Japan Flashcards - MUS 111: Exam III

Shamisen

3-string plucked lute, derived from the Chinese sanxian, creates a buzzing texture known as sawari, used by storytellers, featured in kabuki ensemble

Shakuhachi

Bamboo flute played vertically with five holes that came to Japan with gagaku music

Shinobue

flute, high-pitched, melodic tone, used in festivals and kabuki theater

Koto

13-string plucked zither, over 6 feet long, derived from the Chinese zheng

Nō Hayashi (Taiko, Ō-Tsuzumi, Ko-Tsuzumi, Nōkan)

Music ensemble for No theatre

Taiko, Kakko, Shokō

ancient ceremonial Gagaku drums

Taiko

barrel shaped drum suspended from a stand by ropes, played with wood beaters

Kakko

small double-headed drum held horizontally, played with thin sticks

Shoko

small bronze gong struck with a mallet, used to mark time in gagaku ensemble

Takahashi Family

Shamisen group

Yoshida Brothers

Pop Shamisen group for new generation

Yatsuhashi Kengyō

a blind shamisen and koto player, transformed performance of koto into popular entertainment. Composed both so-kumiuta and danmono pieces

Ikuta Kengyō

started his own school of koto/shamisen centered around the Osaka/Kyoto region

Michio Miyagi

koto player who invented the 17-string koto and gained worldwide notability and ignited a new musical movement, making him a household name in the early 1900s

Shin’ichi Suzuki

Japanese violin legend, method of playing by ear, violin education, dad had a factory

Shinpei Nakayama

founder of ryūkōka “popular music” style.mixed german with japanese poetic

Toru Takemitsu

internationally renowned composer, pioneer in electronic music

Geisha

”person of the arts” female entertaine

Bosama

blind street minstrels who went door to door singing for alms

Komuso

wandering Zen Buddhist monks, played shakuhachi

Kabuki hanamichi

walkway from stage, across the seating, to exit theatre for actors

Mono no aware

sensitivity to things, especially in nature

Shinto

indigenous Japanese religion centered around the worship of kami (supernatural beings) centered on purification and nature

Min’yô

japanese Folk Music

Nō

Older theatre, minimalism, conservative, encompasses Zen Buddhist and Shinto themes

Kabuki

Sensual/new theatre, lavish special effects, well known actors

Gagaku

ancient traditional/classical court music that is used for grand Shinto ceremonial rituals

Danmono

style of solo instrumental music played on the koto

Kagura

Shintō ritual music originated with a myth about the Sun Goddess Amaterasu

Enka

emotional Japanese popular music with slow melodies and dramatic singing, often about love or nostalgia, blending modern and traditional styles

Wabi-sabi

aesthetic philosophy that focuses on the appreciation, importance, and beauty of imperfection in nature

Kami

god; supernatural beings that inhabit all things

So-kumiuta

song suites accompanied by koto, type of koto piece

Shomyo

chanting of Buddhist texts, praise songs, and stories