An Overview
By Christopher Yohmei Blasdel:
Shakuhachi performer, Writer, Musicologist
Copyright, 2001
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I. Introduction The Japanese culture contains a wealth of performing arts. The traditional forms are bequeathed from the past and renew themselves through each generation. Other performing arts are influenced by neighboring Asian and far away European cultures, and the Japanese contemporary performing arts are a mirror of the present-day culture. Performing arts genres include dance, instrumental and vocal music, theater, folk arts and acrobatics. Some of the genres belong to the world of highly refined fine art, some stem from the profound connection with the various Japanese religions, and some maintain their intimate connection with daily life and the constantly changing popular culture. Each genre and performing arts group are fascinating in the glimpse they provide of the Japanese culture. This information on this site is intended to aid the local Japan-American Societies in understanding, researching and selecting programs of Japanese performing arts for presentation to their local audiences. The information given here will outline and briefly describe the various genres of Japanese performing arts, their content and cultural settings and provide concrete suggestions on how these various genres might be presented in a local setting. It will also try to address the various questions presenters face when trying to set up a performing arts program. Lastly, information about individuals and groups who are appropriate for traveling abroad or are already planning tours of the US will be made available when possible. There are literally innumerable performing groups presently in Japan, and this overview cannot cover them all, but hopefully it will provide a basic picture of what is available. II. The Traditional Performing Arts Rarely do the individual genres of the Japanese traditional performing arts stand alone. Dance is always accompanied by music, vocal music is oftentimes derived from narrative which was originally done for the stage, and the folk arts are intimately involved with the daily life cycle and religious activities of the populace. The theater, such as kabuki and noh, is known for their synthesis of dance, music, costume and literature, and the bunraku puppet theater involves an awareness and understanding of the intimate connection between the movements of the puppet, the singing of the narrator, and the music of the shamisen. When presenting the performing arts of Japan, it is important to keep in mind the inter-connections between the genres. For example, it may not be feasible to bring a whole kabuki troupe to perform, but if you present a single dance number from a kabuki play, it will be necessary to keep in mind that the dance--no matter how complete and beautiful it may be in itself--comprises just one scene from an ongoing, sometimes very complicated story. Likewise, the texts of most shamisen and koto pieces refer to older poetry, noh or kabuki plays, and the meditative solo pieces of the shakuhachi flute, although lacking lyrics, have a deep connection with Zen Buddhism and its ongoing search for personal enlightenment. A successful presentation of any of the traditional arts, therefore, pre-supposes a knowledge of the genre(s) and how to explain them to an audience who will be experiencing it mostly for the first time. Oftentimes experts will travel along with the performing groups to help introduce and make the material more meaningful to the local audience. If this is not the case, then a connection with an expert in a local university or other institution is helpful. With clear explanations, demonstrations and program notes, a rather arcane, foreign art form becomes accessible to all who take an interest. Here are presented an outline of eight major genres with a brief description of their content. For more information about the history and aesthetic of these genres, I suggest you refer to Shigeo Kishibe (from whence the basis of this outline comes), The Traditional Music of Japan (The Japan Foundation, 1981), or William Malm's Traditional Japanese Music and Musical Instruments, The New Edition, (Kodansha International 2001). In addition, Hugh DeFerranti's Japanese Musical Instruments (Oxford Press, 2001) offers a concise guide to Japanese music and instruments. It should be noted that in addition to the traditional Japanese performing arts, Japan, especially Tokyo, boasts several professional organizations which perform and promote traditional Western classical performing arts such as philharmonic orchestras and ballet. Although many of these organizations and companies are first rate, they are out of the scope of this introduction. More information can be obtained from the Japan Foundation Performing Arts home page.
