Japanese Folk Song Research Articles

“You Gotta Accentuate the Positive”: Japanese American Affirmation and Resilience in The Camp Dance: The Music and the Memories

“You Gotta Accentuate the Positive”: Japanese American Affirmation and Resilience in <i>The Camp Dance: The Music and the Memories</i>

Expressions of Modernity and Nationality in Matsudaira Yoritsune’s Prewar Work

ABSTRACT Matsudaira Yoritsune (1907–2001) is commonly recognized as one of the most influential Japanese composers of the twentieth century, and yet the work he completed prior to the Pacific War has remained virtually unaddressed in the scholarly literature. To compensate for this gap, this article discusses Matsudaira’s prewar work, focusing on his two primary musical influences, Japanese folk songs and gagaku court music. As Matsudaira’s aspiration was to fuse contemporary Western compositional techniques with elements from premodern Japanese music, his prewar work contributes to our understanding not just of the development of his own musical language but also of Japanese music in the 1930s in general.

Tomoh Masaki

Tomoh Masaki

Hozonkai – fenomen ohranjanja ljudske glasbe in uprizoritvenih umetnosti na Japonskem: primer združenja Kokiriko uta hozonkai

Članek proučuje fenomen združenj hozonkai za ohranjanje ljudskih pesmi oz. ljudskih uprizoritvenih umetnosti, ki si prizadevajo ohraniti in prenašati japonske ljudske pesmi v »avtentični«, nespremenjeni obliki. Kot primer enega takšnih združenj in njegovega ravnanja z ljudskim glasbenim izročilom avtorica obravnava organizacijo in trenutne dejavnosti združenja Kokiriko uta hozonkai – ustanovljenega leta 1951 in zadolženega za ohranjanje in prenos plesne pesmi Kagura mai.Ob upoštevanju Hughesovih splošnih značilnosti združenj kot osnove avtorica poudari skupne značilnosti, ki jih Kokiriko uta hozonkai deli z večino združenj, hkrati pa osvetli tudi njegove posebnosti. Kokiriko uta hozonkai ima močnejši koncept lokalnosti in ni povsem konservativen glede morebitnih sprememb v glasbi Kagure mai v prihodnosti. Raziskava o združenju Kokiriku uta hozonkai in njegovem »ohranjanju« Kagure mai zastavlja tudi vprašanje, ali hozonkai resnično prenaša starodavno različico pesmi Kagura mai?

Comparative analysis of rhythms of Japanese folk songs using the nPVI

Comparative analysis of rhythms of Japanese folk songs using the nPVI

Capturing Sound or History? Understanding the 1928 Minzoku Geijutsu Transcription Debate

Debate over the procedures of ethnographic transcription have ranged from the technical to the philosophical, and, in more recent years, the goals of transcription have been considered against the backdrop of other debates over authenticity and representation. The debate in the pages of the 1928 Japanese folklore journal Minzoku geijutsu between composer Fujii Kiyomi (1889–1944) and shakuhachi historian Nakazuka Chikuzen (1887–1944) provides an exceptional opportunity to see our own practices from the outside. Fujii and Nakazuka's argument over the goals and procedures for the transcription of Japanese folk song takes an unusual trajectory through issues of style, sophistication, standardization, and form.

The Critique of Appropriation of Popular Song in of Oshima Nagisa’s Sing a Song of Sex(日本春歌考): Army Songs, Folksongs, Protest Songs and the Songs of the Involved

