hero of Japan Accompanied by the Biwa, coll. S. Guignard, BMG Victor Japan CR 100080–81 (1988)

Heike monogatari no ongaku [Music of the Heike monogatari], coll. K. Hirano and H. Komoda, Nippon Columbia COCF 7899 (1991)

Oto to eizō ni yoru Nihon koten geinō taikei [Anthology of classical Japanese performing arts in sound and film], video and laser disc anthology, Heibonsha/JVC VTMV101 to VTMV125 (Tokyo, 1992)

Gendai biwa-gaku zenshū [Anthology of contemporary biwa music], coll. K. Tsuruta, Nippon Columbia COCF (1993)

Biwa no sekai [The world of biwa], Nippon Columbia COCF 13887 (1996)

koto

MGG1 (H. Eckardt)

S. Yamada: Sōkyoku taiishō [Compendium of koto music], i–vi (Edo, 1779), vii (1903); ed. K. Hirano (Tokyo, 1981)

F.T. Piggott: The Music and Musical Instruments of Japan (London, 1893, 2/1909/R)

T. Takano: ‘Shichiku shoshinshū’ [Comprehensive collection of Japanese songs and ballads], Nihon kayō shūsei, vi (Tokyo, 1928)

T. Fujita: Sōkyoku to jiuta no ajiwaikata [Introduction to koto music and jiuta] (Osaka, 1930)

K. Takano: ‘Theorie der japanischen Musik, 1: Untersuchungen über die Form der Koto Musik “Danmono”’, Tohoku psychologica folia, iii (1935), 69–169

K. Hirano and S. Kishibe: Tsukushi-goto kenkyū shiryō [Materials for the study of tsukushi-goto] (Tokyo, 1955)

S. Kishibe: ‘Zokusō’, Ongaku jiten (Tokyo, 1954–7), ii, 276–9

S. Higashiyama: ‘Jiuta’, ibid., iv, 215–7

T. Fujita and E. Kikkawa: ‘Sō’, ibid., vi, 37–9

H. Tanabe: ‘Sōkyoku’, vi, 49–56

K. Hayashi: Shōsōin gakki no kenkyū [A study of early Japanese music based on the instruments in the Shōsōin] (Tokyo, 1964)

W. Adriaansz: ‘Research into the Chronology of Danmono’, EthM, xi (1967), 25–53

Tōyō Ongaku Gakkai: Sōkyoku to jiuta (Tokyo, 1967)

W. Adriaansz: ‘A Japanese Procrustean Bed: a Study of the Development of Danmono’, JAMS, xxiii (1970), 26–60

W. Adriaansz: ‘The Yatsuhashi-Ryū: a Seventeenth Century School of Koto Music’, AcM, xliii (1971), 55–93

W. Adriaansz: ‘Midare’, Nihon no ongaku to sono shūhen (Tokyo, 1973), 9–54

W. Adriaansz: The Kumiuta and Danmono Traditions of Japanese Koto Music (Berkeley, 1973)

C.B. Read: A Study of Yamada-ryū Sōkyoku and its Repertoire (diss., Wesleyan U., 1975)

D. Loeb: ‘An Analytic Study of Japanese Koto Music’, Music Forum, iv (1976), 335–93

B.C. Wade: Tegotomono: Music for the Japanese Koto (Westport, CT, 1976)

S. Yamamoto: Yamamoto-goto: gakafu to shōkai [Yakumo-goto notation and explanations] (Tokyo, 1977)

A. Yoshimoto: Ichigen-kin (Tokyo, 1977)

L.E.R. Picken and Y. Mitani: ‘Finger-Techniques for the Zithers sō-no-koto and kin in Heian Times’, Musica asiatica, ii (1979), 89–114

H. Tanabe and K. Hirano, eds.: Honkoku fukusei yakumo kinpu [Reprint and facsimile of Yakumo kinpu] (Kamakura, 1979)

H. Burnett: ‘An Introduction to the History and Aesthetics of Japanese Jiuta-tegotomono’, AsM, xi/2 (1980), 11–40

G. Tsuge: ‘Symbolic Techniques in Japanese Koto-Kumiuta’, AsM, xii (1981), 109–32

S. Kubota: ‘A Guide to the Basic Literature and Records for Research in Jiuta and Sokyoku’, Hogaku, i/1 (1983), 93–112

G. Tsuge: Anthology of Sōkyoku and Jiuta Song Texts (Tokyo, 1983)

E. Smaldone: ‘Godandinuta: a Structural Analysis’, Hogaku, i/2 (1984), 55–91

P. Ackermann: Studien zur Koto-Musik von Edo (Basle and London, 1986)

‘Ichigen-kin’, Nihon ongaku daijiten, ed. K. Hirano, Y. Kamisangō and S. Gamō (Tokyo, 1989), 265–7

‘Sō’, ibid., 276–87

‘Sōkyoku’, ibid., 486–92

‘Jiuta’, ibid., 493–9

P. Ackermann: Kumiuta: Traditional Songs for Certificates – a Study of their Texts and Implications (Berne, 1990)

H. Johnson: ‘Koto Manufacture: the Instrument, Construction Process, and Aesthetic Considerations’, GSJ, xlix (1996), 38–64

H. Johnson: ‘A Koto by any Other Name: Exploring Japanese Systems of Musical Instrument Classification’, asm, xxviii/1 (1997), 43–59

E. Kikkawa: A History of Japanese Koto Music and Ziuta (Tokyo, 1997) [incl. 2 CDs]

recordings

Sōkyoku to jiuta no rekishi [History of sōkyoku and jiuta], disc notes by E. Kikkawa, Victor SLR 510–13 (1961; Eng. trans., enlarged, 1997, as A History of Japanese Koto Music]

Rokudan, Toshiba-EMI TH 60054–5 (1978)

Takei nihon no dentōongaku, Victor KDCK 1105–08 (1990)

Kamunagi: Kikuchi Teiko jūschichigensō no sekai, Camerata 30cm–267 (1995)

Sōkyoku jiuta taikei , VICG–40110 to 40169 (1997) [60 CDs]

The Koto Music of Japan, Nonesuch 72005

shakuhachi

W. Malm: Japanese Music and Musical Instruments (Tokyo, 1959)

Shōsōin no gakki [Musical instruments of the Shōsōin] (Tokyo, 1967)

E. Weisgarber: ‘The Honkyoku of the Kinko-ryū: some Principles of its Organization’ , EthM, xii/3 (1968), 313–44

R. Samuelson: : Some Aspects of the Kinko ryū honkyoku, including a Study of the Pattern-units of Kokū Reibo (thesis, Wesleyan U., 1971)

A. Gutzwiller: Shakuhachi: Aspects of History, Practice and Teaching (diss., Wesleyan U., 1974)

R. Emmert: ‘The Japanese shkuhachi and some Comparisons with Several Vertical Flutes of Southeast Asia’, Asian Musics in an Asian Perspective, ed. F. Koizumi and others (Tokyo, 1977), 115–24

J. Sanford: ‘Shakuhachi Zen: the Fukeshū and komusō’, Monumenta Nipponica, xxxii/4 (1977), 411–40

I. Fritsch: Die Solo-Honkyoku der Tozan-Schule (Basle, 1979)

A. Gutzwiller: Die Shkuhachi der Kinko-Schule (Basle, 1983)

C. Blasdel and Y. Kamisangō: The Shakuhachi: a Manual for Learning (Tokyo, 1988)

‘Shakuhachi’, Nihon ongaku daijiten [Encyclopedia of Japanese music], ed. K. Hirano, Y. Kamisangō and S. Gamō (Tokyo, 1989)

I. Kitahara and others: The Encyclopedia of Musical Instruments: the Shakuhachi (Tokyo, 1990)

T. Tukitani and O. Yamaguti, eds.: Toward a Handbook of Syakuhati Study: Classical Syakuhati honkyoku, the Past and Present (Osaka, 1990) [Eng. and Japanese]

R. Lee: ‘Shakuhachi honkyoku Notation: Written Sources in an Oral Tradition’, Musica Asiatica, vi (1991), 18–35

A. Gutzwiller: ‘Polyphony in Japanese Music: Rokudan for Example’, CHIME, v (1992), 50–57

T. Tukitani: Collecting Basic Source Materials for the Syakuhati and Constructing a Tentative Database Thereof (Tokyo, 1992) [Japanese with some Eng.]

T. Tukitani and others: ‘The Shakuhachi: the Instrument and its Music, Change and Diversification’, Contemporary Music Review, viii/2 (1994), 103–29

recordings

Zen: Katsuya Yokoyama Plays Classical Shakuhachi Masterworks, Wergo SM 1033/34-50 (1988) [2 CDs]

Tozan-ryū honkyoku: kihongata taisei, Victor VICG40015-17 (1991) [basic Tozan-school pieces]

Tajima Tadashi: Master of Shakuhachi, World Network 32.379 (1999)

Shakuhachi, Nonesuch 72076-1

shamisen

W. Malm: Japanese Music and Musical Instruments (Tokyo, 1959/R)

W. Malm: Nagauta: the Heart of Kabuki Music (Tokyo, 1963)

H. Tanabe: Shamisen ongaku-shi [History of shamisen music] (Tokyo, 1963)

K. Fujimatsu: Shamisen no chishiki/Hōgaku hasseihō [Knowledge about shamisen/Voice production for traditional classical music] (Tokyo, 1964)

L. Sakata: ‘Comparative Analysis of Sawari on the Shamisen’, EthM, x/2 (1966), 141–52

Y. Tokumaru: ‘Some Remarks on the Shamisen and its Music’, Asian Musics in an Asian Perspective, ed. F. Koizumi and others (Tokyo, 1977), 90–99

W. Adriaansz: Introduction to Shamisen Kumiuta (Buren, 1978)

W. Malm: ‘Four Seasons of the Old Mountain Woman: an Example of Japanese Nagauta Text Setting’, Journal of the American Oriental Society, xxx/1 (1978), 83–117

Tōyō Ongaku Gakkai, ed.: Shamisen to sono ongaku [Shamisen and its music] (Tokyo, 1978)

Y. Kakiuchi: ‘The Traditions of Gidayu-bushi’, Preservation and Development of the Traditional Performing Arts (Tokyo, 1981), 181–203

Y. Tokumaru: : L'aspect mélodique de la musique de syamisen (diss., U. Laval, 1981)

W. Malm: ‘A Musical Approach to Jōruri’, Chūshingura, ed. J. Brandon (Honolulu, 1982), 59–110

H. Burnett: ‘The Evolution of Shamisen Tegotomono: a Study of the Development of Voice/Shamisen Relationships’, Hogaku, i/1 (1983), 53–92

K. Motegi: ‘Aural Learning in Gidayu-bushi, Music of the Japanese Puppet Theater’, YTM, xvi (1984), 97–108

J. Katsumura: ‘Some Innovations in Musical Instruments of Japan during the 1920's’, YTM, xviii (1986), 157–72

Y. Tokumaru: ‘Syamisen and Sawari’, Contemporary Music Review, i (1987), 15–17

P. Ackermann: Kumiuta: Traditional Songs for Certificates: a Study of their Texts and Implications (Berne, 1990)

Wang Yaohua: Sanxian yishu lun [The art of the sanxian] (Fuzhou, 1991)

W. Malm: ‘The Rise of Concert Shamisen Music’, Recovering the Orient, ed. A. Gerstle and A. Milner (Chur, Switzerland, 1994), 293–315

H. Ōtsuka: Shamisen ongaku no onkō riron [Pitch theory in shamisen music] (Tokyo, 1995) [with Eng. summary]

A. Tokita: ‘Mode and Scale, Modulation and Tuning in Japanese Shamisen Music: the Case of Kiyomoto Narrative’, EthM, xl/1 (1996), 1–34

E. Kikkawa: A History of Japanese Koto Music and Ziuta (Tokyo, 1997) [with 2 CDs]

M. Yakō and T. Araki: ‘An Analysis of Nagauta-shamisen Melody by Blocking’, Tōyō ongaku kenkyū, lxiii (1998), 37–56 [with Eng. summary]

G. Groemer: The Spirit of Tsugaru: Blind Musicians, Tsugaru-jamisen, and the Folk Music of Northern Japan (Warren, MI, 1999)

W. Malm: ‘Yamada Shotaro: Japan's First Shamisen Professor’, AsM, xxx/1 (1999), 35–76

recordings

Nihon koten ongaku taikei [1000 years of Japanese classical music], Kodansha (Tokyo, 1980–81) [74 LPs with booklets]

Shamisen kofu no kenkyū [An investigation into the old shamisen notations], ed. K. Hirano and others, Toshiba-EMI THX 90212–90217 (1983) [6 LPs and book]

Sankyoku, King KICH 2007 (1990)

Shamisen I (katarimono), King KICH 2008 (1990)

Shamisen II (utaimono), King KICH 2009 (1990)

Taikei nihon no dento ongaku, Victor KCDK 1109–22 (1990)

Yomigaeru Oppekepē: 1900-nen Pari Banpaku no Kawakami ichiza [Oppekepē recalled: the Kawakami Troupe at the 1900 Paris Exposition], rec. 1900, Toshiba TOCG-5432 (1997)

Tsugaru Jongara Bushi kyōen shū [‘Tsugaru Jongara Bushi’ competition], King KICH 2220 (1998)

Japan

III. Notation systems

1. Introduction.

2. Vocal music.

3. Instrumental music.

4. Oral mnemonics.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Japan, §III: Notation systems

1. Introduction.

In order to understand the functional and cultural logic of unfamiliar notation systems it is important first to recognize that notation is not in itself music, but rather an adjunct to the remembrance or evocation of sonic events for performing purposes and, in some music cultures, for study or compositional use. A second important point is that the actual music and all its accessories (such as notation) usually reflect the aesthetics and world views of the peoples in whose culture they were created. Thus, what is important to one music culture may be of much less concern in another: in this context it must be noted that Japanese traditional musicians seldom felt a strong need for detailed notations such as those admired by most Western musicians. For the Japanese, notation was merely a memory aid; indeed, the structure of Japanese pieces, the relations between their parts and the subtle nuances of their performing practices did not lend themselves to effective representation in either vertical or horizontal linear graphics. This does not imply an interest in improvisation, as such a style hardly exists in Japanese music. Rather, it reflects a concern in both music lessons and performances for a concentration on aural and technical skills with as few visual distractions or inhibitions as possible. Nevertheless, because there has always been a strong guild system (see §I, 3 above) and a tradition of ‘secret’ pieces (hikyoku) in Japanese music, notation systems were fostered that would preserve compositions for future generations in an outline form that only the initiated could translate into actual sounds. It was not until Western musical pragmatism asserted its influence that detailed notations became significant. Thus a discussion of Japanese notation up to the late 19th century must deal with numerous different systems that were used not only for each genre or musical instrument but also for various guilds of performers within each tradition. Here no attempt is made to cover all these variations; rather, the basic principles used in major styles of Japanese notation are demonstrated, with selected examples where necessary for clarity.

The term ‘notation’ as used above refers to written notation; a broader usage of the term embraces ‘oral notation’ as well. Many Japanese instruments have long been taught using oral mnemonics (see §III, 4 below), which often later became part of written notation.

Traditional transmission, then, might involve any of three approaches: direct imitation of another performer (in formal lessons or simply by assiduous overhearing as often in folk contexts); singing of oral mnemonics prior to actually trying to play a piece; or reliance on written notation. Despite the startling range of notations shown below, it was only in the 20th century that written notation assumed importance in teaching many genres. This trend results not only from modernization but also from the fact that few pupils feel they have time to learn by the traditional, time-intensive methods. For the same reason, a fourth method of transmission is becoming common (as elsewhere): use of recordings, whether commercial or made during lessons.

Japan, §III: Notation systems

2. Vocal music.

Chinese sources mention singing in Japan as early as the 3rd century ce, and Japan’s first literary works of the 8th century include the texts of many songs; but actual vocal notation in Japan developed first primarily in the context of Buddhist music (see §IV, 3 below). This tradition came to Japan from China and Korea in the period between 553 and 784, and expanded greatly in the subsequent Heian (794–1185) and Kamakura (1192–1333) periods. Surviving theoretical materials show a continuous Chinese influence.

In terms of notation the most important early system is the goin-hakase (‘the five-toned sage’). It is attributed to the Japanese priest Kakui (b 1236) of the Shingon sect, although it may have been influenced by the ritual mudrā (hand gesture) and oracle stick arrangements of ancient India. The Japanese system divides the 15 notes of three octaves of the anhemitonic pentatonic scale into three layers of five notes each; thus the system is sometimes called the goin-sanjū (‘the five tones and three layers’). Individual pitches are represented by short lines placed at an angle like the hour hand of a clock. If started on c, the notes of the pentatonic scale would be represented as in ex.8. As shown in fig.16 (an excerpt from a modern Shingon sect notation with its transcription), the direction of these line symbols does not represent graphically the pitch of a note, as is common in most Western notations. Since Sino-Japanese texts are normally written in columns starting from the right-hand side of a page, the music notations of this system generally appear to the left of the text. The names of specific vocal patterns or styles are included with the pitches. Thus, as seen in fig.17, the notation of the vocal rendition of one syllable may meander considerably. Various Buddhist sects in Japan developed their own notation systems and approaches to the performance of named vocal patterns. In keeping with the rote teaching method and the ‘secret’ piece tradition of Japan, many of the later, seemingly simplified notation systems, such as karifu and meyasu, actually became more abstract and less easily read without guidance than the goin-hakase itself. Many of these systems are still in use, not only in Buddhist music but also in surviving imperial vocal traditions that adopted variants on such notations centuries ago.

Another vocal notation system of greater importance in later Japanese music was the gomafu, in which teardrop-shaped lines were placed beside characters as neumes and indications of longer vocal patterns. The 12th-century secular epic tradition of the tale of Heike (heikyoku, see II, 3 above) adopted this system in a form called sumifu, and the major classical drama form called nō that began to evolve in the 13th century also used such a notation system (often called gomaten), as shown in fig.17. The nō system includes more references to pitch areas as well as to vocal patterns. Each major school of nō now uses such a system, and there are extensive textbooks in each school for learning the meaning of each symbol. The correct interpretation of such notations, however, remains in the vocal lessons and in a student’s eventual acceptance into a guild, although the advent of records and teaching tapes has rendered the secret tradition somewhat more ritualistic than practical.

Later secular vocal traditions of narratives accompanied by biwa or shamisen seldom made more than occasional graphic references to the vocal lines, although some aspects of the instrumental interjections or interludes normally appear in red between each line of the text. During the later part of the Edo period (1603–1868) music accompanied by shamisen or koto also tended not to depend on notation for vocal lines except by instrumentally derived pitch notations. Therefore the rest of vocal notation is best described in the context of instrumental forms.

A unique example is shown in fig.18. In principle, Japanese folksong has been orally transmitted, but one song, Esashi Oiwake, has been notated since the early 20th century with a variety of related systems devised by locals specifically for use in teaching. The version shown (from the 1960s) reveals Western influence in its staff (albeit of 6 lines) and left-to-right orientation. However, as each of the 5 phrases is to be sung in one breath, the vocal part of each phrase is shown logically as a continuous line whose peaks, loops and dots express specific ornaments quite precisely. The ornaments are identified in the eight boxes at the bottom. Some influence from Buddhist notation is evident. (For a Western notation of part of this song, see §VII, 3, ex.18 below.)

Japan, §III: Notation systems

3. Instrumental music.

The first instrumental notation in Japan came directly from the Chinese court traditions of the Tang dynasty (618–907). The earliest surviving example is a biwa notation dated 768. It is followed by various wind instrument parts dating from the 10th century to the 13th, after which time instrument partbooks are fairly plentiful. Most of these books were intended for use in the music of the court gagaku ensembles. Scores for such music did not exist before the 20th century. A complete partbook contains the basic repertory organized in sets of pieces that are in the same mode. Notations for string instruments (the biwa or koto or wagon) consist primarily of the names of stereotyped melodic patterns or of one pitch that would appear at the start of a time unit; the shō (mouth organ) notation also shows only the name of one pitch, or perhaps of one pipe, since this is tablature notation.

Extensive research by Picken and his students has demonstrated that these simple string notations for tōgaku, taken at face value, show a closely heterophonic ensemble, with each instrument ornamenting a single clear melody in different ways; the earliest notations for ryūteki flute reveal this same melodic outline (see §V below, and Marett 1985). They conclude that early tōgaku was played at a much faster tempo suiting these melodies. Today, however, these original tunes are largely hidden from the non-specialist by stereotyped chords on the shō and arpeggios on the biwa and koto, each executed at a stately tempo – even though the notations for these three instruments are little changed from a millennium ago. Each is still a tablature, indicating which single pipe on the shō plays the lowest note of the chord, and which biwa fret or pair of koto strings are the basis for the arpeggios.

Today the ryūteki flute and hichiriki oboe are perceived as the melodic instruments of tōgaku, but their melodies have elaborated considerably over the centuries, away from the original tune that they shared with other instruments, and in this case their notations have elaborated as well. Their notations today involve two systems. As seen in the hichiriki notation of fig.19, the fundamental column consists of the mnemonics (shōga) with which the line is sung when it is learnt, along with symbols for the instrument’s finger-holes in smaller characters to the left. The nuances and ornamentations of the line are not marked, as they are part of the oral guild tradition, learnt through singing the shōga. The short lines along the right-hand side of the column indicate the basic beats, with a large dot representing the accented beat of the hanging drum (tsuridaiko). Percussion parts themselves in gagaku consist of similar dots, with the names of stereotyped rhythmic patterns appropriate to the given music.

The names of patterns or pitches are all that is generally found concerning the instrumental parts of biwa-accompanied narrative songs notated before the period of modernization. Notation for the four instruments of the nō drama, however, is much more complex. As for court music notation, more than one system is combined in modern written notations. Fig.20 is a rare example of a full instrumental score (partbooks being traditional). The flute notation normally consists of a sequence of mnemonics (shōga) placed on a graphlike paper whose columns of squares represent the traditional eight-beat frame of reference in which much nō music is set. Such a flute part can be seen in the left-hand column of fig.20, interlaced with 16 beats of the taiko (stick drum) part. The drum parts of nō consist of named stereotyped patterns, so that one often finds in their notations only the names of the patterns, set alongside texts in vocal accompaniments or in sequence for purely instrumental sections. As shown in fig.20, modern lesson books may contain various dots and triangles that represent sounds of the drums placed in columns of squares (like separate flute parts). This system shows in some detail specific rhythmic patterns. For instance, in fig.20, column 2 contains the kotsuzumi (shoulder drum) part and shows that two different kinds of sound are produced on the drum and that three different drummer’s calls (kakegoe) occur. The rhythm of the pattern is implied (the opening mnemonics would be ta, ta, rest, pon, pon: see ex.9), and the names of two patterns are listed at the right-hand corner of each notation (they are uchi oroshi and musubi futatsu odori). The middle column provides similar kinds of information for the ōtsuzumi drum. Column 4, the nō taiko stick drum notation, is the most complex, involving four elements and much redundancy. This is another example of the merging of oral and written transmission systems. At its simplest level it consists of the names of the two patterns that make up this phrase, sandanme and makuri; these appear just to the right of the line separating columns 3 and 4. A veteran player needs no more information, since such patterns have been learnt by rote. However, here the dots in zigzag pattern represent the left- and right-stick strokes, with the strength of the stroke shown by the size of the dot. In the second half of the phrase, these dots are accompanied by their mnemonics (tsuku tsuku tsuku ten tere tsuku tere tsuku); these alone would have indicated the correct rhythm and stickwork. Finally, three drum calls are shown in small syllables just to the right of the flute mnemonics, between beats 6 and 7, 8 and 1, and 4 and 5. (The flute mnemonics are added in the middle of this column because flute and stick drum are closely synchronized, their patterns beginning on beat 2, while the other drums start on beat 1.) A veteran player could in theory sight-read the drum parts (although this would never be done), but the flute part does not indicate precise pitches and thus can be learnt only from a teacher.

The most detailed notations of Japanese music are found in the tablatures of the koto and shamisen as each developed in the Edo period and in the 20th century. The earliest notations were in the Shichiku shoshin-shū of 1664, but indigenous systems designed specifically for such instruments appeared first with the Ongyoku chikaragusa of 1762 for the shamisen and the Sōkyoku taiishō of 1799 for the koto. The shamisen notation used dots with various internal designs that represented positions on the fingerboard of the instrument, while the koto notation used the numbers of its 13 strings with circles that indicated rhythms and performing methods. The pitches of the strings were determined by the name of the tuning in which a piece was played. A so-called iroha-fu system also appears in some shamisen music, which indicates finger positions by a solfège based on the traditional order of syllables in Japanese language lessons.

The forms of notation used in the 20th century by the two major koto schools are shown in fig.22a and b. Pitches are still shown by string numbers (and hence vary with the tuning), but bars and rhythmic symbols are adopted from Western notation, as can be seen in the transcription (ex.10). Fig.23a and b show common modern methods of shamisen notation that also reflect Western rhythmic symbols. In the so-called kosaburō-fu the Arabic numbers represent pitches in a scale, and in the bunka-fu they stand for finger positions on the strings, as seen by comparison with the Western transcription (ex.11).

Today it is possible to purchase notations of traditional koto or shamisen music in systems that can be read without direct reference to a teacher. However, the general Western fixation on detailed graphic representations of basically sonic events has yet to inhibit the more direct and musical tradition of oral comprehension, which is the characteristic of earlier Japanese music and its notational methods.

Japan, §III: Notation systems

4. Oral mnemonics.

Oral transmission has persisted over the centuries in Japan for various reasons: the desire for control and secrecy, the tradition of blind musicians and so forth. But a major reason is simply because it works well. Every written instrumental notation discussed in §3 above has an oral dimension. In learning or recalling an instrumental part, a performer may sing either syllables indicating precise finger positions or drum strokes (as for shakuhachi or shō), or a set of mnemonics that primarily represent relative pitch rather than specific fingerings or absolute pitches (as for the nō flute or hichiriki). The most common general term for all such systems is shōga or kuchi-shōga.

In many cases there is a direct link between the acoustic-phonetic features of the vowels and consonants of the mnemonics and the sounds they represent. Such systems can be called acoustic-iconic. It is this acoustic similarity or identity that makes such syllables particularly powerful in learning and recalling music. Similar systems are in use in numerous cultures around the world (see Hughes, 1989, 1991).

Performers stress the importance of learning via shōga. Still today, despite the existence of written notations, a flute player in a gagaku or nō ensemble will learn each piece first by singing it, thus acquiring subtleties of expression that elude writing.

It is perhaps surprising that such systems seem to work without their users being aware of the logic behind them. This is possible because of the innate nature of the sound symbolism involved. Ex.12 shows a passage of shōga for ryūteki flute and hichiriki oboe in court music. Note firstly that the consonants mark articulation: [t] starts a breath phrase, [h] marks a re-articulation of the same pitch, [r] shows a liquid shift to another pitch. Cross-culturally, we find that ‘stop’ consonants such as [p, t, k] generally mark the sharp attack of a plucked string or struck membranophone or idiophone. The deeper and/or more resonant pitches are more commonly marked by the voiced consonants [b, d, g]. Thus the open bass string of the shamisen is sung as [don] vs. the [ton] of the higher-pitched open middle string; and the alternation of normal stroke and rim-shot on folk taiko stick drums may be recited as [don kaka]. There are convincing if complex acoustic reasons for this, but the connection seems instinctive and unconscious for the vast majority of people.

Final consonants may express decay. Since wind instruments generally sustain a note without change of volume, the main vowel can simply be prolonged. But a longer note on a plucked string or a struck instrument is often distinguished from a shorter one by adding a nasal consonant [n], reflecting the changes in amplitude and perhaps timbre over time.

Vowels work independently of the consonants, and their role is more interesting. In the flute shōga of ex.10, four vowels occur: [i a o u]. It turns out that these indicate relative pitch of successive melody notes with great accuracy. In Table 3, when a note sung with the vowel [a] is followed by a higher one sung to [i], one point was entered after the + sign in row a, column i; and so forth. This revealed that when a shoga vowel sequence places [i] adjacent to any other vowel, the pitch sung to [i] is higher in 97 out of 100 cases; [a] is similarly ‘higher’ than [o] in 56 out of 57 cases, and [u] is lower than its neighbour in all 83 of its occurrences. Overall, given the shōga, one can predict melodic direction with 98% accuracy. Yet this pattern is not taught as such: rather, one simply learns the shōga for each piece without explanation. The system is almost entirely unconscious.

