IMMIGRATION

Tokyo, Japan

VISA CLASS: Temporary Visitor

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Resources and References

Exit Questions

Japanese Music

Early forms of Japanese music involved the drums and flute, which were used in kagura shrine dances. Gagaku, or court music, came from Korea and China, and was played in Japanese courts from the 6^th century on. A gagaku ensemble consists of 16 musicians on percussion, string and reed instruments. The free-reed mouth organ, or sho, the cyndrical oboe (hichiriki), the biwa lute and the koto zither are the most distinctive instruments of the ensemble.

During the 6^th century, additional instruments were also being used as part of Buddhist rites and chants. Bells, gongs, wooden clappers, plaques, percussion tubes and rattles emerged as elements of Japanese music; many of these instruments were also used in kabuki plays. By the 17^th century, the shamisen (three-stringed lute) became popular. It provided rhythm for kabuki and bunraku theatre.

shamisen

koto

The koto, which began as a member of the gagaku ensemble also became an important solo instrument in the 17^th century as it became a part of the Ikuta and Yamada schools in the 17^th and 18^th century; their solo and chamber music are considered to be Japanese ‘classical’ music.

The taiko nailed drum has also become a popular individual instrument in contemporary times. Concerts provide entertainment at festivals and special events. The shakuhachi (end-blown flute) is another important solo instrument. It was originally developed under Zen priests with performance schools in the 16^th to 19^th centuries.

shakuhachi

Folk music is another important form of Japanese music. Each region in Japan has its own folksongs, or minyo. Such songs focus on the day to day activities of traditional life.

Japanese Theatre

Noh

One of the three main classical theatres of Japan is noh. Dating back to the 14^th century, Noh is the oldest form of Japanese theatre, which continues to be performed in present day. Noh is performed in ancient language and the actors use very ritualized movements. There are approximately 260 noh plays.

Noh is a dramatic presentation, which combines poetry, dance and drama. The themes of the plays are usually Buddhist. The primary message of Noh theatre is that the world is one of illusion, and therefore, no one should become too attached.

The setting for a noh play is an unadorned wooden stage, except for a painted pine tree on the back wall. The musicians play at the rear of the stage, followed by six to eight chanters sitting at the right of the stage.

Up to three actors perform in noh. The waki, one supporting actor, who is usually a priest, provides the audience with an explanation of how he has come to the theatre. The shite, primary actor, enters next, beautifully costumed and wearing a mask. He relays his tale to the priest, and asks to be set free from his karma. Usually, the protagonist is plagued by a desire to re-enter the material world. The purpose of noh is not to entertain, but to help the audience reconcile the acceptance of life and death.

The presentation typically contains three plays, including two kyogen plays, which are performed in between them for comic relief. In contrast to noh, kyogen plays are not philosophical in nature, and they usually depict everyday people with human weaknesses. The language used is plain, with simple costumes and lively movements.

Bunraku Puppet Theatre

The third form of classical Japanese theatre is bunraku. Bunraku is a sophisticated puppet theatre that was originally intended for adult audiences in the 16^th century.

Bunraku puppets are one-half to full life-size. Each character is manipulated by three puppeteers who are in view of the audience. The main puppeteer’s face is visible to the audience and he controls the eyelids, eyeballs, eyebrows, mouth and right arm of the puppets. The other two puppeteers appear in dark hoods; one is responsible for moving the left arm and the other operates the legs. The puppets represent character types rather than individuals.

A chanter, tayu, sits to the right of the stage and acts as the voices of all of the puppets. A shamisen player provides music for the performance. The combination of puppets, chanter and music make bunraku a captivating dramatic experience.

Bunraku was created after kabuki, and the two forms of theatre have enjoyed popularity throughout history. Like kabuki plays, bunraku themes reflected Buddhist and Confucian morals. The conflict between social duties and personal desires (giri-ninjo) was often explored through these plays.

Kabuki

Kabuki theatre was intended to entertain the audience. A kabuki play begins with the sound of wooden clappers. A stage curtain opens to reveal plays that are very dramatic, with special effects. The plays consist of a combination of dramatic dialogue, dance and music by flutes, drums and chanting. The type of music, which is performed, depends on the play. The actors’ costumes are also reflective of the type of play being performed: historical or a dramatization of an event. Themes of kabuki plays reflect Buddhist and Confucian thought and include the idea of justice, piety and the conflict between love and duty.

Only men perform in kabuki theatre. In the developing years, women were banned from performing. Prostitution became an important business of the women kabuki troupes, and men assumed the women’s roles.

Kabuki began in the early 17^th century. It became very popular by the end of the late 17^th century due to playwrights and actors who depicted heroes with superhuman powers. Most of the kabuki performances today still use traditional plays and costumes. The average performance lasts for five hours, including intermissions.

Japanese Dance

Traditional Japanese dance is very diverse. The oldest form of traditional dance is kagura, or dance of the gods. Shamans originally performed this dance, and it influenced all the Shinto dances seen in shrines today to appease the deities.

kagura

Japanese culture has been influenced by other Asian cultures. In the 6^th century, gigaku, masked dance-drama, came to Japan from Korea. The two-person shishimai dance seen in gigaku led to the development of the lion dances seen in Japan today. In the 7^th and 8^th centuries, Korean and Chinese music influenced Japanese art forms; bugaku, or court dance and gagaku, (court music) are two examples. The dancers of bugaku wear ornate costumes and are accompanied by gagaku. Bugaku was also performed in temples and shrines with Buddhist ceremonial dances.

Sarugaku is an acrobatic performance, which was used as the dance component of the court sumo festival (794-1185). Sarugaku and dengaku were originally performed as fertility rituals, but they also played a role in the development of noh drama.

Folk and festival dances were typically accompanied by hayashi music (drums and flutes).

The development of kabuki and bunraku theatre also involved the development of different forms of dance. Shosagoto dances became the primary form of kabuki dance.

Glossary

bugaku – court dance

gagaku – court music

gigaku-masked dance drama

giri-ninjo - the conflict between social duties and personal desires explored through bunraku puppet plays

hayashi – music of drums and flutes played at festival dances

hichiriki - cyndrical oboe

kagura – dance of the gods

kyogen plays performed in between noh plays for comic relief

minyo -japanese folk songs

sarugaku – acrobatic performance

shamisen – three-stringed lute

shite, primary actor in noh

sho – free-reed mouth organ

shosagoto - the primary dances of kabuki dance

tayu -a chanter in bunraku puppet

waki, one supporting actor in noh who is usually a priest

Resources and References - Japanese Spirituality through Drama, Dance and Music

Websites

www.artsci.wustl.edu/~rlneblet/noh

www.columbia.edu/cu/web/services/preservation/bunraku/bun281.htm

www.jinjapan.org.access.kabuki

home.san.rr.com/koto/instru.htm

http://jin.jcic.or.jp/museum/perform.html

aris.ss.uci.edu/rgarfias/gagaku/gagaku.html

Japanese Exit Questions

1.  Choose one style of classical Japanese Theatre and design a costume that you would think would be in keeping with the theme of the play.

2.  Which of the Japanese instruments would you be most interested in learning more about?  Are there any similarities between the traditional Japanese instruments and modern-day musical instruments?

3.  Japanese Dance forms are tied to tradition, folklore and meaning.  Create your own dance that interprets a traditional story that you know.

4.  Japanese art forms have been influenced by other Asian cultures.  Do you notice any similarities between Japanese performing arts and the art forms of other countries?

5.  List three things that impressed you most about Japanese performing arts.  Explain.