CleanupBot at 12:53, 12 August 2021

2021-08-12T12:53:25Z

New page

{{for|the album by Miyavi|Gagaku (album)}}
{{Italic title|reason=[[:Category:Japanese words and phrases]]}}

{{nihongo|'''''Gagaku'''''|雅楽||imperial court music and dances,<ref>''Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary'', Kenkyusha Limited, Tokyo 1991, {{ISBN|4-7674-2015-6}}</ref> lit. "elegant music"}} is a type of [[Music of Japan|Japanese classical music]]. Gagaku is a musical art that was created by the fusion of music brought to Japan from continental Asia and Japanese original music and dance. It was developed as court music of the [[Kyoto Imperial Palace]], and the almost same form as today was established in the [[Heian period]] around the 10th century.<ref name = "gagakukai">[https://web.archive.org/web/20190903014505/http://www.nihongagakukai.gr.jp/about_gagaku/gagaku.html History of gagaku] Nihon gagakukai</ref><ref name = "council"/> Today, it is performed by the [[Board of Ceremonies]] in the [[Tokyo Imperial Palace]]. Gagaku consists of three primary repertoires:<ref name = "gagakukai"/>
#Native [[Shinto music|Shinto religious music]] and imperial songs and dance, called ''Kuniburi no utamai'' (国風歌舞)
#Vocal music based on native [[folk music|folk]] poetry, called ''Utaimono'' (謡物)
#Songs and dance based on foreign-style music
##A [[China|Chinese]], [[Vietnam]]ese and [[India]]n form (specifically [[Tang Dynasty]]), called ''[[togaku|Tōgaku]]'' (唐楽)
##A [[Korea]]n and [[Manchuria]]n form, called ''[[komagaku]]'' (高麗楽)

Gagaku, like [[shōmyō]], employ the [[yo scale]], a [[pentatonic scale]] with ascending intervals of two, three, two, two, and three semitones between the five scale tones.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080313144427/http://www.uwgb.edu/ogradyt/world/japan.htm ''Japanese Music'', ''Cross-Cultural Communication: World Music'', University of Wisconsin – Green Bay]</ref> Artistically it differs from the music of the corresponding Chinese form ''[[yayue]]'' (雅楽) which is a term reserved for ceremonial music.<ref name=ortolani>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ge8cWl8OT3gC&pg=PA40 |title= The Japanese Theatre: From Shamanistic Ritual to Contemporary Pluralism|author=Benito Ortolani |pages=40–41 |publisher=Princeton University Press|year= 1995 |isbn=978-0691043333 }}</ref>

==History==
[[File:Bugaku(Naiku) 01.JPG|thumb|right|290px|Jingu-Bugaku at [[Kotaijingu]] (Naiku), [[Ise, Mie|Ise city]], [[Mie Prefecture]]]]

The prototype of gagaku was introduced into Japan with Buddhism from [[China]]. In 589, Japanese official diplomatic delegations were sent to China (during the [[Sui dynasty]]) to learn Chinese culture, including Chinese court music. By the 7th century, the ''[[Koto (instrument)|koto]]'' (a [[zither]]) and the ''[[biwa]]'' (a short-necked [[lute]]) had been introduced into Japan from China. Various instruments, including these two, were the earliest used to play gagaku.

Even though the Japanese use the same term 雅楽 (''yǎyuè'' in [[Mandarin Chinese]], ''ngahngohk'' in [[Cantonese]]), the form of music imported from China was primarily banquet music ''engaku'' rather than the ceremonial music of the Chinese ''yǎyuè''. The importation of music peaked during the Tang Dynasty, and these pieces are called ''Tōgaku'' (Tang music). ''Gagaku'' pieces earlier than Tang Dynasty are called ''kogaku'' (ancient music), while those from after the Tang Dynasty are called ''shingaku'' (new music). The term ''gagaku'' itself was first recorded in 701, when the first imperial academy of music ''Gagakuryō'' was established.<ref name=ortolani />

Music from the Korean kingdom of [[Goguryeo]], which is pronounced Koma in Japanese, had been recorded as early as 453 AD, and ''komagaku'' was eventually used as a term that covered all Korean pieces. ''Komagaku'' and ''Tōgaku'' became established in southern Japan during the [[Nara period]] (710–794). In 736, music from India and Vietnam were also introduced and these are called ''Tenjikugaku'' (天竺楽) and ''Rinyūgaku'' (林邑楽) respectively.

