The Evolution of Japanese Music: History, Style, and Influence
Japanese music is extremely diverse due to the
manner in which the assorted cultures from different areas tend to
collaborate to form a new type of culture which has an identity all its
own. As a result, the Japanese enjoy a diverse genre of music that
ranges from traditional Japanese music to popular songs of Japan and
rock music of the United States.
In earlier times Japanese music was limited to live concerts and
performances. It was not until the inception of radio and eventually the
Internet that music began to influence the lives of Japanese in a
greater capacity. Japanese music began as early as 793 A.D. and has
continued into the diverse culture that is today. The following
information contains an overview of the evolution Japanese music, the
different styles, and how each style influenced the culture of its time
Ancient Japanese Music
Ancient Japanese music is part of traditional Japanese music which
consists of art music and folk music. The Japanese have maintained these
two styles of music throughout history however the two styles have since
been modified in modern day music.
Japanese art music consists of several different styles to correspond
with the styles of music that were created during different periods of
Japanese history. Japanese folk music is also considered traditional
Japanese music and tends to be more popular since vocal music tends to
have a more prominent role than instrumental music in Japanese music
history. This is partially due to traditional Japanese music playing a
significant role in drama during the following periods in history.
Heian Period: This period of Japanese music took place from 794
A.D. to 1192 A.D. and is the period of Gagaku music which was
established for ancient court nobility and the upper class. Gagaku music
originated in China and other countries of Asia and consists of
instrumental music that is absent of the vocal part. The instruments
consisted of flutes, drums, zithers, and other types of ancient
instruments.
Kamakura Period: During this period in Japanese music history
theatrical arts became more prominent and theatre arts evolved into what
is known as Noh drama. Nohgaku music consists of both vocal and
instrumental music and the music was originally used to entertain the
military class and in later times the nobility and the upper class. This
period lasted from the beginning of the Kamakura Period in 1192 A.D. to
the Muromachi Period which ended in 1573 A.D.
Azuchi-Momoyama Period: This period in Japanese music history
lasted from 1573 A.D. to 1603 A.D. and is the period of shakuhachi which
marks the modification of the recorder, the koto which is the zither,
and the shamisen which is a guitar with three strings used for vocal
accompaniment. The development of these types of instruments was used in
conjunction with narrative singing and different types of dances.
Japanese Folk Song
Following these periods folk songs were developed for use during
religious events and during labor such as farming and working in the
mountains. Exactly when folk songs began to develop is unknown however
they are still used in the current day and mostly by the older
generations.
Although folk songs were originally used for religious and work purposes
they have changed with the lifestyles of generations that followed and
are currently used for recreation with the exception of the Okinawa
region where they are still used for religious and daily activities.
Folk songs consist of two different styles which are free rhythm folk
songs sung by one person during packhorse driving and metric rhythm folk
songs which were sung while accompanied by shakuhachi.
Japanese Popular Music
Japanese popular music contains an extensive genre of popular music of
Japan as well as American jazz and pop, Latin music, Italian music, and
American rock music. Popular music is performed live in Japan and is
available by CD and Internet, and is played in many public
establishments throughout Japan.
Popular music of Japan is also known as kayo kyoku which was established
in the early 1900s and based on a pentatonic scale system which contains
a blend of Western and Japanese scales.
The inception of the Beatles has a great influence on Japanese music
history and changed the course of Japanese popular music. Following this
period the compositions of the Japanese became more Westernized and
remain that way to this day.
New Japanese Music
Although the music of ancient Japanese periods and the periods that followed is still being preserved there are Japanese composers that are creating modern composition styles that are based on koto and shakuhachi music and other compositions that are built upon the traditional Japanese music concept.