In Japan, national music is called "Bang music", and traditional ethnic musical instruments are called "Bang music instruments" or "Japanese music instruments".
The most famous traditional musical instruments are the shamisen, shakuhachi, taiko drum, 13-string guzheng; there are also 17-string harp, Satsuma pipa, etc.
The shape of Japanese musical instruments and their performance also fully reflect the subtle differences in timbre that Japanese traditional music pays attention to. Like other countries in the world, musical instruments in Japan can be roughly divided into three categories: percussion instruments, wind instruments and strummed instruments. The snare drum is one of Japan's typical percussion instruments. Japan is a country with rich drumming culture and drumming resources, and its drumming tradition has a long history. Drum music from different regions naturally has different artistic connotations. The drum music popular on Hachijo Island is called "Hachijo Taiko". The earliest Hachijo taiko music was used in worship ceremonies. Today, the Hachijo taiko is also an instrument played at harvest festivals and ceremonies to welcome distinguished guests.
The ancestor of Shamisen is the Chinese three-stringed string.
Sanxian was introduced to Japan via Okinawa in 1560. Through transformation by Japanese artists, the shamisen became the shamisen (thread).
The original Japanese sanxian was modified from the Chinese sanxian imported from Ryukyu during the Changlu period (1560s). In Japan, the first person to play this instrument with drumsticks was a blind man playing the pipa. Later, they discovered that this instrument could be used for any melody and rhythm, and it quickly attracted the attention of musicians and became the driving force for the vigorous development of Japanese music. So the shamisen began to use puppet play
Puppet play (puppet joruri), which became an important tool for musicians to make a living at that time. The shamisen has been popular among the people since its birth. With the collapse of aristocratic society and the rise of common people's culture, the shamisen has no doubt been called the "King of Japanese Musical Instruments" along with the harp. It is widely used in various Japanese folk arts (dige, commonly known as sanshin in the koto music community), but as a musical instrument, it is divided into three categories: thin pole, medium pole and thick pole. Their appearance and skills are roughly the same, but there are obvious differences in the details of the specific structure and the playing range. A thick rod will produce a strong and loud sound, while a thin rod will produce a very delicate sound. So far it has become a representative accompaniment instrument in Japanese dance and opera. The "Long Song", a legato chorus of as many as thirty people, further demonstrates the extraordinary status of the shamisen in Japanese life.
The Shakuhachi is a traditional Japanese woodwind instrument introduced from China during the Tang Dynasty. The shakuhachi is a vertically blown instrument, named after its length of one shakuhachi. Ancient Chinese national musical instruments also include the "shakuhachi", but now it is very rare except for the Nanyin of southern Fujian.
The Shakuhachi is a type of flute, and the history of the flute can be traced back to the bone flute nine thousand years ago. The seven-hole bone flute unearthed at the Jiahu Cultural Site is the earliest wind instrument in the world. The original name of the flute was Di; the shakuhachi did not appear until the Tang Dynasty. Later it was spread to Japan and became one of the representative instruments of Japanese classical music. To this day, only Nanyin music from southern Fujian remains as the main musical instrument in China. The Shakuhachi was formed in Japan during the Edo period. It was originally used as an instrument to play Buddhist music by the Puhua sect of Japanese Buddhism, and the players were all Nishi monks of the Puhua sect. It became widely popular after the Meiji era. The shakuhachi was widely played by a group of monks during the Tokugawa period. Playing the shakuhachi should be combined with the spirit of Zen to achieve the effect of enlightenment. This is called blowing Zen. Therefore, in the process of playing, whether you are inhaling or blowing to release the sound through the instrument, you must use the greatest spirit to interpret it.
The origin of Taiko drumming is unknown, but it is generally believed that it originated in China. The taiko drum is now a representative musical instrument of Japan. There are large and small drums, shaped like beer barrels. The drum body is made of beech wood (high-grade) or sub-catalpa wood (low-grade) and covered with cooked cowhide on both sides, with a diameter ranging from 30 centimeters to a width of more than 1 meter. In the past taiko craze, wider sizes also appeared. In Japanese culture, taiko drums are closely related to its development. The purpose of ancient Japanese people using taiko drums was to drive away diseases/evils. Similarly, taiko drums are also used as drums to welcome gods. Whether in the palace, war, or singing and dancing, there are shadows of taiko drums. In Japanese religion, taiko is the music of Buddha.
Not many people like to listen to drums alone, and drums are mostly used for accompaniment. It was accompanied by shouts and shouts from people. For example, "囃子" is active in the field of percussion. The human voice is not only an important unit of rhythm, but also an indispensable factor in expressing musical emotions.
