Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspect ...

includes a wide array of distinct genres, both traditional and modern. The word for "music" in

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

is 音楽 (''ongaku''), combining the

kanji are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese ...

音 ''on'' (sound) with the kanji 楽 ''gaku'' (music, comfort).

is the world's largest market for music on physical media and the second-largest overall music market, with a retail value of US$2.7 billion in 2017.

Traditional and folk music

Gagaku, hougaku

The oldest forms of traditional Japanese music are: * , or

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

chanting * , or orchestral court music both of which date to the

Nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It i ...

(710–794) and Heian (794–1185) periods. Gagaku classical music has been performed at the Imperial court since the

Heian period The is the last division of classical Japanese history, running from 794 to 1185. It followed the Nara period, beginning when the 50th emperor, Emperor Kanmu, moved the capital of Japan to Heian-kyō (modern Kyoto). means "peace" in Japanese. ...

. Kagura-uta (神楽歌), Azuma-asobi (東遊) and Yamato-uta (大和歌) are indigenous repertories.

Tōgaku is the Japanese pronunciation of an early style of music and dance from the Tang Dynasty in China. was introduced into Japanese culture from China no earlier than the 8th century, and is still performed as one style of the imperial court music ...

(唐楽) and

komagaku ''Komagaku'' ( 高麗楽) is a form of Gagaku (traditional Japanese court music) form arranged in the Heian period mainly based on Koguryeo music and sankangaku (the music of the Three Kingdoms of Korea and is often played as a dance accompaniment ...

emerged during the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

(618–907) via the

Korean Peninsula Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

. In addition, gagaku splits into

kangen was a after ''Ninji'' and before '' Hoji.'' This period spanned the years from February 1243 to February 1247. The reigning emperor was . Change of era * ; 1243: The new era name was created to mark an event or a number of events. The previou ...

(管弦) (instrumental music) and

bugaku is a Japanese traditional dance that has been performed to select elites, mostly in the Japanese imperial court, for over twelve hundred years. In this way, it has been known only to the nobility, although after World War II, the dance was ope ...

(舞楽) (dance accompanied by gagaku).

Samurai were the hereditary military nobility and officer caste of medieval and early-modern Japan from the late 12th century until their abolition in 1876. They were the well-paid retainers of the '' daimyo'' (the great feudal landholders). They h ...

listened to and performed these music activities, in their practices of enriching their lives and understanding.

Biwa hōshi, Heike biwa and goze

The biwa (琵琶 - Chinese: pipa), a form of short-necked

lute A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted. More specifically, the term "lute" can ref ...

, was played by a group of itinerant performers (

biwa hōshi , also known as "lute priests", were travelling performers in the era of Japanese history preceding the Meiji period. They earned their income by reciting vocal literature to the accompaniment of music. were mostly blind, and adopted the shaved ...

). The root of Biwa music was

The Tale of the Heike is an epic poetry, epic account compiled prior to 1330 of the struggle between the Taira clan and Minamoto clan for control of Japan at the end of the 12th century in the Genpei War (1180–1185). Heike () refers to the Taira (), ''hei'' being ...

''. Biwa hōshi'' organized into a guild-like association. The biwa is Japan's traditional instrument.' Lafcadio Hearn related in his book '' Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things'' (1903) "Mimi-nashi Hoichi" (Hoichi the Earless), a Japanese ghost story about a blind biwa hōshi who performs "The Tale of the Heike". Blind women, known as

goze is a Japanese historic term referring to visually-impaired Japanese women, most of whom worked as musicians. Etymology The ideographs for mean "blind" and "woman." The kanji are so because the individual ideograph for already existed. is m ...

(瞽女), toured beginning in the medieval era, sang and played accompanying music on a lap drum. From the seventeenth century they often played the

koto Koto may refer to: * Koto (band), an Italian synth pop group * Koto (instrument), a Japanese musical instrument * Koto (kana), a ligature of two Japanese katakana * Koto (traditional clothing), a traditional dress made by Afro-Surinamese women * K ...

or the shamisen. Goze organizations sprung up in many places, and existed until the 21st century in

Niigata Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture in the Chūbu region of Honshu of Japan. Niigata Prefecture has a population of 2,227,496 (1 July 2019) and is the List of Japanese prefectures by area, fifth-largest prefecture of Japan by geographic area ...

