Music – Japanese and otherwise…(mata wa: ongaku toka…)

Traditionally, Japanese music was like nothing one would find in the Western world. One typically couldn’t tap a foot in time with it, there wasn’t a use of chords in the way Westerners understand it, and silence was considered as important as the sound. Music in Japan was meant to follow and mimic the flows of nature, not a man-made structure of beats and bars. Some of the instruments used include the koto, shamisen and shakuhachi.

However, more and more as time goes on, the sounds of traditional Japanese music is being relegated to kabuki theatre houses or other specialized venues. The instruments are still used on occasion in popular music, but the original style is fading from popular culture. Replacing it is a more Western sound, which began infiltrating Japanese popular culture at least as far back as the ’50s and ’60s with rock-a-billy and the Beatles. Since then, it seems that the music eminating from Japan sounds much more familiar to our ears, including many genres Westerners would be familiar with: rock, pop, rap, punk, metal, electronic, etc. Then there’s the glam/punk/goth/metal lovechild: Visual Kei; a movement often credited to X-Japan and the genre stomping grounds of Gackt.

Children also seem to have some sway in the music ratings if the top 30 charts earlier this year are any indication, with Oshiri Kajiri Mushi sticking around for a good length of time, much to the surprise of the Japanese students and teachers I asked about it.

Despite the similar sound, the language barrier has kept all but one Japanese musician from claiming a spot on the charts in the West. Sakamoto Kyu in 1963 with a song called Sukiyaki. However, with the rising popularity of anime in the States, some bands who do anime theme songs get some attention from American fans.

A difference between music here and in Japan is how some musicians go about getting recognized by the general population. We’ve seen songs and artists rise to fame by a hit song used in a movie, or on occasion a television theme song (though how many of you can say what the Rembrandts have been up to recently?), but how often can we say songs get notice via a cartoon show, a commercial or even a video game? These are all viable ways to get your music heard in Japan and it’s done often. Popular groups loan songs as anime themes and perform at concerts with other groups who had theme songs for the same show. Songs used in commercials can be found on the radio. Pop singers are heard during the end credits of video games and, if they’re Gackt, even get a character based on their voice and appearance.

So, the Japanese seem to have adopted and adapted Western sounds to their musical culture, but in the process have mostly pushed aside the distinctiveness of their traditional music to traditional venues…at least for now. I prefer rock too though, so can’t say I blame them. 😉

Here’s the compilation of the videos shown in class:

Asian Kung-Fu Generation ~~ Gackt ~~ Maximum the Hormone ~~ Orange Range ~~ Perfume ~~ Rin’ ~~ X-Japan ~~ Yui ~~ Zeebra