Music of Japan

Overview Region=East Asia Consists of 3,000 islands, capital=Tokyo Constitutional monarchy with prime minister History traces back to 660 BC Emperor Akihito

Cultural Influences China (system of writing; music) India, Korea, China (religion: Buddhism) Europe and U.S. (Western classical music; popular culture) During Meiji period (1868-1911, Western art music incorporated into educational system)

Japanese Isolationism Edo/Tokugawa period (1600-1867): period of extreme isolationism, lead to consolidation of traditional arts Japanese religions: Shinto (animist, was state religion until WWII) Zen Buddhism (Japanese form of Buddhism, emphasizing meditation to reach state of heightened awareness)

SHINTO http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgQ4eCc38dM

ZEN http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WAi2fwUqN4

Zen Art Forms

Japanese Ethos Complex simplicity Emphasis on process Silence is just as important as sound Arts important tool for spiritual development

THE MUSIC OF JAPAN Traditional Japanese music genres have long histories but have changed little in hundreds of years. In a modern world, it could be perceived as stagnation, but it is in fact the reflection of the Japanese value of stability. The music is primarily pentatonic with auxiliary pitches.

Performances are uniform with great decorum Performances are uniform with great decorum. Music types include court music, musical drama, chamber music, and chant. Traditional Japanese music is performed today in recital halls inside great department stores in the Ginza area of Tokyo.

Hogaku (Japanese Traditional Music) PITCH AND SCALES: Octave divided into 12 intervals (NOT tempered) and not the same depending upon instrument Pentatonic scales common Scales=collection of intervals around “nuclear” tones located a fourth apart (emphasis on fourths)

Timbre and Melody Use of variety of timbres, including unpitched sounds Sparse textures Singing tonal quality=tense, narrow Emphasis on melody, not harmony Use of short motifs Open-ended pieces Varied repetitions

Rhythm and Form Use of flexible or “beatless” rhythm Percussion rhythm may be different from melody rhythm (“sliding door effect”) Most common form: jo-ha-kyu (based on tempo changes) Jo = slow introduction Ha=breaking apart (tempo builds) Kyu=rushing, tempo reaches peak, then slows to end

Instruments Hichiriki Shakuhachi Koto Shamisen

The Shakuhachi End-blown bamboo flute (4 holes in front, 1 in back) Wide range of timbres from “pure” to wide Flourished during Tokugawa period Associated with samurai/priest class, used as “spiritual tool” Music tends to be unmetered, phrases follow breaths

“Tsuru no sugomori” (Cranes are Nesting)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1XguDd43gc

The Koto Zither with hollow sound board, 13 strings, and movable bridges. Originally used by elite as “spiritual tool”, later played by low/merchant class Famous piece for koto: Rokudan (“Six Sections”). Each dan has 104 beats, repeated with variations.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6ALjvjmjHg

The Shamisen 3-string long-necked lute, wooden body with skin back and face. Includes “buzzing” string. Associated with dramatic music, used in bunraku, kabuki. Associated with geishas performing in tea houses.

SHAMISEN http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWJrMA3zJ5o

Hichiriki and Shou http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYdCt9XbA8w

Nohkahn http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YvK79-1G6xk

Kabuki Theater Degatari –– the onstage musicians in kabuki Geza –– the offstage orchestra in kabuki who produce the sound effects Chobo –– the pair of onstage musicians, one who narrates and the second who accompanies him on the shamisen     According to popular history, kabuki was first performed in 1596 by a female Shinto dancer, Okuni of Izumo, on the banks of the Kamo River in Kyoto. Female kabuki was soon banned and replaced by troupes of young males. Because of continued associations with prostitution, these troupes were also banned. Since 1652, all kabuki roles (male and female) have been performed by adult males. The Edo period (1603-1867), a time of peace and prosperity, saw a rise in the wealth of the bourgeoisie: their taste for lavish entertainment is reflected in kabuki and bunraku. Making use of elaborate stage equipment, scenery, costumes, and properties, kabuki also relies on stock character types and gestures. Primarily dance theater, kabuki dance is essential movement towards a climactic static pose (mie). Musical accompaniment is provided by two groups of musicians. The degatari (on-stage musicians) are split into two subgroups, the smaller subgroup (chobo, borrowed from bunraku puppet theater) comprises a single shamisen player and a narrator, who together advance the plot and relate events to the audience; the larger subgroup (debayashi), consists of several shamisens and singers, and provides musical accompaniment (nagauta) according to the needs of the drama. The geza (off-stage musicians) sit in a room at stage left and provide sound effects to accompany dramatic action. Geza instruments include: o-daiko, shamisen, nohkan, gongs, and bells. Kabuki developed at the same time as the Florentine Camerata were making their first experiments with opera. From the start, kabuki was public entertainment. Opera, on the other hand, began life as an elite form; it was not until the mid-17th century that the first public opera houses were opened.