In general and in many cultures, the ordering [i e a o u] represents relative pitch from high to low. This corresponds to what acousticians call the ‘second formant (F2) frequency’ order of these vowels, which is basically the vibratory frequency of the oral cavity when held in the correct shape for each vowel. This is an area of overtone activity, fixed for each vowel and largely independent of the fundamental pitch at which one speaks or sings that vowel, thus it is often called a vowel's Intrinsic Pitch. For Spanish, typical F2 values for [i e a o u] are 2300, 1900, 1300, 900 and 800 Hz respectively. Humans have subliminal access to this ordering in many ways, the simplest of which is whispering; others include whistling, playing a jew's harp or musical bow, or listening to the sound of a bottle being filled with liquid. Thus in vowel-pitch mnemonic systems, vowels are used in overwhelming accordance with F2 ordering, and a musician gains an additional tool for recording melodic contour.

Competing with Intrinsic Pitch are the phenomena of Intrinsic Duration and Intrinsic Intensity. It is found (again for convincing reasons) that in the vast majority of languages the vowels closest to [i] and [u], those spoken with the mouth relatively closed, will take less time to articulate and register a lower volume on a vU meter than will more open vowels; by contrast, the ‘longest’ and ‘loudest’ vowel is [a], followed by [o] and [e]. This is why [i] and [u] are often favoured for short or quiet notes or those in weak metric positions in oral mnemonic systems, while [a] tends toward the opposite. Thus [a] is used to represent double-stops on a shamisen regardless of pitch. Many exceptions to vowel-pitch ordering are due to these competing factors.

Acoustic-iconic systems are less precise than, say, Tonic Sol-fa. The latter is perfectly consistent in indicating interval size, but its constituent syllables are the result of an arbitrary historical development and thus carry no intrinsic force outside the specific cultural system. The vowel-pitch systems of Japan and Korea, by contrast, are less reliable: they do not indicate precise interval size or pitch, and their prediction of melodic direction is less than perfect, often clashing with rhythmic considerations; yet the innate symbolism of their sounds gives them an advantage for oral transmission. Surely this is a major reason why most Japanese written notations, even those than can indicate precise pitch, duration, fingering, timbre etc., still include shōga. Japanese music students raised on ‘do re mi’ often find the traditional shōga distracting and therefore try to ignore it, but so far their teachers are persevering. In villages in Iwate, northern Japan, a student of the ‘Devil Sword Dance’ (oni kenbai) still memorizes each dance while singing densuko denden densuko den etc.: the syllables represent drum and cymbal strokes, whereas the melody to which they are sung is that of the flute. Thus by use of shōga one can learn simultaneously the dance, three instruments and their co-ordination.

Japan, §III: Notation systems

BIBLIOGRAPHY

E. Harich-Schneider: The Rhythmical Patterns in Gagaku and Bugaku (Leiden, 1954)

‘Kifuhō’, Ongaku jiten, iii (Tokyo, 1955–7), 81

W.P. Malm: Japanese Music and Musical Instruments (Tokyo, 1959), 261ff

W. Kaufmann: Musical Notations of the Orient (Bloomington, IN, 1967)

D.P. Berger: ‘The Shakuhachi and the Kinko ryū Notation’, AsM, i/2 (1969), 32–72

E. Harich-Schneider: A History of Japanese Music (London, 1973)

J. Condit: ‘Differing Transcriptions from the Twelfth-Century Japanese Koto Manuscript Jinchi Yōroku’, EthM, xx/1 (1976), 87–95

K. Hirano and K. Fukushima: Source of Early Japanese Music (Tokyo, 1978) [Eng. summary and captions]

M. Yokomichi and S. Gamō, eds.: Kuchishōga taikei [Anthology of oral mnemonics], CBS-Sony OOAG457 to 461 (1978) [5 LPs, book]

L. Picken and Y. Mitani: ‘Finger-Techniques for the Zithers sō-no-koto and kin in Heian Times’, Musica asiatica, ii, ed. L. Picken (1979), 89–114

L. Picken and others: Music from the Tang Court, i– (London, 1981–)

A. Marett: ‘Tōgaku: Where Have the Tang Melodies Gone, and Where Have the New Melodies Come From?’, EthM, xxix/3 (1985), 409–31

E. Markham: ‘Tunes from Tang China at Court and Temple in ‘Medieval’ Japan: First Steps towards Reading Early Japanese Neumatic Notations’, Trends and Perspectives in Musicology, ed. Royal Swedish Academy of Music (Stockholm, 1985), 117–39

Y. Tokumaru and O. Yamaguti, eds.: The Oral and the Literate in Music (Tokyo, 1986)

K. Hirano and others: Nihon ongaku daijiten [Dictionary of Japanese music] (Tokyo, 1989)

D. Hughes: ‘The Historical Uses of Nonsense: Vowel-pitch Solfège from Scotland to Japan’, Ethnomusicology and the Historical Dimension, ed. M. Philipp (Ludwigsburg, Germany, 1989), 3–18

D. Hughes: ‘Oral Mnemonics in Korean Music: Data, Interpretation, and a Musicological Application’, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, liv/2 (1991), 307–35

K. Arai: ‘The Historical Development of Music Notation for Shōmyō (Japanese Buddhist Chant): Centering on Hakase Graphs’, Nihon ongakushi kenkyū, i (1995), vii–xxxix [in Jap. and Eng.]

Japan

IV. Religious music

1. Introduction.

2. Shintō.

3. Buddhist.

4. 16th- and 17th-century Christian music.

5. New religions.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Japan, §IV: Religious music

1. Introduction.

Religious doctrines, beliefs and practices are generally not regarded as mutually exclusive in Japan; an immense variety of religions, sub-schools and sects co-exists and overlaps. Accordingly, there are many distinctive genres of religious music, and some performance traditions are of great antiquity and complexity. Only the most important kinds can be mentioned here.

Before the Meiji Restoration of 1868, the main religions were the indigenous cults of Shintō and various sinified forms of Buddhism. Confucianism, which became a religion in China, was a major intellectual and social force in Japan, influencing Japanese musical thought and practice, but it never took root as a distinct religion. At a folk level, ideas from Daoism greatly influenced Japanese religious belief, but it too was not a distinct religion in Japan.

Shintō (‘the way of the kami’) comprises a huge number of animistic or nature cults, in which purification and fertility ceremonies play a major part, along with shamanistic rituals of divination, faith healing etc. In the central group of myths the leading deity is the Sun Goddess, Amaterasu, enshrined at Ise; these myths provide the basis for the cult and rituals associated with the emperor. Shrines to several others of the countless kami (literally, ‘superiors’) are found nationwide. Shintō thinking has been much affected by Buddhism, with which it existed in a partly symbiotic relationship until the Meiji Restoration; by Confucianism and Daoist yin-yang philosophy; and by Japanese nationalism. However, Shintō cults and rituals are mostly local, while sharing many features. The later 19th century saw the official separation of Shintō and Buddhism and the creation of ‘State Shintō’ (kokka Shintō) at designated shrines. The term ‘Shrine Shintō’ (jinja Shintō) came to describe traditional, public shrines at all levels, as opposed to ‘Sect Shintō’ (kyōha Shintō), which referred to new and often syncretic denominations, such as Konkōkyō, Tenrikyō and Ōmoto. Shrine Shintō has lost the privileged position it held before and during World War II, but it continues to flourish and redefine itself, and important kinds of ceremonial and festival music are actively maintained.

Buddhism was officially introduced from the Korean kingdom of Paekche in 538 ce (a correction of the traditional date 552) but was probably known earlier. It has always been understood in Japan as a Chinese rather than an Indian religion: the Buddhist canon used in Japan is in Chinese, and the main branches of Japanese Buddhism (Tendai, Shingon, Pure Land and Zen) were based on Chinese models. Nevertheless, Japanese Buddhism developed a highly distinctive character, each school or sub-school having its own doctrines and often elaborate liturgy, as well as its own types of music. In the Nara period (710–84), six schools, known collectively as the Nanto Rokushū, flourished in the capital: Sanron, Jōjitsu, Hossō, Kusha, Kegon and Ritsu. The Heian period (794–1185) saw the introduction of the Tendai and Shingon schools, emphasizing esoteric teachings of the caryā and yoga forms of Tantric Buddhism, though Tendai is formally grounded in the teachings of the Lotus Sūtra (the Nichiren-shū). At the same time, the teachings of Pure Land Buddhism, focussed on the celestial Buddha Amitābha (Jap. Amida-butsu), began to spread more widely. During the Kamakura period (1192–1333) two schools of Zen Buddhism (Rinzai and Sōtō) were introduced, and new schools based on Pure Land faith or on the Lotus Sūtra became popular. In succeeding centuries further developments included Ōbaku, a major new school of Zen. Buddhism suffered after 1868 but revived strongly in the later 20th century. Since World War II Japanese Buddhism (especially Zen) has also been spreading outside Japan.

Christianity has had much less influence than Shintō or Buddhism. Introduced by Jesuit missionaries soon after the first arrival of Europeans from Portugal in 1542 or 1543, it flourished for a while in the later 16th century, particularly in southern Japan, but was progressively banned in the early 17th century (the definitive exclusion came in 1639). However, along with elements of its music it continued to be practised secretly, more as a folk religion, by small groups in Kyūshū. It was reintroduced after the Meiji Restoration by Protestant as well as Catholic organizations and has had some impact on education as well as the new religions. The history of Christianity and Christian music in Japan thus falls into three distinct periods, of which only the first is discussed here.

Japan, §IV: Religious music

2. Shintō.

(i) Music of the imperial cult.

All Shintō music traces its origins to the myth of an erotic dance performed by the goddess Ame no Uzume no Mikoto before the Rock Door of Heaven to entice out the Sun Goddess, who was hiding her light from the world and causing crops to fail. Kagura, written with Chinese characters meaning ‘music (and dance) for the gods’, was regarded as a branch of wagaku, music of Japanese origin, as opposed to various kinds of foreign music being introduced at the court; by 773 ce, as Shintō came to be formalized, we hear of kagura musicians at the imperial court. The palace kagura, known as mi-kagura, seems to have originated as an all-night sacred banquet, with songs and a modicum of dance. This took place in the Seishodō (from 859), or the Naishidokoro (from 1002 to the mid-19th century), halls of the imperial palace. From the period 1074–6 it became an annual event, and a reduced version is still performed in mid-December (now in the Kashikodokoro). A slightly different version is performed for the shinjōsai (or niinamesai) festival in November, when the emperor commends new grain to the gods of Heaven and Earth. Mi-kagura songs have long been used also for functions at certain major shrines.

The cycle of songs (kagura-uta) was re-edited in the second quarter of the 17th century, after a hiatus caused by the civil wars of the 16th century. The complete repertory contains over 40 songs, but today only 12 are performed, in five groups, preceded by a short instrumental piece. Even so, a full performance occupies seven hours. The two songs of the second group, Torimono no bu, constitute the ritual core of the cycle, the later songs being regarded as lighter in character, relics of the old banquet tradition. Two (sometimes three) of the pieces have a separate section appended for a solo dancer (the ninjō). The text of each song falls into two parts, the moto-uta and the sue-uta; in each part the first verse is sung solo and the later verses in unison chorus. Instrumental accompaniment is provided by a Wagon (six-string zither), kagura-bue (transverse flute) and hichiriki (short cylindrical oboe). There are 20 singers in two groups, one for the moto-uta, one for the sue-uta. The lead singer in each group controls the pace of the performance with shakubyōshi (wooden clappers). The kagura-uta are in mostly free rhythm. The wind instruments play in unison, the wagon mostly playing simple arpeggio figures on open strings. The kagura-uta have a simple melodic structure, subtle in interpretation; only a single mode is used, based on the tone ichikotsu. In comparison to other Japanese singing, voice production is straight-toned and open. The notation is a system of neumes known as hakase, dating from the later 12th century. That used since the Meiji period is a reconstruction of this, the sumifu.

In addition to mi-kagura, music of the imperial cult includes other ancient song-types: Azuma asobi, Ōnaobi-no-uta, Yamato-uta, Kume-uta, Ta-uta and Gosechi-no-mai. In origin these are mostly secular court dances, though as dances some have fallen out of use. They may also be performed at major shrines, and Gosechi-no-mai, Kume-uta and Ta-uta have been used in enthronement ceremonies for the emperor.

(ii) Other Shintō music.

The kagura-uta described above were used from ancient times for the Chinkonsai, a festival to honour and pacify dead souls. The word kagura probably derives from kami-kura (or kamu-kura), ‘seat for the gods’ (kamiza), and a central feature in Shintō festivals is the preparation of such a tabernacle, to which the kami may be invited with appropriate rituals of purification and supplication. Around the 14th century, followers of Shugendō, the orders of mountain ascetics (yamabushi), started to adapt formal kagura by the addition of dance and other theatrical elements related to the medieval sarugaku-nō. As a result, diverse but basically similar regional forms of kagura have developed, often referred to collectively as sato-kagura (‘village kagura’).

There are six main divisions of sato-kagura. Miko-kagura are widely distributed kagura performed by a purified woman, the miko, who herself was originally the kamiza and danced with ritual implements, such as a branch of sacred cleyera (sakaki), a Shintō wand (gohei), a fan or a bell tree (suzu). Izumo-ryū kagura are found especially in the Izumo region of western Japan; these involve a series of dances with ritual implements, followed by a masked nō play, in which gods appear on stage. Ise-ryū kagura is found especially around Kyoto but also in parts of northern Japan and elsewhere; it incorporates a lustral ceremony called yudate, in which hot water from a cauldron is sprinkled about and offered to the kami. Various dances follow. At the great shrines at Ise from the mid-17th century onwards, pilgrims who made a suitably large donation were given a command performance, the daidai kagura; this custom was followed elsewhere. As Edo grew as a major urban centre, new kinds of kagura developed from the early 18th century at shrines in the area, incorporating elements of yudate and miko rituals, daidai kagura, kyōgen farce and juggling; these are called Edo-kagura. Shishi-kagura are found in many forms throughout Japan; they involve a dance with a lion's head as kamiza, or incorporate the lion dance into a kabuki-like performance. Yamabushi-kagura are types of kagura developed by yamabushi, preserved in north-east Japan in the region of Mt Hayachine (Iwate Prefecture); they were originally performed at the end of the year by wandering troupes. The varied repertory includes lion and other dances, and kyōgen.

The music of sato-kagura typically uses shrill transverse flutes, stick drums and other percussion (small metal idiophones, clappers etc.); rhythms are strong and lively. Originally it would be performed on open ground in or near Shintō shrines, but many shrines now have a special dance-hall (kagura-dono) with open sides. One of the oldest, at the Kasuga Shrine in Nara, was converted from a prayer hall in 1143.

Somewhat distinct from sato-kagura are dengaku and matsuri-bayashi. Dengaku (‘field music’), refers to ritual performances, originally by peasants, to promote a good harvest. By the Heian period, it was being done at shrines and monasteries by professionals with shaven heads and religious garb, but by the end of the period in Kyoto it had turned into a large street parade with flutes and percussion, contributing to the development of nō drama. Many local varieties of dengaku have been preserved. Matsuri-bayashi, the music for local shrine festivals (matsuri), seems to have developed into something like its present form from the 16th century onwards. Generally there is a colourful street procession with heavy floats, wheeled (dashi) or shoulder-borne (mikoshi); the music uses transverse flutes, drums and gongs. The most famous kinds are for the Gion (Kyoto), Tenjin (Osaka) and Kanda (Edo/Tokyo) festivals, that for the Gion being a source for many others. An overlapping term, furyū, is often applied to several kinds of Shintō festival.

Japan, §IV: Religious music

3. Buddhist.

The traditional music of Japanese Buddhism comprises primarily chant (and its instrumental accompaniment) for the various liturgies (hōe; alternatively, hōyō). However, one should also include music for dances or dance-dramas on Buddhist themes; songs or ballads with Buddhist content; solo music for end-blown flute; and works on Buddhist themes by modern composers. Japanese Buddhist chant has distinctive tonal structures that were greatly influenced by court music (gagaku) but in turn influenced later secular music, especially for the theatre. It also has distinctive and ancient notation systems (see §III above). An immense wealth of source material has come to light in monastery and other archives; scholarly assimilation of this continues, especially in Japan. A need remains for more detailed historical and analytical comparison with the music of other Buddhist traditions and of other major religions.

(i) Chant.

Following the introduction of Buddhism to Japan, the first detailed reference to its music is an edict of 720 ce, which sought to regulate text chanting according to that of the Tang monk Daorong. In China, new forms of Buddhist chant had developed, as Buddhist texts in Sanskrit were translated into Chinese; further modifications arose with their rendition in Japanese pronunciation. The Japanese term shōmyō renders Chinese shengming, which translates Sanskrit śabda-vidyā, referring to Brahmin priests' study of vocal sound with regard to the chanting of Vedic texts. By the early 13th century, however, shōmyō had become the customary general term in Japan for Buddhist chant (replacing the older term bonbai). Another name, frequently seen in the titles of shōmyō collections, is gyosan.

In 752, at the Eye-Opening Ceremony for the Great Buddha at the Kegon monastery of Tōdaiji in Nara, some 10,000 monks from the various Nara schools participated; but after the removal of the capital to Heian (Kyoto) in 794, the old Nara chant was gradually superseded by those of the Tendai and Shingon schools. In particular, the third head of Tendai, Ennin (794–864), brought back from China much knowledge of Chinese practice, especially in Tantric ritual, and introduced these at the Tendai headquarters on Hieizan. After him Enchin (814–91), nephew of Kūkai (774–835), the founder of Shingon, introduced new teachings and a new style of shōmyō, the Jimon-ryū, at the nearby Tendai monastery of Onjōji. Meanwhile Tōji, the main Shingon monastery in Kyoto, was already a separate ritual centre, and influence on Shingon shōmyō practice and theory was exerted by Kanchō (938–98), grandson of Emperor Uda. Interchange with the Nara schools cannot be documented after 980, and after that Tendai and Shingon increasingly followed their own paths. After the rebuilding of Tōdaiji (destroyed in the civil wars of the 12th century) Shingon and Tendai shōmyō were the basis for new Nara styles. These are preserved most distinctively in the lengthy Shuni-e or o-mizutori ceremony at Tōdaiji, with its vigorous chanting to sweep away defilements of the old year and usher in peace for the new one.

The 13th and 14th centuries saw many changes to shōmyō, as the centre of government moved to Kamakura in eastern Japan. The new Nara styles found favour there, and at Shōmyōji in Kanazawa, Kenna (1261–1338) won support for a combination of Shin-ryū and Myōnon'in-ryū, the two leading schools of Shingon and Tendai respectively. Meanwhile, Zen Buddhism was being introduced at Kamakura, and Pure Land schools such as Jōdo-shū and Jōdo shinshū, as well as Nichiren-shū, were developing individual styles. There was also renewed influence from court song and from various kinds of popular music. These cross-currents both affected the chant and led to new musical forms.

In western Japan, a major conclave at Ninnaji, Kyoto, in about 1145 is said to have recognized four distinct schools of Shingon shōmyō; earlier, Ryōnin (1073–1132) unified the various lineages of Tendai shōmyō from his ritual centre at Raigō-in, Ōhara, north of Kyoto, in 1109. Further reforms of Tendai shōmyō were due to Fujiwara no Moronaga (1138–92), the founder of Myōnon'in-ryū and an expert on gagaku; and to Tanchi (1163–?1237), who founded Shin-ryū (‘New School’) in opposition to the Koryū (‘Old School’) of Jōshin (fl late 12th–early 13th centuries). (The name Shin-ryū of Shingon is written with a different first character.) Tanchi introduced a precise musical theory based on that for gagaku, with rules for modulation, rhythm and pitch, as well as a new five-tone notation system (goin-bakase), which made it possible to perform shōmyō and gagaku together. This last inspired later goin-bakase systems in both Tendai and Shingon, though the simpler meyasu-bakase has continued in use. Tanchi's Shin-ryū completely superseded Koryū in the Ōhara tradition, and from the 14th century there were no major developments. However, the practice and transmission of Tendai shōmyō were gravely affected by recurrent armed confrontations between Onjōji and Enryakuji (the main monastery on Hieizan) and by the destruction of Enryakuji and other Tendai establishments in 1571 by the warlord Oda Nobunaga (1534–82).

Shingon was spared this extreme fate. The Ninnaji conclave, converted by Kakushō (1129–69), had recognized Honsōō-in-ryū, Shinsōō-in-ryū, Daigo-ryū and Shin-ryū, of which the two former, practised at Ninnaji, derived their lineage from Kanchō; Daigo-ryū, practised at Daigoji, derived from Kanchō's fellow-pupil Genkō (911–95), with contributions also from Ninkai (955–1046), while Shin-ryū was credited to Shūkan (Daishin Shōnin, 12th century) by his pupil Kanken (mid-12th century). Shūkan himself had studied both the Ninnaji and Daigoji lines, and his style was supposedly introduced to Kōyasan (the spiritual centre of Shingon) between 1232 and 1237 by Shōshin (dates unknown). Another theory links the transcription of Kōyasan shōmyō to Ryūnen (b 1258) and the Nara monastery Saidaiji (by then affiliated with Shingon). Whatever the truth of the matter, in the 16th century the Daigoji and Saidaiji lineages disappeared, and in succeeding centuries the Ninnaji tradition also died out, so that, despite losses in the 17th century, the Shin-ryū of Kōyasan, usually known as Nanzan Shin-ryū, came to be dominant. Such older Shingon types, especially Shin-ryū, came to be labelled Kogi Shingon-ryū, while newer types, especially Buzan-ha (at Hasedera, outside Osaka) and Chizan-ha (at Chishaku-in, Kyoto), are called Shingi Shingon-ryū.

The less rigid rituals of the Pure Land schools also changed in later centuries and adopted elements of Ōhara school chant, alongside more popular types of religious song, while in the 17th century Ōbaku Zen introduced its own distinctive style, accompanied by loud percussion (fig.25). Buddhism and its music suffered greatly after 1868, but a revival and reconstruction of Tendai chant was led by Yoshida Tsunezō (1872–1957) and Taki Dōnin (1890–1949). In Shingon the leaders were Yuga Kyōnyo (1847–1928) and Iwahara Taishin (1883–1965). Today, through public performances, recordings and studies the future of shōmyō seems assured.

Shōmyō pieces may be classified according to the doctrinal affiliation and rituals they represent; the nature (and language) of the text; modal and tonal structure; and rhythmic type. Thus, particular types of chant serve to expound the teaching (e.g. kōshiki), for praise and lamentation (sandan), intercession (kigan and ekō), confession (sange), offertory (kuyō), catechism (rongi) etc. There are also hymns, in Sanskrit (bonsan), Chinese (kansan) or Japanese (wasan). The invention of wasan is credited to Ennin, and of kōshiki to Genshin (Eshin Sōzu, 942–1017), who himself composed many wasan. Both types remained important across several schools of Japanese Buddhism. Older treatises on shōmyō devote much attention to temperament (onritsu) in relation to Chinese theory (especially the ritsu-ryo scale classification), one influential text being Shittanzō by the Tendai master Annen (841–84). Actual practice has tended to be less fixed, and more important in the tonal structures of shōmyō, and indeed of all traditional Japanese music, are the senritsukei, short melodic units that are strung together in chains and are identified with individual names. Rhythmically, most shōmyō pieces are in free time (jokyoku), but a few have fixed metre (teikyoku) or combine both (gukyoku).

(ii) Other Buddhist music.

Music for Buddhist dances and dance-dramas embraces an immense variety of forms, including the extinct gigaku (introduced from Korea in the early 7th century), certain court dances (bugaku) and nō plays, as well as festivals, processions and other entertainments (shōryō-e, ennen, gyōdō etc.). Many entail the use of masks. Among non-liturgical Buddhist ballads and songs, mōsō-biwa is a recitation by blind monks accompanying themselves on the short lute. Introduced to Japan in the 7th century, it developed above all within Tendai and inspired later biwa narrative ballad genres, notably heikyoku, but many details of its history remain unclear. Other types of Buddhist song include kinds of chant and dance incorporating the nembutsu, the Pure Land formula of invocation to Amida-butsu; go-eika, pilgrims' songs; sōga (or enkyoku), feast songs of the 14th–15th centuries, with metrical texts modelled on kōshiki; sekkyō (or uta-sekkyō), expositions of Buddhist teaching, sung by professional performers in a kabuki-influenced style and even setting, especially in the late 17th and earlier 18th centuries; and saimon (or uta-saimon), a somewhat similar form, at its height during the same period but inspired by Shingon and Shugendō and performed either as street music or as part of puppet plays. The solo repertory (honkyoku) for end-blown flute (shakuhachi), popular from the 17th century, is above all on Buddhist themes and was disseminated by mendicant friars of the Fuke-shū, a Zen-inspired sect (see §II, 5 above). Lastly, modern Japanese composers who have written on Buddhist themes include Mayuzumi Toshirō (1929–97) and Fukushima Kazuo (b 1930).

Japan, §IV: Religious music

4. 16th- and 17th-century Christian music.

Francis Xavier landed in Kagoshima, Kyūshū, in 1549, with gifts that included a musical instrument (a clavichord?), and established at Yamaguchi the first of a series of Christian churches in Japan. As the number of converts increased, provision was made to render the liturgy in Japanese and to train the Japanese in Western music, including both singing and instrumental playing; dramatized versions of Bible stories were also performed. By 1580 there were some 200 churches in western Japan, as well as two seminários and a colégio, founded by Alessandro Valignano (1539–1606). In 1579 Valignano brought a pair of organs from Goa, and these, as well as other keyboard and string instruments, were used in services and at the seminaries.

The highlight of the Jesuit mission was an embassy to Rome, planned by Valignano. Four samurai boys from Kyūshū, with escorts, left Nagasaki in February 1582, reached Lisbon in August 1584 and gradually made their way to Rome, attending masses and giving musical performances along the route. They were received by Felipe II of Spain, had an audience with Gregory XIII (Pope, 1572–85) and attended the installation of his successor, Sixtus V (Pope, 1585–90). They attracted attention everywhere, even having their portraits painted by Jacopo Tintoretto (1518–94). They finally returned to Japan in 1590, and the following year they were received by Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536–98), whom they impressed with their ability in Western music. Over the next 20 years Christian missions in Japan were at their height, one achievement being the publication in Nagasaki of Manuale ad sacramenta ecclesiae ministrandum (1605), printed in red and black with many pages of musical notation. However, both Hideyoshi and his successor Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542–1616) became suspicious, particularly after the arrival of Dominican (1592) and Franciscan (1593) missionaries from Manila. After a series of persecutions, a general order in 1614 banned all missionary activity, and new, more intense persecutions followed in the 1620s and 30s. A definitive order of 1639 brought to an end this first period of Christianity and its music in Japan, all remaining missionaries and their converts being evacuated to Macao, Manila or elsewhere.

Japan, §IV: Religious music

5. New religions.

Shin shūkyō (‘new religions’) is a term applied to a number of independent religions founded in Japan from the early 19th century, with sources in such traditions as mountain cults, popular moral cultivation movements and the activities of lay believers of Nichiren Buddhism. Several of these religions maintain their own distinctive musical traditions.

Kurozumikyō (founded 1814) has from 1879 used kibigaku, a new music created by gagaku musician Kishimoto Yoshihide (1821–90). Kibigaku features the instruments of the tōgaku genre of gagaku but without the four-string lute biwa. In kibigaku (unlike gagaku) the most important part is given to the thirteen-string koto.

In 1888 kibigaku was introduced into the religion Konkōkyō (founded 1859) by Kishimoto's pupil Obara Otondo (1873–1941). In 1914 Obara, who was also a student of gagaku, created a unique ritual music for Konkōkyō, to which he gave the name chūseigaku. Like kibigaku, chūseigaku gives the koto a more prominent part than does gagaku. Unlike kibigaku, however, chūseigaku uses the biwa in its instrumental pieces, while in the vocal compositions the instruments of court kagura are used.

Tenrikyō (founded 1838) features a cycle of songs, called the mikagur-auta, said to have been revealed to the female founder Nakayama Miki (1798–1887) beginning in 1867. The combination of instruments used in accompanying the songs is unique: thirteen-string koto, three-string shamisen lute, bowed kokyū lute (these three played by women), bamboo fue flute, hourglass-shaped kotsuzumi hand drum, surigane gong, chanpon cymbals, hyōshigi wooden clappers and large taiko drum (these played by men).

Ōmoto (founded 1892) has from 1909 used the two-string yakumo-goto zither to accompany its liturgies. This instrument, which enjoyed some popularity in western Japan in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, is now rare outside Ōmoto.