Gagaku refers to the genre of music and dance which was originally performed and practiced in the Imperial court, having established itself there in the early half of the 9th century. Although there is evidence which suggests that present-day performance practices of gagaku differ considerably from earlier times, it is usually referred to as the oldest extant orchestral music in the world. The present day gagaku repertory consists of the following four categories:
A presentation of the kangen ensemble is very effective and the music appeals immediately to anyone with a sensitive ear. The kangen ensemble usually consists of at least eight members, but a scaled-down version of three is possible (flute, double reed and mouth organ), though not nearly as effective. The addition of bugaku adds the beautiful element of dance and costume, but also adds greatly to the production cost. The foremost purveyors of this tradition are still the Imperial Household Musicians (who play both gagaku and Western music for Imperial events and a few yearly public concerts), and major shrines around the country, but recently there have been outstanding student and semi-professional groups who perform in Japan and abroad. An example was the very successful performance tour of the US by the group Reigakusha, who performed both traditional and contemporary pieces in Seattle, Tanglewood and New York's Lincoln Center in the summer of 1996. A full program of bugaku was performed in Los Angeles in 1984 at the Olympic Arts Festival, in New York at the United Nations, and at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Shoumyou (Buddhist chanting) is probably the most important musical genre of Japan but the least known outside its shores. The reason for this is that it has only been relatively recently that shoumyou has been considered as a performance art and begun to be appreciated out of its religious context. Shoumyou, like Christian plain chant, plays an important part of the Buddhist religious service as a way to internalize, through song, the profound meaning of the sutras. Priests, together or alone, chant the words in unison along a specific modal style based on nuclear tones (a style which later influenced the noh chanting). Various percussion instruments (drums, bells, clapper) accompany the chanting which is structured according to the nature and purpose of the ceremony. The two Buddhist sects known for their use and transmission of Shoumyou are the Tendai and Shingon sects. Presently, there are individuals who experiment with new styles and occasions for Shoumyou, as well as composers who incorporate the style into contemporary pieces.
The biwa is a plucked lute, somewhat similar to the Western lute. In fact, the origins of both instruments (and indeed, of many other Western and Eastern instruments as well) can be traced to the Chinese pipa and even to the earlier Persian oud. Originally used in the gagaku ensemble, the biwa came to accompany Buddhist chanting in the early Heian period. From there it gradually began to be used in more secular forms of narrative accompaniment. The most famous example of this is its use to accompany sung/narrated performances of the Tales of the Heike, an epic story of the rise and fall of Japan's most famous aristocratic family, the Heike. From this narrative tradition descended several other styles of biwa playing and singing, all differing slightly in musical approach and structure of the instrument. Such styles include the percussive, samurai-like Satsuma biwa from Kyushu and the more brilliant, lyrical style of the Chikuzen biwa, also from Kyushu. Presently, both traditional and contemporary styles of biwa are being performed throughout the country. Biwa music is usually done solo. Instrumentally, the music can be very interesting, but real appreciation precludes an understanding and sympathy with the lyrics.
Noh, along with kabuki, is the best known Japanese theatrical art. Although it is classified as theater, it contains many musical, poetic and visual elements. The result is a highly refined synthesis of literature, dance, theater and music. Style in noh, whether theatrical or musical, is strictly formalized and very dignified. Movement is economized and expression is indirect and subtle. The result is that a mere suggestion of action carries a full and weighty substance, and the viewer must bring his or her own imagination into full play to fill in the long blocks of silence and inaction. It requires years of rigorous training for an actor or musician to be able to perform in this way, and it also requires that the audience be trained in the ways of listening. This is one of the reasons why noh has remained an art for the elite, beginning with the lords of the Muromachi period (15th-16th centuries), including the Shoguns of the Edo Period (1603-1868) and continuing today with the educated and wealthier audiences which support the professional noh theaters in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka. In spite of its arcane nature, programs introducing noh have been successful in the US. The secret, as mentioned before, is to have someone who can explain the genre, or who can offer short training seminars or workshops, often in conjunction with university courses or actor training institutes. Some of the most successful noh performances have been by troupes which include foreigners who are proficient in the history, theory and actual performance of the noh plays. A full noh troupe replete with costumes and stage props can be prohibitively expensive, but a scaled down version, with two or three persons carefully explaining and demonstrating the various roles and music, is very effective, both for cost, educational and entertainment value. Similarly, the comic theatrical form, kyougen, which accompanies noh, has had many successful performances abroad. Several kyougen plays have also been translated into English and performed abroad.
Like the biwa, the koto, (or sou) was imported from China as a member of the gagaku ensemble. The koto is a flat zither with thirteen strings which are plucked with finger plectrums. The instrument remained mostly in the confines of gagaku music until the Momoyama period (late 16th century), when a Buddhist priest in Kyushu composed the first songs for the instrument. Later, during the 17th century, a professional blind musician, Yatsuhashi Kengyou created a new style of koto and popularized it. Yatsuhashi's efforts insured that the koto became one of the major instruments of the Edo period. Although a few purely instrumental pieces were written for the koto,
most Edo-period koto music accompanied either song or shamisen and
song (the shamisen is discussed below). Koto accompaniment for the
earlier pieces was sparse and served only to highlight the song melody
(similar to the way the biwa accompanied the narrative Heike songs),
but as musicians became more proficient on the koto--and the public
more demanding--the koto parts evolved into elaborate compositions
requiring extreme virtuosity in their execution. Later in the Edo
period, the shakuhachi began accompanying the koto and shamisen in
a style of ensemble music known as sankyoku. Present-day koto music consists of the Edo-period classics (mainly of two schools or style, the Ikuta style, which was originally based in Kyoto and Osaka, and the Yamada style based in Edo) and a rich body of modern and contemporary music composed in the 20th century. A 17 string bass koto was developed in the early part of the 20th century, and a 20 string koto was created in the 1970's in order to expand musical range and technical abilities.