In the 8th century, during the Nara period, gagaku was performed at national events, such as the erection of the Great Buddha of [[Todai-ji]] Temple, by organizing gagaku performance groups at large temples.

From the 9th century to the 10th century, during the [[Heian period]], traditional gagaku was developed and indigenous to Japan through fusion with music unique to Japan, and it changed greatly. Gagaku was almost completed by the fusion of ''Tōgaku'', ''Komagaku'', ''Tenjikugaku'' and ''Rinyūgaku'' which were introduced from Asian countries, with ''Kuniburi no utamai'', traditional Japanese music, and ''Utaimono'', songs born in the Heian period.<ref name = "gagakukai"/><ref name = "council">[https://web.archive.org/web/20160826124132/https://www2.ntj.jac.go.jp/dglib/contents/learn/edc22/rekishi/re3.html The Indigenization and Accomplishment of Gagaku] Japan Arts Council</ref> During this period, Many pieces of gagaku music were created and foreign-style gagaku music were arranged and renewed. gagaku was also reorganized, and foreign-style gagaku music was classified into categories called ''Sahō'' (左方, left side) and ''Uhō'' (右方, right side). Chinese, Vietnamese and Indian style was classified on the ''Sahō'', and Korean and Manchurian style was classified on the ''Uhō''. And ''Tenjikugaku'' and ''Rinyūgaku'' were also included in the category of ''Tōgaku''.<ref name = "gagakukai"/><ref name = "council"/><ref name="ortolani2">{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ge8cWl8OT3gC&pg=PA42 |title= The Japanese Theatre: From Shamanistic Ritual to Contemporary Pluralism|author=Benito Ortolani |pages=42–43 |publisher=Princeton University Press|year= 1995 |isbn=978-0691043333 }}</ref>

The popularity of gagaku reached its peak in the 9th century to the 10th century when court aristocracy began to hold private concerts, but declined in the [[Kamakura period]] (1185-1333) when the power of the court aristocracy became diminished while that of the samurai rose.<ref name="ortolani2"/> Gagaku was played by musicians who belonged to hereditary guilds. During the [[Kamakura period]], military rule was imposed and gagaku was performed rarely at court. At this time, there were three guilds, based in [[Osaka]], [[Nara, Nara|Nara]] and [[Kyoto]].

Because of the [[Ōnin War]], a civil war from 1467 to 1477 during the [[Muromachi period]], gagaku ensembles ceased to perform in Kyoto for about 100 years. In the [[Edo period]], the [[Tokugawa Shogunate]] revived and reorganized the court-style ensembles, the direct ancestors of the present gagaku ensembles.

After the [[Meiji Restoration]] of 1868, musicians from all three guilds came to the capital and their descendants make up most of the current [[Tokyo Imperial Palace]] Music Department. By that time, the present ensemble composition had been established, consisting of three wind instruments – ''[[hichiriki]]'', ''[[ryūteki]]'', and ''[[Shō (instrument)|shō]]'' (bamboo mouth organ used to provide harmony) – and three percussion instruments – ''[[Kakko (instrument)|kakko]]'' (small drum), ''[[Shōko (instrument)|shōko]]'' (metal percussion), and ''[[taiko]]'' (drum) or ''dadaiko'' (large drum), supplemented by ''gakubiwa''.

Gagaku also accompanies classical dance performances called ''[[bugaku]]'' (舞楽). It may be used in religious ceremonies in some Buddhist temples.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kyuhaku-db.jp/dazaifu/archives/25.html |title= 正行寺の報恩講と雅楽 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071124150953/http://www.kyuhaku-db.jp/dazaifu/archives/25.html |archive-date=24 November 2007 |work= Kyushu National Museums}}</ref>

In 1955, the Japanese government recognized ''gagaku'' and ''bugaku'' as important [[National Treasure (Japan)|National Treasures]].

