Traditional Japanese music is meditative in nature and performed for spiritual purposes, similar to martial arts. It describes themes of religion, work, dance, love, and regional folk songs. The main Japanese musical instruments include percussion instruments like drums, string instruments like the koto and shamisen, and wind instruments like the shakuhachi flute. Some key instruments are the taiko drum, koto zither, and shakuhachi bamboo flute.

1. INSTRUMENTAL
MUSIC OF
JAPAN

2. - Traditional Japanese music is basically meditative in
character.
- The performance of Japanese music has traditionally been
of a spiritual character, similarly to martial arts and other
forms of art such as the tea ceremony & calligraphy.
- It is usually about religious festivals, work, dance, love, and
regional songs.

3. Japanese
Musical
Instruments

4. A. Percussion Instruments (Membranophone)
1. Odaiko (Big Drum) – The physical energy and sheer
excitement of an Odaiko performance is an integral part of
many Japanese matsuri.

5. Odaiko

6. 2. Tsuzumi (hourglass-shape) – There are two varieties, the
a. Kotsuzumi (smaller) – is held on the right shoulder and the
player alters the tone by squeezing the laces.
b. Otsuzumi (larger) – is placed on the left thigh.
They are used in both noh and kabuki performances.

7. Tsuzumi

8. 3. Tsuridaiko – a
large hanging barrel
drum.

9. 3. Taiko – is a Japanese drum that comes in various sizes and is
used to play a variety of musical genres. It has become
particularly popular in recent years as the central instrument of
percussion ensembles whose repertory is based on a variety of
folk and festival music of the past.

10. Taiko

11. B. String Instruments (Chordophone)
1. Koto – is a 13-string zither, about two meters long and
made of Paulownia wood. It is plucked using picks on the
thumb and first two fingers on the right hand, while the left
hand can be used to modify pitch and tone. Koto is used in
an ensemble in gagaku or as a solo instrument.

12. Paulownia Wood

13. Koto

14. 2. Shamisen – is a plucked stringed instrument. Its construction
follows a model similar to that of a guitar or a banjo, employing a
neck, and strings stretched across a resonating body. The neck of
the shamisen is fretless, and is slimmer than that of a guitar or a
banjo.

15. Shamisen

16. 3. Biwa – is a Japanese short-necked fretted lute, often used in
narrative storytelling. The biwa is the chosen instrument of
Benten, the goddess of music, eloquence, poetry, and education
in Japanese Shinto.

17. Biwa

18. C. Wind Instruments (Aerophone)
1. Shakuhachi – the most famous flute made from bamboo.
It has four or five finger holes on the front face and a
thumbhole on the rear face.

19. Shakuhachi

20. 2. Nokan – a parallel, bamboo flute (fue) is the only melodic
instrument used in noh. The melody of the flute has no
specific pitch relationship with the melody of the chanting.

21. Nokan

22. 3. Hichiriki – is a double reed Japanese flute (fue) used as
one of two main melodic instruments in Japanese gagaku
music, the other being the ryuteki.

23. Hichiriki

24. 4. Sho – is a Japanese free reed musical instrument that
was introduced from China during the Nara period.

25. Sho

26. 5. Shinobue – is also called takebue in the context of
Japanese traditional arts. It is a Japanese transverse flute or
fue that has a high-pitched sound.

27. Shinobue

28. 6. Ryuteki – literally “dragon flute” is a Japanese transverse
fue made of bamboo. It is used in gagaku.

29. Ryuteki

30. Assessment