Wadaiko

Wadaiko are a broad range of Japanese percussion instruments. In Japanese, the term refers to any kind of drum, but outside Japan, it is used specifically to refer to any of the various Japanese drums called and to the form of ensemble drumming m ...

, a Japanese drum, comes in various sizes and is used in 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. Such taiko music is played by large drum ensembles called ''kumi-daiko''. Its origins remain uncertain, but can be traced to the 7th century, when a clay figure of a drummer documented its existence.

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

influences followed, but the instrument and its music remained uniquely Japanese. Taiko drums during this period were used during battle to intimidate the enemy and to communicate commands. Taiko continue to be used in the religious music of

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...

and

Shintō Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintoist ...

. In the past players were holy men who played only at special occasions and in small groups, but in time secular men (rarely women) also played the taiko in semi-religious festivals such as the

bon dance or just is fusion of the ancient Japanese belief in ancestral spirits and a Japanese Buddhist custom to honor the spirits of one's ancestors. This Buddhist–Confucian custom has evolved into a family reunion holiday during which people retu ...

. Modern ensemble taiko was invented by Daihachi Oguchi in 1951. A

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

drummer, Oguchi incorporated his musical background into large ensembles of his design. His energetic style made his group popular throughout Japan, and made the Hokuriku region a center for taiko music. Musical groups to arise from this wave of popularity included Oedo Sukeroku Taiko, founded by

Seido Kobayashi es, label=none, italics=none, Subprocuraduría Especializada en Investigación de Delincuencia Organizada, lit=Assistant Attorney General's Office for Special Investigations on Organized Crime(SEIDO), is the organized crime division of Mexico's O ...

. 1969 saw a group called Za Ondekoza; Za Ondekoza gathered young performers who innovated a new

roots revival A roots revival (folk revival) is a trend which includes young performers popularizing the traditional musical styles of their ancestors. Often, roots revivals include an addition of newly composed songs with socially and politically aware ly ...

taiko, which was used as a way of life in communal

lifestyle Lifestyle often refers to: * Lifestyle (sociology), the way a person lives * ''Otium'', ancient Roman concept of a lifestyle * Style of life (german: Lebensstil, link=no), dealing with the dynamics of personality Lifestyle may also refer to: Bu ...

s. During the 1970s the Japanese government allocated funds to preserve Japanese culture, and many community taiko groups formed. Later in the century, taiko groups spread across the world, especially to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. The

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

Taiko no Tatsujin , lead=yes, group=lower-alpha (Japanese: 太鼓の達人, Taiko no Tatsujin, lit. "Master of the drums") is a series of games created by Namco. In the games, players simulate playing a taiko drum in time with music. The series has released games ...

'' is based around taiko.

Min'yō folk music

Japanese folk songs (''min'yō'') can be grouped and classified in many ways but it is often convenient to think of four main categories: * fisherman's

work song A work song is a piece of music closely connected to a form of work, either sung while conducting a task (usually to coordinate timing) or a song linked to a task which might be a connected narrative, description, or protest song. Definitions and ...

, farmer's work song * lullaby * religious songs (such as

sato kagura Sato kagura(里神楽), or ''village kagura'', is a popular form of kagura that presents ritualized dance-dramas reenacting mythological themes, including the primal restoration of sunlight to the world. It is often heard during festivals, when mu ...

, a form of Shintoist music) * songs used for gatherings such as weddings, funerals, and festivals (

matsuri Japanese festivals are traditional festive occasions often celebrated with dance and music in Japan. Many festivals have their roots in traditional Chinese festivals, but have undergone extensive changes over time to have little resemblance ...

, especially

Obon or just is fusion of the ancient Japanese belief in ancestral spirits and a Japanese Buddhist custom to honor the spirits of one's ancestors. This Buddhist– Confucian custom has evolved into a family reunion holiday during which people ret ...

) * children's songs (

warabe uta are traditional Japanese songs, similar to nursery rhymes. They are often sung as part of traditional children's games. They are described as a form of min'yo: traditional Japanese songs, usually sung without accompanying instruments. The cen ...

