The Japanese and their music

Dulcet notes of instrumental music fall on the ears and attract visitors inside the gallery at Japan Foundation. On entering one discovers that the music is emanating from a television where videos of musicians playing different instruments can be viewed in a calm environment.
  
The desire to know the names of instruments, which enable a visitor to hear such mellifluous music, makes one look at the walls. Hung on the walls of the gallery are photo panels which exhibit information about the various ‘Traditional Musical Instruments
of Japan’ (also the name of the exhibition).   

The history of traditional music in Japan is rich and varied. It is interesting to know that initially, many musical forms and instruments were imported from China over a span of many centuries. Over time, people adapted to the Japanese style of expression and the musical instruments thus used by them have enriched their heritage.

The exhibition has been curated by dividing the instruments in three categories – string, percussion and wind.

Photo panels of stringed instruments named Biwa, Gottan, Ichigenkin, Koto, Sanshin and Shamiren are displayed in the first segment. A look at the four-stringed lute with a flat black side and a correlation between the Japanese Biwa and Indian sitar strikes one. While the instruments Sanshin and Shamisen are believed to have originated in China, to an Indian eye, they bear a close resemblance to the sitar.

What is more striking is the similarity between the hourglass-shaped Tsuzumi and Indian damroo – often associated with Lord Shiva. This percussion instrument from Japan is indeed described as a Japanese drum of Chinese/Indian origin. While its Indian counterpart is still used during prayer ceremonies, Tsuzumi is played in Noh, Kabuki theatre music and Japanese folk music.

The photograph of Mokyugo, in the percussion section, is occupies centre stage due to its unusual form in the shape of a human skull. Also known as a ‘Temple Drum’ or ‘Wooden Fish’, Mokyugo is handcrafted from camphor laurelwood and is used for rites of death and resurrection. During funerals in Japan, people walk in processions while playing it in a slow rhythm.

The intricate designs of Shoko and Kakko also arouse curiosity. While the former is a bronze gong of about six inches diameter, the latter is a double-headed drum. Kakko is a drum that is usually placed horizontally. Shoko, on the other hand, is suspended in a vertical lacquered frame and is struck with two horn beaters when played at Gagaku court music.

While a wind instrument will more or less resemble a flute, the Sho in Japanese culture is an outstanding exception. Introduced to Japan from China, during the Nara period (CE 710 to 794), this instrument is modelled on the Chinese Sheng. It consists of 17 slender bamboo pipes, each fitted in its base with a metal free reed. The instrument’s sound is said to imitate the call of a phoenix, and it is for this reason that the two silent pipes of a Sho are placed two symmetrical wings. One longs to see and feel this instrument in real. As one steps out of the gallery, a picture of Horagai appears in front of the eye.

A large conch shell, Horagais have been used in Japan since centuries. Carried in special woven baskets, these conch shells are fitted with a wooden or brass mouthpiece at the end, through which a skilled user can blow up to five different notes.

Schools in Japan still teach students to play the traditional music associated with conch; one relates to the joy that PM Narendra Modi would have experienced playing Taiko drums on his trip to Japan.

The exhibition is on display at The Japan Foundation till May 30.