| Music in Japan is called ongaku, which when directly | | | | musicians Shirakawa Gunpachiro and Takahashi |
| translated can be taken to mean as sound for | | | | Chikuzan is the tsugaru-jamisen where there is more |
| comfort. Although mostly identified nowadays by the | | | | free improvisation and flashy fingerwork on the |
| outside world for its pop, "bubblegum" type of songs, | | | | instrument. |
| Japanese music is essentially an eclectic combination | | | | Another instrument most often used in Japanese |
| of musical influences from all over the world. Much as | | | | music is the taiko, or the Japanese drum. This |
| it is steeped in local tradition and history, the scales, | | | | percussion instrument dates as far back as the 6th |
| instruments and styles however were borrowed and | | | | and 7th centuries, and during periods of war was |
| loosely adapted from neighboring countries such as | | | | used mainly to keep the enemies at bay and to |
| China, Korea and Indonesia and has evolved to | | | | communicate commands to the warriors. The taiko |
| integrate Western musical styles such as jazz, rock, | | | | comes in various sizes and is usually an integral part |
| ska and reggae. | | | | of the musical ensembles especially during festivals. |
| There is a definitive emphasis on words rather than | | | | There are other traditional Japanese instruments like |
| the instrumentation and one East Asian musical | | | | the biwa, a short-necked fretted lute; the ryuteki, a |
| scholar has attributed this to the Japanese "love for | | | | flute made of bamboo and used in gagaku which is |
| storytelling and preoccupation with ritual." Some | | | | the style of music associated to the Japanese |
| examples of this would be the shomyo, or Buddhist | | | | Imperial Court; the kokyu, a string instrument played |
| chanting and the Japanese folk songs or min'yo. | | | | with a bow which has a shape, sound and fabrication |
| There are all sorts of min'yo but can be generally | | | | unique to Japan unlike the shamisen. The kokyu has |
| categorized according to occasions when they are | | | | even figured in non-traditional genres such as |
| sung. There are work songs, religious songs, songs | | | | Japanese jazz and blues. |
| used during special gatherings like weddings, funerals | | | | Developments in the late 19th and early 20th |
| and celebrations and songs for children or lullabies. | | | | centuries opened the ears of the Japanese people to |
| These songs are most often passed or transmitted | | | | new genres such as the enka, the Japanese version |
| through family generations. One old form of traditional | | | | of American melodramatic country ballads, Western |
| music coming from the Ainu people in northern Japan | | | | pop or kayokyoku. Kayokyoku later on evolved to |
| would be the yukar, or mimicry - a form of epic | | | | J-pop or Japanese pop - a style with a more |
| poetry or epics in songs. | | | | definitive Western influence. With rock and roll |
| Most Japanese music genres even up to the present | | | | sweeping the whole world in the 1960s and 1970s, |
| make use of the shamisen, or a three-stringed | | | | J-rock or Japanese rock invaded the Japanese music |
| musical instrument most commonly referred to as | | | | scene as well. More noteworthy however is how |
| the Japanese guitar. In kouta, or short songs typically | | | | Western classical music and jazz has flourished in |
| sung by geisha and nagauta or long songs as those | | | | Japan to the point where the country has produced |
| performed in Japanese theatres noh and kabuki, the | | | | several famous musicians like Sadao Watanabe for |
| shamisen provides the backbone for instrumentation. | | | | jazz, composer Toru Takemitsu and conductor Seiji |
| An evolution from the jiuta or the earthy, classical | | | | Ozawa. Japan is also identified as one of the most |
| style of shamisen music and developed by blind | | | | important markets for these types of music. |