In our introduction of styles of Japanese music, we will go deeper into the introductions of styles. Some may link one of the following as contemporary but we believe they have a style of their own. So, please select one of the following to get more information of the style of music:
Anime Music |
Contemporary Music | Dorama / TV / Movie Music | Enka | Festival Music
Hip-Hop (Rap) | Japanese Noise
| | Okinawan | Seiyuu Music | Shibuya Pop |
Taiko | Traditional Japanese
| Underground Music | Video
Game Music
ANIME
MUSIC:
In 1995 and presently, we have conducted a survey with people outside of Japan to find out
how they became interested in Japanese music. 39% of the people surveyed said that
anime music was the reason they got interested in Japanese music. Of
course, it is not how the average Japanese got interested in it but anime music is
popular. Anime music is usually sung by the anime seiyuu's (voice actors) in their
character's style or their own style, it is also background music, symphonics,
noise, etc. It is becoming more popular for an anime to use a song from a well-known
group. The reason why we gave this section it's own area instead of incorporating it
with the "contemporary" segment is because of the appeal outside of Japan.
Where many Japanese may consider anime music as "otaku music", in
countries such as America and China-Hong Kong, that is not the case. Anime music is
bought my many people interested in that hobby and in the Japanese culture. Many
people attribute their getting into Japanese music by the following anime: The
Macross series, Video Girl Ai (because of Sakai Noriko), Maison Ikkoku (Anzen Chitai),
Rurouni Kenshin (Judy and Mary), Akazukin Cha-Cha (SMAP), Slam Dunk (Ohguro Maki), Dragon
Ball GT (Deen and Zard), etc. Whatever the reason maybe, anime music will continue
to be a big seller outside of Japan.
CONTEMPORARY:
The topic of contemporary music will be on another special page.
This will cover the popular forms of music today from contemporary, dance, idol,
alternative, rock, visual rock, etc.
DORAMA
/ TV / MOVIE MUSIC:
This segment should be combined with the contemporary segment
but we gave it its own segment because there are a few people are interested in
Japanese dorama / tv / and movie music. Many of the popular contemporary songs are
used in dramas and they are available ala CD single. But when buying a drama album,
one might be a little turned off because the song they wanted is not included on the
album. In fact, they get several variation of that song in instrumental form. This
is not the case with drama albums produced by the American group, Cagnet (or the
Hinata Brothers) in which they include vocal songs and background music songs in their
albums. TV music includes songs heard in commercials, television shows and movies
which use contemporary Japanese songs. A drama music album can be equivalent to an
American movie soundtrack album but without the vocal songs and just the music and
variations of the popular song in various instrumental forms. Exceptions
for example are the Long Vacation and Love Generation drama albums. Also, fans of
classical and symphony music are more interested in this type of music.
ENKA:
In a book written by Mark Schilling, "The Encyclopedia of Japanese Pop Culture",
Schilling writes that Enka became popular in Japan during the late 1800's, when members of
the popular rights movement, "Jiyu minken undo" were agitated against Japan's
authoritarian government. They began to compose songs to promote their cause among
common people. Enka then became unpopular after the founding of the National
parliament, the promulgation of the Meiji Constitution and the victory of Japan in the
Russo-Japanese War. A new style of enka emerged in the new century popularized by an
individual named, Azembo Soeda who wrote about recent trends and historical events.
During the Taisho Period (1912-1926), enka singers (enkashi) began to widen their
popularity with romantic songs about loneliness and loss. In the 1930's, Enka tunes
became a nationwide hit. Originally based on Japanese folk songs, enka used a minor
scale called yonanuki because it did not use two degrees in the Western scale. It
was combined with a vibrato called yuri and a style of high pitched vocal production
called jigoe. It also sets itself apart from Western pop music by its frequent
gender crossing.
A lot of enka can be seen on the NHK network with the NHK Concert and Uta no Hanamichi music shows. The most popular female enka singer was Hibari Misora who died in 1989 of pneumonia and the "king of enka" is Kitajima Saburo. Other popular enka singers include Kobayashi Satchiko (many of you know her as the woman who wears a lot of huge unusual but interesting clothing on Kohaku no Uta Gassen), Ayako Fuji, Kasai Kaori, Harumi Miyako, etc.
FESTIVAL MUSIC:
Festival Music combines Kagura (a Shinto rite of music and dance), Dengaku (an agricultural rite of music and dance), and Furyu (A festival with rich ornamental paraphenelia). They combine Taiko drums with flutes. This can be linked with Japanese traditional music.