이 논문에서는 오시마 나기사의 영화 ≪일본춘가고≫에 등장하는 노래들을 장르별로 살펴보면서 그것들이 서로 다른 등장 인물군에 의해 어떻게 전유되고 있는가를 살펴볼 것이다. 1960년대 일본에서 불리던 군가와 포크송, 운동 가요의 관계와 그를 향유하는 집단의 대립과 갈등이 노래의 전유와 어떤 관계가 있는가를 분석해 볼 것이다. 오시마 나기사의 영화에 나오는 일본군가, <만철소곡>과 <토비가>의 가사 전유와 운동가요, 미국 포크송의 수용에서 드러나는 모순과 갈등의 지점을 포착하고, 이를 바탕으로 1960년대 일본과 한국 사회 대중가요 지형을 비교해 보려고 한다. 이를 통해 군가-운동가-외국 가요-당사자의 노래가 1960년대 일본과 한국에서 어떤 사회문화적 변용을 겪The purpose of this paper is to find how the transformation of meaning of a song happen according to the different adaptation group. To do this I will analysis the songs in Nagisa Oshima s film, Sing a Song of Sex. There appear many songs from military songs which were sung in second world war period to the traditional Japanese folk songs, American popular songs. I will trace the transformation of the song s meaning while the different singing subjects change. I will disclose the process of the transformation of the involved subjects of the songs would change the meaning of the songs. Based upon such a analysis we could compare the adaptation process of western songs between Japan and Korea in 1960s .

Voices from the Canefields: Folksongs from Japanese Immigrant Workers in Hawai‘i by Franklin Odo (review)

Reviewed by: Voices from the Canefields: Folksongs from Japanese Immigrant Workers in Hawai‘i by Franklin Odo Christen Sasaki Voices from the Canefields: Folksongs from Japanese Immigrant Workers in Hawai‘i. By Franklin Odo. New York: Oxford University Press, 2013. xxviii + 242 pp. Bibliography. Index. Lyrics. $55.00 cloth Franklin Odo’s study of the folk tradition, holehole bushi, provides a unique and in-depth look into the lives of issei, or first generation Japanese immigrants, in Hawai‘i. Through careful analysis of numerous folk songs, Odo successfully complicates the narrow image of the issei that is largely, “of a generation that suffered grievously, but with great patience and humility … in order to create better lives for their children …” (pp. x–xi), and offers an alternative narrative that is filled with fluidity, despair, love, lust, violence, and hope. This book is an important read for scholars of Japanese American history and historiography, ethnic studies, and labor history. It will also be especially useful to those engaged in comparative migration history, women’s history, Hawaiian history, and ethnomusicology. Adapted from traditional Japanese folk songs and poetry, holehole bushi were composed and sung by a generation of Japanese men and women who toiled in Hawai‘i’s sugar plantations from 1885–1924. Odo’s meticulous attention to this local folk tradition of Hawai‘i opens up the global and fluid world of the issei. The holehole bushi in chapter 1, “Japan to Hawai‘i,” creates a complicated picture of this first generation of immigrant laborers and the transnational world in which they lived. The issei are depicted as men and women straddling a home society in transition, while also inhabiting a contested space between two emerging empires and the independent kingdom of Hawai‘i. Chapters 2 to 5 are organized around themes found in the holehole bushi: work, despair and defiance, love and lust, and reflections. In chapter 2, “World of Work,” Odo tackles the harsh realities of plantation labor. Using holehole bushi lyrics, Odo adds to the scholarship on Hawai‘i’s sugar plantation labor by questioning the taken-for-granted gendered nature of work. He also successfully draws out the life choices that many issei faced when nearing the end of a three-year contract, and underscores the mobility of this generation within the islands and between nations. The holehole bushi analyzed in chapter 3, “Despair and Defiance,” breaks through “Hawai‘i’s plantation mythology” (p. 58) and offer a gritty depiction of issei life. Subjects such as gambling, gangs, rage, depression, prostitution, and alcoholism are among the topics covered. Chapter 4, “Love and Lust,” presents a unique glimpse into the intimate and sometimes scandalous world of plantation life. Here Odo shines as he reminds the reader through holehole bushi of the relative power some women wielded in a society where female companionship was scarce. In chapter [End Page 216] 5, titled “Reflections,” the holehole bushi reveal issei thoughts on their lived experiences, ranging from regret to gratitude. Chapters 6 and 7 focus on the process of recovering this particular folk tradition. Chapter 6, “A Last Hurrah,” examines the collective and constructed identity of the issei decades after their last days on the plantation. The holehole bushi examined in this chapter were submitted in response to a contest sponsored by a Japanese language newspaper in 1960. “Renaissance of Holehole Bushi,” chapter 7, charts the recuperation of this folk tradition by Harry Minoru Urata and traces its usage in popular media and academia. Odo writes in style that will entertain and engage a general audience. While there is some repetition in each of the chapters, they could easily be used as stand-alone pieces. Finally, having raised a number of issues for further study, including the mobility of the issei generation, “rurality,” and the fluidity of the plantation world, Odo leaves the reader with a collection of over 200 translated holehole bushi for their own reading and analysis. This project is clearly a labor of love for Odo, one that makes holehole bushi accessible to a new generation of Japanese Americans in Hawai‘i, as well as scholars and practitioners around the world. Christen Sasaki Assistant Professor, Department of Asian American...

