Traditional music
Japanese musical tradition tells the story of the archipelago's construction and movements. In the Asuka period (592-710), with the introduction of Buddhism into the country, masked ritual dances appeared. As a vehicle for the transmission of wisdom, music became king, and Emperor Monmu (697-707) even established a Ministry of Music. During the artistically brilliant Nara period (710-793), Chinese music (from the T'ang dynasty) penetrated the country en masse, as did music from India, Persia and Central Asia. It was at this time that gagaku ("elegant music") became official. Official court music, also played in temples, gagaku was based on musical theories and instruments imported from the kingdoms of China and Korea. Listed as an intangible heritage of humanity, gagaku is no longer (solely) court music, but continues to be performed by large ensembles. The dance that accompanies gagaku is called bugaku, and is distinguished by the grace and majesty of its movements and the elaborateness of its costumes.
The Nara era saw the emergence of shōmyō, which originated in India. A Buddhist psalmody, the style quickly gained favor with aristocrats and civil servants. It is in shōmyō, chant and liturgy, that a fundamental unity is formed: the melodic cell. During the Kamakura era (1185 - 1333), a period of religious revival, the art of the biwa (four-stringed lute) developed alongside Buddhist chanting. During the High Middle Ages (11th-16th centuries), so-called "rustic" music flourished, often regarded as the ancestor of nō theater.
Japanese music really took off during the Edo period, with the arrival of the emblematic shamisen, a long-necked, three-stringed lute. A unity of instruments developed with the koto, the horizontal harp, the biwa lute and the shakuhachi bamboo flute, of Chinese origin. From this period, all modern Japanese musical genres have retained their elastic tempi.
For traditional Japanese music, check out the albums by the Yoshida brothers (Yoshida Kyōdai), an excellent shamisen duo. A little more confidential but fabulous, Kimio Eto (1924-2012) was one of the great koto artists.
In Japan, one opportunity is to attend a matsuri. Rich in music and local folklore, these popular festivals are celebrated all over the country throughout the year.
Classical music
Introduced at the start of the Meiji era (1868 - 1912), the genre owes a great deal to Shuji Isawa (1851-1917), who was sent to the United States to study the teaching, practice and dissemination of music. Upon his return, the Meiji government took the radical step of making Western music instruction compulsory in primary and secondary schools. Another event contributing to the spread of classical music throughout the country was the American occupation at the end of the Second World War (1945-1952).
Today, children learn music as early as elementary school. Since the 1960s, the country has been a popular destination for the greatest international names, attracted by the quality of its venues and the generosity of its audiences.
In addition to Toru Takemitsu (1930 - 1996) - a meeting point between Cage, Debussy and the Japanese tradition - often rightly referred to as the leader of Japanese classical music, the list of composers excelling in the field is long. These include Teizō Matsumura (1929 - 2007), whose work was influenced by Ravel and Stravinsky, Toshio Hosokawa, who thought of his compositions as "sound calligraphy", and Yasushi Akutagawa (1925 - 1989), who was close to Dmitri Shostakovich and Aram Khachaturian and was the only Japanese composer whose works were officially published in the Soviet Union. The country also boasts a giant of the conducting world, Seiji Ozawa, leader of the Japanese school and one of the greatest specialists of 20th-century French music. Following in his footsteps are Kazushi Ōno, known in France for conducting the Opéra national de Lyon orchestra in 2008/09, and above all Kazuki Yamada, a rising star appointed to head the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra from 2023.
In terms of performers, it's impossible not to mention Yōko Watanabe (1953 - 2004), a Japanese soprano whose career has been devoted to the title role in Madame Butterfly throughout Europe, Mitsuko Uchida, a virtuoso pianist renowned for her interpretations of Schubert, Chopin and Debussy, Nobuyuki Tsuji, star pianist in Japan and rising star on the international scene, and of course Ryuichi Sakamoto, pioneer of electronic music and a kind of Erik Satie of contemporary classical music.
Current music
In the Land of the Rising Sun, all modern Western styles seem to have found their translation. Rap, rock, jazz, pop, variety... Japanese music has assimilated many genres into the country's codes. J-pop, a musical genre that became dominant in the late 1990s, refers to the large number of girls and boy bands performing in Japan. It follows on from 1980s city pop, a typically Japanese blend of disco-funk, and 1990s shibuya-kei, a kitschy fusion of Western sixties pop and local variety. Today, the genre is invariably a gold mine. Tokyo's youth district par excellence, Harajuku is the cradle and meeting point of this J-pop culture. Once a counter-culture niche, it's still very much alive, but today more eccentric than anti-conformist.
Ambient music in Japan is particularly prized and respected. Often referred to as kankyō ongaku, for "environmental music", it is not comparable to what Satie called musique d'ameublement. It is designed to inhabit interior space. Satoshi Ashikawa is a pioneer of the genre in Japan, the spiritual son of Brian Eno. He is joined by Jun Fukamachi. Another cult figure, Hiroshi Yoshimura, is a fabulous sound painter, the author of compositions in which peace and harmony triumph.
The case of hip-hop in Japan is somewhat special. The grammatical construction of the Japanese language made the idea of Japanese rap impossible at first sight. And while the first MCs turned to English to express themselves, local rappers soon found ways of adapting Japanese to the genre. And like everywhere else on the planet, hip-hop has taken local culture by storm.
Dance and theater
Music, dance and theater are often one and the same in Japanese tradition. Japanese theater refers to the great Shintō myths and age-old legends. This is particularly evident in kagura, the oldest form of theatrical dance in Japan. Associated with Shintō worship, it is often performed at matsuri.
Gigaku may have been introduced to Japan in the 7th century. Originally accompanying Buddhist rites, it consists of a parade of dancers wearing huge masks, during ritual dances performed at the temple, and sometimes accompanied by mimes to amuse the audience.
Although nō has retained distant links with the Buddhist religion and Shintō rites, it is above all a secular dance. It is characterized by its refined, codified, all-symbolic performance, not telling a plot but expressing an emotion or atmosphere. This nō was one of the first art forms to be inscribed (in 2008) on the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. As interludes to draw the spectator out of the nō, kyōgen (buffoonery or farce) are often disparaged and relegated to the register of minor arts. And yet... these sorts of little sketches have dramaturgical value in their own right. Seeing a performance of nō is a must when visiting Japan.
Meaning " exuberant and marginal ", kabuki undoubtedly originally referred to avant-garde theater; it is now the most popular form of traditional theater. Dating back to the Edo period in the early 17th century, it depicts historical events or moral conflicts. Actors speak in monotone voices and are accompanied by traditional instruments.
The latest and most popular form of Japanese theater, bunraku is performed with large puppets, manipulated by sight, while a single narrator plays all the roles.