) In

min'yō , ''Nihon min'yō'', Japanese ''min'yō'' or Japanese folk music is a genre of traditional Japanese music. Characteristics Styles Many ''min'yō'' are connected to forms of work or to specific trades and were originally sung between work ...

, three-stringed

known as the shamisen,

taiko are a broad range of Japanese percussion instruments. In Japanese, the term refers to any kind of drum, but outside Japan, it is used specifically to refer to any of the various Japanese drums called and to the form of ensemble drumming m ...

drums, and a bamboo flute called shakuhachi typically accompany the singers. Other instruments that could accompany include a transverse

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

known as the

shinobue The ''shinobue'' (kanji: 篠笛; also called ''takebue'' (kanji: 竹笛) in the context of Japanese traditional arts) is a Japanese transverse flute or fue that has a high-pitched sound. It is found in hayashi and nagauta ensembles, and plays ...

, a bell known as kane, a hand drum called the

tsuzumi The or ''tsuzumi'' is a hand drum of Japanese origin. It consists of a wooden body shaped like an hourglass, and it is taut, with two drum heads with cords that can be squeezed or released to increase or decrease the tension of the heads resp ...

, and/or a 13-stringed zither known as the

. In

Okinawa is a prefecture of Japan. Okinawa Prefecture is the southernmost and westernmost prefecture of Japan, has a population of 1,457,162 (as of 2 February 2020) and a geographic area of 2,281 km2 (880 sq mi). Naha is the capital and largest city ...

the main instrument is the

sanshin The is an Okinawan and Amami Islands musical instrument and precursor of the mainland Japanese (). Often likened to a banjo, it consists of a snakeskin-covered body, neck and three strings. Origins Its close resemblance in both appearance a ...

. These are traditional Japanese instruments, but modern instrumentation, such as

electric guitars An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gui ...

and

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

s, is also used in this day and age, when

enka is a Japanese music genre considered to resemble traditional Japanese music stylistically. Modern ''enka'', however, is a relatively recent musical form, which adopts a more traditional musical style in its vocalism than '' ryūkōka'' music, ...

singers cover traditional

songs (

being a Japanese music genre all its own). An ondo generally describes any folk song with a distinctive swing that may be heard as 2/4 time

rhythm Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular recu ...

(though performers usually do not group beats). The typical folk song heard at

festival dances is typically an ondo. A bushi ("melody" or "rhythm") is a song with a distinctive melody. The word is rarely used on its own, but is usually prefixed by a term referring to occupation, location, personal name or the like. Bon uta are songs for

, the lantern festival of the dead.

Komori uta is a Japanese press manufacturer that manufactures web offset presses, security printing presses, sheet-fed offset presses, package printing presses and printing related equipment. It is one of the last privately-owned press producers. Komo ...

are

lullabies A lullaby (), or cradle song, is a soothing song or piece of music that is usually played for (or sung to) children (for adults see music and sleep). The purposes of lullabies vary. In some societies they are used to pass down cultural knowledg ...

. The names of min'yo songs often include a descriptive term, usually at the end. For example: Tokyo Ondo, Kushimoto Bushi, Hokkai Bon Uta, and Itsuki no Komoriuta. Many of these songs include extra stress on certain syllables as well as pitched shouts (

kakegoe ''Kakegoe'' () usually refers to shouts and calls used in performances of traditional Japanese music, Kabuki theatre, and in martial arts such as kendo. Kabuki In the kabuki theatre, the term is used to refer to melodramatic calls from an audien ...

). Kakegoe are generally shouts of cheer but in

, they are often included as parts of choruses. There are many

, though they vary from region to region. In Okinawa Min'yō, for example, the common "ha iya sasa!" appears. In mainland Japan, however, "a yoisho!," "sate!," or "a sore!" are more common. Others include "a donto koi!," and "dokoisho!" Recently a

guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...

