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music in japan

What is City Pop?

2020-06-09 by Taka

Hi, how’s everything?  
I guess most people in the world spend majority of the time at home nowadays, so I wrote about Japanese music that can make your time in the house more interesting. It is kind of an old style of music, but we can still get inspired by the sound of it. 
And I heard a news that City Pop was becoming popular in the western countries last year. It seems that the genre is regaining the popularity and kind of a trend now. Here is about City Pop!

What is it?

As Jon Blistein of Rolling Stone said that City Pop was “Not a strict genre term but a broad vibe classification”, City Pop is about the urban, futuristic feeling of 70’s to 80’s in Japan, and the word simply meant, “Music made by city people”. It is western influenced Japanese pop music that was popular during bubble economy time in Japan including a wide range of styles such as Funk, R&B, Soft Rock, and some even included Jazz Fusion, Latin, or Caribbean elements. During that time in Japan, new devices and electronics like Walkman, Cassette Decks, and FM Stereos were hip gadgets and the music style was associated with those emerging technologies. Young people were enjoying modern lifestyle listening to City Pop that had the latest sounds of electronic musical instruments.

Recommended artists

Tatsuro Yamashita 

He was among the most successful artists of City Pop music. Rolling Stone Japan ranked his album Spacy number 14 on a list of the greatest Japanese music albums of all time in 2007.

Haruomi Hosono

He is a famous composer, singer, and record producer and he is one of the most influential pop music artists in Japan. Using electronic sounds, he contributed a lot to City Pop and numerous electric genres.

Mariya Takeuchi

She is one of the most popular pop singers in Japan. Over 16 million records were sold so far, and her early work during 70’s and 80’ is largely associated with City Pop. She’s wife of Tatsuro Yamashita.

I love listening to various kinds of music from different times imagining what people were thinking and doing. Music takes you back to the era and I think it is great that we can feel the atmosphere at anytime, anywhere just by playing it. When you get bored at home, I recommend that you dig some music that you don’t usually listen to!

Have a great day!
Taka

*I’m a professional composer by the way.
You can listen/download my album below.
Free Somebody
Skyhigh

If you have any questions, feel free to contact me: [email protected]

Filed Under: Culture, Music Tagged With: coronavirus, japanese culture, music, music in japan, stayhome, おんがく, シティ ポップ, 日本の文化, 音楽

Discover the traditional sound of Japan, Koto music

2019-11-03 by Taka

Hi, how are you doing?
Leaves have just started to change colors and it is a great season to travel in Japan.
If you have never been here in Autumn, you should definitely come to enjoy the beautiful nature!

autumn in japan
Autumn in Japan. (By yu62ballena )

This time, I wrote about a traditional Japanese instrument, Koto.
I’m learning myself Koto these days to brush up my composition skill.
Luckily, I found a teacher in the area where I am now and just started taking classes about 5 months ago. It really is fun to play and I get a lot of inspirations. 

Here is all about Koto.
I hope this will help you understand more about Japanese culture. 

What is Koto?

Koto(箏) is a Japanese musical instrument derived from a Chinese instrument.
It is said that Koto was made based on Chinese stringed instrument called zheng.
In Asia, there are similar kinds of instrument such as Yatga in Mongol, Gayageum in Korea, and Đàn tranh in Vietnam. Koto is made of wood, and usually about 180 cm in length. A regular Koto has 13 strings with 13 movable bridges. 

The strings are plucked with three finger picks covering thumb, index finger, and middle finger. 

koto
This is my Koto, Kogarashi-maru.

History

A same kind of stringed instrument was introduced from China in the 7th and 8th century. The first kinds made in China were said to have 5 strings and later on adding 2 more strings. 

When the instrument was introduced to Japan in early Nara Period (710 to 784), it had 13 strings. And that became a Japanese standard style of the instrument. 
It was considered a romantic instrument, and Koto became popular among wealthy people. The solo Koto music was established and flourished as a Japanese court music. Professional Koto players were usually blind people, but eventually it spread to the general public.

One of the most important Koto players in history is Yatsuhashi Kengyo (1614-1685), known as “Father of Modern Koto”.
He was a blind musician from Kyoto who made a new style of Koto music called “Kumi uta”. In this style, he mixed individual pieces together to make a whole music. He changed the traditional tuning to make a new harmony that fits better to his style.

During Meiji Period (1868 to 1912), western music was introduced to Japan and since then, composers of Japan have been trying combining western elements with traditional Koto music. Michio Miyagi, a blind composer, is considered as the first Japanese composer to mix them. He created over 300 new works and invented 17 string bass Koto. He helped increase Koto’s popularity, and his music Haru no Umi (Spring Sea) is still played today to welcome New Year each year in Japan. 

Koto players
Nowadays, it is common to see several players take different parts and play together.

Construction 

Most Koto are made of Paulownia wood and the body of a traditional Koto is made of Kiri wood, which is the Imperial family crest for the Empress. 
Traditional bridges are made of ivory, but nowadays plastic is widely used. 
There are many kinds of materials used for strings. Plastic and Polyester strings are popular, but silk strings are still used among professionals.
The main production area of Koto is Fukuyama city in Hiroshima.
Koto is traditionally placed on the floor when played. A player kneels and play with finger picks. 

As the body of a Koto resembles that of a dragon, top part of it is called the “Dragon shell”, the bottom is called the “Dragon’s stomach”, one end is consisted of “Dragon’s head” , “Dragon’s eyes (the holes for the strings)” , “Dragon’s tongue (the side part of the end)”, etc.  The other end of a Koto is called the “Dragon’s tail”. 

ji
These are the bridges called “Koto-Ji”

2 major schools: Yamada and Ikuta. 

The style flourished in Edo (Old Tokyo) is called Yamada style. In this style, players use picks with round edge.
In the case of the Ikuta style, which has been popular in other areas except Edo, players use square shaped picks and position them at an angle of about 45 degrees left oblique against the instrument. 

finger picks
These are Ikuta style finger picks.

Music scores are written vertically, from right to left. 
And a player read which string to play how long (and how).
Each string are named 一, 二, 三, 四, 五, 六, 七, 八, 九, 十, 斗, 為, 巾 from the lower to higher notes. 

koto score
This is a score for Koto music
This is me playing Koto.

Sadly, traditional instruments and cultures are fading away, but we can learn a lot from them and should not forget the uniqueness that we have in each country.

If you get interested in learning Koto, feel free contact me!

Have a nice day!
Taka

*I’m a professional composer by the way.
You can listen/download my album below.
Free Somebody
Skyhigh

Filed Under: Culture Tagged With: japanese art, japanese instrument, japanese koto music, japanese music, koto music, music in japan, traditional music, what is koto, 伝統音楽, 箏

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Taka/原貴浩

Taka吉祥寺出身の元大手英会話学校教務主任、作曲家、コンテンツ開発/編集者。高校生の時に出会ったアメリカ人の英語の先生がきっかけで英語や海外文化に興味を持つようになり、18歳で単身アメリカのフロリダ州へ音楽留学、主席で卒業。帰国後は舞台や楽曲制作などエンタメ業界に関わりながら長年英会話の講師として務め、英語関連の書籍や音声/動画コンテンツの制作、編集なども行っている。コロナ禍前に岐阜県の高山に移住し、同市の英語講師、通訳案内士やゲストハウスの立ち上げを行いながら、外国人移住者と地域住民との架け橋となる多文化共生支援団体、Family Planet Japanの代表としても活動。英語や音楽を通した人とのつながり作りや、まちづくりにも精力的に関わっている。 Introduction

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