Biwa Hoshi

The is a Japanese short-necked wooden lute traditionally used in narrative storytelling. The is a plucked string instrument that first gained popularity in China before spreading throughout East Asia, eventually reaching Japan sometime during the Nara period (710–794). Typically to in length, the instrument is constructed of a water drop-shaped body with a short neck, typically with four (though sometimes five) strings. In Japan, the is generally played with a instead of the fingers, and is often used to play . One of the 's most famous uses is for reciting ''The Tale of the'' , a war chronicle from the Kamakura period (1185–1333). In previous centuries, the predominant musicians would have been , who used the as musical accompaniment when reading scriptural texts.

The 's Chinese predecessor was the (), which arrived in Japan in two forms; following its introduction to Japan, varieties of the quadrupled. Guilds supporting players, particularly the , helped proliferate musical development for hundreds of years. performances overlapped with performances by other players many years before , and continues to this day. This overlap resulted in a rapid evolution of the and its usage and made it one of the most popular instruments in Japan.

In spite of its popularity, the Ōnin War and subsequent Warring States Period disrupted teaching and decreased the number of proficient users. With the abolition of in the Meiji period, players lost their patronage.

By the late 1940s, the , a thoroughly Japanese tradition, was nearly completely abandoned for Western instruments; however, thanks to collaborative efforts by Japanese musicians, interest in the is being revived. Japanese and foreign musicians alike have begun embracing traditional Japanese instruments, particularly the , in their compositions. While blind singers no longer dominate the , many performers continue to use the instrument in traditional and modern ways.

History

The arrived in Japan in the 7th century, having evolved from the Chinese bent-neck (), while the itself was derived from similar instruments in West Asia. This type of , known as the , was later used in ensembles and became the most commonly known type. However, another variant of the – known as the or the – also found its way to Japan, first appearing in the Kyushu region. Though its origins are unclear, this thinner variant of the was used in ceremonies and religious rites.

The became known as an instrument commonly played at the Japanese Imperial court, where players, known as , found employment and patronage. However, following the collapse of the Ritsuryō state, employed at the court were faced with the court's reconstruction and sought asylum in Buddhist temples. There, they assumed the role of Buddhist monks and encountered the . Seeing its relative convenience and portability, the monks combined these features with their large and heavy to create the , which, as indicated by its namesake, was used primarily for recitations of ''The Tale of the'' .

Through the next several centuries, players of both traditions intersected frequently and developed new music styles and new instruments. By the Kamakura period (1185–1333), the had emerged as a more popular instrument, a cross between both the and , retaining the rounded shape of the and played with a large plectrum like the . The , smaller than the , was used for similar purposes.

While the modern and both originated from the , the was used for moral and mental training by samurai of the Satsuma Domain during the Warring States period, and later for general performances. The was used by Buddhist monks visiting private residences to perform memorial services, not only for Buddhist rites, but also to accompany the telling of stories and news.

Though formerly popular, little was written about the performance and practice of the from roughly the 16th century to the mid-19th century. What is known is that three main streams of practice emerged during this time: (the lowest level of the state-controlled guild of blind players), (samurai style), and (urban style). These styles emphasized – vocalisation with accompaniment – and formed the foundation for styles of playing, such as and .

From these styles also emerged the two principal survivors of the tradition: and . From roughly the Meiji period (1868–1912) until the Pacific War, the and were popular across Japan, and, at the beginning of the Shōwa period (1925–1989), the was created and gained popularity. Of the remaining post-war traditions, only remains a style almost solely performed by blind persons. The is closely related to the and, similarly, relies on an oral narrative tradition focusing on wars and legends.

By the middle of the Meiji period, improvements had been made to the instruments and easily understandable songs were composed in quantity. In the beginning of the Taishō period (1912–1926), the was modified into the , which became popular among female players at the time. With this, the entered a period of popularity, with songs reflecting not just ''The Tale of the'' , but also the Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War, with songs such as , and ''203 Hill'' gaining popularity.

However, the playing of the nearly became extinct during the Meiji period following the introduction of Western music and instruments, until players such as Tsuruta Kinshi and others revitalized the genre with modern playing styles and collaborations with Western composers.

Types

There are more than seven types of , characterised by number of strings, sounds it could produce, the type of plectrum, and their use. As the does not play in tempered tuning, pitches are approximated to the nearest note.

Classic

The , a large and heavy with four strings and four frets, is used exclusively for . It produces distinctive and . Its plectrum is small and thin, often rounded, and made from a hard material such as boxwood or ivory. It is not used to accompany singing. Like the , it is played held on its side, similar to a guitar, with the player sitting cross-legged. In , it is known as the .

The , a Tang variant of , can be seen in paintings of court orchestras and was used in the context of ; however, it was removed with the reforms and standardization made to the court orchestra during the late 10th century. It is assumed that the performance traditions died out by the 10th or 11th century (William P. Malm). This instrument also disappeared in the Chinese court orchestras. Recently, this instrument, much like the harp, has been revived for historically informed performances and historical reconstructions. Not to be confused with the five-stringed variants of modern , such as .