Japan, §IV: Religious music

BIBLIOGRAPHY

and other resources

shintō music

Y. Kodera: Geijutsu to shite no kagura no kenkyū [Studies of kagura as an art form] (Tokyo, 1929)

Y. Honda: Rikuzen-hama no hōin-kagura [Study of the hōin-kagura of Rikuzen-hama] (Ishinomaki, 1934)

M. Nishitsunoi: Kagura kenkyū [Studies of kagura] (Tokyo, 1934)

M. Nishitsunoi: Kagura-uta no kenkyū [Studies of kagura songs] (Tokyo, 1941)

Y. Honda: Yamabushi kagura, bangaku [Kagura of mountain ascetics, and guarding music] (Sendai, 1942/R)

K. Yanagida: Nihon no matsuri [Japanese festival] (Tokyo, 1953)

Y. Honda: Shimotsuki kagura no kenkyū [Studies of kagura for the 11th month] (Tokyo, 1954)

M. Nishitsunoi, ed.: Nenjū gyōji jiten [Dictionary of annual festivals] (Tokyo, 1958)

Y. Honda: ‘Kagura’, Nihon minzokugaku taikei, ed. O. Tokuzo, ix (Tokyo, 1960), 13–58

Y. Honda: Kagura: kenkyū to shiryō [Kagura: studies and materials] (Tokyo, 1966)

R. Garfias: ‘The Sacred Mi-Kagura of the Japanese Imperial Court’, Selected Reports in Ethnomusicology, i/2 (1968), 149–78

Geinōshi Kenkyūkai, ed.: Kagura: koten no kabu to matsuri [Kagura: ancient song, dance and festivals] (Tokyo, 1969)

E. King: ‘Kagura: the Search’, Dance Research Monograph 1 (1971–1972) (New York, 1973), 75–112

E. Harich-Schneider: ‘Dances and Songs of the Japanese Shinto Cult’, World of Music, xxv/1 (1983), 16–29

Y. Tanaka: Matsuri to geinō no kenkyū [Studies of festivals and performing arts] (Tokyo, 1986)

L. Fujie: Matsuri-bayashi of Tokyo: the Role of Supporting Organizations in Traditional Music (diss., Columbia U., 1986)

Y. Honda: Ise kagura-uta kō [Investigation on Ise kagura songs] (Tokyo, 1989)

Y. Honda: Kagura-uta hiroku [Secret record of kagura songs] (Tokyo, 1991)

K. Iwata, ed.: Kagura (Tokyo, 1991)

buddhist music

P. Demiéville, ed.: ‘Bombai’, Hōbōgirin: dictionnaire encyclopédique du bouddhisme (Tokyo, 1929), 93–113

K. Ōyama: Shōmyō no rekishi to onritsu [History and tonal system of shōmyō] (Tokyo, 1930, rev. and enlarged 1959/R1962 as Bukkyō ongaku to shōmyō)

T. Iwahara: Nanzan-shinryū shōmyō no kenkyū [Studies on shōmyō of the Nanzan school] (Kyoto, 1932/R)

R. Taya: Wasan-shi gaisetsu [Outline history of wasan] (Kyoto, 1933)

D. Taki and others, eds.: Tendai shōmyō taisei [Tendai shōmyō, complete] (Hieizan, 1934–55/R)

Y. Honda: Ennen [The longevity dance] (Tokyo, 1948/R)

S. Fujii: Bukkyō ongaku no kenkyū [Outline history of Buddhist music] (Kyoto, 1949)

Tōyō Ongaku Gakkai, ed.: ‘Bukkyō ongaku no kenkyū’ [Studies on Buddhist music], Tōyō ongaku Kenkyū, xii–xiii (1954) [whole issue]

C. Suzuki: Nanzan-shinryū shōmyō shū [A collection of shōmyō of the Nanzan school] (Kōyasan, 1957)

T. Iwahara, ed.: Chūin shido kegyō shidai [Procedures of the chūin initiation rites] (Kōyasan, 1961/R)

E. Harich-Schneider: ‘Le shōmyō bouddhique, exercise de méditation’, Oriens Extremus, ix (1962), 220–31

A. Takeishi, ed.: Bukkyō kayō no kenkyū [Studies of Buddhist song] (Tokyo, 1969)

Bukkyō Ongaku Kenkyūjo, ed.: Jōdo-shū ongaku hōyō [The musical liturgy of the Pure Land school], i (Kyoto, 1970)

Tōyō Ongaku Gakkai, ed.: Bukkyō ongaku [Buddhist music] (Tokyo, 1972)

A. Takeishi, ed.: Bukkyō kayō shūsei [Collection of Buddhist songs] (Tokyo, 1975)

W. Giesen: Zur Geschichte das buddhistischen Ritualgesangs in Japan: Traktate des 9. bis 14. Jahrhunderts zum shōmyō der Tendai-Sekte (Kassel, 1977)

C. Matsushita: Honganji-ha shōmyō kō [Investigation of shōmyō in the Honganji sub-school] (Kyoto, 1977)

K. Fukushima, ed.: (Ueno Gakuen Nihon Ongaku Shiryōshitsu dai yonkai tokubetsu tenkan) Shōmyō shiryō ten shutchin mokuroku [Research Archives for Japanese Music, Ueno Gakuen College, descriptive catalogue of the fourth exhibition ‘Materials on Buddhist chant’] (Tokyo, 1978)

T. Harima: Jōdo shinshū Honganji-ha, Shōmyō-fu narabi ni kaisetsu [New Pure Land school, Honganji sub-school, shōmyō scores and explanation] (Kyoto, 1979)

L. Berthier: Syncrétisme au Japon, Omizutori: le rituel de l'eau de Jouvence (Paris, 1981)

K. Fukushima, ed.: (Ueno Gakuen Nihon Ongaku Shiryōshitsu dai shichikai tokubetsu tenkan) Shōmyō shiryō ten: (shōmyō-shū tokushū) shutchin mokuroku [Research Archives for Japanese Music, Ueno Gakuen College, descriptive catalogue of the seventh exhibition ‘Materials on Buddhist chant’] (Tokyo, 1982)

J. Hill: ‘Ritual Music in Japanese Esoteric Buddhism: Shingon Shōmyō’, EthM, xxvi (1982), 27–39

K. Fukushima, ed.: (Ueno Gakuen Nihon Ongaku Shiryōshitsu dai kyūkai tokubetsu tenkan) Shōmyō shiryō ten: kōshiki [Research Archives for Japanese Music, Ueno Gakuen College, descriptive catalogue of the Ninth Exhibition ‘Materials on Buddhist chant: kōshiki’] (Tokyo, 1984)

M. Yokomichi and G. Kataoka, eds.: Shōmyō jiten [Dictionary of shōmyō] (Kyoto, 1984) [companion to Shōmyō taikei recordings, 1983–4]

E. Makino: (Tōdaiji shuni-e) shōmyō no senritsu ni kansuru kenkyū [Studies concerning the melody of shōmyō: the shuni-e ceremony of Tōdaiji] (Kyoto, 1986)

T. Kido, ed.: Shōmyō (Tokyo, 1991)

K. Ōmori: Nenbutsu geinō to goryō shinkō [Performing arts of nembutsu and the goryō spirit faith] (Tokyo, 1992)

D. Amano and others, eds.: Bukkyō ongaku jiten [Dictionary of Buddhist music] (Kyoto, 1994)

M. Satō, ed.: Chūsei jiin to hōe [Medieval monasteries and Buddhist liturgy] (Kyoto, 1994)

K. Arai: ‘The Historical Development of Music Notation for Shōmyō (Japanese Buddhist Chant): Centering on Hakase Graphs’, Nihon ongakushi kenkyū, i (1995), vii–xxxix [in Jap. and Eng.]

early christian music

S. Miura: Honpō yōgaku hensen shi [History of changes in Western music in Japan] (Tokyo, 1931)

A. Ebisawa: Kirishitan shi no kenkyū [Studies of the history of early Christianity in Japan] (Tokyo, 1942)

A. Ebisawa: Yōgaku engeki koto-hajime [Beginnings of Western music and drama in Japan] (Tokyo, 1947)

C.R. Boxer: The Christian Century in Japan, 1549–1650 (Berkeley, 1951)

A. Ebisawa: Yōgaku denrai shi [History of the transmission of Western music in Japan] (Tokyo, 1983)

D. Waterhouse: ‘Southern Barbarian Music in Japan’, Portugal and the World: the Encounter of Cultures in Music, ed. S. El-Shawan Castelo-Branco (Lisbon, 1997), 323–77

music of new religions

L.V. Shumway: Kibigaku: an Analysis of a Modern Japanese Ritual Music (diss., U. of Washington, 1974)

H.B. Earhart: The New Religions of Japan: a Bibliography of Western-Language Materials (Ann Arbor, 1983)

C.E. Rowe: The Role of Music in Ōmoto, a Japanese New Religion (diss., U. of London, 1997)

recordings

Shingon shōmyō, Polydor SMN 9002 (1964) [incl. notes by G. Kataoka]

Tendai shōmyō, Polydor SMN 9001 (1964) [incl. notes by G. Kataoka]

Kagura, Polydor SMN 9003 (1966) [incl. notes by S. Shiba]

Tōdaiji shuni-e Kannon keka o-mizutori [Sanctification by taking of holy water before Kannon Bosatsu: the shuni-e ceremony of Tōdaiji], Victor SJ 3031–32 (1971) [incl. notes by M. Yokomichi and M. Satō]

Kamigami no ongaku [Music of Shintō], Toshiba-EMI TW 80004-7 (1976) [incl. notes by E. Kikkawa on the ritual music of sectarian Shintō, pp.18–28]

Shōmyō taikei [Compendium of shōmyō], Nippon Columbia (1983–4) [incl. notes by M. Yokomichi and others]

Takei nihon no dentōongaku, Victor KCDK 1102 (1990)

Mikagur-ata, Tenrikyō Dōyūsha TDR 155101–2 (1992)

Ōmoto saiten yō yakumo-goto [Yakumo-goto music for Ōmoto ceremonies], Tenseisha (1996)

Japan

V. Court music

Gagaku, the ancient traditional music of the Japanese court, today comprises the following repertories: tōgaku, komagaku, saibara, rōei and Shintō ritual music and dance. The two Chinese characters used to write gagaku (literally ‘elegant music’) were originally used in China to signify Confucian ritual music.

1. History.

2. Repertory.

3. Instruments.

4. Performing practice and historical change.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Japan, §V: Court music

1. History.

In Japanese usage, the term gagaku may be traced back to the establishment in 701 ce of a government bureau, the Gagaku-ryō (also known as Utamai-no-tsukasa or Uta-ryō) to regulate the performance and teaching of music and dance at the Japanese court. Although the Chinese term yayue (of which gagaku is the Japanese reading) referred originally to the music of the Confucian ritual (see China, §§I, 3(i) and II, 2), by the time the Japanese came in contact with it, the term had changed its meaning. A ‘new yayue’, comprising popular Chinese music and foreign entertainment music (including music from India, from the Central Asian states of Kuqa, Samarkand, Kashgar, Bukhara and Turfan, and from Korea), held sway at the Chinese court. The Japanese use of the term gagaku to describe this body of music was thus very much in keeping with contemporary Chinese usage.

The principal repertories regulated by the Gagaku-ryō were wagaku (Japanese music), sankangaku (music and dance of the three Korean kingdoms of Koguryŏ, Paekche and Silla), tōgaku (music and dance from Tang China) and a number of smaller repertories of imported music and dance such as toragaku, gigaku, and rin’yūgaku. Of these, the sankangaku and gigaku repertories were the oldest, dating from the Asuka period (552–645) or earlier. Although introduced via the Korean peninsula, it is likely that these genres strongly reflected Chinese practice predating the period of direct contact with China during the Nara (710–84) and early Heian (794–898) periods. By the mid-8th century, the tōgaku repertory was the dominant division, as it is within present-day gagaku.

Sources for the study of the early history of gagaku are particularly rich. A body of musical scores in tablature dating from the 8th century onwards sheds light both on the history of the gagaku tradition in Japan and on the music of China during the Tang period (618–907). While only one surviving Chinese score, the 10th-century lute-score Dunhuang pipa pu, records any of this repertory in notation, in Japan numerous musical scores that record the Chinese and other repertories played at the Japanese court survive from as early as the mid-8th century. These include the Tempyō biwa-fu (747) for four-string lute; the Biwa shochōshi-bon, an early 10th-century score containing notation originally written by the Chinese lute master Lian Chengwu for his Japanese pupil Fujiwara no Sadatoshi in Suzhou in 834; the Gogen biwa-fu, notations for five-string lute of approximately 11th-century date based on materials of the 8th to the 9th century; and the Hakūga no fue-fu, notations for flute edited in 966, parts of which date back to the early 9th century. The Shōsōin, a repository built in 756 to house items originally belonging to the Emperor Shōmu, includes instruments used in the elaborate ceremony performed for the consecration of the Great Buddha of Tōdaiji in 752.

It was during the 9th century that the distinction between tōgaku and komagaku current in present-day gagaku was created. Tōgaku, which was designated ‘Music of the Left’ (sahō), included the ancient repertories of tōgaku (Chinese music) and rin’yūgaku (music from South-east Asia). Komagaku, the ‘Music of the Right’ (uhō), included sankangaku (Korean music) and bokkaigaku (music and dance from Bohai, a country in the area of Manchuria). Many anomalies remained, however: some tōgaku items were included in the komagaku repertory, and both repertories included pieces that appear to have been composed by Japanese musicians and dancers in the early centuries of the tradition on Japanese soil.

By the late 9th century, Japanese contact with China had virtually ceased. Although some modification of the music occurred, including a reduction in the number of instruments and modes, evidence from early scores suggests that even until the mid-10th century the shape of the melodies imported from China remained relatively unchanged. Tang-period Chinese musical practice appears, moreover, to have been sustained, albeit with further modification, until at least the end of the 12th century.

During the Heian period (794–1185), gagaku flourished under court patronage as part of a rich calendar of ceremonies and festivals. Performances were by both high-ranking noblemen and the professional musicians who staffed the Gakusho (Gakuso), the new government department established in the early to mid-10th century to regulate the performance of music and dance at court. The Heian period also saw the creation of a number of new genres, including two that survive to the present: saibara (originally Japanese folk-texts set to the melodies of tōgaku and komagaku) and rōei (a tradition of singing Chinese poetry).

Following the transfer of political power from the court to the shogunate at the beginning of the Kamakura period (1192–1333), gagaku continued to flourish, though the loss of imperial power led to a corresponding reduction in the scale of the ceremonies sponsored by the court. There is evidence that by the early 14th century tōgaku was beginning to evolve in the direction of present-day practice, as the melodies for the two key melodic instruments, the ryūteki and hichiriki, began to be transformed into the new formula-based melodies that dominate modern performances, and the original melodies began to fade into the overall texture (see below).

From the mid-15th century, a series of wars led to the virtual destruction of the culture of the imperial court. The song genres saibara and rōei were lost, and the tōgaku and komagaku traditions were severely damaged. With the return of peace at the beginning of the 17th century, movements were made to re-establish gagaku at the court. Reconstruction of the saibara tradition began in 1626 and continued through the 18th and 19th centuries. The early years of the 19th century saw the resurrection of many of the long-extinct genres of vocal ceremonial music associated with imperial ritual, including azuma asobi (1813), kume-uta (1818) and yamato-uta (1848). Refurbishment of the rōei repertory occurred in the latter decades of the 19th century.

With the Meiji Restoration in 1868, the emperor was restored as head of state and the capital moved to Tokyo. In 1870, musicians from Kyoto, Nara and Osaka were brought there and ordered to reconcile differences in order to standardize the gagaku tradition. The versions of pieces chosen from the repertories of each group of musicians at that time, together with any reconstructed pieces, were recorded in the standardized part-scores completed in 1876 and 1888. Today, these form the basis of the current gagaku repertories. During the period of standardization, an ideology that claimed that the gagaku tradition remained unchanged since ancient times was invented and promulgated. Even after the discrediting of this nationalist propaganda after World War II, the image of gagaku as a static, unchanging symbol of the imperial house remains strong.

At present, the staff of the music department of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo includes about 20 male musicians, whose duties comprise both ceremonial and non-ceremonial performances (fig.26). Ceremonial performances accompany various Shintō festivals at court, the most important of which feature only the ritual repertories, such as kagura, azuma asobi, yamato-uta and kume-uta. Many lesser ceremonies, such as the regular public dance performances at the Meiji shrine, also use compositions from the tōgaku and komagaku repertories. Exceptional events in the imperial family such as births, weddings or deaths also require special gagaku performances, as do some state occasions. Non-ceremonial performances include those for public radio and television, and the spring and autumn concerts given annually at the Music Building in the Imperial Palace.

There are also several professional, semi-professional or amateur groups, including those attached to the imperial shrine at Ise and the Shitennōji temple in Osaka. The Tōkyō Gakuso, a professional ensemble the core of which is made up of members or former members of the imperial household, has in recent years done much to increase the profile of gagaku through public concerts both in Japan and overseas and through commercial recordings.

For most Japanese, however, gagaku remains a remote and arcane music. In the post-war period, it did not receive the same resurgence of interest as other traditional forms of Japanese music, dance and theatre, and without the support of the state might well have declined to the point of virtual extinction. Because of the appeal of its dissonant texture to modernist sensibilities, during the second half of the 20th century it became a source of inspiration for Western composers such as Stockhausen and Xenakis, as well as for a number of Japanese composers.

Japan, §V: Court music

2. Repertory.

The tōgaku repertory is classified into kangen (concert music) or bugaku (music for dance). Bugaku comprises not only pieces from the tōgaku repertory but also those of komagaku: danced tōgaku pieces continue to be classified as ‘Dances of the Left’ (sahō, samai), danced komagaku pieces as ‘Dances of the Right’ (uhō, umai). The current repertory of tōgaku comprises some 80 kangen pieces (including transposed pieces that occur in more than one mode) and some 30 bugaku items. While some tōgaku pieces are performed in both kangen and bugaku versions, others belong exclusively to one or other division.

The kangen ensemble comprises: wind instruments, ryūteki, hichiriki and shō; string instruments, biwa and gakusō; and percussion instruments, kakko, shōko and taiko (see §3 below for details of instruments). String instruments are nowadays omitted in the performance of bugaku.

Tōgaku pieces are performed in six melodic modes: ichikotsuchō, hyōjō, sōjō, ōshikichō, banshikichō and taishikichō, which are grouped into two modal-types, ryo and ritsu (see under Mode, §V, 5).

Pieces are classified according to size as taikyoku (large pieces), chūkyokū (middle-sized pieces) or shōkyoku (small pieces). Taikyoku, which are suites in several movements, are no longer included in the kangen style and are now rarely performed in their entirety as bugaku.

Tōgaku is also divided into kogaku (old music) and shingaku (new music), an ancient distinction based on the date at which pieces entered the Tang Chinese repertory. The ikko, a drum formerly used for kogaku, has fallen out of use; there is now little to distinguish these categories in modern performance practice.

All komagaku items in the current repertory of 28 pieces accompany dance. The ensemble comprises only winds (komabue, hichiriki) and percussion (san-no-tsuzumi, shōko and taiko). In the past, string instruments were included in the ensemble, and concert performances (kangen) of komagaku were given. Komagaku pieces are performed in three modes: koma-ichikotsuchō, koma-hyōjō, and koma-sōjō.

The vocal repertories of gagaku comprise saibara, rōei and Shintō ritual music. The current saibara repertory is made up of six pieces that are performed by a chorus accompanied by an ensemble made up of ryūteki, hichiriki, shō, biwa, gakusō and shakubyōshi. Saibara pieces may be in either ryo (4 pieces) or ritsu (2 pieces) modes. The rōei repertory comprises 14 items. As in saibara, there is a solo vocal incipit accompanied only by shakūbyōshi, at the end of which the chorus enters, closely doubled by ryūteki, hichiriki and shō. The vocal melodies are said to resemble those of Buddhist chant, shōmyō. The music for Shintō ceremonies performed at court includes the following repertories: kagura, azuma asobi, yamato-uta and kume-uta. Each comprises songs performed by a chorus accompanied by an instrumental ensemble, instrumental interludes and dances. For kagura, yamato-uta and kume-uta, the instrumental ensemble is made up of kagurabue, hichiriki, wagon and shakūbyōshi. In azuma asobi, the kagurabue is replaced by a komabue.

Japan, §V: Court music

3. Instruments.

Three flutes, all of similar construction, are used in the performance of gagaku (fig.27). The ryūteki, a transverse bamboo flute about 40 cm in length, with seven finger-holes, is used in tōgaku (both kangen and bugaku), saibara and rōei. In tōgaku, the ryūteki, together with the hichiriki, dominates the ensemble. Its melodies are characterized by intricate melodic formulae and frequent octave leaps, the performance of which is facilitated by the instrument’s large bore and finger-holes. In both saibara and rōei, the flute closely follows the vocal melody, but in the former, the line is embellished with formulae gleaned from tōgaku practice. The komabue is a transverse bamboo flute with six finger-holes used in komagaku and azuma asobi. Shorter (about 36 cm) and narrower in bore than the ryūteki, it sounds a tone higher in pitch. Like the ryūteki, the komabue performs a highly formulaic melody, in heterophony with the hichiriki. The kagurabue is a transverse bamboo flute with six finger-holes used in the ritual repertories kagura, yamato-uta and kume-uta. It is longer (45 cm) and slimmer than the ryūteki.

The Hichiriki, a small, almost cylindrical, double-reed pipe with nine finger-holes, seven in the front and two at the back, is used in all gagaku repertories. Together with the flute, it is the principal melodic instrument. The relative largeness of the reed in comparison with the air column permits the player to bend pitches in order to meet the melodic and modal requirements of the melodies characteristic of each genre.

The Shō, a small free-reed mouth-organ with 17 bamboo pipes (two of which are mute) set into a wind chamber, is used in tōgaku, saibara and rōei. When the player closes the holes on any of the 15 sounding pipes and blows and sucks air into the chamber, free reeds near the base of the pipe are sounded. In performing tōgaku, the shō produces five or six-note harmonic clusters (aitake) based on the circle of 5ths. Only one pitch is notated, in general the lowest note of each cluster. While in modern practice the shō is regarded as a harmonic rather than a melodic instrument and provides a richly dissonant texture against which the ryūteki and hichiriki perform their melodies, it is this instrument, together with the biwa, that in its notated pitches most accurately preserves the original melodies imported from Tang China. In saibara and rōei, the shō does not use aitake but rather follows the sung melody, doubling it in octaves or occasionally 5ths.

The three string instruments used in gagaku are the biwa, gakusō and wagon. The Biwa is a four-string lute played with a large plectrum (see also §II, 3 above). Like the shō, its part in tōgaku is based on the original Tang melodies. This ancient melody is carried as the highest note of an arpeggio created by the player sweeping the plectrum across the strings of the instrument from lowest to highest, sounding all open strings below that on which the notated pitch occurs. The effect of these strong arpeggios is, in modern practice, more rhythmic than melodic.

The gakusō (also known as sō, sō-no-koto, or simply Koto) is a long zither with 13 silk strings of equal thickness and 13 movable bridges (see also §II, 4 above). Owing to a deterioration of the tradition, the gakusō plays only in pentatonic modes executed on open-string tunings. For the most part the gakusō plays one of two formulaic patterns, shizugaki or hayagaki, alternating with single notes. The player wears plectra on the fingers of the right hand. In the Heian period, left-hand pressure was applied to the left of the bridges to alter the pitch of strings and produce ornaments, but this practice has long fallen into disuse.

The Wagon is a six-string zither, believed to be indigenous to Japan, used in the music of the various Shintō rituals (see §IV, 2 above). The player holds a plectrum in the right hand and plays rapid arpeggios across the strings. With the left hand, single strings are plucked individually or in formulaic patterns.

In both tōgaku and komagaku, three percussion instruments articulate the many rhythmic patterns that form the basis of a variety of rhythmic modes. The trio of kakko, shōko and taiko used in tōgaku is modified in komagaku by the replacement of the kakko with the san-no-tsuzumi. The kakko is a small barrel-drum placed on a stand; its two heads of deer skin are secured to either end of the body by laces. Small drumsticks held in both of the player’s hands are used to produce three different kinds of stroke; a single stroke with the right stick (sei), a slow accelerating roll played with the left stick alone (katarai) and a slow roll executed by the alternation of both sticks (mororai). The shōko is a small gong, set in a laquered stand. Two long sticks are used to produce three kinds of stroke. The taiko (see Kumi-daiko) is a large suspended drum that comes in three varieties, dadaiko, ninaidaiko and tsuridaiko. Two heads of ox hide are tacked onto a frame. Padded sticks are used to produce two strokes, a weaker ‘female’ stroke performed with the left hand (mebachi) and a stronger ‘male’ stroke produced by the right (obachi). The san-no-tsuzumi is an hourglass-shaped drum played with a single stick. The only other percussion instrument used in gagaku is the shakubyōshi, a pair of wooden clappers played by the lead singer in the performance of saibara and the music for Shintō rituals.

Japan, §V: Court music

4. Performing practice and historical change.

Viewed from the perspective of historical development, the key to understanding the structure of tōgaku today is the part played by shō and biwa, the two instruments that most accurately preserve the melodies originally imported from Tang China. Performed extremely slowly, and obscured by unwritten accretions, these ancient melodies have come to assume a structural rather than a melodic role; this role has been likened to that of the cantus firmus of 15th century European plainchant masses. They are not, as has sometimes been stated, an ‘abstraction’ of the melodies carried by ryūteki and hichiriki, but the historical bedrock out of which these newer melodies evolved.

The melodies carried by the ryūteki and hichiriki dominate modern tōgaku. It is not surprising, therefore, that they are often taken as the key to understanding its structure. These melodies are not, however, part of the legacy from China, having come into being after the end of the Heian period at a period when the tōgaku tradition was already in decline. The first signs of this transformation can be seen as early as the 14th century. These new melodies bear no audible resemblance to the original Tang melodies and, unlike the parts carried by shō and biwa, depart in marked ways from the modal practice of Tang China.

Ex.13a shows the earliest surviving version of Seigaiha, a piece first mentioned by the Tang Chinese poet Li Bai (Li Po) and performed to this day in the tōgaku repertory. This form of the melody, preserved in the 10th-century source Hakuga no fue-fu, is probably little changed from that of Tang China. Ex.13b shows the form of the melody played by the biwa in the late 12th century and ex.13d the form played by the shō in the early 14th century. While both these later versions exhibit increased amounts of decoration, ornamental practice is circumscribed and supports Chinese modal practice.

In modern performing practice, these melodies are transformed into structural rather than melodic elements. Exx.13c and 13e show what has become of the melody in the modern practice of biwa and shō respectively. The first aspect that is transformed is tempo; present-day tempos of tōgaku items are about four times slower than they would have been in the 12th century (this is reflected in quadrupling of note values in exx.13c and 13e). As a result, all but the initial notes of the mordent and suspension figurations executed under a single stroke of the plectrum by the biwa (marked by a slur in ex.13c) are rendered inaudible in modern ensemble performances; the string has stopped vibrating before the later fingerings are executed. The second transformation involves the addition of unwritten accretions to the original melodic line: the shō (ex.13e) adds five notes above the original melody note (the original pitches are circled in ex.13e) to make six-note cluster chords (aitake); the biwa (ex.13c) adds a drone comprising the pitches of all open strings below that on which the melody is played. The change in tempo, together with the obscuring of the original melodic line through unwritten accretions, contribute to the loss of any aural perception of the original melody from China as it becomes buried within the texture of modern tōgaku.

Any doubts that the lines carried today in the shō and biwa parts were melodies in the 12th century and earlier (rather than structural elements as they are today) were laid to rest by the work of Markham on early saibara sources. Early sources frequently claimed that saibara melodies were the same as those of certain named tōgaku and komagaku pieces. Viewed from the perspective of modern performing practice, such claims make little sense, since the melodies of the present-day versions of the tōgaku/komagaku pieces are clearly different from their saibara pairs. Comparison of their forms in Heian period sources, however, clearly reveals their identity.

Just as the evolution of tōgaku can be traced from the Heian period to the present, so too can the development of saibara. The late Heian forms of saibara melodies underwent development through the incorporation into the vocal line of formulae, perhaps related to those of Buddhist chant, in much the same ways as the melodies of tōgaku underwent change by the incorporation of new melodic formulae. No analysis of the development of rōei or komagaku has been undertaken to date. Analysis of rōei is hampered by a current lack of research on early notations, and analysis of komagaku by the fact that the present-day performing practice of komagaku includes neither of the instruments shō or biwa that might (on the basis of what is known of tōgaku) be expected to preserve the original melodies. The absence of these ancient melodies, from which the formulaic melodies of komabue and hichiriki presumably evolved, effectively cuts modern komagaku off from its historical roots. Restoration of our understanding of the historical dimensions of komagaku can now only be made by reference to textual sources.

