Music Cultures Unit 3 - Japanese Music

Shamisen

3 string plucked lute

• plucked with a pick or fingernails

• associated with northern region of Japan called Tsugaru

• first developed by blind street minstrels

• later adopted by bunraka (puppet theater) and Kabuki theater

Shakuhachi

Bamboo flute that originated in China (similar to the Xiao)

• five holes

• came to Japan with gagaku music

• name refers to the length of the music

Shinobue

Flute like instrument

• played horizontally

Koto

13 string plucked lute

• over 6ft long

• based on the zheng from China

Taiko

Barrel shaped drum suspended from a stand

O-Tsuzumi

Big waist shaped drum

• held on left hip

• played with right hand

Ko-Tsuzumi

Small waist shaped drum

• held on shoulder

Nokan

Horizontal flute with tube inserted

• follows contours of spoken syllables

Kakko

Large drum

• strings along the side

Shoko

Gong bell

Sho

Mouth organ used in imperial court music (gagaku)

• descended from Chinese sheng

Hichiriki

Small reed instrument

• spiritual sound

Komabue

Flute used in court music (gagaku)

Ryuteki

“dragon flute”

• used in gagaku

Biwa

String instrument used in court/ceremonial music

Takahashi family

Musical Japanese family

Yoshida Brothers

Japanese shamisen musicians

• worked with Domo Records

Hibari Misora

The “queen of Enka” music

• cultural icon in Japan

• acted in over 160 films

• “Sakura No Uta” - song of the cherry blossoms

Kyu Sakamoto

Started in an all American music coverband The Drifters

• hit song “Ue O muite aruko” (I look up when I walk)

• song is released in England as “Sukiyaki”

• released in US on Capital Records (only Japanese song to go to #1)

Kan’ami and Zeami

Father and son playwrights

• developed No theater

Okuni

Miko (temple servant) dancer for the Shinto shrine

• attributed with Kabuki

Yatsuhashi Kengyo

Blind shamisen player who transformed the performance of koto into popular entertainment

Kimio Eto

Blind koto player taught my Michio Miyagi

Ikuta Kengyo

Blind musician who developed a Koto school around osaka/kyoto region

Michio Miyagi

Introduced 17 string koto

• Learned music young

• became blind

• composed “Haru no Umi”

Midori Goto

World famous violinist

• taught by her mom using the suzuki method

• child prodigy

Shin’ichi Suzuki

Founder of the suzuki method

• declared a living treasure of Japan

• taught at the imperial school of music in Japan

• his father owned a violin factory

Shinpei Nakayama

Developed Ryukoka style (fusion of German Lieder and Japanese poetry)

• studied western music at Tokyo college of Music

Keiko Nosaka

Introduced 20 string koto

• composer

• awarded grand prize in music from Ministry of Culture

Toru Takemitsu

Wrote popular music for TV, film, and theater

• mostly self taught

• eventually gets into electronic music

Yuya Uchida

Widely influential singer, record producer and band leader

• friends with John Lennon

• use of the English language

• career spanned over 6 decades

Namie Amuro

Best selling female artist in Japan of all time

• ‘Queen of Japanese Pop’

• leading figure in entertainment industry

• top 10 singles for 23 consecutive years

SMAP

Japan’s most popular boy band

• product of talent agency Johnny and Associates

• 33 #1 hit records

X Japan

First major independent rock group in Japan

• founded a style called Visual Kei

Chemistry

R&B duo Yoshikuni Cochin and Kaname Kawabata

• won national talent competition in 2000 held by Sony Music Entertainment

Cosplay

Dressing up and trying to embody characters from anime and other genres

Malice Mizer

Klaha (vocals), Gackt (vocals), Mana (guitar,synth), Kozi (guitar, synth), Yu-Ki (bass)

• Mana projected image of victorian doll

• second album debuted at #1 on indie charts in 1996

Geisha

Hired to perform at parties and gatherings held at tea houses or at traditional restaurants

• term means person of the arts

• trained in song, theatre, poetry, flower arranging and conversation

Bosama

Blind street minstrels

• went door to door singing for alms

Meiji restoration

Marked the end of the Samurai class

• began a transformation from feudalist to communist society

• integration of western ideas into military and educational systems

Komuso

Wandering Zen Buddhist monks

Kabuki hanamichi

Part of the kabuki stage

Nara Period

710-794AD

Heian Period

794-1185

• maximum amount of Chinese influence in Japan

• development of indigenous Japanese poetry and other arts

Syoko

Classicism

• reflected in construction of instruments

Mono no aware

Sensitivity to things (in nature)

Zen

Emphasizes quiet meditation on one’s true nature kensho, to find that it is empty (there is no individual existence)

Shinto

Indigenous Japanese religions precursor to Buddhism

• music and dance are central to worship

• centered on purification and avoidance of defilement

• believes in power of words, especially prayers and songs

Min Yo

Japanese folk song

No

Encompasses Zen Buddhist and Shinto themes in plays and Zen natural/simple aesthetics as interpreted by the Samurai class

• developed by Kan’ami and Zeami

• lost its government patronage during the Meiji period → moved to private patrons and amateur enthusiasts

Kabuki

Part of the sensual entertainment quarters of large cities in Edo Japan

• legend attributes it to female performer Okuni

• banned in 1642→ moved to respectable theater

• now acted almost exclusively by men

Gagaku

Elegant music

• court/ceremonial music

• kagen→instrumental music

• bugaku → dance music

• saibara/roei → songs

• ritual music for Shinto ceremonies

Danmono

Sectional pieces → solo pieces for the koto

Sokyoku

Traditional music for the koto

Sankyoku

Chamber music ensemble of the Edo period featuring koto, shakuhachi and shamisen

Shinkyoku

Early post Meiji era compositions influenced by western music

Honkyoku

Shakuhachi solo repertoire

• derives from pieces played by Komuso

Nagauta

Shamisen solo music used in Kabuki theater

Ryukoka

Style that combines German Lieder and Japanese colloquial poetry

• term means “popular song”

• developed by Shinpei Nakayana

Enka

Style of popular music that split off from Ryukoka

• name mean entertainment song

• lyrics focus on love and loss

• articulates an idealized, romantic notion of Japanese culture to American country music

• one popular in bars → declined in the 80’s

• most singers are women

Visual Kei

Emphasized extravagant visual expression through elaborate costumes, makeup and hairstyles