-based system known as the

iemoto is a Japanese term used to refer to the founder or current Grand Master of a certain school of traditional Japanese art. It is used synonymously with the term when it refers to the family or house that the iemoto is head of and represents. Th ...

system has been applied to some forms of min'yō. This system originally developed for transmitting classical genres such as

nagauta is a kind of traditional Japanese music played on the and used in kabuki theater, primarily to accompany dance and to provide reflective interludes. History It is uncertain when the was first integrated into kabuki, but it was sometime du ...

, shakuhachi, or koto music, but since it proved profitable to teachers and was supported by students who wished to obtain certificates of proficiency. It continues to spread to genres such as min'yō,

Tsugaru-jamisen or refers to both the Japanese genre of music originating from Tsugaru Peninsula in present-day Aomori Prefecture and the instrument it is performed with. It is performed throughout Japan, though associations with the Tsugaru remain strong ...

and other forms of music that were traditionally transmitted more informally. Today some min'yō are passed on in such pseudo-family organizations and long

apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...

ships are common.

Okinawan folk music

Umui, religious songs, shima uta, dance songs, and, especially

kachāshī , sometimes romanized as katcharsee, is a form of festive Okinawan folk dance. In Okinawa, it is often a feature of celebrations such as weddings and victory festivities after tegumi wrestling matches and public elections. It is traditionally ...

, lively celebratory music, were all popular on the island. Okinawan folk music differs from mainland Japanese folk music in several ways. Okinawan folk music is often accompanied by the

, whereas in mainland Japan the shamisen accompanies instead. Other Okinawan instruments include the

sanba is a percussion musical instrument from the Okinawa Islands. The name itself means "three slabs" or "three boards/planks," and it consists of three shards of ebony or other woods that are bound together by twine.castanets Castanets, also known as ''clackers'' or ''palillos'', are a percussion instrument (idiophone), used in Spanish, Kalo, Moorish, Ottoman, Italian, Sephardic, Swiss, and Portuguese music. In ancient Greece and ancient Rome there was a simil ...

and a sharp finger whistle called . A

pentatonic scale A pentatonic scale is a musical scale with five notes per octave, in contrast to the heptatonic scale, which has seven notes per octave (such as the major scale and minor scale). Pentatonic scales were developed independently by many an ...

is often used in

from the main islands of Japan. In this pentatonic scale the

subdominant In music, the subdominant is the fourth tonal degree () of the diatonic scale. It is so called because it is the same distance ''below'' the tonic as the dominant is ''above'' the tonicin other words, the tonic is the dominant of the subdomina ...

and

leading tone In music theory, a leading-tone (also called a subsemitone, and a leading-note in the UK) is a note or pitch which resolves or "leads" to a note one semitone higher or lower, being a lower and upper leading-tone, respectively. Typically, ''the ...

(scale degrees 4 and 7 of the Western

major scale The major scale (or Ionian mode) is one of the most commonly used musical scales, especially in Western music. It is one of the diatonic scales. Like many musical scales, it is made up of seven notes: the eighth duplicates the first at double ...

) are omitted, resulting in a musical scale with no

half step A semitone, also called a half step or a half tone, is the smallest musical interval commonly used in Western tonal music, and it is considered the most dissonant when sounded harmonically. It is defined as the interval between two adjacent no ...

s between each note. (Do, Re, Mi, Sol, La in solfeggio, or scale degrees 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6). Okinawan min'yō, however, uses scales that include the half-steps omitted in the aforementioned pentatonic scale, when analyzed in the Western discipline of music. In fact, the most common scale used in Okinawan min'yō includes scale degrees 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7.

Traditional instruments

* Biwa (琵琶) * Fue (笛) * Hichiriki (篳篥)　 *

Hocchiku The , sometimes romanized as or , is a Japanese aerophone, an end-blown bamboo flute, crafted from root sections of bamboo. The bamboo root is cleaned and sanded, resulting in a surface patterned with many small, circular knots where the root ...

(法竹) * Hyōshigi (拍子木) * Kane (鐘) * Kakko (鞨鼓) *

Kokyū The is a traditional Japanese string instrument, the only one played with a bow. A variant of the instrument also exists in Okinawa, called in Okinawan. The , like the , has its origins in Okinawa. Although it is similar to Chinese , it a ...