Japan, §V: Court music

BIBLIOGRAPHY

and other resources

MGG1 (H. Eckhardt)

E. Harich-Schneider: The Rhythmical Pattern of Gagaku and Bugaku (Leiden, 1954)

Y. Shinonaka, ed.: Ongaku jiten [Dictionary of music] (Tokyo, 1957)

S. Kishibe: Tōdai ongaku no rekishiteki kenkyū [Historical research into the music of the Tang dynasty] (Tokyo, 1960–61)

M. Gimm: Das Yüeh-fu tsa-lu des Tuan An-chieh: Studien zur Geschichte von Musik, Schauspiel und Tanz in der T'ang-Dynastie (Wiesbaden, 1966)

K. Hayashi and others: Shōsōin no gakki [The instruments of the Shōsōin] (Tokyo, 1967)

L. Picken: ‘Central Asian Tunes in the Gagaku Tradition’, Festschrift für Walter Wiora, ed. L. Finscher and C.-H. Mahling (Kassel, 1967), 545–51

R. Garfias: ‘The Sacred Mi-Kagura of the Japanese Imperial Court’, Selected Reports in Ethnomusicology, i/2 (1968), 149–78

S. Shiba: Gosenfuni yoru gagaku sōfu [Collected scores of gagaku in staff notation] (Tokyo, 1968–72)

L. Picken: ‘Tang Music and Musical Instruments’, T'oung Pao, lv (1969), 74–121

M. Gamō: ‘Gakuri: senritsu, rizumu’ [Theory: melody and rhythm], Gagaku (Tokyo, 1970), 137–67

K. Hayashi: ‘Gagaku no dentō’ [The tradition of gagaku], Gagaku (Tokyo, 1970), 43–67

S. Kishibe: ‘Gagaku no genryū’ [The sources of gagaku], Gagaku (Tokyo, 1970), 7–26

R. Garfias: Music of a Thousand Autumns: the Tōgaku Style of Japanese Court Music (Berkeley, 1975)

R. Wolpert and others: ‘“The Wave of Kokonor”: a Dance Tune of the T'ang Dynasty’, AsM, v/1 (1975), 3–9

J. Condit: ‘Differing Transcriptions from the Twelfth-Century Japanese Koto Manuscript Jinchi yōroku’, EthM, xx (1976), 87–95

A. Marett: Hakuga's Flute Score (diss., U. of Cambridge, 1976)

L. Picken and others: Music from the Tang Court, i–v (London, 1981; Cambridge, 1985–90)

R. Wolpert: ‘A Ninth-Century Score for Five-Stringed Lute’, Musica asiatica, iii, ed. L. Picken (1981), 107–35

E. Markham: Saibara: Japanese Court Songs of the Heian Period (Cambridge, 1983)

A. Marett: ‘Tōgaku: Where Have the Tang Melodies Gone to, and Where Have the New Melodies Come from?’, EthM, xxix (1985), 409–31

A. Marett: ‘In Search of the Lost Melodies of Tang China: an Account of Recent Research and its Implications for the History and Analysis of Tōgaku’, Musicology Australia, ix (1986), 29–38

S. Nelson: ‘Gogen-fu shinkō: omo ni gogenbiwa no jūsei oyobi chōgen ni tsuite’ [The Gogen-fu, a Japanese Heian-period tablature score for five-string lute: concentrating on the fret system and tunings of the instrument], Tōyō ongaku kenkyū, l i (1986), 13–76 [Eng. summary 4–9]

R. Ono, ed.: Gagaku jiten [Gagaku dictionary] (Tokyo, 1989)

S. Nelson: ‘Gagaku: its past and present’, Gagaku no dezain [The designs of gagaku], ed. T. Ōno (Tokyo, 1990), 273 ff

Chen Yingshi: ‘A Report on Chinese Research into the Dunhuang Music Manuscript’, Musica asiatica, vi, ed. A. Marett (1991), 61–72

N. Terauchi: Gagaku no rizumu kōzō [The rhythmic structure of gagaku] (Tokyo, 1996)

recordings

Gagaku, Nihon no kodai kayōo tazunete, Minoruphone records HC 7001–3 (1974)

Gagaku, King Record Co., KICH 2001 (1990)

Gagaku I (Gagaku no sekai I), Nippon Columbia COCF 6194–5 (1990)

Gagaku II (Gagaku no sekai II), Nippon Columbia COCF 6196–7 (1990)

Taikei nihon no dentō ongaku, Victor KCDK 1101 (1990)

Bugaku (Bugaku no sekai), Nippon Columbia COCF 10888–9 (1993)

Japan

VI. Theatre music

Japan, §VI: Theatre music

1. Nō.

This performance form combines elements of dance, drama, music and poetry into a highly structured stage art. Mainly based in the cities of Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto and Nagoya, it is performed throughout the country by professional artists (almost entirely men), many of whom are carriers of the tradition as passed down through family lines for numerous generations. There is also a wide following of both male and female amateur performers throughout the country who practise and perform one or several aspects of the form. An art that developed in Japan's medieval period, it has in turn been a major influence on later performance arts, most notably kabuki theatre and the music of the koto.

(i) History.

Nō developed into its present form during the 14th and 15th centuries under the leadership of the distinguished performer-playwrights Kan'ami (1333–84) and his son Zeami (?1363–?1443). Zeami in particular wrote many plays that are still performed in today's classical repertory of some 250 pieces.

Known formerly as sarugaku, nō began to flourish in the late 14th century when the military shogun Ashikaga Yoshimitsu became the major patron of Zeami and his troupe. Subsequent shoguns also patronized different performers and troupes. In the Edo period (1603–1868), nō became the official performance art (shikigaku) of the military government. Feudal military lords throughout the country supported their own troupes, and many studied and performed the art themselves.

With the societal reforms of the Meiji period (1868–1912), nō lost its governmental patronage and was left to fend for itself. However, enough performers regrouped, found private sponsors and began teaching amateurs, that it flourished again. During and immediately after World War II, nō once more faced a crisis period in which its continuation was in doubt. Again, however, enough private patrons and amateur students supported professional performers, and the art has since continued to flourish.

There are approximately 1500 professional performers who currently make their living through performing and teaching nō. Tokyo boasts six major nō theatres, including the National Nō Theatre, which opened in 1983. Most major cities have nō theatres or, at least, theatres that can be easily rearranged to accommodate performances. The continuing popularity of summer outdoor torchlight nō performances, often with audiences of several thousand people, further attests to the wide respect in which nō is held.

(ii) Performing practice.

The nō stage is square with a ramp leading to it from backstage, over which the characters make their entrances and exits. There is only one curtain, which hangs at the end of the ramp. Stages were formerly outside and covered with a long sloping roof; in the late 19th century, however, most nō stages were moved inside a dedicated theatre building (nōgakudō), still maintaining the roof above the stage under the roof of the theatre itself and with the stage remaining open on two sides (figs.28 and 29).

The main character of a nō play is called the shite (pronounced ‘sh'tay’), who sometimes appears with companion characters called tsure. The secondary actor (waki) is often a travelling priest whose questioning of the main character is important in developing the story line (fig.29). He also appears with a companion (waki-tsure). An interlude actor called ai or ai-kyōgen also often appears as a local person who gives further background to the waki (and thus to the audience) in order to understand the situation of the shite. In addition, a chorus (jiutai), usually of eight people, kneels at the side of the stage and narrates the background and the story itself, sometimes describing a character's thoughts or emotions or even singing lines for a character. Four instrumentalists (known collectively as hayashi) sit at the back of the stage, playing a transverse flute (nōkan), an hourglass-shaped drum held at the shoulder (kotsuzumi; fig.30), a slightly larger hourglass-shaped drum placed on the lap (ōtsuzumi), and a barrel-shaped drum placed on a small floor stand and played with two sticks (taiko; fig.31).

There are five categories of play: god plays, warrior plays, plays featuring young beautiful women, miscellaneous plays, notably featuring contemporary characters, including mad-women, and plays featuring supernatural beings, animals or other typical ending plays. During the Edo period, a full day's programme consisted of the initial ritual piece, okina, followed by one play from each category, in the above order. One comic kyōgen play would be presented between each nō. Though currently quite rare, such a programme would take 10 to 12 hours to complete. More common are weekend afternoon programmes consisting of two or three nō plays interspersed with one or two kyōgen plays, or evening weekday programmes consisting of one or two nō plays preceded or interspersed with one kyōgen play.

Plays are either of one act (ba) or two, depending on the number of times the shite makes an appearance. These acts are in turn divided into scenes (dan). In the most formal structure, an act is divided into five scenes: waki entrance, shite entrance, waki-shite exchange, action of the shite and the departure of the shite; however, this exact structure of scenes is rare. Scenes in turn are broken into the most important building blocks, known as shōdan. Each shōdan has a name designating poetic, musical and sometimes kinetic forms. For example, ageuta generally features six to ten poetic lines of 7+5 syllables each, and has a standard, matching musical rhythm (hiranori) sung mainly in the high register. Kuse, on the other hand, usually features poetic lines that are occasionally of 7+5 syllables but will often break from that structure and become more complicated (see §(v) below). Kinetically, many kuse follow typical floor patterns that create triangles, zigzags and circles, all with numerous variations particular to the play.

(iii) Chant.

Nō chant (utai) can be divided into three types: melodic (yowagin or wagin), dynamic (tsuyogin or gōgin) and stylized speech (kotoba). Melodic chant is the style closest to the concept of song. It is based on three pitch areas (high, medium and low) in which the central pitches of each are, in principle, a 4th apart. Also featured is an embellishment pattern with a pitch approximately a minor 3rd above the high pitch. The melodies created follow typical structures within a segment. Melodic movement between the medium and low pitches is direct, although moving from the medium to the high generally requires passing through an auxiliary pitch between the two, while moving from the high back to the low involves rising to an auxiliary pitch above the high pitch.

Dynamic chant is a forceful style that involves different breath control to melodic singing and results in strong vocal oscillations along with indefinite pitches, which roughly follow a set manner of rise and fall. In general, a sense of tonality is difficult to perceive in dynamic singing, though in some schools of chant it can be described as two central pitches a minor 3rd apart, with several auxiliary pitches above and below. Dynamic chant tends to be used by forceful characters or in dramatically dynamic or intense situations.

Stylized speech follows a typical model that spans an entire phrase of text. The underlying model begins low, gradually rises in pitch over several syllables, then drops again while approaching the end of the phrase. This rise and fall follows free microtonal increments; it is more marked for strong characters or characters expressing heightened emotion, and gentler for female or old male characters.

(iv) Instruments.

The two hourglass hand drums (tsuzumi), the larger ōtsuzumi (also ōkawa) and the smaller kotsuzumi are the most prominent instrumental accompaniment. The bodies are made of wood, usually cherry, which is carefully lacquered. Each has two horsehide heads that are stretched over hoops and then lashed to each other. Before each performance the ōtsuzumi drumheads must be heated and dried before being lashed tightly against the drum body, thus creating its characteristic high, hard crack when struck. The ōtsuzumi player often has a newly-heated drum brought to him midway through a play in order to maintain the sound. The kotsuzumi drumheads, on the other hand, are more loosely lashed against the drum body and require moisture to create their fuller, reverberating sound; this is maintained by sticking pieces of traditional paper on the back drumhead, which the player dabs with saliva and blows on throughout the performance.

When played, the ōtsuzumi is held on the left lap and struck horizontally with the right hand, while the kotsuzumi is held at the right shoulder and struck from below with the right hand. Their drumstrokes are combined with drum-calls (kakegoe) to form a variety of patterns that may accompany the chanted text or instrumental sections featuring a flute melody. The drum-calls serve as signals between the drummers and the singers (or the flute) to keep everyone together; they can also signal changes in tempo or dynamic. With a few rare exceptions, the hand drums perform together in all metred rhythmic ones and many unmetred segments (see §(v), below). The ōtsuzumi tends to be the leader of the two, since its drum-calls and its strokes are more forceful.

The nōkan (or fue) flute is the sole melodic instrument. Made of bamboo, it has a narrow pipe (nodo, literally ‘throat’) inserted between the blowhole and the first finger-hole. This upsets the normal acoustic properties of the flute pipe and is responsible for its ‘other-worldly’ sound quality. It is used in both metred and non-metred rhythmic styles in instrumental entrance music and instrumental dance segments. It is also played in free rhythm (ashirai) along with the chanted text to heighten or expand emotion. When played in unmetred segments, the flute plays set patterns improvisatorially. The melody of the flute has no specific pitch relationship with the melody of the singing, although there are some similarities in the general melodic contours of the two.

The taiko barrel drum (see Kumi-daiko) is the final and fourth instrument of the nō ensemble, struck from above with two thick cylindrical sticks. It is used in just over half of the plays in the traditional repertory, and then mainly in the latter half of the performance. Plays that use taiko tend to feature non-human characters such as gods, heavenly beings, demons and beasts. As with the two hand drums, the taiko player employs drum-calls which intermesh with the drum-calls of the hand drums. These also serve as signals among the drummers and to the singers or dancers.

(v) Rhythms.

Nō clearly distinguishes between metred rhythmic chant or flute melody (hyōshi-au), and non-metred or ‘free’ rhythmic chant or flute melody (hyōshi-awazu). These rhythms are ‘matched’ in the sense that the rhythm of the chant or flute matches that of the drums, or ‘non-matched’, where there is no exact correspondence between them, whether or not the rhythm of the chant or flute is tied loosely to the drums.

There are three kinds of ‘matched’ rhythmic chant, all of which are based on an eight-beat system (yatsu-byoshi). The first, ōnori (‘large rhythm’), is based on a system of one syllable of text per beat, where the beats are basically of equal time value (with a degree of acceleration or retardation as required by the drama). Variation of this eight syllables to eight beats is common and follows set rules. Ōnori is full and expansive and is often used at the end of a piece to establish a sense of closure. The use of taiko during this section is also quite common.

The second type of ‘matched’ rhythmic chant is chūnori (‘medium rhythm’), which is based on two text syllables per beat, though again variation exists. Another name for this kind of rhythm is shura-nori (‘warrior rhythm’), and it is most commonly used in passages describing battles. This kind of chanted rhythm is accompanied by the hand drums only.

The third and most unique type of ‘matched’ rhythm in nō is hiranori (‘standard rhythm’), also called konori (‘small rhythm’). It is the most frequently used ‘matched’ rhythm and also the most complex. The text in hiranori is based on poetic phrases of 7+5 syllables (shichi-go chō). These 12 syllables are distributed in a set manner over the eight beats of the musical phrase. This distribution takes two forms, depending on the patterns that the drums play. In the mitsuji (‘three ground’) form, the chanted syllables are sung without elongation as the hand drums play sparse patterns in tandem.

The second form of syllabic distribution in hiranori is the tsuzuke (‘continuous’) form, in which three of the chanted syllables are doubled in length and a rest added. The result is the equivalent of 16 syllables that are evenly divided over eight beats. The drums play interlocking patterns. The straight, even-pulsed quality of this rhythm makes it easier for the listener to count the eight beats. The use of one or the other of these two forms of hiranori depends on the patterns of the drums: if the drums play the sparse patterns of mitsuji, the chant will naturally be in mitsuji as well, and likewise for tsuzuke. Greater complexity occurs due to the many variations of the poetic metre: syllable lines of 7+4, 6+5, 4+6 etc. demand changes in the embellishment and/or elongation of syllables.

There are two types of ‘non-matched’ rhythms, which are defined by the drumming style that accompanies the chant. In nori-byoshi (‘riding rhythm’), the drum rhythms have a clear and relatively even pulse. In sashi-nori (‘inserted rhythm’) the rhythmic pulse of the drums is purposely made uneven or blurred. In both cases, the drums maintain a clear correspondence among themselves.

(vi) Kyōgen.

This classical comedy theatre balances the more serious themes of nō. While nō is mainly music-based in nature, kyōgen is largely dialogue-based, though a number of songs and dances exist which tend to mimic the chant and dance style of nō. The two are traditionally performed alternately in the same programme, and they share a common heritage; in general, kyōgen is also inferred when speaking about the world of nō. In addition to their own kyōgen repertory of comic plays, kyōgen actors always appear in the interlude (ai) roles in nō plays, which are usually not comic in nature. Similarly, nō instrumentalists also sometimes appear in kyōgen plays, though their participation is not nearly as complex as it is for nō. The vocal and movement training methods of the two forms are very similar.

Japan, §VI: Theatre music

2. Bunraku.

A general term applied to all major forms of traditional Japanese puppet theatre, and the source of many of Japan’s most famous plays and most powerful narrative music.

(i) History.

The term bunraku is derived from the stage name (Uemura Bunrakuken or Bunrakken ) of Masai Kahei (1737–1810), who brought a puppet tradition from Awaji Island to Osaka. In 1811 his successor, Bunrakken II, set up a theatre at the Inari shrine in Osaka; in 1872 the same company built a theatre called the Bunraku in the city’s Dōtonbori entertainment district, where there had been other puppet theatres since 1684. In the 20th century bunraku became the general term for such theatres. Under other names, puppetry in Japan can be traced back to the 12th century, its earliest forms possibly reflecting Asian continental influences and shamanism as well as indigenous religious functions. The major musical genre relating to bunraku is jōruri, which originated in the narration of the 15th-century Jōruri jūnidan sōshi (‘Tale of Princess Jōoruri in 12 episodes’). As this story and other musical narrations developed, they came to be known generically as jōruri. When such stories were accompanied, the first instrument generally used was the pear-shaped lute, biwa (see §II, 3 above). In the 16th century this instrument was replaced by the three-string plucked lute, shamisen or samisen (see §II, 6 above). In the early 17th century narrator and shamisen accompaniments were combined with puppet plays, first in Kyoto and then in Edo (now Tokyo).

After the great fire of 1657 in Edo, the tradition moved to Osaka. There the most famous musical puppet drama tradition began in 1684 at the Takemoto theatre with Yotsugi Soga (‘The Soga heir’), a historical play (jidaimono) by Chikamatsu Monzaemon (1653–1725) set to music by Takemoto Gidayū. A rival theatre was opened by Toyotake Wakadayū in 1703, the year in which Chikamatsu and Takemoto presented their first sewamono (‘modern’ play), Sonezaki shinjū (‘The double suicide at Sonezaki’), which dealt with a young merchant and a courtesan instead of historical or magical figures. The music of Takemoto was called gidayū-bushi to differentiate it from the many other jōruri genres (see §II, 6(ii) above).

In puppet theatres of the early Edo period (1603–1868) the musicians were placed backstage or behind a bamboo curtain forward of stage-left. The puppets were operated by one man from below. In 1705 both the operator and the musicians were brought into view of the audience, and in 1734 the three-man puppets of today were brought into use, one man handling foot movements, another the left arm and the third controlling the head and right arm. Through the use of internal strings and manipulative skills, extremely subtle dramatic actions are possible with such puppets.

Subsequent decades reflect continual innovations by puppeteers, playwrights and musicians as well as cycles of decay and restoration. Gidayū music was a popular amateur tradition outside the puppet theatre, and concerts of female performers (onna gidayū or musume gidayū) flourished from the 19th to the mid-20th centuries. It later revived as part of the post-World War II feminist movement in Japan. Since the mid-20th century bunraku has been supported primarily by government subsidy and by devotees; the National Bunraku Theatre is located in Osaka. All major texts are in print, and many amateur and professional performances can be seen. Recordings of many famous performers also exist.

(ii) Performing practice.

Gidayū music is performed in four ways: as accompaniment for bunraku, in kabuki theatre, in concerts or recitals, and as dance accompaniment. A normal performance is given by a singer (tayū) and one shamisen accompanist (fig.32), although large groups may appear in dance sections. The singer kneels before a sturdy music stand (mirudai or kendai) on which the text is placed. Books of complete play texts are known as shōhon, inbon or, more commonly, maruhon. The latter term means ‘round book’ because of its florid 18th-century script. The music stand usually holds a yukahon (‘use book’) that contains only the text of the particular scene being performed. There also are keikobon (‘lesson books’) that are used for practice or for amateur lessons. Except in beginners’ books, melodic notation is not found, although occasional rubrics appear alongside the text that are either singing symbols derived from nō drama or names of patterns, style or pitch levels (see below). The shamisen or, in Osaka dialect, samisen player is to the left of the singer. The gidayū shamisen is the largest of the traditional forms, with a thick neck (futōzao), weighted bridges and a thick ivory plectrum. In theatrical performances the musicians are often placed off-stage-left on a revolving dais that turns to enable a new set of performers to replace the first two halfway through a scene: the performance is very tiring for the tayū, as he speaks all the roles of the play as well as singing all the music. Only men perform in the bunraku theatre.

(iii) Musical styles.

The four basic styles of gidayū music are instrumental (ai), declamatory (kotoba), lyrical (ji, jiai or fushi) and parlando (iro, ji iro or kakari). These four styles interlock continually, as shown in ex.14, a transcription of an excerpt from the inn scene (Yadoya no dan) of the play Shōutsushi Asagao banashi (‘The tale of Asagao the lookalike’). Instrumental sections vary from short units (e.g. bar 19) to longer solos, the latter often classed as ai-no-te, as in other shamisen and koto genres. Many instrumental passages have names and are used for specific musical or dramatic purposes. For example, there are naki patterns for various kinds of crying, and varieties of iri often precede high vocal cadenzas. The instrumental preludes and postludes to scenes can be equally informative. Theoretically, a type of shamisen music called okuri, played at the end of one scene in a play or, in a different form, at the start of another, indicates that the two scenes are set in the same place, while the use of sanjū patterns means that the second scene is in a new location. The nature of the character on stage or about to enter may also be conveyed by shamisen music.

Table 4 is an abstraction of the general movement and levels of the three styles of vocal music. The general design for a major musical section (sawari) of a play is A – lyric or parlando units, B – a speech section returning to lyric and parlando passages, and C – a full cadence. Ex.14 illustrates an A section.

The opening three bars are the end of a monologue, spoken by the tayū in the voice style of a former court lady who, having cried herself blind over the loss of her lover, is now reduced to a life of performing music for inn guests. In this scene she is telling the story of her sad life to a guest who, unknown to her, is her former lover. The interpretative challenges in such declamatory passages are both dramatic and musical, for one essential point is the silent interval (ma) between phrases and the timing of the words. Thus the hardest moment is the rendition in bars 2 and 3 leading into the word koibito (‘lover’). The passage in bars 4–7 is marked in most textbooks as kakari (‘connection’), for it leads from declamation (kotoba) into lyricism (jiai) as seen on Table 4 and in ex.14. As noted, additional performance instructions can be found beside the text, though not specific melodic notations in the Western sense. For example, the next passage (bars 8–10) is sometimes marked ji naka, implying that the line is becoming lyrical at a lower pitch range. The term haru may be found at the start of the next passage (bar 11), which may imply not only a higher pitch level but also a more taut voice quality. The meaning of such terms is only learnt by lessons with a master. The final shamisen passage (bar 19) does not resolve to the pitch centre E, thus leading the music back to speech in a fluid iro manner and the beginning of section B. If it had cadenced fully it would have been called a tome (ending). From this short excerpt one can sense the combination of conventions and specific interpretations that make full bunraku performances or sawari recitals as dramatic as Western opera, though the idiom is quite different.

(iv) Tonal system.

The yō and in scales (see Mode, §V, 5) predominate in gidayū, as in most shamisen music. The flow between tonalities is determined by changes of one pitch within a 4th (ex.15). Melodic tension is created by using pitches above or below tonal centres (see the uses of F, D, C, C and A in ex.14). The basic pitch of a given performance is determined by the singer. Using the B of ex.14 as an arbitrary tonal centre, the basic sonic vocabulary of gidayū and words attached to pitches in it are shown in ex.15. Only gin and kowari are pitch specific. Terminology in gidayū is as fluid as its structure.

Performers often refer to ‘Eastern-style’ (higashi-fū) passages that favour the sharp notes and ‘Western-style’ (nishi-fū) ones that use the naturals. The terms originally referred to the Toyotake and Takemoto theatre styles respectively. Musically they mark differences between the yō and in scales, and both may occur within a given piece (see C and C in ex.14). Because of the guild system and rote teaching of the bunraku tradition, two performances of a given passage may be tonally quite different when rendered by performers from different guilds.

(v) Form.

Period plays (jidaimono) traditionally have five sections (dan), and genre plays (sewamono) have three acts (maki). Three-part divisions of entire plays or sections are common. The terms, jo, ha and kyū (‘introduction’, ‘breaking away’, ‘hurried’) are frequently used for these (see §II, 4(iii)(b) above), although jōruri nomenclature has added sei, san and kyū (‘peaceful’, ‘mountainous’, ‘rushing’), and kuchi, naka and kiri (‘opening’, ‘middle’, ‘cut’). The first two sets of words are general aesthetic terms, whereas the third refers to subdivisions of a given scene. For example, the traditional divisions of a period play might be as shown in Table 5: each dan may be subdivided into various combinations of the three types of term, as shown in the third dan. The third dan is chosen, as it is considered to be the climax of a play. The kiri is the climax of a scene or sawari. In the above outline the kiri (which may be an hour long) is further subdivided into a kuchi and a kiri, and that sub-kiri comes to a dramatic ending in a kyū. Under this system the most important moment in the play would thus be the kyū of the kiri of the kiri of the ha of the ha of the third dan! Such distinctions are seldom the concern of the musicians or the audience, although the term kiri is well known to them all. The term dan is applied generally to whatever portion is performed and so cannot be viewed in such an architectonic manner when used as a title. Moreover, although it is felt that the pitch centres of various dan and subsections should occur in a given order, complete plays are rarely performed, and thus such tonal and formal points are lost. One now normally sees a potpourri of sections or subsections from different plays in one programme. Although the original theatrical design is gone, there remains a rich repertory of artistic dramatic excerpts performed in a unique solo narrative form.

Japan, §VI: Theatre music

3. Kabuki.

Japanese theatrical form popular since the Edo period (1603–1868) and the source of many major musical genres.

(i) History.

In the late 17th century the term kabuki was used to refer to something unconventional, such as clothing or social behaviour. The word was first connected with the theatre in a source of 1603 that mentions an unusual dance (kabuki odori) supposedly performed in 1596 by Okuni, a female dancer from the Izumo Shintō shrine. Using a nō-style stage set on the Kamo river-bed in Kyoto, she performed a lively version of a Buddhist festival dance, the nembutsu odori, to the accompaniment of the drums and flute of the nō and a small Buddhist gong that she played herself. The popularity of the entertainment was enhanced by additional folkdances and pantomimes. Such performances subsequently spread through the country as female (onna kabuki) or prostitute (yūjo kabuki) ‘modern’ theatre. In 1629 the government banned them, although the rival genre, the wakashū kabuki (‘young-boy show’), continued. These forms of popular theatre had developed rapidly, the major musical change being the addition of the shamisen, a three-string plucked lute, as the chief melodic instrument (see §II, 6 above).

The banning of the ‘young-boy’ kabuki in 1642 led to the use of the term ‘yarō’ (‘male-adult’) kabuki and to pantomime comedy (momomane kyōgen zukushi). However, audiences preferred the term kabuki, and as the drama matured, the Chinese characters that stood for music, dance and acting were chosen to write it.

Traditional kabuki has remained a genre performed entirely by males, the role of onnagata (female impersonator) being highly respected. It was cultivated and popularized by itinerant and local companies as well as in the permanent theatres of big cities such as Osaka, Kyoto and Edo (now Tokyo), and by the 19th century there was an established repertory of 18 great plays and a tradition of famous playwrights, ‘hit’ shows and star actors (fig.33). Much of the tradition survived into the 20th century, continuing alongside regional variants and new styles (some of which include actresses and new music). Most major kabuki companies are owned by film corporations, but in 1965 a government-subsidized national theatre was established, which regularly shows kabuki (among other traditional genres) and includes a training school for kabuki performers.

There are two main kinds of kabuki play: jidaimono, or pseudo-historical period pieces, and sewamono, stories dealing with plebeian life of the Edo period. There are also modern plays. Traditional plays are seldom performed complete, as they may last for a day or more. Normally the Kabuki-za in Tokyo stages two different programmes a day, each consisting of single acts from plays and often dances from other acts. Some scenes have no music at all, but only the content of the more usual kabuki dramas with music is discussed here.

(ii) Performing practice.