Debayashi –– literally “coming-out orchestra”; a music group in kabuki that comes out onstage to accompany a specific scene

Nagauta –– a lyric genre of shamisen music, also sung in unison chorus in kabuki Kyogenkata –– the man who plays the woodblocks (hyoshigi) in accelerated beats to announce the rise of the curtain in kabuki

Kabuki / Dojoji http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Axcbh92iC6U

Noh Noh was transformed into a serious Buddhist art by Kannami Kiyotsugu (1333-1384) by combining folk dances, theatrics, religious, and courtly entertainment Zeami Motokiyo (1363-1444) –– the son of Kannami Kiyotsugu. He transformed noh into a refined court form. Noh theater developed during the Muromachi period (1333-1615), a time of continuous military strife. Exclusively the art of the samurai class, noh combined folk dances, musical theatricals, and religious courtly entertainment of medieval times. Seminal figures in its development were Kannami Kiyotsugu, who transformed noh into a serious Buddhist art, and his son, Zeami Motokiyo, who further developed it as a refined court art, the major theme of which was the redemption of human suffering through love of Buddha. With its simplicity and restraint, so different from the later lavish entertainment of kabuki and bunraku, noh theater today is mainly supported by intellectuals.   Plays can be classified according to type: god plays, warrior plays, female-wig plays, possession plays, and demon plays. In Zeami’s day, a noh performance would consist of one of each type interspersed with comic interludes called “kyogen.” Today a typical performance consists of only two or three noh plays with kyogen. Plays are in two acts: the first act comprises four subsections, or dan, the second comprises a single dan in which the main character (the shite) undergoes some kind of spiritual transformation. Music consists of two types of songs (uta)–– sageuta (short, slow, and low in register) and ageuta (longer and higher), both of which may be sung either by solo actors or by a male chorus–– recitative-like heightened speech for the actors, and instrumental music. The latter, performed by an ensemble generically called “hayashi,” comprises three nohkan and ko-tsuzumi, o-tsuzumi, and taiko. The noh hayashi provides introductory music and interludes, marks the entrances and exits of characters, and accompanies songs and dances in addition to setting the mood of a scene. The solemn, stately vocal music (called yokyoku), sung by both the actors and the on-stage chorus, may be in the form of heightened speech (kotobe) or melodic aria (fushi). The latter can be delivered in either soft (yowagin) or strong (tsuyogin) styles.

Uta - songs Hayashi – an ensemble of nokhan (flute) and three drums used in noh

Ko-tsuzumi and o-tsuzumi –hourglass-shaped drums struck with the fingers, of hayashi Taiko – shallow barrel drum struck with two thick sticks of hayashi Kakegoe – calls shouted by the drummers in noh drumming Yokyoku – the vocal part of noh sung by actors and onstage chorus. There are two basic styles.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zUhtCLKFMx0

Bunraku (puppet theater) Patronized by artisan and merchant classes (Tokugawa period) Requires two musicians: singer/narrator (tayu) and shamisen player (in past, served as apprentices for many years) Uses large, elaborate puppets, some requiring several puppeteers Plots highly emotional, like today’s soap operas Requires intense training and discipline Bunraku puppet theater developed in Osaka around the same time as kabuki and was also patronized by the artisan and merchant class. A golden period occurred during the mid-17th century with the collaboration between the singer Takemoto Gidayu (1651-1714) and the playwright Chikamatsu Monzaemon (1653-1724). Together they founded a theater in Osaka in 1685 (the same year J.S. Bach and G.F. Handel were born).   Each of the wooden puppets (two-thirds life size) is manipulated by three puppeteers, all shrouded in black with only the face of the senior puppeteer visible to the audience. Narration, both sung and spoken, is provided by a narrator/chanter (tayu), accompanied by a single shamisen (as borrowed by the kabuki chobo ensemble). The special narrative style, called gidayubushi after Takemoto Gidayu, includes chants, heightened speech, and lyrical songs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UV938f46Wpg

Buddhist Chant Shomyo –– Buddhist chant, including syllabic and melismatic, in free rhythm The Nara period (553-794) and the Heian period (794-1185), with capitals respectively at Nara and Kyoto, where periods when the ruling clans adopted Mahayana Buddhism. Mahayana Buddhism - the theology that salvation from suffering and death was open to all A male chorus in responsorial style performs Buddhist chant, called shomyo. The texts of sutras, sung in different languages, emphasize the mixed cultural background; Sanskrit texts are called bonsan, those in Chinese are kansan, and the Japanese ones are wasan. The music consists of stereotyped patterns belonging to two Chinese-derived scales, ryo and ritsu. Chants often begin slowly and get faster.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ebpyu4rE7XE