HIP HOP:
With the high interest in American rap music, it is no surprise that
many young Japanese are into rap music. Rap music became more mainstream when a
group called East End and a member from the Tokyo Performance Dolls, Ichii Yuri teamed up
to form, East End x Yuri and released a popular hit, "DA.YO.NE". Japanese
rap can be heard on many contemporary songs but many people who love Japanese hip hop with
a passion are not into mainstream Japanese hip hop and some despise it if a Japanese hip
hop group becomes popular. Popular mainstream Japanese hip hop groups are like Scha
Dara Parr and East End but for more information on Japanese hip hop, an individual from
America, Ben List (Ben is hardcore into the music and involved in the Japanese Hip Hop
industry) who is now in Japan has a really good website for those who want to know this
style of music. His website is called Ele-Bugi.
JAPANESE
NOISE BANDS:
It's hard to describe a Japanese noise band. Their following is
tiny but their sound emitted is huge. No country has been more popular in utlizing
and shaping noise into pure pandemonium than Japan. One day I was playing a CD of a
very popular Japanese noise band, The Boredoms and one track sounded as one is beating on
a trash can and another track sounded like Star Wars R2D2. It's not something
you can't think, write or dance to. The tracks are not long eaither, some are 10
seconds and some are half an hour long. It's gaining popularity outside of Japan as
well. If there is one thing noise bands are known for aside from their sound is
their concerts. Their concerts sell out and during the concert they wear weird
clothing from football helmets to bondage gear and fling each other around the
stage, at each other or into the crowd. Also, to make things interesting, major
American labels have signed Japanese noise bands. The Boredoms classify their sound
as: one part industrial clutter, one part untranslatable gibberish, one part random sound
effects, one part jazz umprov and four parts straight-ahead J-Punk energy.
OKINAWAN:
Unlike the other areas of Japan, music from Okinawa has its own distinct
style. Due to the far distance from Honshu and it's isolation from Japan, Okinawa
had its own distinct culture and language. This of course was before Japan occupied
Okinawa and American soldiers entered Okinawa, and the royalty of the Ryukyu kingdom
still existed. Now, the differences between Okinawa and Japan is becoming to
diminish. Okinawan music was known for it's use of the instrument shamisen and
it's style of performance. Popular groups such as Shoukichi Kina made the music peak
the curiousity of people outside of Japan because of the lead singers determination to
promote himself as non-Japanese but as an Okinawan. It is hard to describe the music
in print but I see it as Enka with a beat and fast groove. That description perhaps
doesn't give the music justice but it's very interesting. Lately, Okinawa is
becoming known for it's contemporary music. The Okinawa Actors School and Rising
Production has been churning out the latest popular talents in Japan from Okinawa.
Performers such as Amuro Namie, MAX, SPEED, Rinen China, D&D, Da Pump, Kiroro and much
more.
SEIYUU
MUSIC:
Seiyuu Music can be linked with the anime segment or the contemporary
music segment but we gave it its own special segment. Seiyuu (voice actor) of
animation have churned out their own idol music for anime fans. Some also went past
that and are becoming known as contemporary singers (Hayashibara Megumi) but unlike
popular performers from Japan, they are not treated in the same light. Reason being
is they are not popular, their physical looks are not as known in the Japanese music
industry. Many are just regular people who have a day job of providing voices for
animation and release an album because of it. A few seiyuu's (mainly female) are
becoming to get popular in Japan and also outside of Japan (but not as strong as
contemporary artists). Things have changed in the last two years with Hayashibara
Megumi (Ranma 1/2, Super Cagirl Nuku Nuku, Video Girl Ai, etc.) now making it to the top
10 with her songs, as well as Takayama Minami (Kiki in Kiki's Delivery Service, Nabiki in
Ranma 1/2, etc.) is in the group, Two-Mix. This trend may continue as other Seiyuu
artists are now wanting to become "contemporary".
SHIBUYA
POP:
Shibuya Pop can be in the contemporary segment but deserves its own.
Reason being is because people into contemporary music are not really into Shibuya
Pop. Shibuya Pop combines the sounds from the French, acid jazz, jazz and the
underground scene while promoting a style such as French fashion, S&M, vogue trendy to
underground styles that make Shibuya in Tokyo so popular. The music is similar to
the popular music in the 60's and a lot music incorporates French to underground beats.
For those who don't know what Shibuya is. It is a city in Tokyo which is
known as the playground for the 25-years and younger crowd which is popular for its
fashion, fad and trends. A popular Shibuya Pop group is Pizzicato Five. Some
may classify singers as Cornelius and Kahimi Karie as Shibuya Pop or
underground/alternative. Currently, the only Japanese music that is doing very well
in America domestically is music by Pizzicato Five because of its easy access and domestic
price.