Kabuki music is played by onstage (debayashi) or offstage (geza) groups. Both use percussion and flutes and perform different genres of shamisen music, the most commonly used being gidayū, nagauta, kiyomoto and tokiwazu (see §II, 6(ii) above). Players of each genre belong to different guilds and maintain separate rooms backstage. In plays derived from the puppet theatre (bunraku), the gidayū singer and shamisen player, known collectively as the chobo, kneel on a dais stage-left or behind a bamboo-curtained alcove above the stage-left entrance. In pieces of pure dance using nagauta or in works derived from nō plays, the onstage ensemble traditionally consists of a row of singers and shamisen (up to eight of each) on a red dais at the back of the stage, with the drums and flute of the nō (known collectively as the hayashi) on the floor in front of them (fig.34). Up to four kotsuzumi (hourglass drums held at the shoulder) and two taiko (drums played with a stick) may be used, although only one ōtsuzumi (side-held hourglass drum) and one flute are usual. The flautist uses both the nō flute (fue or nōkan) and a bamboo flute of folk origin (takebue or shinobue). If more than one type of shamisen music is used on stage, the arrangement of the musicians is determined by the layout of the set. In such mixed performances (kakeai) the genre of the performers can be identified not only by their style but also by the colour and shape of the singers’ music stands.

The offstage or geza ensemble is normally positioned in a room at the stage-right corner, from which its members can see, through a bamboo curtain (kuromisu), the stage or the hanamichi (entrance ramp) that runs from the back of the auditorium to the stage. The geza ensemble may use the instruments and singers from the nagauta ensemble mentioned above, as well as many other percussion combinations. The ōdaiko, a large barrel drum with two tacked heads, and a temple bell (kane) are frequently used, as are instruments of folk or festival origin such as the hand gong (atarigane), the okedō and the festival taiko stick drums. Horse bells (orugōru), cymbals (chappa) and a xylophone (mokkin) may also add appropriate dramatic effect to traditional kabuki.

More modern variants of kabuki include the genre called Super Kabuki, created by the actor Ichikawa Ennosuke in 1986. This uses a fast-paced staging and adds to the traditional musical elements a wide range of other instruments (koto, shakuhachi, biwa and even some Western instruments) playing new compostitions.

(iii) Functions of the music.

Offstage music, like film music, may give sound effects, set the mood, support stage actions or imply unspoken thoughts. Examples of sound effects are the use of Buddhist bells and perhaps a sung prayer to indicate that a scene is set near a big temple, or the use in a seashore scene of a pattern on the ōdaiko drum representing the sound of waves rolling in. Mood and location can be specified further by an offstage song, often sung before the curtain is pulled aside, which tells the audience that the scene is set in a geisha house, in a palace or on the Tōkaidō road between Kyoto and Edo. Certain shamisen interludes (aikata), when combined with the appropriate ōdaiko drumbeats, can imply such contexts as cold weather, rain or a dark summer night. A correctly beaten drum indicates approaching danger as ‘naturally’ as the tremolo diminished chord does in traditional Western drama. Dialogues and soliloquies may be underpinned by meriyasu (shamisen patterns), which are chosen for their correspondence to the text or the character. Unspoken thoughts can be expressed by meriyasu songs sung offstage while the actor broods, writes a farewell letter, or otherwise moves without speaking. More active stage events, such as fights (tachimawari) and formalized slow-motion fight dances, have specific instrumental accompaniment (dontappo).

There are over 150 geza songs and an equal number of shamisen interludes and percussion patterns. The musicians know which devices to use for each situation, and the names of such devices are found in performance books (tsukechō) provided for each production by the chief geza musician. The audience, like its Western counterpart, normally cannot name or describe the structure of a given signal but through familiarity with the genre can feel the sense of such musical events in relation to the drama.

Onstage music is generally direct narrative commentary or dance accompaniment. The narrative style (katarimono) is related to that of bunraku (see §II, 4(iii)(b) above), except that dialogue is spoken by the actors, not the narrator. The dance accompaniment is adapted to the choreographic needs of the performer and often requires special offstage effects to enhance the mood.

(iv) Form.

Kabuki plays and dances, like Western operas and ballets, have an endless variety of structures dependent on plots and actions. The most typical form of dance generally maintains the tradition of a tripartite division (jo, ha and kyū; see §III above), although with different nomenclature.

The deha (‘coming out’) contains an introduction (oki) and a travelling (michiyuki) section. The nature of the character, the setting and the means of entrance (trap-door, ramp, stage entrance) influence the musical style of both these sections. The chūha (middle section) often has a highly lyrical, romantic passage called the kudoki and occasionally some story-telling (monogatari). The major dance section (odori ji) is essential. The exit section (iriha) involves greater musical and choreographic action (chirashi) and a standard finale (dangire). Such a dance piece may be 15 to 40 minutes long, and there are great variations in the forms of specific pieces.

(v) Musical structure.

The instrumentation of a kabuki dance piece varies according to the needs of the form and the dance. The singer and the shamisen perform the melodies; the use of the drums and flutes is more complex. Lyrical sections are often supported by the bamboo flute. The nō flute is used to play patterns totally unrelated to the shamisen melody: it sets the mood or, with the taiko stick drum, performs parts of patterns derived from nō. The taiko itself is used to play either named, stereotyped patterns originating in the nō tradition or units created for kabuki. The latter tend to reinforce the rhythm of the shamisen music, while the former sound ‘out of synchronization’ with it, although they match the melody of the nō flute if it is also being played. Such deliberate disjunction helps to create the necessary sense of forward motion and progression. The two tsuzumi drums are similarly used; often they directly support the shamisen rhythm in a style called chirikara, named after the mnemonics by which the music is learnt. When the drummers play patterns derived from nō, they, too, sound out of step with the main melody. Sometimes, therefore, the tsuzumi and shamisen are in one rhythmic conjunction, while the taiko and nō flute are tonally, melodically and rhythmically in a different cycle. This can be called a ‘sliding door’ effect, for the units each have a fixed internal structure but do not necessarily begin and end together. The effect is analogous to that of the harmonic settings of Western traditional music, although the sound is very different. As in Western harmonic progressions, the tensions are released at main cadence points.

Japan, §VI: Theatre music

BIBLIOGRAPHY

and other resources

nō

W. Malm: ‘The Rhythmic Orientation of Two Drums in the Japanese Noh Drama’, EthM, ii/3 (1958), 89–95

P. O’Neill: Early Noh Drama: its Background, Character and Development (London, 1958)

W. Malm: Japanese Music and Musical Instruments (Tokyo, 1959)

W. Malm: ‘An Introduction to Taiko Drum Music in the Japanese Noh Drama’, EthM, iv/2 (1960), 75–8

M. Yokomichi and A. Omote: Yōkyokushū, Nihon Koten Bungaku Taikei, xl–xli (Tokyo, 1960–63

M. Yokomichi: disc notes, Nō no Ongaku, Victor SJ 3005–06 (1963)

D. Keene: Nō: The Classical Theatre of Japan (Tokyo, 1966)

D. Kenny: A Guide to Kyogen (Tokyo, 1968)

D. Keene: Twenty Plays of the Nō Theatre (New York, 1970)

F. Hoff and W. Flindt: ‘The Life Structure of Noh’, Concerned Theatre Japan, vols 2–4 (Tokyo, 1973), 209–56

A. Tamba: La structure musicale du Noh, theatre traditionnel japonais (Paris, 1974; Eng. trans. as The Musical Structure of Noh, Tokyo, 1981)

W. Malm: ‘The Musical Characteristics and Practice of the Japanese Noh Drama in an East Asian Context’, Chinese and Japanese Music-Dramas, eds. J. Crump and W. Malm (Ann Arbor, 1975), 99–142

D. Berger: ‘The Nohkan: its Construction and Music’, EthM, ix/3 (1975), 221–39

M. Bethe and K. Brazell: Noh as Performance: an Analysis of the Kuse Scene of Yamamba (Ithaca, NY, 1978)

R. Tyler: Pining Wind: a Cycle of Noh Plays (Ithaca, NY, 1978)

R. Tyler: Granny Mountains: a Second Cycle of Noh Plays (Ithaca, NY, 1978)

R. Emmert: ‘Hiranori: a Unique Rhythm Form in Japanese Noh Music’, Musical Voices of Asia, ed. R. Emmert and Y. Minegishi (Tokyo, 1980), 100–107

J. Rimer and M. Yamazaki: On the Art of the Noh Drama: the Major Treatises of Zeami (Princeton, NJ, 1984)

T. Hare: Zeami’s Style: the Noh Plays of Zeami Motokiyo (Stanford, CA, 1986)

R. Emmert: ‘The Maigoto of Noh: a Musical Analysis of the Chu no Mai’, Yearbook for Traditional Music, xv (1983), 5

K. Komparu: The Noh Theatre: Principles and Perspectives, trans. J. Corddry (New York, 1983)

H. Nishino and H. Hata, eds.: Nō-Kyōgen Jiten (Tokyo, 1987)

M. Yokomichi and H. Koyama, eds.: Iwanami Kōza: Nō-Kyōgen, vols i–viii (Tokyo, 1987–90)

K. Brazell: Twelve Plays of the Noh and Kyogen Theatre (Ithaca, NY, 1989)

K. Yasuda: Masterworks of the Noh Theatre (Bloomington, IN, 1989)

D. Kenny: The Kyogen Book (Tokyo, 1989)

B. Ortolani: The Japanese Noh Theatre: from Shamanistic Ritual to Contemporary Pluralism (Leiden, 1995)

M. Bethe and R. Emmert: Noh Performance Guide, vols. i–vii (Tokyo, 1992–7)

R. Tyler: Japanese Nō Dramas (London, 1992)

C. Morley: Transformation, Miracles and Mischief: the Mountain Priest Plays of Kyogen (Ithaca, NY, 1993)

J. Brandell: Noh and Kyogen in the contemporary World (Honolulu, 1997)

K. Brazell, ed.: Traditional Japanese Theater: an Anthology of Plays (New York, 1998)

bunraku

D. Keene: Bunraku: the Art of the Japanese Puppet Theatre (Tokyo and London, 1965)

E. Kikkawa: Nihon ongaku no rekishi [A history of Japanese music] (Tokyo and Osaka, 1965, 9/1974)

C.J. Dunn: The Early Japanese Puppet Drama (London, 1966)

Y. Inoura: A History of Japanese Theatre, ii: Bunraku and Kabuki (Tokyo, 1971)

Y. Kakiuchi: ‘The Tradition of Gidayū-bushi: a Study of Comparative Analysis of Okuri in Ehon-Taikōki 10 danme, Amagasaki-no-Dan’, Preservation and Development of the Traditional Performing Arts (Tokyo, 1981), 181–203

W.P. Malm: ‘A Musical Approach to the Study of Japanese Jōruri’, Chūshingura: Studies in Kabuki and the Puppet Theater, ed. J.R. Brandon (Honolulu, 1982), 59–110

K. Motegi: ‘Aural Learning in Gidayu-bushi, Music of the Japanese Puppet Theater’, YTM, xvi, (1984), 97–108

C. Yamada: ‘Gidayū-bushi ni okeru makura no ongaku gohō’ [On the melodic pattern makura in gidayū-bushi], Geinō no kagaku, xv (1984)

C.A. Gerstle: Circles of Fantasy: Conventions in the Plays of Chikamatsu (Cambridge, MA, 1986)

K. Inobe and others: Gidayū-bushi no yōshiki tenkai [The stylistic development of gidayū-bushi] (Tokyo, 1986)

I. Tsunoda and others: Bunraku no ongaku [Music of bunraku] (Tokyo, 1986)

A. Coaldrake: ‘Female Tayū in the Gidayū Narrative Tradition of Japan’, Women and Music in Cross-cultural Perspective, ed. E. Koskoff (New York, 1987), 151–61

C.A. Gerstle, K. Inobe and W.P. Malm: Theater as Music: the Bunraku Play ‘Mt. Imo and Mt. Se’ (Ann Arbor, 1990) [incl. cassettes of the complete act]

kabuki

E. Ernst: The Kabuki Theatre , (London 1956/R)

W. Malm: Japanese Music and Musical Instruments (Tokyo, 1959/R)

J.R. Brandon: Kabuki: Five Classic Plays (Harvard, CT 1975)

W.P. Malm: ‘Four Seasons of the Old Mountain Woman: an Example of Japanese Nagauta Text Setting’, Journal of the American Oriental Society, xxxi/1 (1978), 83–117

S.L. Leiter: Kabuki Encyclopedia (Westport, CT, 1979)

W. Malm: Nagauta: the Heart of Kabuki Music (Tokyo, 1963)

C. Dunn and B. Torigoe, eds.: The Actors’ Analects (Yakusha Rongo) (Tokyo, 1969)

M. Gunji: Kabuki (Tokyo and Palo Alto, CA 1969)

Y. Inoura: A History of Japanese Theatre, ii: Bunraku and Kabuki (Tokyo, 1971)

J. Brandon, W. Malm and D. Shively, eds.: Studies in Kabuki (Honolulu, 1978)

G. Kakinoki: ‘Nagauta Kokaji ni mieru ryūhasei’ [Sectarian differences as seen in the kabuki dance Kokaji], Geinō no Kagaku, ix (1978), 153–204

M. Yokomichi: ‘Nagauta narimono no kokei’ [Old percussion patterns for kabuki dance], Geinō no Kagaku, ix (1978), 95–151

D. Tanaka: ‘Kabuki hayashi yōroku’ [Catalogue of kabuki percussion and flute music], Kabuki ongaku, ed. Tōyō Ongaku Gakkai (Tokyo, 1980), 199–359

W. Malm: Six Hidden Views of Japanese Music (Berkeley, 1986)

A. Tokita: Kiyomoto-bushi: Narrative Music in Kabuki Dance (diss., Monash U., 1988)

Japan

VII. Folk music

Until a new phrase, ‘minzoku ongaku’, translated from English and German, came into use in the mid-20th century, there had been no exact word in Japanese for ‘folk music’. There are two meanings of minzoku ongaku, each written differently in Chinese characters but pronounced alike: music of various nations and folk music of a particular nation. The connotations of these two words correspond exactly to the German terms for studies of human traditions, ‘Völkerkunde’ and ‘Volkskunde’. Minzoku ongaku in the latter sense is now fairly well understood to denote the kind of music that is played in villages and towns by non-professional musicians.

Japanese folk music can be seen as having three major divisions: warabe-uta (traditional children’s game songs); min’yō (folksongs); and music for minzoku geinō (folk performing arts).

Japan, §VII: Folk music

1. History.

One of the customs of the common people in the early 8th century ce was the singing of utagaki, or kagai, courting songs between men and women sung during spring and autumn festivals. This was documented by the writers of the Fudoki (compiled in 713), the official documents containing cultural and topographical descriptions of the five regions of Japan. Similar folk traditions, usually combined with agricultural rites, were observed until the mid-20th century by villagers in various places in Japan.

The two oldest chronicles, Kojiki (‘Record of ancient matters’, 712) and Nihon shoki (‘Chronicles of Japan’, 720), contain the texts of early folksongs called hinaburi (‘rural manner’), sakahogai no uta (‘songs of the drinking rite’) and wazauta (divination songs and songs of political events). Twenty-one songs from the two chronicles are also found in the Fudoki, where seven more songs are recorded. Although the texts have various metrical forms, the form with 5+7+5+7+7 syllables is most common among these songs: when the first comprehensive anthology of songs, the Man’yōshū (20 volumes), was edited in the latter half of the 8th century, this metrical form was found to be almost exclusively the basis for about 4500 songs dating from the 4th century to the mid-8th century. Among these were many songs of everyday tasks such as cloth-bleaching, rice-pounding, corn-grinding and sake-brewing. The song texts with 5+7+5+7+7 syllables are usually considered the most typical of Japanese poems and hence are called waka (‘Japanese song’). These were actually sung in the early days, but later, by the Heian period (794–1185), they had become purely written poems occasionally chanted or recited in a stylized manner. These still survive and are performed every year at the imperial New Year song party.

The musicians of the imperial palace also preserve and often perform the repertories of kagura and saibara, which have much to do with the folksongs of the Heian period. The former includes the ceremonial rites, specifically called mi-kagura (see §V, 1 above), performed by the court musicians for the Shintō deities. Although it has been highly stylized, with gagaku influence, and respectfully arranged as the imperial rite, kagura reveals many elements of folksong style, such as leader-chorus (responsorial) singing and the alternate singing of two groups. Saibara has an even more direct relationship with the folksongs of the period. There are several opinions about its origin, including the theory of Kawaguchi Ekai (1866–1945), who insisted that saibara originated in the Tibetan love-song called saibar. It is, however, generally believed that saibara consisted of a group of folksongs from the central and western parts of Japan that were chosen by the aristocracy for singing and were set to gagaku instruments. This tradition was almost forgotten by the middle of the Kamakura period (1192–1333) but was partly reconstructed (in greatly modified form) in the 17th century and more so in the 19th and 20th centuries. Within the aristocracy there was yet another group of folksongs, called fuzoku, from eastern Japan; these remained in complete obscurity after the Middle Ages. However, one of the imperial court musicians, Yamanoi Motokiyo, has deciphered notation from an old scroll dated 1186 containing 14 fuzoku, which reveal the interesting fact that most of the songs are based on the same scale structure that underlies modern folksongs, the min’yō onkai (see §3 below).

During the Middle Ages, that is the Kamakura and Muromachi(1338–1573) periods, many kinds of folk performing arts came into vogue. Some of them, such as dengaku, sarugaku and kusemai, were later performed by the specialized professionals who were the first in Japanese history to create a new artistic form, the nō theatre (see §VI, 1 above). Many others, such as bon-odori (folkdances for the late summer ancestral festival) and hayashida (rice-transplanting ritual performance), have remained folk performing arts even in the 20th century. In addition to these there were many folksongs recorded in a few anthologies of kouta, short songs of the time. Some of them can still be found among the texts of 20th-century folksongs.

Most modern folksongs date back to the Edo period (1603–1868), however. Although the townspeople were more creative than the villagers in their musical art forms, the people from rural areas were also very productive during that period. In the early 17th century a genre of typical Japanese theatre, kabuki, was created by Okuni, a shrine maiden, who later organized a group of entertainers and dancers, both men and women, to perform furyū dances on stage. Like the nō theatre, kabuki was deeply rooted in folk tradition in its early days (see §VI, 3 above).

The shamisen and a short version of the shakuhachi (flute) known as the hitoyogiri came into vogue among the people in the latter half of the 17th century. In 1664 Nakamura Sōzan, a blind musician, wrote a book entitled Shichiku shoshin-shū (‘Collection for beginners on silk and bamboo’); its three volumes were intended for beginners on the hitoyogiri, koto and shamisen, one volume for each. He used the popular songs and folksongs of his time as studies for the instruments; among them are found many bon-odori songs, some of which still survive.

There have also been several anthologies of folksongs; the most informative one concerning work songs of eastern and central Japan, including Hokkaidō, is Hina no hitofushi, edited in 1809 by Sugae Masumi (1754–1829). Towards the end of the Edo period and during the Meiji era (1868–1912) a very large number of popular songs appeared, depicting the life of the people in that changing society as well as the succession of social events. Most of these songs were soon forgotten despite their popularity; some, however, remained for a longer time and became folksongs, most of which are now sung as ozashiki-uta (songs for geisha and other parties).

After urbanization of the whole country, some of the folksongs and traditional performing arts became more popular in a wider region through the mass media; many are now performed by amateurs and semi-professionals, while others are gradually being forgotten by the people, who are no longer working and living in the ways they used to. But in the 1960s and 1970s an increasing number of folksong enthusiasts among young people and artists began to use traditional folk materials for their music.

Japanese folk music had never been studied scientifically before Machida Kashō (1888–1981) began his private gramophone archive of Japanese folksongs in 1934; this was later transferred to NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation), where Machida continued his work editing the voluminous anthology Nihon min’yō taikan. His study was followed by those of many musicologists, including Takeda Chūichirō, who edited Tōhoku min’yō-shū, Hattori Ryūtarō, Koizumi Fumio and Takeuchi Tsutomu.

Japan, §VII: Folk music

2. Warabe-uta.

There are three kinds of Japanese song for children: (shōgaku-)shōka (songs for primary school use); dōyō (songs for children composed by professional musicians); and warabe-uta (traditional game songs). The last type is different from the other two mainly in that its form is simpler and it is always combined with some kind of game. Significantly, warabe-uta predominantly use traditional pentatonic scales and modes: they are ‘traditional’ products and are generally passed on from child to child.

By contrast, shōka and dōyō are products of adult composers and lyricists, dating from the 1870s, after the introduction of occidental music. Although tending to be taught in schools, often with the aid of printed notation and lyrics, many have entered the oral tradition; still, it is difficult to deem them ‘folksongs’. More so than warabe-uta, they are sung also by adults, who find them nostalgic. They are based on Western major and minor modes, on the hybridized ‘pentatonic major and minor’ modes (see §I, 4 above), and only very rarely on traditional modes. They also sometimes employ 3/4 metre, which is never found in traditional music or in warabe-uta. Given such Western elements, it is not surprising that shōka and dōyō are often performed in harmonized settings.

Many warabe-uta are still sung by children, regardless of where they live throughout the country. These can be classified into ten groups according to the kind of game for which they are sung: tonae-uta, play songs without gestures, including kazoe-uta (counting songs), waruguchi-uta (abusing or teasing songs) and kae-uta (parody songs); ekaki-uta (picture-drawing songs), which are very typical among Japanese and Korean children; ohajiki- and ishikeri-uta (play songs using marbles and rocks); otedama-uta (play songs with bean bags); maritsuki-uta (ball-bouncing songs); nawatobi-uta (skipping-rope songs); janken-uta (rock-scissors-paper game songs); oteawase-uta (hand-clapping songs); karadaasobi-uta (a newly coined word for game songs with body movements, such as finger games, face games and foot games); and oniasobi-uta (play songs for large groups to decide who will be ‘it’).

Warabe-uta melodies, simple in structure, are usually within the range of a 6th or an octave, and in many cases they are based on one or two tetrachords. Following the tetrachordal model of Koizumi (see §I, 4 above), we find that yō or min’yō tetrachords or scales are the most frequent in traditional warabe-uta, as in traditional folksong; the in or miyako-bushi tetrachord or scale is also common. A few warabe-uta mix more than one type. A good example is the well-known ‘Tōryanse’ (ex.16a), which begins with a yō tetrachord then moves to two conjunct in tetrachords, the first of which adds a lower-neighbour tone that strictly speaking belongs to a yō tetrachord. This is a relatively complex melody for traditional children’s songs; a simpler one is shown in ex.16b.

Text setting of warabe-uta is overwhelmingly syllabic. The metrical forms, however, depend almost exclusively on the form of the particular game. The skipping-rope songs usually have a slow duple metre, whereas the ball-bouncing songs show more variety in rhythm, depending on how the players bounce the balls.

Japan, §VII: Folk music

3. Min’yō.

A relatively unified conceptual category of ‘folksong’ has only come into existence in Japan since the 1890s, with the gradual spread and acceptance of the term min’yō. This was a direct translation from the German word Volkslied, and the concept, like the term itself, owed much to European influence as Japan was rapidly Westernized. This term gradually replaced other words such as kuniburi, hinauta and riyō, all meaning ‘rural song’. The ‘folk’ themselves tended until recently to call their own songs merely uta, the general term for all song, but adding appropriate modifiers when necessary (e.g. taue-uta, ‘rice-transplanting song’).

The content of the category of min’yō is not fixed, with debate and disagreement among scholars as well as among fans and practitioners. It includes, of course, all kinds of songs that are traditionally inherited mainly through oral transmission by non-professional singers; many of these were unaccompanied work songs. Additionally, it embraces arrangements and performances of such songs by professional ‘folk singers’ (min’yō kashu) accompanied on traditional instruments; these are now often called ‘stage folksongs’ (sutēji min’yō). Finally, the category may include so-called ‘new folksongs’ (shin-min’yō) composed during the 20th century by known composers, generally professionals, and often commissioned by rural commmunities or companies to serve as publicity songs; these are rarely sung but instead are broadcast over loudspeakers at train stations, community dances etc.

Unlike their counterparts in the West, virtually every min’yō has a ‘hometown’ (furusato, lit. ‘old village’), hence the saying min’yō wa kokoro no furusato ‘folksong is the heart’s hometown’. The title’s first word is itself probably the name of a town or pre-modern province, usually followed by a word such as uta, bushi, ondo or jinku, all basically meaning ‘song’; thus Yagi bushi, ‘Song from [the town of] Yagi’ (ex.17 ), or Tsugaru aiya bushi, ‘Song [extensively using the vocable] aiya from [the pre-modern province of] Tsugaru’. Commercial recordings generally list the prefecture of origin immediately after the title.

A song’s title had no need to mention the place of origin until the song had migrated. An early example is Ise ondo, an entertainment song from the great Shintō shrine town of Ise, which now exists in variants throughout Japan, having been brought back by pilgrims. Most songs, however, only acquired place names after the late 19th century, as rapid urbanization and improved transport carried songs with their singers far from home. Sometimes a migrating song keeps its original place name alongside its new one: Esashi Oiwake is Esashi town’s version of a song that was carried by travellers from the distant post-town of Oiwake. Given the link to rural homes, it is not surprising that folksongs are often mentioned in the popular songs of the genre enka, many of which express urban migrants’ nostalgia for home.

Scholars have classified traditional min’yō variously, but often into shigoto-uta (work songs), sakamori-uta (drinking-party songs) bon-odori-uta (dance songs for the (o)-bon ancestral festival) and ozashiki-uta (songs for geisha parties or similar occasions); some would include a category for songs sung as part of various minzoku geinō (see §4 below). The largest and most varied category by far is work songs. When Yanagita Kunio first classified Japanese folksongs in 1936, he listed six subtypes of work song: ta-uta (paddy-field songs), niwa-uta (‘garden songs’, for work at home, indoors and outdoors), yama-uta (‘mountain songs’, including lumberjack songs etc.), umi-uta (sea songs), waza-uta (‘skilled craft’ songs pertaining to various professions) and michi-uta (‘road songs’, for transportation etc.). But many finer classifications have been offered. In some cases there are specific songs for various stages of a task such as sake-making. Some ‘work songs’ help to coordinate the rhythm of a work group and thus need to have a clear metre; others may be solo songs for distraction during or between work tasks, and these may be in free rhythm. Modernization has eliminated the contexts for most work songs, though dance and party songs have survived better in their original homes, since parties and the ancestral festival are still important.

The musical features of min’yō are diverse but may be summarized as follows. The overwhelming majority of songs are pentatonic, most often in the yō mode (hence its alternative name, the min’yō onkai, ‘folksong scale’) but frequently also in the in (miyako-bushi) or ritsu modes. ‘New folksongs’ of the 1970s and later, however, tend to use the ‘pentatonic major’ or in rare cases the ‘pentatonic minor’ (see §I, 4 above) as these are easier to harmonize Western-style. A loud, sharp voice is preferred except in intimate situations; a high tessitura is also generally favoured, especially among professionals. The relationship between the voice and any melodic accompaniment is heterophonic, although some older songs feature short repeated motifs on flutes or shamisen.

Songs can be metred or non-metred (in ‘free-rhythm’). Metre is virtually always duple, either simple (2/4) or compound (6/8), with a bar of 6/8 mostly realized as the sequence crotchet–quaver–crotchet–quaver. Skill at various types of vocal ornamentation (kobushi, ‘little melodies’) is one mark of a good singer and flourishes especially in free-rhythm songs such as Esashi Oiwake. Ex.18a shows the first few seconds of a notation devised for this song in the mid-20th century (no other folksong has ever had such a notation), with ornaments expressed by various special symbols. Sonograms of two singers (ex.18b, first two partials) are eerily similar to the notation. The linked braces show correspondences between the notation and the sonograms. Ex.18c is a Western transcription, spaced to match sonograms.

Many songs of all types are now sung by professionals in ‘stage’ arrangements, accompanied by a standard ensemble: shakuhachi alone for free-rhythm songs and together with shamisen (depending on the nature of the song), taiko (usually a laced shime-daiko and a flattish tacked-head hira-daiko), kane hand-gong and either shakuhachi or shinobue transverse flute for metered songs (shamisen and shakuhachi were uncommon in most traditional villages). Unlike village song, all professional folksong features a solo vocalist, often backed by two or three singers to provide a refrain (hayashi). Even these ‘stage’ versions retain their ability to trigger nostalgia, and links with traditional village life are often recalled (fig.35).

As a counterbalance to the professionalization and urbanization of min’yō, many regional songs are now transmitted in their traditional mode by locally-based ‘preservation societies’ (hozonkai). For work songs, members may even reproduce the movements of the original task of, say, fishnet hauling or barley threshing as they sing.