The , a with four strings, is used to play Buddhist mantras and songs. It is similar in shape to the , but with a much more narrow body. Its plectrum varies in both size and materials. The four fret type is tuned to E, B, E and A, and the five fret type is tuned to B, e, f and f. The six fret type is tuned to B, E, B and b.

Middle and Edo

The , a with four strings and five frets, is used to play ''The Tale of the'' . Its plectrum is slightly larger than that of the , but the instrument itself is much smaller, comparable to a in size. It was originally used by traveling minstrels, and its small size lent it to indoor play and improved portability. Its tuning is A, c, e, a or A, c-sharp, e, a.

The , a with four strings and four frets, was popularized during the Edo period in Satsuma Province (present-day Kagoshima) by Shimazu Tadayoshi. Modern used for contemporary compositions often have five or more frets, and some have a doubled fourth string. The frets of the are raised from the neck allowing notes to be bent several steps higher, each one producing the instrument's characteristic , or buzzing drone. Its boxwood plectrum is much wider than others, often reaching widths of or more. Its size and construction influences the sound of the instrument as the curved body is often struck percussively with the plectrum during play.

The is traditionally made from Japanese mulberry, although other hard woods such as Japanese zelkova are sometimes used in its construction. Due to the slow growth of the Japanese mulberry, the wood must be taken from a tree at least 120 years old and dried for 10 years before construction can begin.

The strings are made of wound silk. Its tuning is A, E, A, B, for traditional , G, G, c, g, or G, G, d, g for contemporary compositions, among other tunings, but these are only examples as the instrument is tuned to match the key of the player's voice. The first and second strings are generally tuned to the same note, with the 4th (or doubled 4th) string is tuned one octave higher.

The most eminent 20th century performer was Tsuruta Kinshi, who developed her own version of the instrument, which she called the . This often has five strings (although it is essentially a 4-string instrument as the 5th string is a doubled 4th that are always played together) and five or more frets, and the construction of the tuning head and frets vary slightly. Ueda Junko and Tanaka Yukio, two of Tsuruta's students, continue the tradition of the modern . Carlo Forlivesi's compositions ''Boethius'' () and () were both written for performance on the designed by Tsuruta and Tanaka.

These works present a radical departure from the compositional languages usually employed for such an instrument. Also, thanks to the possibility of relying on a level of virtuosity never before attempted in this specific repertory, the composer has sought the renewal of the acoustic and aesthetic profile of the , bringing out the huge potential in the sound material: attacks and resonance, tempo (conceived not only in the chronometrical but also deliberately empathetical sense), chords, balance and dialogue (with the occasional use of two s in ), dynamics and colour.

Modern

The , a with four strings and four frets or five strings and five frets, was popularised in the Meiji period by Tachibana Satosada. Most contemporary performers use the five string version. Its plectrum is much smaller than that of the , usually about in width, although its size, shape, and weight depends on the sex of the player. The plectrum is usually made from rosewood with boxwood or ivory tips for plucking the strings. The instrument itself also varies in size, depending on the player. Male players typically play that are slightly wider and/or longer than those used by women or children. The body of the instrument is never struck with the plectrum during play, and the five string instrument is played upright, while the four string is played held on its side. The instrument is tuned to match the key of the singer. An example tuning of the four string version is B, e, f and b, and the five string instrument can be tuned to C, G, C, d and g. For the five string version, the first and third strings are tuned the same note, the second string three steps down, the fifth string an octave higher than the second string, and the fourth string a step down from the fifth. So the previously mentioned tuning can be tuned down to B, F, B, c, d. Asahikai and Tachibanakai are the two major schools of . Popularly used by female players such as Uehara Mari.

The , a modern with five strings and five frets, was popularised by the 20th-century player and composer . Its plectrum is the same as that used for the . Its tuning is C, G, c, g, g.

Types of Biwa, Japanese traditional instrument.jpg, and their plectra

Styles of music

The , considered one of Japan's principal traditional instruments, has both influenced and been influenced by other traditional instruments and compositions throughout its long history; as such, a number of different musical styles played with the exist.

* : In , musical instruments usually serve as accompaniments to vocal performances, which dominate the musical style, with the overwhelming majority of compositions being vocal.
* : was usually patronized by the imperial court or the shrines and temples. ensembles were composed of string, wind, and percussion instruments, where string and wind instruments were more respected and percussion instruments were considered lesser instruments. Among the string instruments, the seems to have been the most important instrument in orchestral performances.
* : While was not used in , the style of singing is closely tied to , especially and style singing. Both and are rooted in Buddhist rituals and traditions. Before arriving in Japan, was used in Indian Buddhism. The was also rooted in Indian Buddhism, and the , as a predecessor to the , was the principal instrument of the , who were blind Buddhist priests.

construction and tuning

Generally speaking, have four strings, though modern and may have five strings. The strings on a range in thickness, with the first string being thickest and the fourth string being thinnest; on , the second string is the thickest, with the fourth and fifth strings being the same thickness on and . The varying string thickness creates different timbres when stroked from different directions.

