Music of East Asia: Japan 2

Master musicians preserve traditional music: (similar to "guru" in India)

Iemoto: master musician who sets musical standard for school

Iemoto grants licenses to teach and perform.

Conservative system resists change, new compositions.

Aesthetics of Japanese art: (based on cultural perception of nature)

Natural: images of nature in words and music.

Minimal: maximum effect from minimum expression (silence).

Impermanent: existence is temporary (from Buddhism).

Ambiguous: hidden, obscured, cloudy, implicit.

Asymmetrical: uneven, unbalanced, imperfect.

Music of the Tokugawa Era (1601-1867): era of developing middle class

Changes in social structure brought about changes in music:

Middle class developed the economy and the arts;

Ruling samurai warriors lost power; many became monks.

Shakuhachi (5-hole end-blown bamboo flute)

Solo flute music developed out of Zen practice - "blowing Zen"

CD Example 39. “Tsuru no sugomori” (Cranes in their nests)

Koto (13-string long zither)

Former aristocratic instrument became popular among middle class

CD Example 40. Koto - Haru no Umi ("Spring Sea")

Shamisen (3-string, skin-covered, plucked lute)

Most widespread instrument; used in theater, chamber and folk music

Nagauta: music of classical dance and kabuki theatre

CD Example 41. Nagauta shamisen - excerpt from kabuki

Minyo: regional folk songs with agricultural origins

Romanticizing rural life; evokes nostalgia for urban people

CD Example 42. Folk song - Hanagasa Ondo

Music of the Modern Era (1868-present): era of Westernization

Western forms of music co-exist with traditional forms of the past.

CD Example 43. Taiko drumming group: Kodo - Chonlima