Today, gagaku is performed in three ways:<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ngo5Zs_Sg3w&t=330s "Enjoy gagaku. What kind of music is Gagaku?"] Doyusha Video</ref>
*as [[kangen (music)|''kangen'']], concert music for winds, strings and percussion,
*as ''bugaku'', or dance music, for which the stringed instruments are omitted.
*as ''Utaimono'', singing to the accompaniment of a musical instrument, classified into 10 categories.

Komagaku survives only as bugaku.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://aris.ss.uci.edu/rgarfias/gagaku/music.html |title=...overview, University of California site |access-date=2007-10-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819070626/http://aris.ss.uci.edu/rgarfias/gagaku/music.html |archive-date=2014-08-19 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Contemporary gagaku ensembles, such as {{Nihongo|[[Reigakusha]]|伶楽舎}}, perform contemporary compositions for gagaku instruments. This subgenre of contemporary works for gagaku instruments, which began in the 1960s, is called {{Nihongo||伶楽|reigaku}}. Twentieth-century composers such as [[Tōru Takemitsu]] have composed works for gagaku ensembles, as well as individual gagaku instruments. In January 2015 the [[Reigakusha]] gagaku Ensemble and [[Ensemble Modern]] performed together ''Music with silent aitake's'' by Belgian composer [[Frederic D'Haene]], making gagaku and western music co-exist.<ref>[http://www.ravellorecords.com/catalog/rr8008/index.html] Ravello Records released the CD in 2018.</ref>

==Instruments used==
Wind, string and percussion instruments are essential elements of gagaku music.

===Wind===
*{{Nihongo|[[Hichiriki]]|篳篥}}, oboe
*{{Nihongo|O-hichiriki|大篳篥}}
*{{Nihongo|[[Ryuteki|Ryūteki]]|龍笛}}, transverse flute used in tōgaku
*{{Nihongo|[[Shō (instrument)|Shō]]|笙}}, mouth organ
*{{Nihongo|[[Yu (wind instrument)|U]]|竽}}, large mouth organ
*{{Nihongo|[[Komabue]]|高麗笛}}, transverse flute smaller than ryūteki, used in komagaku
*{{Nihongo|Azuma-asobi-bue|東遊笛}}, also called ''chukan''
*{{Nihongo|[[Kagurabue]]|神楽笛}}, transverse flute larger than ryūteki, used in kuniburi no utamai
*{{Nihongo|[[Shakuhachi]]|尺八}}
*{{Nihongo|[[Paixiao|Haishō]]|排簫}}, panpipes

===String===
*{{Nihongo|Gaku [[Biwa]]|楽琵琶}}, 4-stringed lute
*{{Nihongo|Gogen biwa|五絃琵琶}}, 5-stringed lute
*{{Nihongo|[[Koto (musical instrument)|Gakuso]]|箏}}, 13-string zither of Chinese origin
*{{Nihongo|[[Konghou|Kugo]]|箜篌}}, angled harp used in ancient times and recently revived
*{{Nihongo|[[Ruan|Genkan]]|阮咸}}
*{{Nihongo|[[Yamatogoto]]|大和琴|extra=also called ''wa-gon''}}, zither of Japanese origin, with 6 or 7 strings

===Percussion===
*{{Nihongo|[[Shōko (instrument)|Shōko]]|鉦鼓}}, small gong, struck with two horn beaters
*{{Nihongo|[[Kakko (instrument)|Kakko]]|鞨鼓/羯鼓}}, small hourglass-shaped drum struck with two wooden sticks
*{{Nihongo|[[Tsuri-daiko]]|釣太鼓}}, drum on a stand with ornately painted head, played with two padded sticks
*{{Nihongo|[[Da-daiko]]|鼉太鼓}}, large drums used at festivals
*{{Nihongo|[[Ikko (drum)|Ikko]]|一鼓}}, small, ornately decorated hourglass-shaped drum
*{{Nihongo|[[San-no-tsuzumi]]|三の鼓}}, hourglass-shaped drum
*{{Nihongo|[[Shakubyoshi]]|笏拍子|extra=also called ''shaku''}}, clapper made from a pair of flat wooden sticks
*{{Nihongo|[[Fangxiang|Hōkyō]]|方響}}
*{{Nihongo|[[Suzu]]|鈴}}, a bell tree clapper, specific to [[Mikomai]] dance performed as Mi-[[kagura]]
*{{Nihongo|[[Tsuzumi]]|鼓}}, hourglass drum, specific to [[Shirabyōshi]] dance performed as Mi-kagura