As recently as the 1970s, nearly half of the Japanese population identified themselves as fans of min’yō, far exceeding any other genre aside from ‘pop’ music. The figure was much lower at the end of the 20th century; however, there are still frequent concerts by professionals, recitals by their students, occasional televised min’yō shows (especially from local stations) etc. ‘Folksong bars’ (min’yō sakaba) in various major cities allow customers to sing accompanied by the house band (fig.36). In August, ancestral festival dances in every town and village feature min’yō, although these are often recordings of ‘new folksongs’ with Western instrumental accompaniment rather than live traditional tunes. There are also numerous min’yō contests, some national, some focussed on a single song from a single community; the latter strengthen the long-standing links between local song and tourism. The largest of several umbrella min’yō organisations, the Japan Folk Song Association (Nihon Min’yō Kyōkai), has had as many as 50,000 members, most of whom teach or study via formal lessons on the model of the iemoto system of the classical arts (see §I, 3 above).

Min’yō, oddly, has rarely interacted with the world of fōku songu, Western-style ‘folksong’ accompanied by guitars and other instruments. But it is having some small impact on non-mainstream pop musicians such as Hosono Haruomi and Soul Flower Union. Such artists, however, currently tend to prefer Okinawan to other styles of Japanese folksong.

Japan, §VII: Folk music

4. Minzoku geinō.

Most minzoku geinō, also called kyōdo geinō, are performed by local villagers at the festivals of Shintō shrines and Buddhist temples (fig.37). The most commonly used scholarly classification of minzoku geinō is that of Honda Yasuji (see Thornbury, 1997; Hoff, 1978). While far from watertight, it does capture most folk performing arts within four major categories, of which the last is a catch-all: kagura (more specifically satok-agura, as distinct from the mi-kagura of the imperial palace), which is performed by Shintō priests as well as villagers and townsfolk with a variety of entertainments, including a dance-drama based on Shintō mythology for the consolation of ancestors’ spirits and the long life of the people; dengaku, which is performed by farmers wishing for a good harvest and is associated with a variety of dances and mimes; furyū, group dances with various origins, including exorcist and Buddhist invocations; and miscellaneous theatrical forms, dance-dramas and pageants that originated from the arts of the upper class of earlier society, such as gagaku, bugaku and sangaku, but which are now arranged into local styles and performed by local people.

The music of these folk performances may be either instrumental or vocal and accompanied by various folk instruments. The most commonly used idiophones are: dōbyōshi (a pair of cymbals), kane (gong), sōban (a pair of gongs), suri-zasara (scraper), bin-zasara (set of concussion plaques strung together) and yotsudake (bamboo castanets). Membranophones include the okedō (cylindrical drum), two sizes of tsuzumi (hourglass drum), shimedaiko (barrel drum with two laced heads), ōdaiko (nailed barrel drum) and uchiwa-daiko (frame drum). String instruments used are the shamisen and kokyū (fiddle), while aerophones include the shinobue (transverse flute), nōkan (transverse flute used in nō theatre and some folk ritual music), shakuhachi (end-blown flute) and horagai (conch-shell trumpet). The shinobue is by far the most common melodic instrument, indeed the only one in most minzoku geinō, partly due to its ease of manufacture. Many of these instruments have multiple names.

Melodies of most minzoku geinō use the ritsu or yō modes, with the in being rarer except near urban centres (hence the in mode’s alternative name: miyako-bushi, ‘urban tune’). However, the tunings of locally-made shinobue are highly diverse in pitch and intervallic pattern.

Minzoku geinō, like min’yō, have often moved from traditional contexts to the concert stage, hotel lobbies and so forth. Various folkloric festivals are now held throughout Japan, which feature groups from several regions. Preservationism is encouraged by national and local government systems of designating certain traditions as Important Intangible Folk Cultural Properties or the like; outside of the original context, however, significant innovation may occur. A major new phenomenon is the popularity of large ensembles centred on stick-drums, creating since the 1960s a new tradition called Kumi-daiko or wadaiko. Communities throughout Japan are forming such ensembles, competing for members with traditional minzoku geinō. The worldwide popularity of groups such as Kodō risks misleading non-Japanese as to the nature of village performing arts.

Japan, §VII: Folk music

BIBLIOGRAPHY

and other resources

K. Yanagida: Min’yō oboegaki [Notes on Japanese folksong] (Tokyo, 1940)

Nihon min'yō taikan [Anthology of Japanese folksongs] (Tokyo, 1944–88; reissued 1992–4 with 90 CDs)

Tōhoku min'yō-shū [Anthology of folksongs from the north-eastern district] (Tokyo, 1956–67) [pubn of Nihon Hōsō Kyōkai]

F. Koizumi: Nihon dentō ongaku no kenkyū [Studies in Japanese traditional music] (Tokyo, 1958/R)

K. Asano: Nihon no min'yō [Folksongs of Japan] (Tokyo, 1960)

M. Yamanoi: Fuzoku yakufu [Deciphering of fuzoku] (Tokyo, 1961)

D. Berger: Folk Songs of Japanese Children (Rutland, VT, 1969)

F. Koizumi, ed.: Warabeuta no kenkyū [Japanese children’s game songs] (Tokyo, 1969)

K. Machida and K. Asano, eds.: Warabeuta (Tokyo, 1973)

W. Malm: ‘Shoden: a Study in Tokyo Festival Music’, YIFMC, vii (1975), 44–66

F. Hoff: Song, Dance, Storytelling: Aspects of the Performing Arts in Japan (Ithaca, NY, 1978)

F. Koizumi: ‘Rhythm in Japanese Folk Music’, Musical Voices of Asia: Tokyo 1978, 108–19

R. Uchida: ‘Rice-Planting Music of Chindo (Korea) and the Chugoku Region (Japan)’, The Performing Arts: Music and Dance, ed. J. Blacking and J.W. Kealiinohomoku (The Hague, 1979), 109–17

T. Takami: ‘Method of Learning Folk Music and their Influence on the Music Itself: the Case of Etchū-Owara-bushi’, Preservation and Development of the Traditional Performing Arts: Tokyo 1980, 19–27

P.R. Isaku: Mountain Storm, Pine Breeze: Folk Song in Japan (Tucson, AZ, 1981)

K. Nakai and others: Minzoku geinō jiten [Dictionary of folk performing arts] (Tokyo, 1981)

G. Kakinoki: ‘Kariboshikiri uta no hikaku bunseki’ [Comparative analysis of ‘Kariboshikiri uta’], Nihon no onkai, ed. Tōyō Ongaku Gakkai (Tokyo, 1982), 97–121

K. Asano, ed.: Nihon min’yō daijiten [Great dictionary of Japanese folk song] (Tokyo, 1983)

E. Markham: Suibara (Cambridge, 1983)

L. Fujie: Matsuri-bayashi of Tokyo: the Role of Supporting Organizations in Traditional Music (Ann Arbor, 1987)

D. Hughes: ‘Japanese “New Folk Songs”, Old and New’, AsM, xxii/1 (1991), 1–49

D. Hughes: ‘“Esashi Oiwake” and the Beginnings of Modern Japanese Folk Song’, World of Music, xxxiv/1 (1992), 35–56

U. Eppstein: The Beginnings of Western Music in Meiji Era Japan (Lewiston, NY, 1994)

G. Groemer: ‘Singing the News: yomiuri in Japan during the Edo and Meiji Periods’, Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, liv/1 (1994), 233–61

D. Berger: Shōka and dōyō: Songs of an Educational Policy and a Children’s Song Movement of Japan, 1910–1926 (Ann Arbor, 1995)

T. Lancashire: ‘Music for the Gods: Musical Transmission and Change in Iwami kagura’, AsM, xxix/1 (1997), 87–123

B.E. Thornbury: The Folk Performing Arts: Traditional Culture in Contemporary Japan (Albany, NY, 1997)

N. Suda, K. Daijō and A. Rausch: The Birth of Tsugaru Shamisen Music (Aomori, 1998)

S.M. Asai: Nomai Dance Drama: a Surviving Spirit of Medieval Japan (Westport, CT, and London, 1999)

G. Groemer: The Spirit of Tsugaru: Blind Musicians, Tsugaru-jamisen, and the Folk Music of Northern Japan, with the Autobiography of Takahashi Chikuzan (Warren, MI, 1999)

D. Hughes: The Heart’s Home Town: Traditional Folk Song in Modern Japan (London, forthcoming)

recordings

Japanese Dance Music, King KICH 2022 (1991)

Japanese Work Songs, King KICH 2023 (1991)

Music of Japanese Festivals, King KICH 2028 (1991)

Taikei Nihon rekishi to geinō, videotapes, Japan Victor VTMT 81–94 (1991–2) [folk performing arts]

Ketteiban: kore ga Tsugaru min’yō da! [This is Tsugaru folk song!], Columbia COCF-10981 (1993)

Min’yō: Folk Song from Japan: Takahashi Yūjirō and Friends, Nimbus NI 5618 (1999)

The Rough Guide to the Music of Japan, World Music Network RGNET 1031 (1999)

Japan

VIII. Regional traditions

1. Ryūkyū.

2. Ainu.

Japan, §VIII: Regional traditions

1. Ryūkyū.

This archipelago stretches in an arc between Kyū.shū. and Taiwan at the south-western tip of Japan. ‘Ryū.kyū.’ denotes the area within this archipelago occupied by the kingdom of Ryū.kyū. at the time of its invasion by the Satsuma fief of southern Kyū.shū. in 1609. It consists of four island groups in the southern part of the archipelago: Amami, Okinawa, Miyako and Yaeyama (from north to south). These share important cultural and linguistic traits of sufficient distinctiveness to merit consideration of Ryū.kyū. either as a cultural entity in its own right or as one of the two principal cultural spheres of Japan. The Ryukyuan cultural sphere covers the area of modern Okinawa Prefecture and the Amami islands at the far south of Kagoshima Prefecture. The music of each island group possesses its own distinctive character: the earliest strata of music are found in the Miyako islands; the Okinawa islands (in particular the main island, where the capital of the kingdom was located) saw the development of a sophisticated tradition of art music; the music of the Yaeyama islands includes developed folk and art traditions; and the music of Amami evolved, for historical reasons, largely apart from the mainstream of developments in other parts of Ryū.kyū..

Music can be divided into two main categories: folk music, which plays an important part in festivals and religious ceremonies on all the islands, and art music, which developed among the nobility at the royal court in the capital, Shuri. These two categories have, however, maintained a symbiotic relationship over the centuries. During the pre-modern period, the indigenous tradition of art music was supplemented at the Shuri court by the practice of certain Chinese and Japanese art music genres, which exerted an influence on the development of the Ryukyuan art music tradition. The practice of these additional genres came to an end with the dissolution of the kingdom and the establishment of Okinawa Prefecture in 1879. The indigenous tradition then flourished. This was a consequence of practitioners of art music and the court performance arts among the disbanded nobility being obliged through economic necessity to transmit their accomplishments to the former class of commoners, or a result of their having moved to the provinces, where these arts soon took hold.

As in other parts of Japan, Western music is prevalent in modern Okinawa, although it has not dislodged indigenous mediums from their position as the focus of musical expression. The category of modern folk music, comprising songs performed in local dialects of Japanese and employing indigenous musical elements, continues to be the main vehicle for musical creativity, while the art music tradition currently has more practitioners than ever before. Genres such as Western rock music are popular among young people, although when practised by Okinawans they often incorporate elements from the indigenous tradition. Okinawan popular music in such syncretic styles has become popular both inside and outside Japan.

(i) Folk music.

(ii) Art music.

(iii) History.

(iv) Instruments, performance and aesthetics.

(v) Notation and structure.

Japan, §VIII, 1: Regional traditions, Ryūkyū.

(i) Folk music.

A generic feature of Japanese music is the predominance of the voice; nowhere is this feature more evident than in Okinawa. Folk music is exclusively vocal and closely connected with ancient traditions of oral literature. Since literary traditions are primarily oral and expressed through the medium of music, a classification of the genres of folk music is similar to that of folk literature.

(a) Sacred songs (kamiuta).

Although Buddhism was introduced into Ryūkyū following the establishment of the kingdom in 1392, it never displaced native shamanistic and animistic religious traditions. As in Japan before the introduction of Buddhism, religious ceremonies have been the preserve of a female sacerdotal hierarchy. Priestesses known as noro or tsukasa sing poetical texts intended to invoke the beneficence of the gods, especially in connection with provision of a plentiful harvest, or to serve as the vehicles for divine oracles.

The songs may be similar to heightened speech or may have a simple strophic melodic structure extending over a narrow pitch range. They are generally unaccompanied, although a simple rhythmic accompaniment is sometimes provided by a drum (chijin). The ceremonies at which the texts are sung take place in simple outdoor shrines known in Okinawa as utaki and in Yaeyama as on. The principle genres are omori in Amami; miseseru, otakabe, umui and kwēna in Okinawa; pyāshi, tābi, fusa and nīri in Miyako; and kanfutsu and ayō in Yaeyama. Other songs of similar type are performed to cure disease, to call for rain and to pray for safe sea voyages.

(b) Work songs.

Many songs with titles indicating links with communal physical labour are extant, although few are still performed in their original contexts. Among the tasks accompanied by such songs were rice-hulling, millet-grinding, earth-pounding and rowing. The largest number come from Yaeyama, where they belong to the genres known as yunta and jiraba.

(c) Music of festivals and the popular performing arts.

The two major events in the Ryukyuan calendar are the Bon Festival of the Dead, in the seventh month of the lunar calendar, and the harvest festival (hōnen-sai), which occurs during the week before the night of the harvest moon (15th day of the eighth month).

A feature of the Bon festival in Okinawa is the performance style known as eisā, which is traditionally presented on the night of the 15th day of the seventh month, after the spirits of departed ancestors have returned to their places of rest. Following a round dance at the village shrine, a group of young people visits each house in the village singing and dancing, often to the accompaniment of sanshin and drums, in a style based on the esa omoro genre of indigenous group dance and incorporating elements from the nenbutsu odori style of Japanese popular Buddhist dance.

Harvest festival entertainments consist largely of musical, dance and theatrical items incorporated from the classical art repertory. Other festivities in which folk music plays an intrinsic part include the unjami festival of the sea gods, the shinugu post-harvest celebration and the women's round dance ushidēku. These forms flourish especially in the northern part of Okinawa Island, although regional variants exist throughout Ryūkyū.

(d) Recreational songs.

The custom of singing for recreation in Japanese music can be traced back to utagaki courting songs. Although such songs have long disappeared from Japan, they survive in certain parts of Ryūkyū, especially in the hachigatsu odori genre of Amami. As performed today, the style features an exchange of sung verses between separate groups of men and women. A performance may continue for several hours, with the content of the songs often becoming increasingly ribald as the performance progresses.

The category of recreational songs comprises a large proportion of the repertory of folksong accompanied by the sanshin. Among the most popular examples are those in which a skeletal melody is used as the vehicle for a wide variety of lyrical or narrative poetic texts. Such songs include Nākuni and Kuduchi in Okinawa, Tōgani and Ayagu in Miyako, and Tubarāma in Yaeyama. A distinctive and complex style of sanshin-accompanied singing has evolved in Amami, employing Okinawan texts but largely independent of Okinawan musical influence. Performed by musicians known as utasha, the style is characterized by use of an intricate sanshin technique and a male falsetto voice unique in Japanese music.

(e) New folksongs.

The category of new folksongs (shin minyō) comprises songs rooted in indigenous styles from the early ShŌwa era (1926–89) onwards. The textual content of such songs is often concerned with matters of social and historical import such as emigration, the sufferings of war and social change. While generally showing little evidence of Western influence, the musical language of these songs has gradually developed away from traditional styles. Although many songs in this genre have the ephemerality of much popular music, some have acquired a status as standard items in the folk music repertory, in particular those composed by Fukuhara Chōki (1903–81), one of the founders of this genre.

Japan, §VIII, 1: Regional traditions, Ryūkyū.

(ii) Art music.

This denotes the music created and performed by the nobility during the age of the Ryukyuan kingdom primarily in the capital, Shuri, and the neighbouring city of Naha. Several of these genres are extinct, although efforts are being made to revive them.

(a) Extraneous genres.

Chinese music entered Ryūkyū with the arrival in 1392 of immigrants from Fujian province after the establishment of diplomatic relations between Ming China and Ryūkyū. The earliest mention of the performance of music for ensembles of Chinese instruments, a genre known in Ryūkyū as ozagaku, dates from 1534. Ozagaku was performed before visiting Chinese embassies, on visits to the Japanese shogunal court at Edo after 1653 and at functions at the royal court in Shuri. Vocal music of the Ming and Qing dynasties was also performed on these occasions. Due to its association with diplomatic and court functions, however, ozagaku ceased to be performed after the dissolution of the kingdom of Ryūkyū in 1879.

Chinese processional music (Chinese: lubuyue) was introduced in 1522 to enhance the majesty of royal processions. Known in Ryūkyū as rojigaku, this music featured three types of wind instrument (sōna double-reed pipe, rappa and dōkaku trumpets) and three types of percussion instrument (ko drum, ryōhan clappers and dora cymbals) and was an essential ingredient of royal and state processions until the dissolution of the kingdom. Rojigaku is now performed at the annual Shuri Festival, while the music of the sōna (gakubura) is performed at annual festivals in several villages in northern Okinawa Island. Confucian ceremonial music (seibyōgaku) and Chinese qin and flute pieces were also performed but are no longer extant.

The sole genre of Japanese art music to take root in Ryūkyū was the music of the nō theatre (see §VI, 1 above), both vocal (yōkyoku) and instrumental (hayashi). The practice of nō was popular even before the Satsuma invasion of 1609. Many of the leading figures in the indigenous art music tradition had backgrounds as nō performers. The Japanese 13-string long zither koto was introduced into Ryūkyū during the 18th century, together with several solo instrumental danmono pieces (a set of five short pieces beginning with Takiotoshi sugagaki, and versions of Rokudan and Shichidan) as performed in the Yatsuhashi school and three koto songs (Sentō-bushi, Tsushima-bushi, Genji-bushi) of uncertain Japanese provenance. However, the role of the koto in Okinawa has primarily been to provide an accompaniment to sanshin songs in the indigenous art tradition.

(b) The indigenous tradition.

The earliest documented genre of indigenous Ryūkyū art music comprises the songs known as omoro, the texts of which appear in the major classic of Ryukyuan literature, the Omorosōshi, which was compiled in three stages in 1531, 1613 and 1623. The songs are thought to date from between the 12th and 17th centuries and were performed by an individual (or perhaps a guild of court musicians) known as Aka Inko or Omoro Neyagari, who has acquired legendary status as the founder of Okinawan music. Performances were given at court ceremonies by a male choir. Only 47 of the total of 1248 songs contained in the Omorosōshi appear to have been sung. This number had dwindled to a mere five by the late 19th century, and the tradition is now extinct. There was no formal notation for this style of singing; the only glimpse available of the tradition can be gained from the scores in Western notation of the five omoro produced by the Okinawan researcher Yamanouchi Seihin in 1912, after a meeting with the last representative of the tradition.

The classical tradition of Ryukyuan art music consists primarily of a corpus of songs (fushi) accompanied by the sanshin, which are contained in anthologies known as the kunkunshī, a term referring to both the anthologies and the system of musical notation. Almost all the songs employ poetic texts in the indigenous ryūka form consisting of a single four-line verse of 8–8–8–6 syllables. A variant of the ryūka form is the syncretic nakafū form, which combines the 7–5 syllable structure of Japanese waka with the ryūka, resulting in texts with the syllabic structure 7(or 5)–5–8–6. The texts are sung in the Okinawan literary language based on Shuri dialect, the language of the Ryukyuan nobility.

The earliest extant kunkunshī is a single volume work compiled by Yakabi Chōki in the mid-18th century. It contains the notation of the sanshin parts and ryūka texts of 117 songs that have remained the central items in the repertory. The kunkunshī used today in the largest school of performance, the Nomura-ryū, was compiled by Nomura Anchō and Matsumura Shinshin in 1869. Consisting of three main volumes and an appendix, the Nomura kunkunshī contains sanshin notation and texts of over 200 songs. The tradition of sanshin-accompanied song is now synonymous with Ryukyuan classical music and is maintained in three schools: Tansui, Nomura and Afuso.

The ordering of the songs in the Nomura kunkunshī accords approximately with the customary generic classification of the song repertory into ha-bushi, nkashi-bushi, pieces for solo singing and regional folk songs.

The first volume, comprising 37 pieces, consists primarily of ha-bushi, relatively short and structurally simple songs originating within the art tradition. They are described in the aesthetic treatise Gensei no maki (1789) as being ‘imbued with the impermanent spirit of the floating world’. The volume begins with four songs (Kajadifū-bushi, Unna-bushi, Nakagusuku hantamē-bushi, Kuti-bushi) from a set of five that was originally performed on occasions when the king of Ryukyu was in attendance. This set, known as Gujinfū gokyoku (‘five pieces in the honourable presence’), continues to be the most frequently performed ‘suite’ (chukusai) in the repertory, sung at concerts and celebratory occasions of all kinds.

The second volume, comprising 29 pieces, consists primarily of nkashi-bushi (‘ancient songs’), a genre subdivided into jun nkashi-bushi (‘semi-ancient songs’), nkashi-bushi and ufu nkashi-bushi (‘great ancient songs’). Nkashi-bushi are described in Gensei no maki as ‘singing of the glory of past ages, when the world enjoyed such peace that not even the branches of trees were disturbed’. The ten pieces at the head of the second volume are the central items in the repertory. The first five (Chikuten-bushi, Janna-bushi, Shui-bushi, Shudun-bushi, Akatsichi-bushi) constitute a set referred to as nkashi-bushi in the narrow sense. The second five are interspersed with short songs, known generically as chirashi. These five pieces (Chaya-bushi, Nkashi habira-bushi, Naga Janna-bushi, Naka-bushi, Jūshichihachi-bushi) are the ufu nkashi-bushi. Although the conventional assumption that they predate other items in the repertory is clearly erroneous, they are the longest and the most complex and diverse pieces, both technically and structurally.

Whereas all the pieces in the first two volumes employ the honchōshī tuning of the sanshin, the third volume begins with 34 pieces in the niagi tuning. The high tessitura of the vocal parts, the lyrical content and the relatively free metrical structure of these pieces suits them to solo singing. The first five pieces in this volume (Fishi-bushi, Kwamuchā-bushi, Sanyama-bushi, Nakafū-bushi, Shukkwē-bushi) again constitute a set, in this case of solo songs. These are the principal solo items in the classical repertory and are often performed together at concerts (see fig.38 for notation and transcription of one version of Nakafū-bushi). The remaining items in the third volume are pieces in rare tunings and regional folk songs in the honchōshī tuning.

The fourth volume was compiled later than the first three volumes and contains approximately 60 pieces. It is an appendix to the three main volumes and consists of regional folk songs, especially from Yaeyama, arranged in the classical style, and other pieces not included in the earlier three volumes (e.g. instrumental interludes to kumiodori music dramas and arrangements of danmono pieces originally for the koto).

Japan, §VIII, 1: Regional traditions, Ryūkyū.

(iii) History.

Owing to the paucity of documentary records relating to the early history of Ryūkyū in general, little is known of the early development of music there. Until the sanshin tradition became established during the 16th and 17th centuries, musical activity is likely to have focussed entirely on religious ceremonies. Asked about music in their country, two envoys sent to Korea in 1462 replied: ‘One performer claps his hands and sings, whereupon others join in … There is no instrumental court music’. The performance described here is likely to have been of omoro; the remarks indicate that sacred songs (kamiuta) retained a central place in music at this time. The earliest strata of Ryukyuan culture are present in the Miyako islands, where many kamiuta are still sung today. Most Miyako kamiuta employ a scale (ritsu; see §(v)(b) below) that is a feature of the earliest strata of Japanese music as a whole, suggesting their origins in a musical culture shared with Japan proper prior to the linguistic and cultural separation of Ryūkyū and Japan around the 4th and 5th centuries.

The first flowering of Ryukyuan culture occurred during the reign of King Shō Shin (1478–1526), who among his many achievements is reputed to have introduced instrumental music (‘flutes and strings’) into the court. This was the age when Ryūkyū engaged in a lively entrepôt trade with China, Japan and South-east Asia and imported cultural manifestations that laid the foundations for the future development of Okinawa's diverse and cosmopolitan artistic culture.

The Chinese investiture envoy Chen Kan provided the earliest reference (1534) to what would appear to be Ryukyuan art music as we know it: ‘The music employs singing accompanied by stringed instruments. The sound is very melancholy’. One can infer therefore that this music became established among the Shuri nobility early in the 16th century. This dating is further supported by its coincidence with the period of transition in Okinawan literary history between the omoro and the ryūka, a transition in which the legendary figure of Aka Inko may have played a key role. The ryūka was the first indigenous Okinawan literary form to provide an outlet for personalized emotional expression, and music became its chosen medium.

The Japanese invasion of Ryūkyū in 1609 inevitably brought about an increase in Japanese influence to supplement the already strong degree of Chinese influence in the kingdom. Accomplishment in Chinese and Japanese arts became an essential attribute of any aspirant to government office. However, by the end of the century a cultural crisis of confidence had occurred. The consequence was a self-conscious and productive attempt to uncover cultural roots and the great florescence of Ryukyuan culture during the 18th century.

The earliest historically verifiable figure of importance in music was Tansui wēkata Kenchū (1623–83), to whom composition of several extant pieces (including the five nkashi-bushi) is attributed. The Tansui school maintains a precarious existence today, although the complete repertory of the school consists of only the five nkashi-bushi together with two versions each of the ha-bushi pieces Hai Chikuten-bushi and Agi Chikuten-bushi.

Tamagusuku Chōkun (1684–1734), the functionary responsible for presenting performances to the party of Chinese envoys who visited Ryūkyū for the investiture of King Shō Kei in 1719, consolidated the traditional performing arts and devised the new form of music theatre, kumiodori. Influenced by Japanese nō and Chinese music drama but rooted in Okinawan legend, it employed an artificial, neo-classical form of language and was an early step towards the revival (if not invention) of a distinctive Ryukyuan cultural identity. The music of kumiodori dramas employs arrangements of pieces from the classical repertory.

The Nomura-ryū and the Afuso-ryū, the two leading modern schools of classical music, can be traced back in an unbroken line to Yakabi Chōki (1716–75). Yakabi was a practitioner of nō who transferred allegiance to Ryukyuan music after losing his eyesight. His foremost pupil was Chinen Sekkō (1761–1828), who in turn taught Nomura Anchō (1805–71) and Afuso Seigen (1785–1865), the founders of the modern schools. Controversy surrounds the precise route of transmission of the Tō-ryū school of which Yakabi was the founder, but it seems likely that Nomura simplified aspects of the tradition to make it more accessible to amateur practitioners.

Japan, §VIII, 1: Regional traditions, Ryūkyū.

(iv) Instruments, performance and aesthetics.

(a) Instruments.

Those used in Ryukyuan music are the sanshin, the koto, the kokyū, the flute and various drums. Many Chinese instruments were also commonly played in Ryūkyū, but most of these disappeared together with the tradition of Chinese music performance.

The principal instrument, the sanshin, acquired a certain status as the instrument of the leisured man of culture, similar in this respect to the long zither qin in China. Its use was originally restricted to the nobility, and it was made by a government department within the Kaizuri Bugyōsho (‘Shell-polishing’ Office) ministry. Various models were created under a rigorous system of quality control. Differing mainly with regard to the shape of the neck, the models include Fēbaru (the earliest type), Chinen-dēku, Kuba-shunden, Kuba-nu-funi, Makabi and Yuna, the last two types being most common today.

The sanshin is an adaptation of the Chinese Sanxian three-string plucked lute, which was introduced into Ryūkyū from China after the establishment of a Chinese community in the Kume-mura district of Naha some time after 1392. The sanshin was later introduced into Japan, where it served as the basis for development of the shamisen (see §II, 6 above). The sanxian, sanshin and shamisen have the same basic structure, consisting of a long neck inserted into a wooden body. The neck of the sanshin is made of ebony, red sandalwood or a similar hard wood. The best quality wood was formerly obtained from Yaeyama, but depletion of forest resources there has resulted in the wood being imported mainly from the Philippines. The fingerboard measures approximately 48 cm from the upper bridge to the body, which is covered on both sides with snakeskin obtained from a Thai python; it is slightly rounded and measures approximately 19 cm in length and width. The instrument has three strings, the first (lowest) known as the ‘male string’ (ūjiru), the second as the ‘middle string’ (nakajiru) and the third as the ‘female string’ (mījiru). In classical music it is sounded with a large finger-shaped plectrum made of water buffalo horn placed on the index finger of the right hand. In Amami, the instrument is sounded with a long bamboo sliver.