(胡弓) *

Koto Koto may refer to: * Koto (band), an Italian synth pop group * Koto (instrument), a Japanese musical instrument * Koto (kana), a ligature of two Japanese katakana * Koto (traditional clothing), a traditional dress made by Afro-Surinamese women * K ...

(琴) *

Niko Niko may refer to: People The given name is sometimes a short form of Nikola, Nikolas, Nikolaos or others. * Nikō (1253–1314), Japanese Buddhist disciple of Nichiren * Niko (musician), American musician active from 2002 * NiKo (born 199 ...

(二胡) * Okawa (AKA

Ōtsuzumi The , also known as the , is an hourglass-shaped Japanese drum. It is a larger version of the tsuzumi, or kotsuzumi and is used in traditional Japanese theater and folk music. Its appearance is slightly different from that of the tsuzumi, and th ...

) (大鼓) *

Ryūteki The is a Japanese transverse '' fue'' made of bamboo. It is used in gagaku, the Shinto classical music associated with Japan's imperial court. The sound of the ''ryūteki'' is said to represent the dragons which ascend the skies between the ...

(竜笛) *

Sanshin The is an Okinawan and Amami Islands musical instrument and precursor of the mainland Japanese (). Often likened to a banjo, it consists of a snakeskin-covered body, neck and three strings. Origins Its close resemblance in both appearance a ...

(三線) * Shakuhachi (bamboo flute) (尺八) * Shamisen (三味線) * Shime-Daiko (締太鼓) *

Shinobue The ''shinobue'' (kanji: 篠笛; also called ''takebue'' (kanji: 竹笛) in the context of Japanese traditional arts) is a Japanese transverse flute or fue that has a high-pitched sound. It is found in hayashi and nagauta ensembles, and plays ...

(篠笛) * Shō (笙) * Suikinkutsu (water zither) (水琴窟) *

Taiko are a broad range of Japanese percussion instruments. In Japanese, the term refers to any kind of drum, but outside Japan, it is used specifically to refer to any of the various Japanese drums called and to the form of ensemble drumming m ...

(i.e.

) 太鼓～和太鼓 *

Tsuzumi The or ''tsuzumi'' is a hand drum of Japanese origin. It consists of a wooden body shaped like an hourglass, and it is taut, with two drum heads with cords that can be squeezed or released to increase or decrease the tension of the heads resp ...

(鼓) (AKA Kotsuzumi)

Arrival of Western music

Japanese blues/Enka

After the

Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...

introduced Western musical instruction, Izawa Shuji (a bureaucrat) compiled songs like " Auld Lang Syne". Two major forms of music that developed during this period were

shōka is a form of ''ikebana''. Written with the same ''kanji'' characters, it is also pronounced and known as ''Shōka''. History The painter Sōami and the art patron and ''shōgun'' Ashikaga Yoshimasa were supporters of the style as early as ...

, which was composed to bring western music to schools, and

gunka is the Japanese term for military music. While in standard use in Japan it applies both to Japanese songs and foreign songs such as "The Battle Hymn of the Republic", as an English language category it refers to songs produced by the Empire of Jap ...

. As Japan moved towards representative

democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose gov ...

in the late 19th century, leaders hired singers to sell copies of songs that aired their messages, since the leaders themselves were usually prohibited from speaking in public. A distinctively Japanese form of

tango Tango is a partner dance and social dance that originated in the 1880s along the Río de la Plata, the natural border between Argentina and Uruguay. The tango was born in the impoverished port areas of these countries as the result of a combina ...

called "dodompa" emerged. Kayōkyoku became associated with traditional Japanese structures influenced by

Enka is a Japanese music genre considered to resemble traditional Japanese music stylistically. Modern ''enka'', however, is a relatively recent musical form, which adopts a more traditional musical style in its vocalism than '' ryūkōka'' music, ...

. Famous enka singers include

Hibari Misora was a Japanese singer, actress and cultural icon. She received a Medal of Honor for her contributions to music and for improving the welfare of the public, and was the first woman to receive the People's Honour Award, which was conferred posth ...

, Saburo Kitajima, Ikuzo Yoshi and Haruo Minami.