The shamisen, a three stringed lute (somewhat resembling a banjo) played with a hand held plectrum, was imported into Japan via China and the Ryuukyuu (Okinawa) islands during the mid 16th century. It quickly became popular and found its way into all aspects of Japan's artistic and entertainment worlds. Although shamisen music is the single most representative genre of Edo-period music, there are actually a number of playing styles and variations in the instrument itself. Generally, shamisen music can be classified into three main groups: singing (utamono), narrative (katarimono), and folk (minyou). In the utamono (singing) style, mainly known as jiuta, one person sings while playing; the shamisen more or less outlines the melody. Like the koto music mentioned above, however, the shamisen playing became more and more elaborate as lengthy instrumental interludes (called tegoto) developed in the pieces. Meanwhile, shamisen music used in the kabuki theater also became longer and more elaborate, developing into a style known today as nagauta, which usually accompanies dance pieces. Nagauta shamisen is now one of the most ubiquitous styles of shamisen music and requires a number of specialized performers for the shamisen, vocal, drum and flute parts. The katari (narrative) style is also known as joururi, and perhaps the best example is the shamisen found in the bunraku puppet theater. Tokiwazu, Kiyomoto and Shinnai are also still striving styles of narrative shamisen music. Other types of shamisen music include the more secular and simple hauta, kouta, and zokkyoku. While the above genres can be considered art music, the shamisen is the most prevalent instrument used in folk, or minyou style shamisen, which will be discussed below.
Although of simple construction, the shakuhachi (a five-holed, bamboo
end-blown flute) has a wide range of musical expression and is perhaps
the best known of all Japanese instruments. Like most other Japanese
instruments, the shakuhachi was imported into Japan from China as
part of the gagaku ensemble. The shakuhachi of that time was more
slender than the present-day instrument and had six holes. During the Middle Ages (13th--16th centuries), the shakuhachi was used as accompaniment to wandering priests and poets, and during the Edo period it was used by members of a sect of Zen Buddhism, called Fuke-shuu, as an instrument to encourage enlightenment. Near the end of the Edo period, the shakuhachi evolved more or less into its present-day shape, a 54.5 centimeter long piece of bamboo which utilizes the thick root-end of the bamboo as the instrument's bell. The shakuhachi has really come into its own as a musical instrument in the 20th century and is widely used in both traditional and contemporary music. The basic repertory of shakuhachi solo pieces, which have their origins in the meditative music which the Fuke Zen monks played in order to achieve inner enlightenment, is called honkyoku. At the end of the Edo period, the instrument also began to accompany the shamisen and koto in the three-part sankyoku ensemble, a style which is still popular today. The extreme musical flexibility of the shakuhachi has enabled the creation of a rich body of contemporary and non-classical music as well. Shakuhachi in jazz, rock and pop bands is not uncommon. Of all genres of the Japanese performing arts, musical ensembles or solo performances of koto, shamisen and/or shakuhachi are one of the easiest to export to and produce in the US. Much of the music can be appreciated on an instrumental level , and the performance can take place in almost any hall or room with good, natural acoustics, with no need for elaborate stage props or lighting. As a result, such ensembles perform regularly in the US. Although this has created an awareness and appreciation of this genre of music amongst American audiences, it also means that the audiences are increasingly sophisticated and discerning. Buyou refers to any type of traditional Japanese dance, and there is a great variety. Aside from the folk dances mentioned below, buyou can be classified into dance from bugaku (see above), religious dances (kagura), and dance from the noh, kyougen and kabuki theater. There is also a form of dance whch accompanies the Edo period chamber music of shamisen and koto, known as jiuta-mai dance. Buyou usually requires elaborate costumes and stage props, but dances from the noh theater are often performed with only simple kimonos and perhaps a fan. Buyou choreography is usually programmatic and designed to tell a story.