It is also often used in announcing events, singing and dancing performances, and festivals, such as the Taiko Festival and the Hakata Taiko Festival. The Hakata Taiko Festival is the largest B&B festival in Kyushu, Japan. "dongtaku" is held on May 3rd and 4th every year, which means Sunday in Dutch. There is "Ezo Taiko" in Hokkaido, Japan. Usually in the summer, the fog is everywhere, like a dream. They hope to clear the fog through the majestic taiko drums and joyful laughter, and spend a joyful and energetic summer.
Japanese Pipa
Editor
(Biwa)
Origined from Persia (in present-day Iran, located in the southwest of the Iranian Plateau). It was introduced to Japan during the Nara period via India and China. The length of the pipa is approximately between 60 cm and 106 cm.
The five-string pipa
originates from India. A plucked string instrument played by ethnic minorities in northern China in ancient times. The pipa used in the Tang Dynasty of China was introduced to Japan and was still used in the early Heian period. The "mother-of-pearl and red sandalwood five-string pipa" preserved in Shosoin is the most famous.
Lepipa
One of the Japanese musical instruments. It originated in present-day Iran and was introduced to Japan through the Silk Road and China in the Nara Period. It was used as a main instrument in the Gagaku orchestral ensemble. With four strings and four posts (frets), it is 110cm long and is the largest among all types of Japanese pipa; the plectrum is 20cm long. It was originally called the pipa. In order to distinguish it from the Satsuma pipa, Chikuzen pipa, and Heike pipa that were developed in later folk music, the pipa used in Gagaku was also called the raku pipa. When playing, kneel down and sit with your arms crossed on your knees.
Its appearance is similar to the Fujian Nanyin pipa. It also has a narrow neck and a flat belly, with a pear shape, four strings and four columns. There are two symmetrical half-moon-shaped sound holes called half moons on the web (panel), and the center of the web is There is a leather-covered area about 10 to 12 centimeters long near the back hand, called the plectrum or plectrum, which is the part where the plectrum is played. This dial is often painted with beautiful patterns, and in ancient times it was also given elegant nicknames, such as "Green Mountain", "Xuanxiang", "Wuma", etc. The paintings on the dial are often related to the elegant names. The upper part of the neck of the pipa is called the deer neck, and is made of Tang wood or mulberry wood. The upper part of the lobster tail is made of boxwood or white sandalwood, and the other hand is made of palm, rosewood or cherry wood. The four pillars on the neck (i.e., the rank) are made of Japanese hinoki or hackberry wood. The armor (back panel) of the piano body (trunk) is made of palm, rosewood or mulberry (in modern times, cherry or zelkova are also used). The web (panel) is made of sawa chestnut wood. If the armor (back plate) is made of a whole plate, it is called a straight armor, which is a top grade; if two or three plates are put together, it is called a peeled armor, which is a lower grade. There is a circular hole hidden under the compound hand, called the hidden moon, also called the sound hole. The plectrum is made of boxwood, which is relatively small and thin, with the lower end gradually becoming slightly thinner than the upper end. The four strings are made of silk and are called the first string, the second string, the third string and the fourth string from left to right and from thick to thin.
Chikuzen Biwa, Chikushi Bipa
In the 1920s of Meiji, it was created by Tachibana Chisada (named Asahi Ou) of Hakatoku. It is derived from Chikuzen's blind monk pipa, and refers to Satsuma pipa and shamisen. It has four strings and five strings, and five pillars. For viewing or home entertainment. Its original shape is a four-stringed pipa. It is smaller than the Satsuma Biwa, with a total length of about 83 centimeters, a long neck, a slightly shorter groove, and five pillars. Its characteristics are: the lining is made of hard wood such as red sandalwood and flower palm, and the web is made of a particularly flat sycamore board, and the web is inlaid in the ji (edge ??groove) (this is to make the sound soft). a method adopted). Later, the five-string pipa was developed, which was formed by adopting the techniques of Satsuma pipa and adding some of my own creativity. It is slightly larger than the four-string pipa. The pillars of the four-string lute are slightly shorter than those of the Satsuma lute, while the pillars of the five-string lute are almost the same size and height as those of the Satsuma lute. The strings are made of silk. The first string of the four-string pipa is thicker, the second string is medium, and the third and fourth strings are the thinnest.
The strings of the five-string pipa, similar to the Satsuma pipa, gradually become thinner from the first string to the fifth string. The plectrum is made of boxwood and is similar to the plectrum of the shamisen. That is to say, the front end of the plectrum is wider. The front end of the plectrum for a four-string pipa is about 12 cm wide, and the front end of the plectrum for a five-string pipa is about 15 cm.