In , tuning is not fixed. General tones and pitches can fluctuate up or down entire steps or microtones. When singing in a chorus, singers often stagger their entry and often sing through non-synchronized, heterophony accompaniment. In solo performances, a performer sings monophonically, with melismatic emphasis throughout the performance. These monophonic do not follow a set harmony. Instead, singers tend to sing with a flexible pitch without distinguishing soprano, alto, tenor, or bass roles. This singing style is complemented by the , which players use to produce short glissandi throughout the performance. The style of singing accompanying tends to be nasal, particularly when singing vowels, the consonant , and syllables beginning with "g", such as and . performers also vary the volume of their voice between barely audible to very loud. Since pieces were generally performed for small groups, singers did not need to project their voices as opera singers did in Western music tradition.

music is based on a pentatonic scale (sometimes referred to as a five-tone or five-note scale), meaning that each octave contains five notes. This scale sometimes includes supplementary notes, but the core remains pentatonic. The rhythm in performances allows for a broad flexibility of pulse. Songs are not always metered, although more modern collaborations are metered. Notes played on the usually begin slow and thin and progress through gradual accelerations, increasing and decreasing tempo throughout the performance. The texture of singing is often described as "sparse".

The plectrum also contributes to the texture of music. Different sized plectrums produced different textures; for example, the plectrum used on a was much larger than that used on a , producing a harsher, more vigorous sound. The plectrum is also critical to creating the sound, which is particularly utilized with . What the plectrum is made of also changes the texture, with ivory and plastic plectrums creating a more resilient texture to the wooden plectrum's twangy hum.

Use in modern music

usage in Japan has declined greatly since the Heian period. Outside influence, internal pressures, and socio-political turmoil redefined patronage and the image of the ; for example, the Ōnin War of the Muromachi period (1338–1573) and the subsequent Warring States period (15th–17th centuries) disrupted the cycle of tutelage for performers. As a result, younger musicians turned to other instruments and interest in music decreased. Even the transitioned to other instruments such as the (a three-stringed lute).

Interest in the was revived during the Edo period (1600–1868), when Tokugawa Ieyasu unified Japan and established the Tokugawa shogunate. Ieyasu favored music and became a major patron, helping to strengthen guilds (called ) by financing them and allowing them special privileges. players and other musicians found it financially beneficial to switch to the , bringing new styles of music with them. The Edo period proved to be one of the most prolific and artistically creative periods for the in its long history in Japan.

In 1868, the Tokugawa shogunate collapsed, giving way to the Meiji period and the Meiji Restoration, during which the samurai class was abolished, and the lost their patronage. players no longer enjoyed special privileges and were forced to support themselves. At the beginning of the Meiji period, it was estimated that there were at least one hundred traditional court musicians in Tokyo; however, by the 1930s, this number had reduced to just 46 in Tokyo, and a quarter of these musicians later died in World War II. Life in post-war Japan was difficult, and many musicians abandoned their music in favor of more sustainable livelihoods.

While many styles of flourished in the early 1900s (such as between 1900 and the 1930s), the cycle of tutelage was broken yet again by the war. In the present day, there are no direct means of studying the in many traditions. Even players, who were quite popular in the early 20th century, may no longer have a direct means of studying oral composition, as the bearers of the tradition have either died or are no longer able to play. still retains a significant number of professional and amateur practitioners, but the , , and styles have all but died out.

As music declined in post-Pacific War Japan, many Japanese composers and musicians found ways to revitalize interest in it. They recognized that studies in music theory and music composition in Japan almost entirely consisted in Western theory and instruction. Beginning in the late 1960s, these musicians and composers began to incorporate Japanese music and Japanese instruments into their compositions; for example, one composer, Tōru Takemitsu, collaborated with Western composers and compositions to include the distinctly Asian . His well-received compositions, such as November Steps, which incorporated with Western orchestral performance, revitalized interest in the and sparked a series of collaborative efforts by other musician in genres ranging from J-Pop and to and .

Other musicians, such as Yamashika Yoshiyuki, considered by most ethnomusicologists to be the last of the , preserved scores of songs that were almost lost forever. Yamashika, born in the late Meiji period, continued the tradition until his death in 1996. Beginning in the late 1960s to the late 1980s, composers and historians from all over the world visited Yamashika and recorded many of his songs; before this time, the tradition had been a completely oral tradition. When Yamashika died in 1996, the era of the tutelage died with him, but the music and genius of that era continues thanks to his recordings.Sanger

Recordings

* ''Silenziosa Luna – '' / ALM Records ALCD-76 (2008).

Notes

References

See also

* History and evolution of the lute
* Lake Biwa
*
*

External links

Introduction to the Hei-kyoku

Picture of Biwa school about 1900

{{Authority control

Japanese musical instruments
Necked bowl lutes
Sacred musical instruments
Japanese words and phrases