Music of Japan

Lore & Background

The oldest forms of traditional Japanese music are shōmyō (Buddhist chanting) and gagaku (orchestral court music), both dating to the Nara and Heian periods. Gagaku has been performed at the Imperial court since the Heian period and subdivides into kangen (instrumental music) and bugaku (dance). Samurai listened to and performed these music activities in their practices of enriching their lives. The biwa, a short-necked lute, was played by itinerant performers called biwa hōshi, who organized into a guild-like association and performed 'The Tale of the Heike.' Blind women known as goze toured from the medieval era, singing and playing lap drums, and later the koto or shamisen; goze organizations existed into the 21st century in Niigata Prefecture.

Reader's Guide

Wadaiko, the Japanese drum, has origins traceable to the 7th century and was used in battle, religious music, and festivals. His energetic style made his group popular throughout Japan and made the Hokuriku region a center for taiko music. Groups like Oedo Sukeroku Taiko and Za Ondekoza further innovated the genre. During the 1970s the Japanese government allocated funds to preserve Japanese culture, leading to many community taiko groups. Later, taiko groups spread worldwide, especially to the United States. Japanese folk songs (min'yō) include categories such as work songs, lullabies, religious songs, festival songs, and children's songs, often accompanied by shamisen, taiko, and shakuhachi. Okinawan folk music differs from mainland music in its use of the sanshin and a different pentatonic scale that includes half-steps.

Did You Know?

• The word for 'music' in Japanese is 音楽 (ongaku), combining the kanji for 'sound' and 'music, comfort.'
• The biwa was played by itinerant performers called biwa hōshi, who organized into a guild-like association.
• Okinawan folk music uses a scale that includes all seven scale degrees, unlike the mainland pentatonic scale that omits degrees 4 and 7.

Ancient Court and Sacred Traditions

Gagaku has been a fixture of court performance since the Heian era and divides into two distinct practices: kangen, purely instrumental music, and bugaku, dance accompanied by that same orchestral tradition. These musical practices were not confined to the palace; samurai warriors actively listened to and participated in such performances as part of their broader cultural enrichment. The very Japanese word for music, ongaku, pairs the kanji for sound with the kanji for comfort, hinting at a cultural view of music as something that soothes as much as it entertains.

The Wandering Musicians of the Biwa and Goze Traditions

A distinctive thread in Japanese musical history runs through the biwa hōshi, itinerant performers who played the biwa—a short-necked lute of Chinese pipa lineage—whose central narrative was The Tale of the Heike. These musicians organized themselves into guild-like associations, giving their craft a structured social identity. Parallel to the male biwa hōshi, blind women known as goze toured from the medieval era onward, singing and accompanying themselves on a lap drum. From the seventeenth century their repertoire expanded to include the koto and shamisen. Goze organizations proliferated across the country and, remarkably, persisted into the twenty-first century in Niigata Prefecture, making them among the longest-surviving organized musical traditions in Japan.

Taiko: From Battlefield Drums to Global Percussion

The wadaiko, or Japanese drum, has a lineage stretching to at least the seventh century, when a clay figure depicting a drummer was created. Chinese influences shaped its development over time, yet the instrument and its musical culture remained distinctly Japanese. In earlier centuries, taiko served practical military purposes—intimidating enemies and relaying commands on the battlefield—and also featured in the religious ceremonies of both Buddhism and Shintō. Players were originally holy men performing at special occasions in small groups, though secular men gradually joined for semi-religious events like the bon dance. Government cultural funding in the 1970s spurred numerous community groups, and by the late twentieth century taiko ensembles had spread worldwide, particularly to the United States. The phenomenon even inspired the video game Taiko no Tatsujin.

Min'yō Folk Songs and the Living Iemoto System

Japanese folk music, or min'yō, encompasses a rich tapestry of songs broadly sorted into five categories: work songs for fishermen and farmers, lullabies, religious pieces such as sato kagura, songs for communal gatherings like weddings and Obon festivals, and children's songs known as warabe uta. Traditional accompaniment typically features the three-stringed shamisen, taiko drums, and the shakuhachi bamboo flute, with additional instruments like the shinobue, kane bell, tsuzumi hand drum, and the thirteen-stringed koto also appearing. In Okinawa, the sanshin takes center stage. While modern instrumentation such as electric guitars and synthesizers now enters the mix, the core vocabulary remains rooted in forms like the ondo, a song with a distinctive 2/4 swing, and the bushi, a melody often named after a region or occupation. Regional shouts called kakegoe, such as "a yoisho!" on the mainland or "ha iya sasa!" in Okinawa, punctuate choruses. In recent decades, the iemoto guild system, originally developed for classical genres like nagauta and koto, has spread into min'yō and Tsugaru-jamisen, formalizing what was once informal transmission through pseudo-family organizations and apprenticeship.