Gagaku In the ninth century, during the Heian period, a standard gagaku orchestra was created under the order of the emperor, and a repertory of two main categories became standardized: togaku (music of Chinese and Indian origin) and komagaku (music of Korean and Manchurian origin). Gagaku is Japanese court music and it literally means “elegant” or “refined music”. The Japanese Imperial court has maintained it for more than a thousand years. Gagaku is the Japanese version of ya- yue in China and aak in Korea. All three use the same Chinese pictographs. The earliest importation of the genre came from China via Korea during the Nara period (553-794). The Japanese Music Bureau was established in 701 C.E., and was staffed by Korean and T’ang Chinese musicians. This led to a wave of repertoire imported from T’’ang China. Between 833 and 850, a group of noblemen led by the retired Emperor Sogo codified the standard gagaku ensemble regarding instrumentation and repertoire. The latter was divided into two categories: 1) togaku (“music of the left”), pieces of T’ang Chinese and Indian origin and 2) komagaku (“music of the right”), pieces of Korean and Manchurian origin.   The large ensemble consists of percussion (da-daiko, tsuri-daiko, shoko, kakko, and san-no- tsuzumi), strings (gaku-so and biwa), and winds (hichiriki, kagura-bue, ryuteki, koma-bue, and sho). When the music is purely instrumental, it is called kangen; if it is used to accompany dance, it is called bugaku. Changes in instrumentation mark different repertoires of gagaku. For example, togaku pieces use three sho, three hichiriki, three ryuteki, two biwa, two gaku-so, one kakko, one shoko, and one taiko, while komagaku pieces use three sho, three hichiriki, three koma-bue, one san-no-tsuzumi, one shoko, and one taiko (but no strings). In the case of bugaku, the color of the dancers’’ costumes also mark the different repertoires: for togaku pieces the dancers wear red robes, while for komagaku pieces they wear green robes. Gagaku is characterized by its smoothness, serenity, precise execution, and the absence of virtuosic display. Maximum effect is achieved from minimum material. There are several layers of activity: a main melody played by hichiriki and flutes; an abstraction of the melody played by gaku-so and biwa; chords played by the sho; and punctuation provided by biwa, tsuri-daiko, shoko, kakko, and san-no-tsuzumi. As in many other kinds of Japanese music, formal structure is tripartite. The first section, a slow introductory section (jo), is performed by hichiriki, flute, and kakko. In the expository second section (ha), the rhythm becomes regular and the main body of composition is performed by the full ensemble. In the final denouement (kyu), an increase in tempo and a rushing to the conclusion is followed by a slackening of pace before the end as instruments gradually drop out, leaving only the biwa and gaku-so.

Jo-ha-kyu –– aesthetic scheme of exposition in gagaku Jo-ha-kyu –– aesthetic scheme of exposition in gagaku. Jo is the netori, the slow beginning. Ha is the regular rhythmic section. Kyu is the rushing to the end.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bm8XpWidUac

Karaoke (Ka-ra-oh-kay) “Empty orchestra” Technology designed to support and enhance amateur voices. Used to reinforce traditional Japanese custom of group singing, considered vital for good group dynamics. Scoring based on accuracy of reproduction, but also “personal expressiveness”

Discussion of Different Cultural Values: In Japan, maintaining tradition is important. In pedagogy and performance, the emphasis is on playing music traditionally, without innovation.

Music and Theater and social class structure Musical/theatrical genres tell us about Japanese history and social values. Genres are linked to social class and historical epochs. For example, gagaku remains a symbol of the authority of the Imperial court while noh, the art of the samurai, emphasizes simplicity and personal enlightenment through self-understanding and self-reliance. Kabuki and bunraku illustrate the fondness of the townsfolk for theater.

Gender Issues: The koto is believed to originally have been a court musical instrument played by men; the shamisen was originally an instrument played by banished samurai who became wandering Buddhist monks who utilized the shakuhachi as a weapon when needed.

women have come to play these instruments during the Edo period in sankyoku, an ensemble music that has been associated with the geisha. The term geisha literally means “arts person,” whereby most Westerners mistakenly think the term refers to prostitutes.

Layers of Activity in Ensemble Music: In ensemble music, certain instruments play the melody heterophonically, while others mark time in regular recurring ways (see gagaku)

Sensitivity to Sound Quality: Although ensemble textures are largely monophonic and/or heterophonic, great emphasis is placed on subtle differentiations of timbre and ornamentation.

Sensitivity to Tempo: Relatively slow tempos with constant, subtle fluctuations in basic pulse. Jo-ha-kyu aesthetic ideal is pervasive in both large and small forms: slow introductory exposition (jo); faster, more rhythmically regular middle section (ha); and still faster, more intense drive toward the end (kyu); often with a sudden slowing down at the end of a piece.

Discussion Questions Generally, in comparison to Japan, how does our culture regard the performance and listening of music 1,000, or even 500-years-old? In what ways may we compare Gregorian chant with Buddhist chant, and thus contrast it with Shinto music?

May we find equivalents to court music in the West? Why or why not?

Next Lecture Music of Indonesia Pages 162-195