Art music

Western classical music

Shuji Isawa (1851–1917) studied music at

Bridgewater Normal School Bridgewater State University is a public university with its main campus in Bridgewater, Massachusetts. It is the largest of nine state universities in Massachusetts. Including its off-campus sites in New Bedford, Attleboro, and Cape Cod, BSU ha ...

and

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

and was an important figure in the development of Western-influenced Japanese music in the Meiji Era (1868-1912). On returning to Japan in 1879, Isawa formed the Ongaku-Torishirabe-Gakari (Music Investigation Agency), a national research center for Western music; it was later renamed the

Tokyo Music School or is the most prestigious art school in Japan. Located in Ueno Park, it also has facilities in Toride, Ibaraki, Yokohama, Kanagawa, and Kitasenju and Adachi, Tokyo. The university has trained renowned artists in the fields of painting, scul ...

(Tôkyô ongaku gakkô). In 1880, Isawa's American friend and teacher,

Luther Whiting Mason Luther Whiting Mason (3 April 1818 – 14 July 1896) was an American music educator who was hired by the Meiji period government of Japan as a foreign advisor to introduce Western classical music into the Japanese educational curriculum. Biogra ...

, accepted a two-year appointment. Kosaku Yamada,

Yoshinao Nakada Nakada Yoshinao (中田喜直, Shibuya, Tokyo, 1 August 1923 – 3 May 2000) was a Japanese composer.Asahi nenkan: Issue 2 Asahi Shinbunsha - 1992 "中田喜直なかた,よしなお 1923 ..." Works, editions and recordings * Japanese Festival ...

, and

Toru Takemitsu TORU or Toru may refer to: * TORU, spacecraft system * Toru (given name), Japanese male given name * Toru, Pakistan, village in Mardan District of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan *Tõru Tõru is a village in Saaremaa Parish, Saare County in western ...

are Japanese composers who have successively developed what is now known as Japanese Classical Music. Western

classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

established a strong presence in Japan, making the country one of the most important markets for this music tradition.

composed avant-garde music, contemporary classical music, and movie scoring.

= Orchestras

= *

Hiroshima Symphony Orchestra The is an orchestra based in Hiroshima, Japan, founded in 1963. It is the only professional orchestra in Japan's Chūgoku region. Music Directors *Akeo Watanabe (1984–86) * Ken Takaseki (1986–90) *Yoshikazu Tanaka (1990–94) * ...

Hyogo Performing Arts Center Orchestra The is a professional orchestra in the city of Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. Founded concurrently with the Hyogo Performing Arts Center in 2005, the Hyogo Performing Arts Center Orchestra (HPAC Orchestra) is under the leadership of Yu ...

Japan Philharmonic Orchestra The (JPO) is a Japanese symphony orchestra based in Tokyo, with administrative offices in Suginami. History The orchestra was established on June 22, 1956, as the exclusive subsidiary orchestra under the Nippon Cultural Broadcasting. Akeo Watan ...

Kanagawa Philharmonic Orchestra The is a symphony orchestra based in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Founded in 1970. Music directors *Hanns-Martin Schneidt (2007–2009) *Yuzo Toyama (1992–1996) *Kazuo Yamada was a Japanese conductor and composer. Birthday Bo ...

Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra The is a symphony orchestra based in Nagoya, Japan, founded in 1966. The orchestra gives concerts primarily at the Aichi Prefectural Arts Theater Concert Hall and the Chukyo University Center for Culture & Arts Aurora Hall. The orchestra gave ...

New Japan Philharmonic The is a symphony orchestra based in Tokyo, Japan. It was founded in 1972 with Seiji Ozawa as honorary conductor laureate. The Philharmonic's primary concert venue is the Sumida Triphony Hall. From 2003 to 2013 its music director was Chr ...

* NHK Symphony Orchestra *

Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa The is a professional chamber orchestra, founded in 1988, based in Kanazawa, Ishikawa, Japan, and is a full member of the Association of Japanese Symphony Orchestras. The Orchestra's home is Ishikawa Ongakudō (Ishikawa Music Hall). Since 2007, ...

Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra The is a Japanese symphony orchestra based in Osaka, Japan. Founded in 1947 as the Kansai Symphony Orchestra, the orchestra took the name of the Osaka Philharmonic Orchestra in 1960, and in 2014, formally assumed the official name of the Osaka P ...

