A Brief History of Japanese Music and Dance

Folk music originated with the earliest people who came to the Japanese islands, the Jomun. Music included work songs, lullabies and communal music and dance which is associated with the worship of spirit deities (kami), group dances accompanied by response singing and pantomime dances such as a bird dance which portrays (tries to show) flying birds, and a whale dance which tells of the discovery of a whale carcass on the beach and the subsequent (following, resulting) division of whale meat among the tribe.

During the Yayoi Period (c. 300 BC - 300 AD), the later settlers of the islands also had ritual dances. Archeologists have found clay images of dancers and musical instruments. The first historical record of Japan's history is the Kojiki, one of Japan's oldest books. It was put together in 712 AD but tells about much earlier events. It tells of a dance performed by Ame-no-Uzume-no-Mikoto, deity or goddess of divine movement, marriage and meditation.

Some of these dance styles may be seen today in the oldest styles of Shinto ritual dance accompanied by drums, flutes and chanting, and the masked shamanistic performance associated with Shinto festivals, and the performances of shrine priestesses. Seventeen dance rituals were also performed in Shinto ceremonies and continue for up to eight hours or longer. Today it is common for people to drink sake (rice wine) during the performances. To keep the Shinto gods happy, only virgin girls and males can dance, not married women. Performers often wear carved masks. In the Kofun (Tomb) Period (c. 300 - 700), these Shinto dances were supported by the rulers who united Japan. Shinto was the official religion early in that time, and the rulers encouraged the dance rituals to bring rain to the crops, good weather, etc.

Chinese and Korean influenced the later Kofun (Tomb) Period. New instruments from China and Korea were used at the imperial court in Japan. These dances were imitations of the imperial dances of Tang dynasty China and Silla dynasty Korea of the seventh century. It was greatly admired in Japan. This Confucian-style music and dance "Gagaku" was imported by the early Japanese emperors.

At the same time Buddhism was spreading. To encourage the spread of Buddhism, a new popular form of music and masked-drama was developing. It included a play with music that told the story of the Buddha and Buddhist miracles. The actors were masked and the play was preceded by a mime-dance procession (like a parade). This religious dance-drama "Gigaku" remained popular in Japan until the middle ages.

Samurai theatre - noh and kyogen - developed with the rise of the samurai or warrior class (794 - 1333). There developed new types of popular entertainment: a blend of narrative (storytelling), juggling and acrobatics, harvest ritual music and dance. The musical dance-drama "noh" and its humorous skits between noh acts known as "kyogen" were brought into theaters. Accompaniment is provided by a three- to four-member ensemble of drums and flute and a six- to eight-member chorus whose primary function is to explain and comment on the action. Popular theatre of the Edo period - Kabuki & Bunraku Puppet Theater of the Edo Period (1600-1867) was more lively and popular with common people. Music and dance continued in these theater arts.