The basic right-hand playing technique involves a succession of downstrokes; upstrokes are used on weak beats. Stylized movements of the right hand are used on beats when the sanshin is silent. Changes of position are relatively rare in the left hand since, in contrast to the shamisen, all the required pitches can generally be obtained without such changes. When a change is required, no more than two positions are ever used. Left-hand finger technique employs only the index, middle and little fingers and includes striking a pitch on the fingerboard and holding it (uchi-utu), striking a pitch and immediately releasing it (uchinuchi-utu), and plucking the string one degree of the scale above the required pitch (kachi-utu). The standard tuning for ensemble performance is c–f–c' (honchōshī), with the basic pitch varying depending on the range of the singer; solo performers may vary the tunings between A–d–a' and d–a–d'. Niagi is employed especially in solo songs; ichiagi (also known as Tō-nu-tsindami, ‘Chinese tuning’) is used in several pieces from Yaeyama and in the music for the Chinese-style drama tāfākū; and sansagi or ichiniagi is the most common tuning in modern folk song (ex.19).

The Koto used in Okinawan music is the long type of instrument (see also §II, 4 above), with the extra length required because of the relatively low pitch range of the instrument in Okinawa. It is played with rounded plectra set on the thumb, index finger and middle finger of the right hand, with the player kneeling square to the instrument. The koto is generally used in an accompanying role, with the two bottom strings used only in the solo danmono pieces.

The kokyū bowed lute is a miniature version of the sanshin and was modelled in this respect on its Japanese counterpart. Like the flute, its function is to add colour to the main melodic line. Picture scrolls suggest that Chinese bowed lutes and flute were formerly used.

Percussion instruments include the ancient chijin drum used by priestesses, the pārankū single-headed drum used in eisā performances and the sanba wooden clappers used to enhance rhythmic excitement in fast music.

(b) Performance and aesthetics.

After the spread of the sanshin among ordinary people, the instrument came to be used in many situations in which unaccompanied singing would formerly have been customary. In all genres incorporating the sanshin, the songs are sung by the sanshin-players only.

Performance of the sanshin was originally restricted to male members of the nobility and continues to be a largely male preserve, except in modern folk music. Although the koto was also played only by men, the instrument is now performed in Okinawa almost entirely by women. The standard ensemble used in accompaniment to classical dance consists of two or three sanshin, one koto, one kokyū, one flute and one pair of drums. Drums are not used in nkashi-bushi pieces. Concert performances are given by ensembles of various sizes, ranging from one sanshin and one koto to an unlimited number of performers of each instrument. Performances by around 50 players are common at amateur concerts in Okinawa.

The various vocal techniques employed in classical music are all named, and their realization is rigorously prescribed. Several are similar in name or realization to techniques used in shōmyō and yōkyoku, suggesting a possible direct influence from Japanese music. A wide tessitura is required of more than two octaves, from a 4th below the pitch of the bottom string of the sanshin to a 6th above the top string (i.e. G to a' when the first string is tuned to c and the top string to c'). The sanshin plays regularly on the main beats and anticipates similar melodic motion in the vocal part. As in Japanese shamisen music, simultaneous motion of voice and instrument is regarded as naive and unsophisticated. Distinctive features of the vocal line in classical music include the use of extensive melisma and long-held notes above a slowly moving accompaniment and, especially in solo songs, complex interaction between voice and instrument.

As befits a tradition originating in an aristocratic milieu dominated by Confucian ideology, the aesthetic principles underlying the music were codified. They are documented in two brief treatises on musical aesthetics, Gensei no maki (‘Treatise on strings and the voice’, 1789) and Kadō yōhō (‘Essential principles of the art of song’, 1845). The performance ideal is epitomized by the term gensei itchi, ‘unity of instrument and voice’. The unity extends further to posture, hand movements and all aspects of performance. Facile virtuosity is discouraged, and the importance of humility, effort and concentration is stressed. Such attributes have given music the status of an accomplishment whose main purpose is not so much to entertain listeners as to provide a vehicle for moral self-improvement. They have also discouraged the emergence of a class of professional musicians: music was and continues to be an essentially amateur pursuit.

Japan, §VIII, 1: Regional traditions, Ryūkyū.

(v) Notation and structure.

(a) Notation system.

The Ryukyuan notation system known as the kunkunshī is an adaptation of the Chinese gongche system (see China, §II, 4, and Table 2). However, whereas the gongche system is an absolute pitch notation, the kunkunshī is a tablature notation specifically for the sanshin. The starting point for the adaptation was the Tō-nu-tsindami tuning, and the names assigned to the pitches of the open strings correspond in the two systems. The symbols, together with their readings and relative pitches in the two major tunings, are shown in ex.20. The name kunkunshī is based on the Sino-Ryukyuan readings of the first three characters of the piece that prefaces the earliest extant edition of the kunkunshī, the mid-18th century Yakabi kunkunshī of Yakabi Chōki. Notated in the gongche system, this is the well-known Chinese piece Lao Baban (also Baban, Liuban).

The kunkunshī system became increasingly precise over the two centuries following the Yakabi kunkunshī. Whereas Yakabi Chōki specified sanshin pitches alone with no indication of metre, the kunkunshī of his pupil Chinen Sekkō included circles to indicate single-beat rests and small characters and proportional notation to indicate motion with up to four subdivisions of a beat. The Chinen kunkunshī was also the first to employ a basic layout of 12 characters to the vertical column. The Nomura kunkunshī built on Chinen's innovation by placing each beat in a box, with 12 boxes and beats to a column and seven columns to a page. (In Chinen's system, the non-proportional placement of rests meant that the columns had varying numbers of beats.) The first edition of the Nomura kunkunshī to include vocal notation was produced by the Okinawan musicologist Serei Kunio (1897–1950) and published between 1935 and 1941. It was based on the performance of the foremost Nomura school musician of the day, Isagawa Seizui (1872–1937).

Other kunkunshī anthologies include those of the Tansui school (1872) and the Afuso school (1912). Kunkunshī anthologies for the koto also exist, but these are notated in an adaptation of standard koto notation.

(b) Structural elements.

The scale with the widest distribution throughout Ryūkyū is a variant of the ritsu scale (ex.21c). This appears especially in kamiuta and folk songs in the Yaeyama, Miyako and northern Okinawan regions. The scale more generally associated with the music of Ryūkyū, however, is the Okinawa scale and its variants (ex.21a, b, d). This scale is associated in particular with sanshin music, although it is not present in the Amami region, except in the southernmost islands where Okinawan music has entered.

There are four main features of the use of the Okinawa scale in classical music. First, a core pentatonic or hexatonic scale is present within the framework of an approximate diatonic series. Second, there may be either one or two tonal centres; when there are two, they fall on the first and fourth degrees (ex.21a, d). Third, the seventh degree in ex.21a and the fourth degree in ex.21b are approximately a quarter-tone flat and are inherently unstable. Finally, ex.21d is the only scale in which all pitches fall within a strict diatonic series. A variant of this scale in which only the first degree constitutes a nuclear pitch is the scale most commonly employed in modern folk music.

The formal structure of the music is determined largely by that of the song texts; there is no direct expressive linkage between texts and music. Ryūka texts generally appear in anthologies classified according to the piece (fushi) to which they are sung. In many cases, any of several dozen texts may be sung to a particular piece, and the music in no way represents a ‘setting’ of a specific verse. In the case of extended texts, the form in both classical and folk music is generally strophic, as in the kuduchi genre. Various forms are used in the case of the ryūka texts to which the majority of songs are sung. Ha-bushi pieces in their simplest form have an AA form corresponding to the 8–8 and 8–6 lines of the text (e.g. Guin-bushi). In this case it is customary for two syllables in the last line to be repeated. AA' form involves compression of the musical material to accommodate the six-syllable length of the last line (e.g. Chūjun-bushi). Other ha-bushi pieces have a more complex structure, in which the music of the last two lines is repeated after an episode (e.g. Kajadifū-bushi, Hanafū-bushi). Others have no repetition of formal units (e.g. Chin-bushi) or may incorporate hayashi-kotaba, meaningless phrases or syllables unconnected with the meaning of the main text (e.g. Chirurin-bushi). The formal structure of nkashi-bushi is most commonly AABC (with B constituting an instrumental interlude), in which the music corresponding to the first line of the ryūka verse is repeated for the second line (e.g. Akatsichi-bushi). Many pieces, however, have formal structures of considerably greater complexity.

Every piece in the sanshin repertory incorporates a short instrumental passage (utamuchi) performed several times at the beginning and at the end of a song. In dance pieces this is repeated continuously as the dancers enter and leave the stage.

Japan, §VIII: Regional traditions

2. Ainu.

The Ainu are an aboriginal people who once inhabited Hokkaidō, Sakhalin and the Kuril islands. Their music and culture link them to other Siberian peoples rather than to the ethnic Japanese. After World War II the Ainu on the Kuril islands and southern Sakhalin migrated to Hokkaidō, which is the only area they now inhabit. The present Ainu population is estimated at over 20,000, the great majority of whom are thought to be of mixed blood. With the dissolution of the tribal system, only a few elderly Ainu carried on the traditions described in the present tense below, but recent years have seen a revival of interest among Ainu as well as other Japanese.

(i) Music and incantation.

Shamanism and animism are predominant in the religious life of the Ainu. Their everyday life is strictly governed by taboos and incantations, culminating in a bear sacrifice ritual commonly observed among the northern tribes. Singing, a major feature of Ainu music, is a part of their daily tribal life. Significant elements in Ainu music are the characteristic sounds ‘produced’ by animal deities (both favourable and unfavourable) who govern the distribution of daily provisions. These onomatopoeic sounds include songs and dances of independent genres such as chikappo-reki (‘birdsong’) and are also heard in dance-songs and ballads, for instance as the imitation of a snorting bear or a slithering snake. Most Ainu instrumental music is a stylization of animal cries and calls. The nonsense-syllable refrains such as ‘hessa!’ and ‘husse!’ used in various songs and dances stem from puffing to exorcize evil spirits. Such examples demonstrate the close relationship between Ainu music and the primitive Ainu religion.

(ii) Communal songs and dances.

Of the various types of Ainu music the most important and numerous are the upopo (‘sitting song’) and rimse (‘dancing song’), both sung in relation to incantatory rituals such as those of the bear cult. The most outstanding feature of upopo is its polyphonic performance. The people, sitting in a circle, tap the beat on the lids of chests (hokai) and sing the upopo imitatively, like a canon with a lag of one beat. In this imitation the melodies are altered, or in the practice of the Ainu from Sakhalin, two different melodies are used as in double counterpoint. This results in a cacophony of sounds reflecting the etymology of the upopo (the chirping of birds). In such polyphony, unlike Western polyphony, distinction of each voice line is not intended. The cluster of sounds helps to exorcize evil spirits from the ritual sites, cultivate spiritual strength and produce a certain hypnotic transfixion. The Sakhalin Ainu also use a singing technique called rekúx-kara. Two women sit face to face with their hands cupped loosely between their mouths, thus forming a resonating passage. The timbre of their voices is then altered by opening and closing the hands to varying degrees. A similar technique is found among the North American Inuit.

The word rimse originated in the sound of stamping feet and clashing swords of the niwen-horippa, or ‘goosestep march’. This was performed on the occasion of tribal calamities in order to exorcize evil spirits. Ainu dancing is divided roughly into two categories. The first is non-descriptive dance with stylized movement patterns: rimse is sung to accompany this type of dance in responsorial fashion, with a leader (iekey) and a following group. On rare occasions it is sung antiphonally by two groups or sung in unison throughout. The second type of rimse is descriptive or dramatic with mimetic gestures. Included in this category are chikap rimse (‘bird dance’), which portrays flying birds, and humpenere (‘whale dance’), in which pantomimic action tells the story of an old blind woman who finds a whale’s carcass washed ashore and the subsequent division of the meat among the members of the tribe.

The Ainu depend on hunting and fishing for their subsistence. Since this type of labour demands quiet movements, there are no specific work songs connected with it. Work songs are limited chiefly to harvest songs of a religious nature, in which prayers are offered up for a plentiful harvest and the exorcism of evil spirits from the harvest. Thus, with a few exceptions such as the iyuta-upopo (‘pounding song’) and chipo-haw (‘rowing song’), there are hardly any work songs involving characteristic actions or rhythmic patterns connected with specific types of work.

(iii) Individual music.

Typical of this genre are yayshama, in which an improvisatory effusion of emotions is inserted between repeated refrains of yayshama-nena; yaykatekara, a love song; and iyohay-ochis, a plaintive song on the subject of a broken heart. In any song of this kind the melodies are characterized by personal traits, and each melody can be identified with a specific member of the tribe. The Ainu lullaby (ihumke) is similar in this respect. One of its distinctive features is its peculiar manner of voice production: refrains are sung in high falsetto with a rolled tongue, to soothe a crying baby. Improvised words are repeated between refrains.

Ballads are divided into two major types, prosaic and prosodic. The former are epics the subject-matter of which is the myths on which the Ainu religion is founded; they are referred to as kamui-yukara (‘divine ballad’). Ballads of this type are relatively short and are told in the first person by the gods of nature – animal and plant gods. The other type of ballad is called yukara (‘human ballad’). The heroes of these ballads are mortals, and their lives, wars and romances are dramatically told in the style of extended epics. Kamui-yukara, the older type, is derived from the form of oracles of mediums possessed by animal gods. Onomatopoeic motifs linked with the heroic animals are repeated, and the melody carrying the story is inserted between these refrains. The melodies may be a repetition of the refrain motifs or new recitative-like figures. Kamui-yukara gradually developed into yukara, in which human heroes play leading roles; it then lost its religious connotations. The refrains diminished and melodies became longer.

(iv) Structure and instruments.

Ainu melodies are basically anhemitonic, although melismatic variation often occurs, and a heavy, breathy vibrato often obscures precise pitch. Most Ainu melodies use two or three notes, rather than using evenly all five notes of a pentatonic scale. In two-note melodies the intervals of the major 2nd, minor 3rd and perfect 4th are most common. In three-note melodies the third note is obtained by adding a tone to the nuclear interval of a perfect 4th; for example a-c'-d' or g'-c'-d. Arpeggiated melodies without dominant frame intervals also occur. Melodies are constructed by repeating motifs. With a few exceptions of hybrid metre, the basic metre in Ainu music is duple, and only rarely does the metre change during a piece.

Pentatonic melodies are common among the peoples surrounding the Ainu, but a detailed examination of the cadences, rhythm and dynamics of Ainu music shows that it is more closely related to the music of Siberian peoples and North American Indians than to that of the Japanese. A comparative analysis of Ainu melodies may shed some light on the history of the migration of peoples from Siberia to the North American continent via the Kuril and Aleutian islands.

Typical Ainu instruments are the tonkori, a five-string zither (fig.39), and the mukkuri, a jew’s harp. Both terms are onomatopoeic derivations from the instruments’ sounds. The mukkuri, an ancient and widespread type of mouth harp, has a bamboo frame about 15 cm long, 1·5 cm wide and 0·5 cm thick. The tonkori, used mostly by Ainu from Sakhalin, has a hollow soundboard about 120 cm long, 10 cm wide and 5 cm thick. The player sits with the instrument resting against his shoulder or held in his arms while he plucks the strings with the fingers of both hands. The basic string tuning is in 4ths and 5ths (a-d'-g'-c'-f', but there are some variants. A characteristic feature of the instrument is the star-like soundhole in its centre. When a ball is inserted in this hole, the instrument is thought to be given spiritual life. The tonkori was also formerly used as a ritualistic tool. The shaman’s kačo, a single-headed frame drum, is used by shamanistic mediums.

(v) Late 20th-century developments.

By the 1970s the traditions discussed above were being practised in a living sense by a very few elderly Ainu. Since then, however, interest has grown among the Ainu themselves and more widely within Japan. This, and a heightented political awareness, has led to the establishment of various Ainu-related research or culture centres in Hokkaidō, including the Ainu Museum in Shiraoi. This trend has engendered an increase in folkloric performances, both at tourist-orientated facilities in Hokkaidō and on stages elsewhere in Japan and abroad. Young Ainu are also taking an interest in their roots, as reflected in the albums of neo-traditional music by Oki, an Ainu who is an arts graduate of Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music.

Published research on Ainu music itself has remained sparse. Chiba Nobuhiko has begun to provide a flood of detailed analyses of tonkori music in particular, and other researchers will soon follow. Foreign researchers have perhaps been dissuaded by the challenge of learning both Japanese and Ainu languages.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

and other resources

ryukyu

K. Serei: ‘Ryūkyuan ongaku gakuten’ [Theory of Ryūkyū music], Seigakufu tsuki kunkunshī, i, (Naha, 1935)

A.P.J. LaRue: The Okinawan Classical Songs (diss., Harvard U., 1952)

R. Uchida: ‘Shima-uta of Amami: a Study of Folk Music’, Okinawa no kayō to ongaku [Okinawan songs and music] (Tokyo, 1989), 28–63 [in Eng.]

H. Yamamoto: ‘Characteristics of Amami Folk Songs’, Musical Voices of Asia, ed. F. Koizumi and others (Tokyo, 1980), 131–4

S. Yamanouchi: Yamanouchi Seihin chosakushū [Collection of writings by Yamanouchi Seihin] (Naha, 1993)

R. Thompson: ‘Die Musik Okinawas und ihre Entwicklung seit der Meiji-Zeit’, Musik in Japan, ed. S. Guignard (Munich, 1996)

recordings

The Rough Guide to the Music of Japan, World Music Network RGNET 1031 (1999)

Music of Okinawa, King KICH 2025

Music of Yaeyama and Miyako, King KICH 2026

ainu

Japanese Radio Institute and P. Collaer: ‘Sixteen Ainu Songs’, Ethnomusicologie I: Wégimont I 1954, 195–205

Nihon Hōsō Kyōkai [Japan Broadcasting Corporation], ed.: Ainu dentō ongaku [Traditional Ainu music] (Tokyo, 1965] (with songsheets and Eng. summary]

W. Graf: ‘Zur gesanglichen Stimmgebung der Ainu’, Festschrift für Walter Wiora, ed. L. Finscher and C.-H. Mahling (Kassel, 1967), 529–35

D. Philippi, trans: Songs of Gods, Songs of Humans: the Epic Tradition of the Ainu (Tokyo, 1978)

J. Nattiez: ‘The Rekukkara of the Ainu (Japan) and the Katajjaq of the Inuit (Canada): a Comparison’, World of Music, xv/2 (1983), 33–44

N. Chiba: ‘Fujiyama Haru no tonkori ensōhō ni tsuite (I)’ [The tonkori style of Fukiyama Haru, I] and ‘Fujiyama Haru no tonkori ensō no naiyō ni tsuite’ [The content of Fujiyama Haru’s tonkori music], Hokkaidō tōbu ni nokoru Karafuto Ainu bunka, I [Sakhalin Ainu culture surviving in eastern Hokkaidō, I] (Tokoro-chō, 1996), 9–100, 101–37

N. Chiba: ‘Karafuto Ainu no ongaku’ [Music of the Sakhalin Ainu], Karafuto Ainu, ed. Ainu Museum (Shiraoi, Japan, 1996), 49–58

N. Chiba: ‘Ainu no uta no senritsu kōzō ni tsuite’ [The melodic structure of Ainu songs], Tōyō ongaku kenkyū, lxi (1996), 1–21

N. Chiba: ‘Nagaarashi Iso no tonkori’ [The tonkori style fo Nagaarashi Iso], Hokkaidō no Bunka, lxviii (1996), 1–35

recordings

Harmony of Japanese Music, King KICH 2021 (1991)

The Rough Guide to the Music of Japan, World Music Network RGNET 1031 (1997)

Yukar, The Ainu Epic Songs, King KICC-5217 (1997)

Ainu shinwa shūsei[Kayano Shigeru's anthology of Ainu myth], Victor (1998)

Hankapuy: Oki featuring Umeko Ando, Chikar Studio CKR-0102 (1999)

Japan

IX. Developments since the Meiji Restoration

1. Introduction.

2. Western art music.

3. Popular music.

4. Traditional music.

Japan, §IX: Developments since the Meiji Restoration

1. Introduction.

The Meiji period (1868–1912) saw Japan open its doors to the outside world after more than two centuries of isolation. The government adopted a policy of thorough and rapid modernization and Westernization. Although the primary aim was to catch up militarily and economically with its rivals, the Confucian world view suggested that all spheres of culture were interlinked; thus the education system and even the performing arts also had to be modernized.

The sections that follow describe developments since the onset of Westernization in three distinct music spheres in Japan: the Western classical music world; the world of popular musics, both Western-style and Japanese; and the world of hōgaku, Japanese traditional classical and theatre musics (for the world of folk song, see §VII above). These three spheres, while developing in relative isolation from each other, also interacted in significant ways. Japanese composers in the Western idiom have, perhaps ironically, come ever more to draw on their Japanese roots, Takemitsu tōru and Miki minoru being prime examples. Traditional musicians seeking new directions have primarily turned to the West, although to varying degrees. Popular composers of the early 20th century often worked in three idioms: Western-style compositions (albeit with Japanese lyrics); ‘new folk songs’ in near-traditional style; and a hybrid that draws on the pentatonic major and minor scales. The more adventurous among recent pop musicians reflect globalization by mixing Western, Japanese and other elements in the best post-modern tradition. Recent years, for example, have seen arrangements by commercial musicians of shōmyō with other instruments and musical styles (e.g. synthesizer, shamisen) or for the concert stage (see under Recordings below).

Given that the national education curriculum has since the 1870s virtually excluded traditional music, it might be surprising that the latter survives at all. Western elements are indeed in the ascendant, but indigenous elements remain strong (see §4 below).

Japan, §IX: Developments since the Meiji Restoration

2. Western art music.

(i) To 1945.

European music was introduced to Japan by Portuguese and Spanish missionaries in the mid-16th century, but the ban on Christianity (1588) and the isolationist policy (after 1639) stopped the development of imported music (see §IV, 4 above). When the restrictions were lifted at the Meiji Restoration (1868), European music was again imported, with fresh vigour and unusual rapidity, in the form first of military band music and then of Protestant hymns. The Meiji government actively encouraged the broad diffusion of Western music, and the new school system (1872) adopted a European style of singing in its curriculum. The Music Study Committee, founded by the government in 1879 and headed by Izawa Shūji, welcomed the cooperation of foreign teachers such as Luther W. Mason, Franz Eckert and Rudolf Dittrich; in 1887 it became the country’s first music academy, the Tokyo Music School. Ongaku zasshi, the first music journal, began publication in 1890; the first opera performance, a scene from Gounod’s Faust, took place in 1894. By 1900 concerts were popular, particularly piano, violin and song recitals.

Japanese composers of Westernized music, who began to be active around 1900, at first specialized in songwriting; Taki Rentarō’s Kōjō no tsuki (‘Moon at a desolate castle’, 1901) is probably the most famous song of the period. Yamada Kōsaku, who studied in Germany and became the leading composer of the time, made the first attempt to compose orchestral works and operas (about 1912). After 1915 an increasing number of European visitors (some of them, like Prokofiev, refugees from the Russian Revolution) further encouraged musical activities. By 1930 the list of visitors included the violinists Zimbalist, Kreisler, Heifetz and Thibaud, the pianists Godowsky and Levitsky, the singers McCormack, Fleta and Galli-Curci, the guitarist Segovia, and opera companies from France and Russia.

Yamada and his contemporaries were strongly influenced by German Romanticism. After World War I other European schools, such as French impressionism, were influential, and some composers began to use elements of traditional Japanese music in their works. For example, Shin Nihon Ongaku (New Japanese Music), led by Yoshida Seifū and the koto performer and composer Miyagi Michio, aimed to perform compositions in European styles with Japanese instruments. Vocal compositions in folksong style or for children were particularly popular.

By 1930 contemporary European movements were quickly transmitted to Japan, and as a result Japanese composers began to write in a variety of styles, including nationalist and futurist. The Shinkō Sakkyokuka Renmei (organized in 1930 by 16 younger composers) rapidly grew into a large organization and in 1935 was renamed the Nihon Gendai Sakkyokuka Renmei and became the Japanese branch of the ISCM. Several smaller composers’ associations that had been organized at this time were dissolved at the beginning of World War II, when all musical activities were strictly controlled by the military government.

(ii) Since 1945.

After the war musicians made a prompt start to recover and catch up with the international standards of modern music, and development was rapid. Orchestras and opera groups were organized, and new music colleges and schools were established according to the new educational system. In 1946 the Ministry of Education decided to sponsor an arts festival to be held every autumn, including many musical events. In the same year the pre-war organization of the Nihon Gendai Sakkyokuka Renmei was reconstituted as the Nihon Gendai Ongaku Kyōkai (Japanese Society for Contemporary Music). Many smaller groups of composers were organized to further individual activities, the more important being the Shinsei Kai (members including Shibata Minao, Irino Yoshirō and Toda Kunio, 1946), the Shin Sakkyokuka Kyōkai (including Kiyose Yasuji and Matsudaira Yoritsune, 1947), the Jikken Kōbō (including Takemitsu Tōru and Yuasa Jōji, 1951), the Group of Three (Akutagawa Yasushi, Dan Ikuma and Mayuzumi Toshirō, 1953), the Yagi no Kai (including Hayashi Hikaru and Mamiya Yoshio, 1953) and the Shinshin Kai (with Ikenouchi Tomojirō, Bekku Sadao, Miyoshi Akira and others, 1955). The most controversial movement of the time was dodecaphony, which most composers tried at least once. Some composers still used 19th-century styles, some pursued nationalistic trends, and some participated in avant-garde movements. In 1953 musique concrète was introduced into Japan, and in 1955 the NHK Electronic Music Studio was opened in Tokyo.

After 1960 Japanese composers started to be more individualistic. The remarkable progress in the quality of their work has produced several internationally known composers. The variety of their activities has been such that practically all Western movements have been quickly transmitted and have counterparts in Japan. In addition there have been movements unique to Japan, notably the composition and performance of works in modern idioms on Japanese instruments. The Hōgaku Yonin no Kai, a group of four players of Japanese instruments formed in 1957, commissioned a series of new compositions for their concerts, encouraging composers to familiarize themselves with Japanese instruments. The Ensemble Nipponia, a group of European-style composers and performers using Japanese instruments, was established in 1964; it made many international tours and was active until the 1990s.

The Society of 20th-Century Music, founded in 1957, sponsored a summer festival like that at Darmstadt until 1965. The Japan Philharmonic SO has commissioned new orchestral works annually since 1958 (except for the years 1972 and 1973), among them important compositions by Yashiro, Takemitsu, Shibata, Mamiya and Miyoshi. The Japanisches-Deutsches Festival für Neue Musik (1967–70), sponsored by the Tokyo German Culture Centre, was significant in the promotion of modern music, as was the festival Music Today, directed by Takemitsu (1973–92). The Kusatsu Summer International Music Festival, founded in 1980, has commissioned new Japanese works every year, while the Suntory Music Foundation, founded in 1969, has commissioned and published new works and promoted concerts of Japanese music; since 1991 it has also awarded the annual Akutagawa Prize for the best orchestral work by a young Japanese composer.

While composers continued to pursue novel styles and techniques, radical avant-garde movements gradually waned after 1970. Many composers, including Ichiyanagi, Shibata and Takemitsu, cultivated an eclectic range of styles, from tonal lyricism to aleatory techniques. Shibata’s Oiwake-bushi kō (1973) was the first example of a new genre that the composer called a ‘theatre piece’, somewhat similar to the musikalisches Theatre of Kagel and Ligeti but drawing on traditional and folk melodies. Its success had a decisive influence on Japanese composers of the 1980s and 90s, who created an increasing number of works calling for stage action. From the mid-1980s opera, both European and Japanese, enjoyed a growing popularity, culminating in the opening in 1997 of the New National Theatre, the first Western-style opera house in Japan. Leading Japanese composers of opera include Hara, Miki, Dan and Hayashi, who collaborates with the Konnyaku-za opera group.

The adaptation of traditional Japanese music to European-style composition had become commonplace by the 1980s, when some composers began to look to non-Western (especially Asian) music for their inspiration. The Japanese Society for Contemporary Music (numbering 214 members in 1999) has sponsored an annual festival of contemporary music since 1962 and has awarded the Sakkyoku Shinjin Shō to a young composer since 1984. The Nihon Sakkyokuka Kyōgikai (Japanese Federation of Composers), founded in 1962 to protect composers’ rights, has sponsored concerts, published music and, in collaboration with the Suntory Music Foundation, has since 1981 published a biennial catalogue of works by Japanese composers. By 1999 its membership had reached 560.