Osaka Shion Wind Orchestra The , former (OMSB), Osaka City Wind Orchestra, also known as Shion (市音, シオン) is a professional concert band based in Osaka, Japan. OMSB was established in 1923, which is the longest running wind orchestra in Japan. OMSB was under the ...

Sapporo Symphony Orchestra The Sapporo Symphony Orchestra (札幌交響楽団 ''Sapporo Kokyo Gakudan'') is a Japanese orchestra based in Sapporo, Japan. Colloquially known as "Sakkyo", this is the only professional orchestra in Hokkaido. The orchestra gives its concerts a ...

Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra The is a professional concert band based in Tokyo, Japan. TKWO has been called Japan's premiere wind ensemble', one of the most influential Japanese wind bands,' and one of the world's leading professional civilian wind bands.' History ...

Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra The , also known as Tokyō (都響), is one of the representative symphony orchestras of Japan. The Orchestra was founded in 1965 by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, to commemorate the Tokyo Olympics (1964 Summer Olympics). Currently Kazushi ...

Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra The is recognized as the oldest symphony orchestra in Japan. It was founded in 1911 and debuted at the original Matsuzakaya store in Nagoya as the . It relocated to Tokyo in 1938. As of 2005, it has 166 members. The orchestra plays frequently ...

Tokyo Symphony Orchestra The or TSO, was established in 1946 as the Toho Symphony Orchestra (東宝交響楽団). It assumed its present name in 1951. Based in Kawasaki, the TSO performs in numerous concert halls and serves as pit orchestra for some productions at Ne ...

Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra The is a Japanese symphony orchestra administratively based in Tokyo. The orchestra primarily performs concerts in Tokyo at the Suntory Hall, but also gives concerts at the Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall. The orchestra also performs in Yokohama a ...

Besides traditional symphony orchestras, Japan is internationally prominent in the field of

wind bands A concert band, also called a wind band, wind ensemble, wind symphony, wind orchestra, symphonic band, the symphonic winds, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of members of the woodwind, brass, and percussion famil ...

. The

All-Japan Band Association The All Japan Band Association (AJBA) (全日本吹奏楽連盟/Zennihon Suisōgaku Renmei) is an organization that exists solely for the purpose of facilitating annual music competition among Japanese wind bands. This competition has largely promot ...

is the governing body for wind band competitions in the country.

Jazz

From the 1930s on (except during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, when it was repressed as music of the enemy) jazz maintained a strong presence in Japan. The country is an important market for the music, and it is common that recordings unavailable in the

or Europe are available there. A number of Japanese jazz musicians, such as June (born in Japan) and Sadao Watanabe have a large fan base outside their native country.

Popular music

J-pop

J-pop, an abbreviation for

ese pop is a loosely defined musical genre that entered the musical mainstream of Japan in the 1990s. J-pop has its roots in 1960s pop and

rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as " rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States an ...

, such as

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

, which 70s rock bands fused rock with Japanese music. J-pop was further defined by Japanese new wave bands such as

Southern All Stars , also known by the abbreviations and SAS, are a Japanese rock band that first formed in 1974. The band is composed of Keisuke Kuwata (lead vocals and guitars), Yuko Hara (vocals and keyboards), Kazuyuki Sekiguchi (bass), Hiroshi Matsuda (dr ...

in the late 1970s. Eventually, J-pop replaced ''

kayōkyoku is a Japanese pop music genre, which became a base of modern J-pop. ''The Japan Times'' described ''kayōkyoku'' as "standard Japanese pop" or " Shōwa-era pop". ''Kayōkyoku'' represents a blend of Western and Japanese musical scales. Music i ...

'' ("Lyric Singing Music", a term for Japanese pop music from the 1920s to the 1980s) in the Japanese music scene. The term was coined by the Japanese media to distinguish Japanese music from foreign music.

