Building World Music Collections:

Japan

Joe C. Clark

Kent State University

February 27, 2014

MLA Annual Meeting, Atlanta, GA

Shamisen

Three string fretless plucked lute. Traditionally it accompanies the voice, with instrumental interludes.

Popular since the mid-17th century. Used in main genres, from folk and theatrical forms to classical and contemporary music.

Image from Japan Information Centre; retrieved from New Grove Online.

Koto & Shakuhachi

Koto is a long zither instrument with movable bridge

Used in both court and non-court music

Shakuhachi is an end-blown notched flute with four finger holes and a thumb-hole

Biwa

Many forms of the instrument

Usually four or five strings with a fretted neck

Soundbox is usually cut from the same piece of wood as the neck

Traditionally provides accompaniment for dramatic story telling

Image from http://music.kek.jp/12-2/concert41-e.html

Gagaku

The ancient traditional court music of Japan

Means “elegant music”

Dates from 701 CE

Repertory is broken into concert music (kangen) and music for dance (bugaku)

Concert music usually comprised of string, wind, and percussion instruments; dance music omits strings

Nō• Highly structured stage art

that combines music, poetry, dance, and drama

• Primarily for elite class

Professional groups usually consist of men, but amateur groups include both men and women

Originated in the 14th century

Seeks maximum effect from a minimum of means, although costumes can be over the top

Restrained Image from: http://www.wired-destinations.com/hotels/Japan/guide.php?path=intro

Bunraku: Puppet Theatre

The term refers to all traditional Japanese puppet theatre

Features narrative music, usually with a singer and a shamisen accompanist

Image from http://www.museumofchildhood.org.uk/collections/puppets-and-toy-theatres/bunraku/

Kabuki

Image from http://www.thefastertimes.com/arts-arts/2012/04/06/telling-stories-with-dance-nihon-buyo-at-the-japan-society/

• Began as theatre for the commoners around 1600

• Became “classical” theatre in the late 19th century

• Much more flamboyant than Nō, with more actors, bigger stage, and more musicians

Good Starting Point

New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians.

Good news: discographies are listed for most sections

Bad news: it has not been updated since its publication in 2001

(even online).

Not So Good Resources

Garland Encyclopedia for World Music, Volume 7: East Asia: China, Japan, and Korea. Routedge, 2002.265 pages dedicated to

Japan.Of the 43 sections on Japan,

only one offers a filmography and two provide short discographies.

JVC Music & Dance video series.

Japan Traditional Cultures Foundation: http://www.japo-net.or.jp

Popular MusicsContinuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World, Volume V: Asia and Oceania. 2005.

25 pages of history, commentary, bibliographies, discographies, and filmographies. Regional musics.

Rough Guides

17 pages of commentary and context. Traditional musics are mentioned, but the focus is clearly on popular and regional music. 5 page discography. 1999

Revised Rough Guide

The revised edition of the last title, this one offers 18 pages on primarily popular music, and a six-page discography.

Ashgate Research Companion to Japanese Music

• Sixteen chapters on recent Japanese music scholarship

• Covers a number of genres

• Provides four solid pages of recommended video and audio

Music in Japan

• By Bonnie C. Wade, 2005.

• Part of the Global Music Series from Oxford University Press.

• Offers several pages of resources.

Smithsonian Folkways

http://www.folkways.si.edu

About 15 CDs focusing solely on Japanese music

Also available through the Smithsonian Global Sound for Libraries (Alexander Street Press)

Recordings are primarily from the 1960s & 70s

• Great selection of Japanese traditional music

• Include Lyrichord label recordings

• Go to Genre World Music J for Japan

More Important Labels

King Records

Camerata

Denon

Lyrichord

Ocora

Nonesuch

Fontec

Celestial Harmonies

Video Resources continued

Films for the Humanities (www.films.com) Bunraku: Masters of Japanese Puppet TheatreKoto: The Music of TadaoPortrait of an OnnagataShozan Tanabe: The Sound of SilenceTsugaru Shamisen: The World of Michihiro Sato

Marty Gross Film Productions, Inc.: www.martygrossfilms.com

Video Resources continued

• Shimonaka Memorial Foundation’s DVD set on Gagaku• http://gagaku-dvd.net/

• Sixteen-volume DVD set of Kabuki plays first broadcast by NHK (Japan’s public broadcast company). A series of 33 Kabuki Theatre DVDs

• http://www.artfilms.co.uk/Detail.aspx?ItemID=784

Another Great Video Resource

The Japanese Music Series, from the University of Oklahoma’s Early Music Television Jazz in JapanGagaku: Court Music of JapanMusic of BunrakuShinto Festival MusicNagauta: Heart of KabukiMusic of Noh Drama

www.ou.edu/earlymusic

Addition Considerations

DVDs - Region 2 and region-free

Be ready for sticker shock

Buy when things are available, as titles frequently go out of print

Google translate is your friend

Let the programs you support and the faculty that you work with help determine what you purchase.

What Was Left Out?

Numerous genres of folk music

Western Classical Art Music of Japan

J-pop

Niche music, including multiple genres

Regional traditions

Lots more…

Resources/ReferencesWorld Music: The Rough Guide, Vol. 2. Edited by Simon

Broughton, Mark Ellingham, and Richard Trillo. London: Rough Guides, 1999.

The Rough Guide to World Music, Vol. 2 (3rd ed). Compiled and edited by Simon Broughton, Mark Ellingham and Jon Lusk. New York: Rough Guides, 2009.

The Ashgate Research Companion to Japanese Music. Alison McQueen Tokita and David W. Hughes, eds. Burlington, VT: Ashgage, 2008.

Continuum Encyclopedia of Popular Music of the World, Volume V: Asia and Oceania. Edited by John Shepherd, et al. New York: Continuum, 2005.

Music in Japan. Bonnie C. Wade. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005.

Thank you!

Questions/Discussion?