==Influence on Western music==
Beginning in the 20th century, several western classical composers became interested in gagaku, and composed works based on gagaku. Most notable among these are [[Henry Cowell]] (''Ongaku'', 1957), [[La Monte Young]] (numerous works of [[drone music]],<ref>Zuckerman, Gabrielle (ed.), [https://web.archive.org/web/20061003051403/http://musicmavericks.publicradio.org/features/interview_young.html "An Interview with La Monte Young and Marian Zazeela"] ([[Archive.org]] copy of 2006), American Public Media, July 2002, musicmavericks.publicradio.org: "So, this contribution of Indian Classical music is one of the biggest influences on me, but there are other influences on me too. [...] We have the effect of Japanese gagaku, which has sustained tones in it in the instruments such as the Sho."</ref> but especially ''[[Trio for Strings]]'', 1958), [[Alan Hovhaness]] (numerous works), [[Olivier Messiaen]] (''Sept haïkaï'', 1962), [[Lou Harrison]] (''Pacifika Rondo'', 1963), [[Benjamin Britten]] (''[[Curlew River]]'', 1964), [[Bengt Hambraeus]] (''Shogaku'', from ''Tre Pezzi per Organo'', 1967), [[:hu:Nagy Ákos|Ákos Nagy]] (Veiled wince flute quartet 2010), [[Jarosław Kapuściński]] (numerous works), [[Sarah Peebles]] (numerous works), [[Michiko Toyama]] (''Waka'', 1960), and [[Tim Hecker]] (''[[Konoyo]]'', 2018).

One of the most important gagaku musicians of the 20th century, Masataro Togi (who served for many years as chief court musician), instructed American composers such as [[Alan Hovhaness]] and [[Richard Teitelbaum]] in the playing of gagaku instruments.

==Other cultural influence==
The American poet [[Steve Richmond (poet)|Steve Richmond]] developed a unique style based on the rhythms of gagaku. Richmond heard gagaku music on records at [[U.C.L.A.]]'s Department of Ethnomusicology in the early 1960s. In a 2009 interview with writer [[Ben Pleasants]], Richmond claimed he had written an estimated 8,000–9,000 gagaku poems.<ref>{{cite web|last=Pleasants|first=Ben|title=American Rimbaud: An interview with Steve Richmond|url=http://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/american-rimbaud-an-interview-with-steve-richmond/}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Aak]]
*[[Etenraku]]
*[[Gigaku]]
*[[Kagura]]
*[[Nhã nhạc]]
*[[Yayue]]

==References==
<references/>
*Alves, William. ''Music of the Peoples of the World''. Thomson Schirmer, 2006.
*Garfias, Robert. "Gradual Modifications of the Gagaku Tradition." ''Ethnomusicology'', Vol. 4, No. 1. (Jan., 1960), pp. 16–19.
*Matsumiya, Suiho. "Traditional Music in Japan To-Day: Its Stability and Evolution." ''Journal of the International Folk Music Council'', Vol. 11 (1959), pp. 65–66.
*Malm, William P. ''Japanese Music and Musical Instruments''. Charles E. Japan: TuttleCo., Inc., 1959.

==External links==
*[http://www.kunaicho.go.jp/e-culture/gagaku.html Gagaku (Japanese Imperial Court Music) – The Imperial Household Agency]
*[http://www.unesco.org/culture/ich/index.php?pg=00011&RL=00265 Gagaku – UNESCO]
*[http://www.gagaku.net/index.ENG.html Gagaku Japanese Court Music & Dance]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070113172402/http://www.wsu.edu/~dee/ANCJAPAN/MUSIC.HTM Ancient Japan: The Earliest Japanese Music]
*[http://ccrma.stanford.edu/groups/gagaku/ Gagaku music: Repertoire, Instruments and Orchestration]

{{Music of Japan}}
{{UNESCO Oral and Intangible music}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Gagaku| ]]
[[Category:Japanese styles of music]]
[[Category:Classical and art music traditions]]
[[Category:Japanese traditional music]]
[[Category:Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity]]

Gagaku - Revision history

CleanupBot at 12:53, 12 August 2021