Japanese influence on music in Europe and North America has been felt in several respects. The educational philosophy of Suzuki Shin’ichi, manifested since 1933 in his method of violin teaching, has been applied extensively to the teaching of the violin and other string instruments, the flute and the piano. Japan has also become an important manufacturer not only of reproducing equipment but also of pianos, string and wind instruments; leading firms are Yamaha, Nippon Gakki and Kawai.

See also Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, Tokyo.

Japan, §IX: Developments since the Meiji Restoration

3. Popular music.

The musical forms treated here as ‘popular’ comprise those most often associated with the rise of the mass media, specifically printed media, recordings, radio, cinema and television. While most musical genres performed in Japan have been disseminated through print and recordings or broadcast at one time or another, particular genres have developed in close conjunction with the mass media and the socio-musical expectations of their audiences.

(i) To 1945.

Many genres of Japanese music associated today with the Western concept of ‘popular music’ originated during the Meiji period (1868–1912). The terms hayariuta and, later, ryūkōka (both literally meaning popular songs) have been used as broader concepts that subsume specific popular song forms. Many such popular songs have texts that are related to current events or social trends and are relatively short-lived in popularity. In contrast to traditional folksongs, composers and lyricists of popular songs are individually identifiable and some gain considerable fame. With some exceptions, especially among jazz-influenced forms, purely instrumental music has played a secondary role in Japanese popular musical life.

During the Meiji period, the introduction of Western culture and concepts of democracy and liberalism deeply affected the Japanese political as well as musical scene. Particularly in urban centres such as Tokyo and Osaka, emerging popularistic political movements enlisted support through a new kind of speech-song called enka. With texts related to the goals of the Jiyū Minken Undō (People's Democratic Rights Movement), enka songs were heard in music halls and tea houses as well as outdoors on street corners, where broadsheets containing the lyrics were sold. Owing to the songs' directly political nature, the lyrics were considered of greater importance than the melody, so early enka were usually half-shouted and half-chanted to emphasize the texts clearly. In using this technique they were influenced by the style of rakugo, comic storytelling that was performed in variety halls. Early examples of this kind of enka include Dainamaito-bushi (‘Dynamite Song’) and Oppekepē. Later, other traditional song genres that had developed in Japan's urban tea houses and theatres influenced the melodic and performing style of enka, including shinnai-bushi, gidayū-bushi, kouta and zokkyoku.

In the late Meiji and the Taishō periods, political and social events continued to shape enka lyrics. The Sino-Japanese War of 1894–5 made popular composed songs on patriotic and military themes (gunka), often accompanied by the genkan lute. Again during the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–05, gunka from the Sino-Japanese War were revived, and new patriotic songs were composed. In between these two conflicts, however, economic depression and the growth of socialism once more produced socially critical song texts. In addition, everyday events and humorous topics also found a place in enka lyrics. From 1907 the violin sometimes replaced the shamisen lute as accompanying instrument, as heard in recordings of Nonki-bushi (1918).

In 1896 the first gramophones were imported into Japan for sale, and traders soon discovered that Japanese consumers preferred indigenous music to that from the West. Early recordings were made in Japan by kouta and gidayū-bushi singers, manufactured in England or America and then re-shipped to Japan. In 1907 an American-Japanese record company (Nichibei Chikuonki Manufacturing Company, the predecessor of Nippon Columbia) was established, soon followed by other companies building factories and founding sales outlets for a quickly growing market. By 1926, the monthly sales of Nichibei Chikuonki alone had reached 150,000 records and 5000 phonographs.

The rise of hit songs spurred on this economic development. One of the earliest was Kachūsha no uta (‘Song of Katherine’, composed by Nakayama Shinpei), a ballad of 1914 that sold 200,000 copies. While this song dealt with a foreign theme (it was composed for the Tolstoy play Resurrection) and displayed a mixture of European harmonies and Japanese scales, most hit songs of this period remained ‘Japanese’ in sound. Accompanied by shamisen, using yō or in scales and containing lyrics in traditional poetic forms, popular songs of the early days of phonograph recordings sound similar to the kouta of the tea houses, gidayū-bushi or folksongs. In addition to the few examples of ‘exotic’ European-type songs, other important genres showing Western influence include shōka, children's school songs, and the previously mentioned gunka military songs. The former were composed from the mid-1880s specifically for use in school instruction and were disseminated through school textbooks. Shōka school songs often used the so-called yonanuki (‘fourth and seventh [degrees of the major or minor scale] omitted’) scale. They were short, easy to learn songs, written in verse form and having metres of 4/4, 2/4 or (less frequently) 3/4 or 6/8. In the classrooms, these tunes were accompanied by piano or orugōru music box. Gunka such as Taishō gunka, composed by Yamada Gen'ichirō in 1894 during the Sino-Japanese War, appeared at the same time as shōka and also used the yonanuki scale. Many of these, which were used to bolster fighting spirit among soldiers both at home and abroad, feature a steady march beat and an instrumental accompaniment emphasizing Western military and drum instruments.

The years between the Taishō era (1912–26) and the beginning of World War II saw significant turbulence in Japan's society and economy. Due to improvements in medical care and general quality of life, Japan's population almost doubled between 1910 and 1940. This meant that Japan, previously self-sufficient in raw goods and agriculture, now required imports from abroad and ever larger amounts of exports to pay for them. In addition, economic depressions and a dramatic population shift to the cities created social unrest that could not be easily pacified by the weak central political powers. The impoverished tenant farmers resented the relatively comfortable life of urban dwellers, and the growing Western-influenced popular culture (including songs that referred to jazz, alcohol and couple-dancing) was criticized by rightists as ‘anti-Japanese’.

Interestingly, it was particularly in periods of economic hardship and social unrest that the record industry grew at astounding rates. Record sales rose over 60% between 1929 and 1931. The rise of star singers such as Fujiyama and Awaya Noriko (b 1907), who both consistently produced hit songs throughout the 1930s, spurred on record consumption and the newly-developing radio industry. Awaya became known as the ‘Blues Queen’ for hit songs such as Wakare no Burūzū (‘Separation Blues’, 1937) and Ame no Burūzu (‘Rain Blues’, 1938), both of which were composed by Hattori Ryōichi (1907–93). The Japanese version of a blues sound was created through the use of the minor yonanuki scale (see §I, 4 above) and evenly-accented, moderate 4/4 rhythms to the accompaniment of a brass-dominated jazz orchestra. As the military rose in influence in the years preceding World War II, gunka from previous wars and new military songs became popular. Roei no uta (‘Bivouac song’, 1937), with lyrics pledging victory and courageous deeds and set to trumpet fanfares and drums, was a particularly popular gunka, selling 600,000 copies. Popular songs of the World War II period reveal many titles dealing with current events, particularly with the war in the Pacific and Asia, and appealing to patriotic feelings. Some of the non-militaristic songs that were popular at this time were originally composed for films; close ties between films and popular songs had already developed in the 1930s.

(ii) Since 1945.

The end of the war was followed by a flood of occupying forces, primarily American troops that established their own radio stations and spread American tastes in popular music. Some post-war hit songs reflect this trend, such as TōkyoōBugiugi (‘Tokyo Boogie Woogie’, 1948), which is written in a major scale and sung without any trace of traditional Japanese vocal technique. There also appeared in the post-war years many translations of American and European hits, such as Tennessee Waltz (1952) and Quē sera, sera (1956). On the other hand, elements of Japanese folksong, such as mode and rhythm, play an important role in the songs made popular by Misora Hibari (1937–89), one of the most beloved singers and actresses of the post-war era. Making her debut as a child singer in 1949, she gained fame with such enka as Ringo oiwake (‘Apple oiwake’, 1952). Misora, Shimakura Chiyoko (b 1938) and male singers including Mihashi Michiya (b 1930), Minami Haruo (b 1923) and Frank Nagai (b 1932) all contributed toward the evolving postwar enka, which contained sentimental, sad lyrics and were sung with yuri and kobushi ornamentations in a yonanuki minor scale.

The rise of postwar kayōkyoku, in which predominantly Western scales and singing styles were used, coincided with the increased popularity of Japanese forms of Western popular styles. The term ‘group sounds’ was used to designate the Japanese reaction in the 1960s towards British and American pop groups, represented by groups such as The Tigers and The Spiders. At about the same time, the fōku (‘folk’) movement emerged, also influenced by Western music, specifically new folk and protest music. This phenomenon coincided with the ascent of the singer-songwriter, such as Yoshida Takurō (b 1946) and Minami Kōsetsu (b 1949), a figure who made a break from the former system of composers and lyricists working for record companies and writing for particular singers under contract to those companies. The audiences for their songs were made up of young, urban and well-educated members of the postwar generation.

The 1970s saw the rise of nyū myūjikku (‘new music’), or music written by singer-songwriters in a contemporary, Western-influenced ‘folk’ style with personal, introverted lyrics. The melody (often in the natural minor scale and containing short phrases) and the text it conveys are considered more important than the rhythmic basics or instrumental accompaniment. Another form of Western-style Japanese music is simply called poppusu (‘pops’), which is sung by, and appeals to, young teenagers.

Even before the advent of MTV, television developed in Japan in close coordination with popular music and music makers. Soon after going on the air in 1953, NHK (Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai, Japan Broadcasting Corporation) began to produce television programmes that starred current popular singers. In addition to several weekly programmes, one perennial favourite is the Kōhaku uta-gassen (‘Red-White Song Competition’), which is broadcast every New Year's Eve and features the year's most popular singers, divided into teams of females and males and performing their latest hits in front of millions of viewers, with a jury deciding the winning team.

There are currently a wealth of popular genres in Japan, including some, such as enka and certain forms of kayōkyoku, that are unique to Japan. At the same time, Japanese versions of Western popular forms such as rock, rap, punk, heavy metal, and country and western are performed in clubs and broadcast throughout the county. Electronic and broadcasting technology (including phonographs, radio, television, video, CD players, synthesizers and computers) has played an important role not only in the Japanese economy but also in the multi-faceted way in which Japanese popular music has evolved.

Japan, §IX: Developments since the Meiji Restoration

4. Traditional music.

Traditional music in Japan (hōgaku) was greatly affected by the Meiji Restoration of 1868. Compositional constructions, playing techniques and performing practices of the various guilds have all changed in varying degrees, due in part to the strong influence of Westernization. Despite the ongoing productivity and creativity found within the various genres of traditional music, it remains secondary to Western music in the society at large. From the construction in 1883 of the Rokumeikan Hall, where European waltzes were played in an attempt to impress Westerners with how civilized the Japanese people were, to the three days of Western classical music played on the national radio station in honour of Emperor Hirohito at the time of his death in 1989, Western music has been used to represent a cultured society in Japan.

In education, a cursory nod is given to one or two traditional pieces in elementary and high schools, and only a few institutions of higher education, the most notable of which is Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, offer hōgaku studies. Since the modern Japanese school system offers as part of its curriculum only Western music, anyone who wants to learn a traditional instrument does so through private lessons, usually by becoming a member of a school that is part of the iemoto guild system, which regulates private studies through a pyramid-type structure of performance certification. This system receives some criticism today from the general public as an outdated form of arts education, but it continues to stand as the main path for exposure to traditional music. Thus, the style of learning through the development of loyalties to a master musician associated with a certain style of performance remains largely unchanged. In 1999, however, the Ministry of Education decreed that all schoolchildren must henceforth undergo performance tuition in at least one instrument. How this will be executed and received remains to be seen (and heard).

Several important figures incorporated Western musical concepts into Japanese music and brought their own genius to work towards both revolutionizing and preserving traditional music. The ‘Father of Modern Music’, Miyagi Michio(1894–1956), not only first incorporated Western musical concepts such as chamber-style structures and theme and variations, but further expanded the techniques and tunings for the koto. Miyagi also designed the 17-string bass koto in 1921, an instrument that remains popular today. His Haru no umi (‘Spring Sea’) for koto and shakuhachi is one of the few hōgaku works recognized by nearly everyone in Japan. Miyagi was further able to reach a wide audience by travelling abroad, performing with prominent Western musicians such as Isaac Stern and effectively utilizing the newly developed radio and early recording equipment. Koto master Nakanoshima Kin’ichi (1904–84) was also a creative innovator who incorporated new concepts without compromising the essence of the ancient instruments, writing with an increasingly international perspective that was influenced by China and India as well as the West. Other composers include Shūrestu Miyashita and Enshō Yamakawa. This phenomenon of looking for inspiration for their instruments from an internationally influenced perspective, as well as combining Japanese instruments with Western and Eastern instruments, continued in the latter half of the 20th century in works by Shin’ichi Yuize, Hōzan Yamamoto, Seihō Kineya and Tadao Sawai.

Composers from outside the performance tradition have also taken an increasing interest in traditional music. They include Shimizu Osamu, Mamiya Michio, Takemitsu Tōru , Miki Minoru, Nagasawa Katsutoshi and Moroi Makoto. There has been a general trend away from imitation of the Western tradition to a more individualized expression that is attentive to the aesthetics of traditional Japanese music. Some of the more recent works that reflect these values are Takemitsu's November Steps and Miki's Jōruri, both of which have received critical acclaim abroad as well as in Japan. More recently, non-Japanese composers such as Cage, Stockhausen and Gubaydulina have had their compositions for Japanese instruments performed in Japan and have become intrigued with incorporating Japanese musical concepts into music for Western ensembles. An increase in the number of proficient non-Japanese musicians, most noticeably shakuhachi players, has also brought an international flavour to the performance tradition. ‘World Music’ has both influenced and been influenced by contemporary composers and musicians.

Since the mid-1980s, appreciation of Japanese music has been undergoing a minor renaissance in Japan, most likely linked to Japan's rising economic power in the world economy, which has resulted in a more general rediscovery of national pride, coupled with a growing foreign interest in things of a traditional nature. There are hōgaku concerts each month in Japan's larger cities. The July 1966 edition of the monthly Hōgaku Journal lists no fewer than 98 live performances in the Kantō area (mainly Tokyo), 25 performances in the Hokkaidō/Tōhoku region, 23 in the Chūbu region, 24 in the Kansai region, 4 in Chūgoku/Shikoku/Kyūshū regions, and several abroad, including tours in the Middle East, Europe and South-east Asia. The hōgaku listings include classical, contemporary, improvisational and folk styles, with a variety of traditional instrumentation. The performances include student recitals, solo recitals, and large and small ensembles. Most schools have an annual performance in which all of the students take part, and many of the hōgaku ensembles perform once each season, so there is rarely a lack of activity. While performance groups such as the Nihon Ongaku Shūdan (Ensemble Nipponia, also known as Pro Musica Nipponia), established in 1964, continue to be active today, the past ten years have been witness to a surge of new ensembles made up of highly proficient players, and the trend towards public performance in addition to performances with one's guild has steadily increased. There are concerts where only kimono are worn and the performers kneel on the floor, or where evening gowns are worn and the performers sit on chairs and the conductor is present, or where casual clothing is worn and the performers move freely about the stage with their instruments. The word ‘recital’, first used for traditional music in 1902, has now been joined by phrases such as ‘live’, ‘super session’ and ‘joint concert’. The new generation of hōgaku musicians is also making use of technological advances for CD recordings, videos, electronic instruments and the Internet.

The government has provided limited but steady support towards the preservation of traditional music. Prominent traditional musicians have been nominated as Ningen Kokuhō (‘Living National Treasures’), and the annual Geijutsushō award for an outstanding performance includes a traditional category. Since 1955 NHK (the Japan Broadcasting Corporation) has sponsored a one-year course for young students of traditional music, which culminates with a nationally broadcast performance. NHK also invites performers to audition for radio performances on a regular basis; it commissions works and regularly airs a programme that features contemporary music for traditional instruments. Since 1966 the National Theatre has sponsored a yearly concert that features top hōgaku musicians giving premières of new works. The National Theatre also sponsors concerts where ancient Eastern instruments are reconstructed and where works are commissioned and performed by hōgaku musicians. Any of these performances might feature musicians from various guilds.

Several important changes in the three principal Japanese instruments (see §II, 4, 5 and 6 above) have also had an impact on compositional and performing practices. The 17-string bass koto designed by Miyagi in 1921 has primarily been used as a koto ensemble instrument, but recently such performers as Sawai Kazue, who studied under Miyagi, have expanded its use to a solo instrument. The 20-string koto (which now has 21 strings), designed in 1969 and originally created to accommodate Western scales more easily, is used by several ensembles and can be a solo instrument as well (since 1991 it sometimes has 25 strings). There has been some experimentation with shamisen size or with increasing the number of holes on the shakuhachi, but for the most part these have not taken hold. While silk koto strings continue to be used by some schools, most schools replaced them with nylon strings in the 1970s, then changed to a sturdy tetron string in the early 80s. There has been some controversy over the issue of traditional use of ivory for koto bridges, picks and shamisen plectra, but these parts are gradually being replaced by plastic with virtually no change in sound.

There has been some unrest throughout many of the genres of the hōgaku world regarding the continuation of the iemoto guild system. While lesson costs are for the most part reasonable, the pyramid structure, which expects students to meet rising expenses such as hall rental and individual performance certification, along with traditional spending practices surrounding gift-giving as a sign of appreciation, is beginning to be questioned. Schools have responded in different ways, but the tendency has been towards some weakening of traditional structures. Issues of this sort have been addressed in various publications such as Hōgaku Journal. In many ways, this tension between new versus old, change versus tradition, is as much an issue today as it was in 1868. The important difference is the lively musical dialogue reaching across cultures and an ever-sharpening appreciation and awareness of Japanese aesthetics by the international community and by the people of Japan themselves.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Japan, §IX, 4: Developments since the Meiji Restoration, Traditional music.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

and other resources

general

T. Komiya, ed.: Japanese Music and Drama in the Meiji Era (Tokyo, 1956)

J. Katsumura: ‘Some Innovations in Musical Instruments of Japan during the 1920s’, YTM, xviii (1986), 157–72

J. Herd: Change and Continuity in Contemporary Japanese Music: a Search for a National Identity (diss., Brown U., 1987)

Y. Kurabayashi and Y. Matsuda: Economic and Social Aspects of the Performing Arts in Japan: Symphony Orchestras and Opera (Tokyo, 1988)

N. Ohtake: Creative Sources for the Music of Toru Takemitsu (Aldershot, 1993)

U. Eppstein: The Beginnings of Western Music in Meiji Era Japan (Lewiston, NY, 1994)

D. Berger: Shōka and Dōyō: Songs of an Educational Policy and a Children's Song Movement of Japan, 1910–1926 (Ann Arbor, 1995)

western art music

I. Nitobe and others: ‘Music in Japan’, Western Influences in Modern Japan (Chicago, 1931), 469–523

K. Nomura: ‘Occidental Music’, Japanese Music and Drama in the Meiji Era, ed. T. Komiya (Tokyo, 1956), 451–507

E. May: The Influence of the Meiji Period on Japanese Children’s Music (Berkeley, 1963)

W.P. Malm: ‘The Modern Music of Meiji Japan’, Tradition and Modernization in Japanese Culture, ed. D.H. Shively (Princeton, NJ, 1971), 257–300

W.P. Malm: ‘Layers of Modern Music and Japan’, AM, iv/2 (1972–3), 3–6

K. Akiyama: Nihon no sakkyokukatachi [Japanese composers] (Tokyo, 1978–9)

Works by Japanese Composers/Nihon no Sakkyokuka no Sakuhin, Japan Federation of Composers (Tokyo, 1981–)

K. Masui: Nihon no opera [Japanese operas] (Tokyo, 1984)

Nihon no opera-shi [A history of Japanese opera], ed. Nihon Opera Shinkōkai (Tokyo, 1986)

Y. Tsukahara: Jūkyūseiki no Nihon ni okeru seiyō ongaku no juyō [Reception of Western music in 19th-century Japan] (Tokyo, 1993)

K. Hori, ed.: Nihon no sakkyoku nijusseiki [Japanese compositions in the 20th century] (Tokyo, forthcoming)

popular music

W.P. Malm: ‘The Modern Music of Meiji Japan’, Tradition and Modernization in Japanese Culture, ed. D.H. Shively (Princeton, NJ, 1971), 257–300

S. Kawabata: Rekōdo sangyōkai (Tokyo, 1977)

S. Sonobe and others: Nihon no ryūkōka (Tokyo, 1980)

A. Tanabe: Nihon no kayōkyoku (Tokyo, 1981)

R. Kojima: ‘Nakayama Shinpei’, Heibonsha ongaku daijiten, ed. S. Kishibe and others (Tokyo, 1982), 1690ff

M. Okada: ‘Kayōkyoku’, Heibonsha ongaku daijiten, ed. S. Kishibe and others (Tokyo, 1982), 621–4

I. Takahashi: Koga Masao (Tokyo, 1984)

F. Koizumi: Kayōkyoku no kōzō (Tokyo, 1984)

S. Gamō: ‘Several Aspects of Enka Singing Style: Comparison Using Melograph’, Shominzoku no oto [The sounds of various peoples] (Tokyo, 1986), 385–409 [Jap. with Eng. summary]

S. Tsurumi: ‘Trends in Popular Songs since the 1960s’, A Cultural History of Postwar Japan 1945–1980 (London, 1987), 79–102, 150–1

Popular Music, x/3 (1991), ‘Japanese Issue’

J. Clewley: ‘Enka, Okinawa and the Masters of the Clone: the Japanese are Coming!!’, World Music: the Rough Guide, ed. S. Broughton and others (London, 1994), 459–68

S. Hosokawa: ‘Pidgin-Japanisch: zur japano-amerikanischen Sprachmischung in der Popmusik’, Musik in Japan, ed. S. Guinard (Munich, 1996), 105–23

J. Kitagawa: ‘Schlagermusik and Medien: zum japanischen Starwesen seit den 50er Jahren’, Musik in Japan, ed. S. Guinard (Munich, 1996), 125–40

H. Ogawa: ‘Karaoke oder: Wie man beim Singen der Grösste Wird’, Musik in Japan, ed. S. Guinard (Munich, 1996), 141–57

A.M. Tansman: ‘Mournful Tears and Sake: the Postwar Myth of Misora Hibari’, Contemporary Japan and Popular Culture, ed. J. Whittier Treat (Honolulu, 1996), 103–33

traditional music

W.P. Malm: Japanese Music and Musical Instruments (Tokyo, 1959)

E. Kikkawa: Nihon ongaku no rekishi [A history of Japanese music] (Tokyo, 1965, 9/1974)

S. Kishibe: The Traditional Music of Japan (Tokyo, 1966/R)

E. Harich-Schneider: A History of Japanese Music (London, 1973), 533–665

F. Koizumi, Y. Tokumaru and O. Yamaguti, eds.: Asian Musics in an Asian Perspective (Tokyo, 1977)

L. Dalby: Geisha (Tokyo, 1983)

W.P. Malm: Six Hidden Views of Japanese Music (Berkeley, 1986)

C. Blasdel and Y. Kamisangō: The Shakuhachi: a Manual for Learning (Tokyo, 1988)

K. Hirano and others, eds.: Nihon ongaku daijiten [Comprehensive dictionary of Japanese music] (Tokyo, 1989)

M. Miki : ‘The Role of Traditional Japanese Instruments in Three Recent Operas’, PNM, xxvii/2 (1989), 164–75

T. Takemitsu: ‘Contemporary Music in Japan’, ibid., 198–205

J. Yuasa: ‘Music as a Reflection of a Composer's Cosmology’, ibid., 176–98

E. Falconer: ‘A New Decade for Hōgaku’, Japan Quarterly, xxxvii/4 (1990), 468–78

S. Sawai: Ten to shan [Koto sounds] (Tokyo, 1991)

Wind in the Bamboo: Aspects of Japanese Music, ed. College Women's Association of Japan (Tokyo, 1992)

‘A Jostled Silence: Contemporary Japanese Musical Thought I–III’, PNM, xxx/1 (1992); xxx/2 (1992); xxxi/2 (1993)

E. Falconer: ‘Sawai Kazue, Avant-Garde Kotoist’, Japan Quarterly, xl/1 (1993), 86–91

Miyagi Michio no sekai [The world of Miyagi Michio] (Tokyo, 1993)

N. Ohtake: Creative Sources for the Music of Toru Takemitsu (Brookland, VT, 1993)

J. Wilson: ‘Enka: the Music People Love or Hate’, Japan Quarterly, xl/3 (1993), 283–92

M. Miki: The Works of Minoru Miki (Tokyo, 1994)

T. Tanaka, ed.: Hōgaku Journal (1996), no.7, pp. 2–5

recordings

Nakanoshima Kin’ichi zenshū [The complete works of Nakanoshima Kin’ichi], Victor SJL 25172-9 (1972)

Japan: Traditional Vocal and Instrumental Music, Nonesuch H-72072 (1976)

Gendai sōkyoku senshū [Collection of contemporary music for koto], Teichiku Records NC-6 (1979)

Japon, musique millenaire: biwa et shakuhachi, Chant du Monde LDX 74473 (1980)

Miki Minoru senshū [The works of Miki Minoru], Camerata 32CM-54 and 55 (1988)

Sawai Tadao: Gasodan no sekai [The world of the Sawai Tadao ensemble], Columbia 28CF-2970 (1990)

Mitsuhashi Kifū: Best Take IV, Shakuhachi, Victor 5294 (1989)

Miyagi Michio Sakuhinshū [Collected works of Miyagi Michio], I–III, Victor VDR-5302-4 (1989)

Sawai Tadao: Best Take II, Koto, Victor VDR-5292 (1989)

Sunazaki Tomoko: Best Take III, Koto, Victor 5293 (1989)

Yamamoto Hōzan: Best Take I: Shakuhachi, Victor VDR-5291 (1989)

Nosaka Keikō 20-String Koto Quintet, CBS Sony (1990)

Taikei nihon no dentoōongaku, Victor KCDK 1125–6 (1990) [contemporary music for traditional instruments]

The Wind is Calling me Outside: Sawai Kazue Plays Yuji Takahashi, ALM Records ALCD-37 (1988)

Yoshimura Nanae: Nanae, Camerata 32CM-189 (1991)

Sawai Kazue: Three Pieces, Collecta COL003 JASRAC R240180 (1992)

Takemitsu Toru: Requiem for Strings, Nippon Columbia CO 79441 (1992)

Kuribayashi Hideaki: Kuri First, Koto, Kyoto Records KYCH-2006 (1995)

Sawai Tadao: Sanka, Kyoto Records KYCH-2010 (1996)

Aminadab: shōmyō gensō [Aminadab: shōmyō fantasia], Denon COCO-80096

A Un: Ushio Torikai +Shōmyō Yonin-no-Kai, Japn Victor VZCG-159

Sorin: Kokin Gumi, Sound Castle Yoshizaka SCY-27

Japan

I. General

1. History.

(i) Indigenous music.

(ii) Continental Asian music.

(iii) National music.

(iv) Western influences.

2. Aesthetics.

3. Transmission.

4. Scales and modes.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

history and aesthetics

transmission

scales and modes

II. Instruments and instrumental genres

1. Introduction.

2. Archaeology.

3. Biwa.

(i) Gaku-biwa and gogen-biwa.

(ii) Heike-biwa.

(iii) Mōsō-biwa and zatō-biwa.

(iv) Chikuzen-biwa and satsuma-biwa.

4. Koto.

(i) Construction and performing practice.

(ii) Repertory and social context.

(iii) Schools.

(a) Tsukushi-goto.

(b) The Yatsuhashi-ryū.

(c) Koto music in Ryūkyū.

(d) The Ikuta-ryū.

(e) The Yamada-ryū.

(iv) Innovations since the Meiji era (1868–1912).

(v) One- and two-string koto.

5. Shakuhachi.

(i) Early history.

(ii) Emergence of the modern shakuhachi.

(iii) Construction.

(iv) Notation.

(v) Playing technique and performing practice.

6. Shamisen.

(i) Construction and performing practice.

(ii) History and genres.

(iii) Modern traditions.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

archaeology

biwa

recordings

koto

recordings

shakuhachi

recordings

shamisen

recordings

III. Notation systems

1. Introduction.

2. Vocal music.

3. Instrumental music.

4. Oral mnemonics.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

IV. Religious music

1. Introduction.

2. Shintō.

(i) Music of the imperial cult.

(ii) Other Shintō music.

3. Buddhist.

(i) Chant.

(ii) Other Buddhist music.

4. 16th- and 17th-century Christian music.

5. New religions.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

shintō music

buddhist music

early christian music

music of new religions

recordings

V. Court music

1. History.

2. Repertory.

3. Instruments.

4. Performing practice and historical change.