Transcript The Music of Japan

MUSI 207
Japan
Chapter 5
The Music of Japan
Update: Chapter Presentation Self Reflection
(bonus)
Different Cultural Values
Musical/Theatrical Genres and Social Values
Gender Issues
Different Cultural Values
In Japan, maintaining tradition is important.
In pedagogy and performance, the
emphasis is on playing music traditionally,
without innovation. Preservation has tended
to take a vertical path in Japan. For
example, genres are transmitted from
teacher to student through special lineages,
without there being any apparent horizontal
influence from co-existing genres.
Musical/theatrical Genres and
Social Values
Musical/theatrical genres tell us about
Japanese history and social values. Genres are
linked to social class and historical epochs. For
example, gagaku remains a symbol of the
authority of the Imperial court while noh, the art
of the samurai, emphasizes simplicity and
personal enlightenment through selfunderstanding and self-reliance. Kabuki and
bunraku illustrate the fondness of the townsfolk
for theater.
Gender Issues
The koto is believed to originally have been a court
musical instrument played by men; the shamisen
was originally an instrument played by banished
samurai who became wandering Buddhist monks
who utilized the shakuhachi as a weapon when
needed. The shamisen was played by men in
accompaniment to the various theater genres.
However, women have come to play these
instruments during the Edo period in sankyoku, an
ensemble music that has been associated with the
geisha.
Gender Issues cont.
The term geisha literally means “arts
person,” whereby most Westerners mistakenly
think the term refers to prostitutes. Japanese
women had been trained in the arts at one time to
entertain gentlemen, yet today they are trained for
arts recitals.
In kabuki, women were banned as
performers in 1629 due to the genre becoming
associated with prostitution. In 1653, reforms were
again made in kabuki, restricting young men as
performers as well.
For next class
Chapter Exam 5 is due Friday
Comment on the D2L
PowerPoint presentation
Read Chapter 5 (150-161) on
Japanese music
Music in the soul can
be heard by the
universe.
-Lao Tzu