Kiyomoto-bushi: Narrative Music of the Kabuki Theater , and: Shaped by Japanese Music: Kikuoka Hiroaki and Nagauta Shamisen in Tokyo (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Kiyomoto-bushi: Narrative Music of the Kabuki Theater, and: Shaped by Japanese Music: Kikuoka Hiroaki and Nagauta Shamisen in Tokyo Anne Prescott (bio) Kiyomoto-bushi: Narrative Music of the Kabuki Theater. Alison McQueen Tokita. Studien zur Traditionellen Musik Japans Band 8. Kassel: Barenreiter, 1999. 400 pp., with photos, illustrations, scores. ISBN: 3–7618–1469–0. Shaped by Japanese Music: Kikuoka Hiroaki and Nagauta Shamisen in Tokyo. Jay Keister. New York and London: Routledge, 2004. 285 pp., with photos, scores. ISBN 0–415–96972–7. Shamisen music of the kabuki theater is a complicated topic, encompassing several different musical genres and numerous artistic lineages. Two recent books set out to demystify different aspects of kabuki music. Alison McQueen Tokita’s Kiyomoto-bushi: Narrative Music of the Kabuki Theater is a thorough study of the kiyomoto tradition, and Jay Keister’s Shaped by Japanese Music: Kikuoka Hiroaki and Nagauta Shamisen in Tokyo is an ethnography of one of the leading 20th century nagauta masters. Tokita’s exhaustive study of kiyomoto-bushi is so full of “good stuff ” that it is hard to know where to begin. But Tokita does; her introduction commences with “What is kiyomoto-bushi?” She proceeds to define katarimono (narrative) and utaimono (lyric) genres of shamisen, and then situates kiyomoto in relation to other katarimono genres as well as other genres of kabuki music. The numerous charts illustrating the concepts outlined in the text are a great asset in understanding the sometimes complex relationships. The first three chapters situate kiyomoto in its three important roles: as narrative music, outlining its historical relationship to Japanese literature, as well as noh and bunraku, whose stories and stories’ sources are often closely aligned with kabuki; as kabuki dance music; and as shamisen music, including the instrument itself, the tunings, and the mechanics of playing. Through all of these discussions, Tokita is careful to define all terms and her explanations are clear and concise. Chapters 4–7 deal with different musical structure issues, including the formulaic nature of today’s kiyomoto repertoire, a comparison of the structure of kiyomoto in relation to kabuki dance form, formulaic phrases of kiyomoto, and narrative substyles. The detailed examples, including charts, musical examples, and texts in both Japanese and English, are well crafted and contribute greatly to [End Page 149] an understanding of kiyomoto. The final chapter is a thorough analysis of three pieces: Kasane, Tamaya, and Hokushû. The appendices are not merely attachments to the book, but are themselves valuable reference tools, including a bibliography that should be of interest to anyone concerned with any genre of traditional Japanese music; a discography (and as Tokita notes, boxed sets of recordings of traditional music in Japan usually have notes written by leading scholars, making the discography an important source for written scholarly material); a list of 50 kiyomoto works, including their official titles as well as the name by which they are usually known (extremely helpful); an index of names; and a list of terms including the kanji (Chinese characters) for all terms. In my copy of the book, the list is out of order (starting with “nagauta” through “Okamoto Bunya” and then going to “chikuzen biwa”), and terms coming before “chikuzen biwa” in the alphabet are missing, so if the reader wants to know the kanji for Chikamatsu Monzaemon or Bon, she or he is out of luck. Having this exhaustive list in Japanese is crucial for anyone who is serious about Japanese music as the characters often provide vital information about the term which is not evident in English. This volume is a welcome addition to the literature on traditional Japanese music. It is a thorough examination of the topic, the examples are plentiful and greatly aid in understanding the material, the writing is clear, concise and well organized, and there is something in this book for anyone interested in any genre of traditional Japanese music, not just kabuki or shamisen music. I knew Kikuoka Hiroaki (1927–1999), the subject of Jay Keister’s Shaped by Japanese Music, only by his reputation as a mover and shaker in the nagauta world and as the teacher at Tokyo Geidai (Tokyo Geijutsu Daigaku; Tokyo National...