Heike Pipa
The accompaniment instrument of Heike music. Similar to the pipa but smaller in size; it has four strings and is played with "pluck". Just for appreciation. The shape is the same as Le Pipa, but smaller than Le Pipa, with a total length of less than 67 cm. There are five pillars, which are slightly higher than the pillars of the Pipa (among the five pillars, the first pillar is rarely used, so some people remove it and use only four pillars). The plectrum is slightly larger than the pipa plectrum, and is somewhat open in front (it used to be open to more than 10 centimeters).
Satsuma Pipa
Satsuma Pipa is the most widely circulated among them.
The instrument is smaller than the pipa, about one meter in length, with four strings and four pillars. The pillars are tall and large; it is played with a fan-shaped plectrum. At the end of the shogunate period, Jinbei Ikeda combined the two styles of street and samurai and became the orthodox Satsuma biwa. During the Meiji era, Nagata Kinshin in Tokyo founded the "Kishin-ryu", which had its own special Kinshin-style pipa. The Kinshin-style pipa is similar to the Satsuma pipa, but has five strings and five pillars. The production materials are all made of mulberry wood, which is of the highest quality.
In the mid-16th century, Shimazu Jisinsai, the monarch of the Satsuma Domain in southern Japan, specially made it to accompany the songs and stories he used to encourage samurai and the people under his jurisdiction. Today's Satsuma pipa has only five strings. The fourth and fifth strings have the same pitch. The tuning depends on the player's vocal range. It is mainly used to play melody. The performer usually presses the strings between the five widely spaced frets with his left hand, and holds a plectrum with his right hand to play the strings; the genres include Zhengpai, Kinshin-ryu, etc.
During the Warring States Period, in order to educate the children of samurai, the great prince Shimazu Tadayo of Satsuma (the ancient name of the country, now the southernmost part of the Kyushu region of Japan) ordered the blind monk Fuchiwaki Juchoin to create a batch of pipa with moral content. Playing and singing works, the pipa became more widely popular in this area, and its genre became the Satsuma pipa. After the Meiji Restoration, because most of the backbone of the movement to honor the king and resist the barbarians were Satsuma clan warriors, and many Satsuma clan warriors entered the central government and worked in politics, the Satsuma pipa was also introduced to Tokyo and gradually developed and became popular throughout the country. The characteristic of this genre is its emphasis on content, the coexistence of elegance and tragedy.
Satsuma Pipa is mainly about rapping. The music only serves as an accompaniment, not an independent piece of music. It is similar to the Chinese drum or Pingtan, but the difference is that the drum or Pingtan is a kind of folk art, mainly for everyone. Entertainment, while Satsuma Biwa is a kind of serious music used for sacrifices, usually played in temples. The content is mainly about war and history. There is absolutely no love story. The tone is passionate and crisp, maintaining the tradition of Japanese music.
Blind Monk Pipa and Huang Shen Pipa
Specially used by blind people. It is played in conjunction with the reading of Buddhist scriptures such as "The Earth's Nerve", "Avalokitesvara Sutra" and "Prajna Heart Sutra". It is used in prayers such as worshiping the Kitchen God (Earth God). Blind monks who play the blind monk pipa are divided into Chikuzen blind monks, Higo blind monks and Satsuma blind monks according to their places of residence. All three differ musically and instrumentally. The shape of Blind Monk Pipa is very similar to that of Le Pipa. It is slightly smaller overall, with a total length of about 82 cm. The width of the body is relatively small, giving people a slender feeling. Therefore, it is also called dwarf bamboo pipa - shaped like a bamboo leaf. In addition, there is a moon-shaped hole in the middle of the web. One of Chikuzen Blind Monk and Higo Blind Monk is round, and the other is crescent-shaped. It is a metaphor for the sun and moon. The inner shell is made of palm or mulberry, and the web is made of paulownia wood. There are four strings and five pillars, which are higher than the pillars of the pipa, and the plectrum is slightly larger than that of the pipa. In addition, there is a long belt between the lower end of the lute's trunk and the upper end of the neck, with many beads strung on it. When the blind monk goes out with his pipa, this belt is used as a strap; when he sits down to pray, he uses it as a string of beads (Buddha beads).
Jin Pipa:
This kind of pipa is for appreciation. The shape is similar to the Satsuma biwa, but it is similar to the Chikuzen biwa in that it has five pillars. There are two types of strings, four and five.
The four-string Kinpipa is mostly for beginners, and its plectrum is slightly smaller than that of the Satsuma Pipa. In short, since the Kinbiwa was modified from the Satsuma Biwa, it has the properties of both the Satsuma Biwa and the Chikuzen Biwa.