The Undisclosed Outlook on Japanese Folk Song by Kodama Gyouson, The Foster Parent of Akita Folk Song

The Undisclosed Outlook on Japanese Folk Song by Kodama Gyouson, The Foster Parent of Akita Folk Song

A style analysis of Japanese folk song

A style analysis of Japanese folk song

Regional Classification of Traditional Japanese Folk Songs

Regional Classification of Traditional Japanese Folk Songs

What do Elderly Japanese and Japanese Americans Have in Common?

A group of six Japanese and Japanese American elderly (age 83–102) living in a retirement community experienced 6 one-hour group sessions sharing reminiscences. Experiences of World War II, war concentration camp, being bilingual/bicultural, Japanese Saturday school, were shared and discussed. Clear evidence of inheritance of Japanese traditional virtues such as doryoku, enryo, gaman and shikataganai was observed despite the differences of their birthplace. Japanese folk songs with English phonetic translation were introduced and enjoyed. Sharing their life stories through activities such as reminiscence and songs positively influenced elders' enthusiasm in more active participation and resulted in extending their meeting hours.

The Post-war History of Utagoe Movement -The Rediscovery of Japanese Nation and Folk Song-

The Post-war History of Utagoe Movement -The Rediscovery of Japanese Nation and Folk Song-

A Translation of Ryojinhisho, a compendium of Japanese folk songs (Imayo) from the Heian period (794-1185)

A Translation of Ryojinhisho, a compendium of Japanese folk songs (Imayo) from the Heian period (794-1185)

Japan Grapples With Alcoholism Crisis

Japan Grapples With Alcoholism Crisis

Japanese Erotic Folksong: From Shunka to Karaoke

L'A. presente une etude culturelle d'un genre musical japonais appelle shnuka : il s'agit de chansons populaires grivoises et de banquet qui sont classes dans le registre erotique et parfois pornographique. Au Japon, la chanson erotique est issue d'une longue et ancienne tradition mais connait aussi certains changements morphologiques et fonctionnels lies a la modernisation et a l'industrialisation de la societe japonaise. L'A. presente les formes musicales populaires les plus courantes, puis decrit la tradition shunka ou chant de printemps : il decrit le contexte culturel (chants de travail agricole, tradition orale, fonction communautaire de la chanson) dans lequel elle s'est developpee, le contexte des banquets et spectacles dans lesquels on chante ce genre musical, la structure musicale et les caracteristiques textuelles et poetiques, et enfin les changements et l'avenir de ce genre musical.

Memory for Melodies among Subjects Differing in Age and Experience in Music

An unfanmiliar commercial song of 12 measures was learned by four musically experienced college students and four 4th-grade children, who each had had about 5 years of piano training, and eight musically unexperienced college students. Each subject was presented the melody auditorily and required to reproduce it in singing ten times. The experienced students were far superior to the unexperienced ones, regardless of age, in the speed of acquisition as well as the eventual level of mastery of the melody. Additional experiments revealed that both musically experienced and unexperienced college students could learn a poem significantly faster than the 4th graders, and that these three groups of subjects were comparable in acquiring a non-tonal (modal) Japanese folk song. Tonal melodic memory of the experienced students seemed to be facilitated primarily by knowledge and strategies specific to tonal music.

Transformation of Poetic and Musical Patterns in Japanese Folksongs

Transformation of Poetic and Musical Patterns in Japanese Folksongs

Review] A Dictionary of the Japanese Folksongs

Review] A Dictionary of the Japanese Folksongs

Geographical Distribution of Specific Tunes in the Japanese Folksongs

Geographical Distribution of Specific Tunes in the Japanese Folksongs