Ancient Japanese Music

The Japanese are known to be proud of their culture, and rightfully so. They possess a unique
heritage, most of it being indigenous, while including adaptations (often musical) from other parts
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There is not much of information available today about Japanese culture in pre-historic periods.
However, evidence suggests that music was given importance during the Yayoi and the J?mon
period. During the late Yayoi period, many tombs of poets and musicians were built. Historical
records show that popular songs and legends were recorded in the chronicles 'Kojiki' and 'Nihon
Shoki', during the reign of Emperor Temmu. By that time songs and poetry were already a part of
traditional Japanese music.
In the recent decades, Japanese traditional music compositions were showcased throughout the
world. The Japanese are known to take pride in all their historic culture, including music. This is the
biggest reason for finding direct links between modern Japanese music to the earlier forms.
Common Japanese Musical Instruments
These were the traditional Japanese musical forms during the Azuchi-Momoyama period (1573 -
1603). During this period many new musical instruments were introduced. The shakuhachi was
played by Buddhist priests. This form of ancient Japanese music got its name from the instrument
itself, and was performed during religious festivals and ceremonies.
Shamisen music is a form of Japanese music that had vocals and the musical instrument shamisen. It
was primarily composed by the Ikuta school. This form of ancient music is used for both narrative
and melodious singing. Another traditional Japanese instrument is the koto. Music composed on the
koto is known as s?kyoku. It gained significance during the Edo period.
More About Ancient Japanese Music
Although Japan has unique culture and traditions, quite a few ceremonies and music were borrowed
from other countries. The Imperial state of Japan used not only the Chinese language, but also
imported some facets of its culture, including traditional music. A traditional form of music
dominated the courts of kings during the Nara (A.D. 710 to 794) and Heian (A.D. 794 to 1185)
periods. Other forms of traditional Japanese music were Noh, shakuhachi, koto, and shamisen. A
point worth mentioning here is that vocals play an important role in Japanese music.Gagaku
Japanese court music, known as gagaku, was mostly developed at the courts of upper class people
and powerful nobles. This form of music gained significant popularity during the Heian period (794-
1185 AD). Gagaku is classified into three categories - original foreign music, pure Japanese music,
and music composed in Japan under the influence of neighboring countries.
Gagaku actually has its origin in China, Korea, and other Southeast Asian countries. The form that
originated from China is known as togaku, and the one that has its roots in Korea is known as
komagaku. Both these forms of traditional music use the orchestra and do not have any vocals in it.
Modern gagaku is performed in two ways. One is kangen, which is concert music with wind, string,
and percussion instruments without dance. The other is bugaku, which involves dance and excludes
stringed instruments. Some of the popular instruments that were used in this form of music include
the mouth organ, flute, drum and zither.
Noh and Ky?gen
This traditional Japanese musical form became popular during the Muromachi period (14th century).
Both Noh and ky?gen have their roots in the ancient theatrical art of sarugaku, which itself is an
evolved version of the even older sangaku.
Noh tends to use more serious and somber human emotions. Ky?gen uses lighter elements that make
people laugh. Ky?gen can actually be said to be the true evolution of sangaku, because sangaku
relied heavily on comedy. Both Noh and ky?gen share the same stage, while they are directed
towards audiences of different classes.
The Meiji Period saw the merging of Noh and ky?gen into one art form called nohgaku.
Sh?my?
Another traditional Japanese music that gained significance during the Heian period was the
sh?my?. This is a vocalized form of music that was used in Buddhist temples at the time of prayer
services.
Sh?my? is basically Buddhist melodic vocal chanting. It is considered to be one of the original
Japanese vocal arts, and is given a lot of importance. It involves male voices merging together
without any instruments, to create a kind of unusually unique melody. It can be a powerful tool to
gain mental focus and calm.
Today, sh?my? is a part of a very expressive performance art. Although it has come a long way from
being the religious ceremonial music of ancient Japan, its roots are still very much apparent.
J?ruri
J?ruri is a style of narrative music, intended for the bunraku puppet drama. The lyrical style gives
more emphasis on the melodic pattern of the music, but the lyrics themselves always hold utmost
importance. Its origin is considered to be derived from a romantic tale from the 15th century,
J?rurihime monogatari, with Lady J?ruri as the lead character.
J?ruri was mostly created by the then-impoverished samurai class who were simply looking for a
more colorful way to live. The puppet theater then started evolving j?ruri into its most sophisticated
form, gidayu, and then branching j?ruri into styles like tokiwazu and kiyomoto.
Nagauta
Nagauta developed within the Kabuki theaters in Edo. 'Nagauta' literally means 'long song', and is
actually a combination of several smaller songs. It is predominantly a lyrical style supported by any
size of musical ensembles.
Nagauta is singly the most important style of Kabuki music; it is employed in almost every type of
kabuki play. As the kabuki styles became more and more elaborate, the accompanying nagauta
music evolved in composition. Although the length became longer, the lyrical download songs to my
how to download songs to ipod nano for free style remained the same, and a long section was simply
divided into smaller pieces.
Towards the early 19th century, an increasing number of amateurs and performers started playing
nagauta music. This led to another branch of nagauta that was completely independent from the
kabuki theaters.
Folk songs are also a part of traditional Japanese music. These songs are mostly associated with
religious ceremonies or with daily chores. Though not much is known about Japanese music of the
prehistoric period, Japanese traditional music gained significant importance later. Even today, many
people around the globe enjoy it.