Folk songs and dance are a natural reflection of the surrounding society, so as the society changes, so do the method and means of folk music. Even though traditional customs in all parts of Japan have been eclipsed by contemporary lifestyles, traditional folk songs and dances nonetheless have been preserved and thrive in both the city and country. Oftentimes these songs and dances are connected with religious ceremonies or matsuri festivals which have survived the transition into modern times, and in some cases local preservation societies have been formed to keep the music alive and transmit it to the younger generation. Folk songs can be classified into the following major categories, according to lyrics: Accompaniment for folk music consists mostly of the shamisen, although shakuhachi, transverse flutes, and various percussion instruments are also used. The last 20 years has seen something of a media boom in the singing and performing of folk songs, resulting in a class of professionals who have become full time performers, teachers and recording artists. Foreign tours of folk music, especially the kagura folk dances or the virtuoso Tsugaru shamisen performers, have been very successful. Folk performances also fit well into such programs as local matsuri or Japanese festivals .
The contemporary performing arts in Japan are the scene of much experimentation, assimilation, and ground-breaking. Despite their contemporary and avant garde nature, however, the influence of tradition is usually not far below the surface. Sometimes this influence is conscious and informed--like the incorporation of definate kabuki styles by contemporary theater and dance troupes, and sometimes the influence is present, either intentionally or unintentionally, as a cultural background. In general, however, since the modern world--both East and West-- shares so many similarities, the contemporary performing arts of Japan are often easier to be understood and appreciated by Western audiences. For more information on Japanese contemporary theater and dance, please refer to Theater in Japan, Second Edition (The Japan Foundation, 1993). This compendium is a catalogue of the most famous dance and theater troupes in Japan, with essays by various dance and theater experts.
Presently, the music scene in Japan can be categorized as follows:
Modern theater in Japan generally belongs to four "schools": Japanese experimental theater, still going strong today, includes works by a wide variety of playwrights, including women and other minority groups in Japan. Some deal in political/social problems, while others, more representative of the pop culture, are pure entertainment.
IV. Presenting Japanese Performing Arts Which particular performing art an individual organization will decide to present will depend upon a number of factors: first of all, the predilection of the presenters and the local public. What does your public appreciate? What do they need? What can balance the other programs you are offering? Important also are the resources available, both financial and personnel. What kind of facilities do you have? In many cases, the local societies do not have the experience, resources or venues for presenting performing arts. In this case it will be necessary to create connections in the local community with organizations who can provide specialists necessary for a successful production (stage managers, light directors, publicists, sound engineers, theater staff, etc.).
Unlike lectures or seminars, the presentation of a performing arts group is a "performance" in itself and requires attention to detail. These include the process of planning, the appearance, acoustics and location of the theater or performance hall, the attitude and ability of the staff, the expertise of the stage-help, the amount of pre-event publicity, the introduction by local dignitaries or staff, and the ease of use of the dressing rooms. Everyone pitches in to create an overall atmosphere which enables the performance to shine. It is common practice for touring performance art groups to provide the sponsoring organization with a list of technical requirements. Usually, these technical requirements are part of their contract, and the groups will not sign until they can be sure the requirements are satisfied to their specifications. The sponsoring organization is then bound by the terms of the contract to fulfill the technical requirements. Unlike the US, Japan is not a society of written contracts. Therefore individual or medium-size performing groups from Japan usually do not require contracts, instead they rely on verbal or written promises. They will (or should) provide a list of technical requirements, and if there is anything you don't understand or cannot provide, you should contact them well in advance. A successful performance depends upon the fulfillment of these technicalities, and they should be taken very seriously. Some of the specific conditions of the 1995 music tour group are listed below. Ground Transportation Accommodations A hotel or guest house near the venue is preferred for the visiting artists. Dormitory accommodations are not appropriate. If the guests are to be in the area for an extended time, home stays are a good way to economize on expenses and enable everyone to get to know each other, but it is important to remember that the artists be accommodated in a way so as to enable them to concentrate on their performance. Pre-production Publicity Requirements for a Successful Performance ROOMS WHICH ARE INTENDED FOR LECTURES OR CONFERENCES RARELY
MAKE GOOD PERFORMANCE SPACES AND SHOULD BE AVOIDED IF AT ALL POSSIBLE. Other points to keep in mind are:
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This
page was originally written for the home page of the National
Association of Japan America Societies (NAJAS), providing information
on how to present the Japanese performing arts in the US. The