Digging Deeper Into Asia

With this blog, I wanted to learn about Japans traditional music. It is such a wonderful island, and I wondered, where may Japan learn their music? With Japan being a big island, they developed most of their music themselves, but they have had influences from other countries as well. Japan gain their influences through Korea and China. Korea served as a bridge with Chinese musical ideas. Their music can be considered a combination of vocal or instrumental. It is full of emotional expressions, and many instruments originated in China and Japan adapted them to their local needs.

    When it comes to Japanese traditional music, it's referred to it historical folk music. These are two forms both being the oldest form known as: shomoy (Buddhist chanting) and Gagaku (theatrical court music). Gagaku is the oldest musical traditional in Japan. It includes two styles known as kigaku (instrumental music) and seigaku (form of vocal music). Shomyo translate to 'voice' and 'wisdom' being ritual music. This ritual music is sung in a Buddhist ceremony by a group of Buddhist monks. 

    Another traditional part in Japan is Noh. This is a form of their classical Japanese musical drama. This performance has been performed since the 14th century. It is based on tales from traditional literature. In the performance, a supernatural is being transformed into a human form as a hero being a narrating story. They wear something that is called Noh shosoku. They are mostly made of silk, with extremely luxurious costumes that are represented by the Karaori. At first, during the Noh performance they used their normal day clothing. However, it then became favorable by the aristocracy and military ruling classes, so they then began to recieve more finely crafted kimono to perform, and this is what became the normal attire. 

    Next, is the Kabuki known for its highly stylized dancing and singing. It has elaborate make-up with a predominately male cast. This used to be for both male and female, but now it is all males acting for female roles as well. It originated in the 17th century, and it is still one of the
most popular forms of traditional styles of Japanese drama. They are about historical events and conflicts. 

    In Japan, they have three key instruments used in their music. Those instruments are shamisen, shakuhachi, and koto. The shamisen resembles a guitar, with a rectangular body, and a long neck with three strings. You can change the pitch just like a guitar or violin with the three tuning pegs on the head. Like we have guitar picks they have something almost similar, but theirs is a large triangular plectrum to strike the strings. 

     The next instrument, is the shakuhachi which is like a flute. It is made out of bamboo, which it is sometimes referred as a 'five-holed bamboo flute' in English. It has four holes on the top and one hole on the bottom. The shakuhachi can be characterized by its distinctively poignant tone. 

        The last instrument is the koto, and it is argued when it was truly invented. However, they say around the fifth to third century BC in China is when it was invented. This is one of the instruments that started in China and migrated to Japan. Japan has the 13 string version that migrated there between the years 710-794. With this instrument you wear the picks on your fingers, and the way to change the pitches are from the moveable bridges that are places under the strings. It is the most familiar and popular traditional instrument. 

    This video is a song called Haru No Umi which is translated 'The Sea in the Spring.' This has both the koto and the shakuhachi. It is played during the New Year's holidays as background music. 

    This video is 'Sakura Sakura' normally played during the cherry blossom season. Which, the song title is translated as 'cherry blossoms, cherry blossoms'. 

    Next, let investigate some artist in the Traditional Japanese genre. The first group os the Yoshida Brothers. The oldest brothers name is Ryoichiro born in 1977, and the youngest brothers name is Kenichi born in 1979. These two brothers have sold over 100,000 copies, and they have toured the US and recorded in LA attracting their international fans. They are a mixture of a few genres in one being: Jazz, Experimental music, Rock 'N' Roll, and Pop music. They both picked up a shamisen at the age of five, studying Tsugaru shamisen under Takashi
Sasaki in 1990. They have won two awards known as the "traditional Japanese Music Album Of The Year," of the 15th Japan Gold Disc Award, and the "30th Anniversary Of Normalization Of Japan-China Diplomatic Relations Commemorative Special Prize" of the 17th Annual Japan Gold Disc Award.

The next group, is The Nenes sisters in Okinawan. The group consist of four sisters who are from Okinawan, and they sing Okinawan folk songs. They are performing on traditional instruments, in traditional costumes, and reflecting the history of Japanese music.  They did a tour and recording with Ryuichi Sakamoto; however, the tour was in Europe in the mid 1990's which gave their traditional music a global recognition. 

Lastly, the Kodo. They are one of the elite taiko drumming groups. Taiko translates to literally drums. It is a drum that has been a part of the Japanese culture for centuries. It was once used predominantly in the military arena, and it have evolved to Japanese Buddhist and Shinto religions sacred instruments. The drum itself is huge, with men using a percussion mallet to hit the drum to create the beat. The percussion mallets take up the mens complete hand, and they use two one for each hand. The Kodo have been a major force in the post-World War II revitalization of taiko drumming. With regularly touring in Japan and the United States. In their show they include many Japanese's instruments like the shamisen combining traditional dance and vocal performances. 

Word Cited

Costumes. Introducing the world of Noh: Costumes. (n.d.). Retrieved May 1, 2022, 

    https://www.the-noh.com/en/world/costume.html

History of Japanese music. Audio Network. (n.d.). Retrieved May 1, 2022, 

    https://www.audionetwork.com/content/the-edit/inspiration/histroy-of-japanese-music

Histroy of taiko. (n.d.). Reteived May 1, 2022, 

    https://web.standford.edu/group/stanfordtaiko/cgi-big/histroy/html

Yoshida Brothers: Domo Music Group. Yoshida Brothers | Domo Music Group. (n.d.). Retrived May 1,         2022, https://www.domomusicgroup.com/ypshidabrothers/