TAIKO:
Taiko is a drumming style of Japanese origin. While various taiko drums
have been used in Japan since for over 1400 years, the style of Taiko best known today has
a relatively short history.
[From the Rolling Thunder Taiko Resource]: "Taiko" in general refers to the art of Japanese drumming, but the word also means the Taiko drums themselves. The exact history of Japanese Taiko remains shrouded in speculation. Since the first instuments in any society tend to be percussion instruments, it would not be out of the question for Taiko to have a history spanning over 2000 years. Reputedly, the first use of Taiko was as a battlefield instrument used to intimidate and scare the enemy - a use to which drums have been put in many countries. In traditional Japan, the Taiko was a symbol of the rural community and it continues to be a staple of festival music to this day. Taiko also found a place in religious ceremonies, and it was used in the villages to offer up prayers to the Gods. Some Buddhist sects use Taiko to represent the voice of Buddhah. Taiko as it is performed today, however, is a relatively new phenomenon. Performing Taiko started as a way to preserve tradition in a post-war Japan that was modernizing at a frenzied pace.
TRADITIONAL
JAPANESE MUSIC:
There are two types in traditional Japanese music: art music and folk
music. Art music has several different styles, each of which was established separately in
different periods of Japanese history. The Japanese have maintained those time-honored
styles, modifying them as time has passed. In general, vocal music plays a more important
role than instrumental music in the history of Japanese music. Besides, traditional
Japanese music often developed as a part of drama such as Noh, Kabukl, and Bunraku.
Forms of traditional Japanese music are the following:
•Biwagaku:
Music played with the instrument Biwa, a kind of guitar with four strings.
•Gakaku:
Ancient court music from China and Korea. It is the oldest type of Japanese, traditional
music.
•Kouta:
This is based on popular songs from the fifteenth and sixteenth century.
They are songs with a quick tempo and suppressed voice.
•Minyo:
Japanese folk songs.
•Nagauta:
This means long song. A kind of epic song that was first identified with
the shamisen and later with kabuki. It was then absorbed to regional music (ji-uta),
puppet ballads (jouri) and folk songs (minyo).
•Nogaku:
Music played during Noh performances. It basically consists of a chorus, the Hayashi
flute, the Tsuzumi drum, and other instruments.
•Shakuhachi:
Music played with the instrument Shakuhachi, a about 55 cm long flute. The name of the
flute is its lenght expressed in the old Japanese length units.
•Shamisenongaku:
Music played with the instrument Shamisen, a kind of guitar with only three strings.
Kabuki and Bunraku performances are accompanied by the shamisen.
•Sokyoku:
Music played with the instrument Koto. The Koto is a zither with 13 strings.
This music was developed in the second half of the sixteenth century and is played on the
koto, often in concert with the shamisen and shakuhachi (a five holed bamboo flute).
•Yokyoku:
This is associated with the Noh dramas since the fifteenth and the sixteenth
centuries. These are rhymes based on seven-five syllables or five-seven syllables.
The tales are about things you find in novels or historical records. They are
sung to the accompaniement of flutes and drums and also played independently from Noh.
UNDERGROUND
MUSIC:
Many things can be incorporated to underground music. Underground
music is music not popular with the norm. This can be Japan Noise, Japanese hip-hop,
Acid Jazz, House, Rave, Techno, Jungle, Break Beats, Trip-Hop and other types of music
found in various clubs in Tokyo. Underground is becoming noticed by a few people in
the contemporary circle but to fans of underground music, they do not welcome this.
When people say that Komuro Tetsuya does real "Techno music" and East End x Yuri
is true "hip-hop" music, those familiar with the real roots of the music will
not take those comments to lightly. There is a big difference from commercial
underground music and true underground music.
VIDEO
GAME MUSIC:
Video game music is slowly gaining popularity in Japan (and outside of
Japan) because of its quality of music. RPG's (Role Playing Games) use classical,
symphony or music that many fans enjoyed about the video game. This music is mainly
popular with the fans who enjoy Japanese video games and animation.
Resources used:
1) Everything Japanese-The Authoritative
Reference on Japan Today by Boye De Mente
2) The Encyclopedia of Japanese Pop Culture by Mark Schilling
3) Eastern Standard Time by A. Magazine staff
4) The Daily Yomiuri (Yomiuri Shimbun)
5) The Rolling Thunder Taiko Resource.
DISCLAIMER: Due to copyright and permission rights, no material or photography of performers will be used on "The Asunaro Club's guide to Japanese Music" unless permission is received.
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