Idol music

Japanese idol An is a type of entertainer marketed for image, attractiveness, and personality in Japanese pop culture. Idols are primarily singers with training in acting, dancing, and modeling. Idols are commercialized through merchandise and endorsements b ...

musical artists are a significant part of the market, with

girl group A girl group is a music act featuring several female singers who generally harmonize together. The term "girl group" is also used in a narrower sense in the United States to denote the wave of American female pop music singing groups, many of who ...

s and

boy band A boy band is loosely defined as a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation. Generally, boy bands perform Love song, love songs marketed towards girls and young ...

s regularly topping the singles chart. These include boy band

Arashi is a Japanese boy band consisting of five members formed under the Johnny & Associates talent agency. The members are Satoshi Ohno, Sho Sakurai, Masaki Aiba, Kazunari Ninomiya, and Jun Matsumoto. Arashi officially formed on September 15, ...

, which had the best-selling singles of 2008 and 2009, and girl group

AKB48 AKB48 (pronounced ''A.K.B. Forty-Eight'') is a Japanese idol girl group named after the Akihabara (''Akiba'' for short) area in Tokyo, where the group's theater is located. AKB48's producer, Yasushi Akimoto, wanted to form a girl group with ...

, which have had the best-selling singles each year since 2010. Since the end of the 2010s, more and more idol groups have emerged. Their success is sometimes termed "Idol sengoku jidai" (アイドル戦国時代; lit. Idol war age). In 2014, about 486,000 people attended

Momoiro Clover Z is a Japanese idol girl group, commonly abbreviated as MCZ or . The four members of MCZ are known for energetic performances, incorporating elements of ballet, gymnastics, and action movies. MCZ is notable for being the first female group to ho ...

's live concerts, which was the highest record for female musicians in Japan for this year.

SMAP SMAP was a Japanese boy band, composed of Masahiro Nakai, Takuya Kimura, Goro Inagaki, Tsuyoshi Kusanagi, and Shingo Katori. The group was created in 1988 by music producer Johnny Kitagawa, founder of Johnny & Associates, originally as a six-pi ...

was a Japanese boy band, recognized. The group was created in 1988. Nogizaka 46 and Keyakizaka 46 were also popular.

Dance and disco music

In 1984, American musician

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

's album '' Thriller'' became the first album by a Western artist to sell over one million copies in Japanese

Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in Nov ...

charts history. His style is cited as one of the models for Japanese

dance music Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement. In terms of performance, the major categories are live dance music and recorded danc ...

, leading the popularity of

Avex Group is a Japanese entertainment conglomerate led by founder Max Matsuura and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1988, the company manages J-pop talents like Ayumi Hamasaki and internet sensation PikoTaro. It has also shifted into other busi ...

musicians and dancers. In 1990, Avex Trax began to release the

Super Eurobeat is a CD compilation series of Eurobeat music in Japan. The series itself is one of the longest-running music compilations. It has been running for over thirty years and the current list consists of 250 volumes (not counting the many "''Super Eur ...

series in Japan.

Eurobeat Eurobeat refers to two styles of dance music that originated in Europe: one is a British variant of Italian Eurodisco-influencedAng, Ien & Morley, David (2005). "Cultural Studies: Volume 3, Issue 2". ''Routledge''. pgs. 171, 173, 170. . "Eurore ...

in Japan led the popularity of group dance form

Para Para is a synchronized dance that originated in Japan. Unlike most club dancing and rave dancing, there are specific synchronized movements for each song much like line dancing. Para Para has existed since the early 1980s when European countries starte ...

. While Avex's artists such as Every Little Thing and

Ayumi Hamasaki is a Japanese singer, songwriter, record producer, actress, model, spokesperson, and entrepreneur. By 2002, Hamasaki had earned the nickname "Empress of J-pop" due to her popularity in Japan and throughout Asia. Due to her success and relevanc ...

became popular in the 1990s, in the late 1990s

Hikaru Utada , who is also known by the mononym Utada, is a Japanese-American pop singer, songwriter and producer. By 2010, Utada had become one of the most influential, and best-selling, musical artists in Japan. Born in the United States to Japanese parent ...

and

Morning Musume , formerly simply and colloquially referred to as , are a Japanese girl group, holding the second highest overall single sales (of a female group) on the Oricon, Oricon charts as of February 2012, with the Oricon record of most top ten singles ...

emerged. Hikaru Utada's debut album, ''

First Love First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

'', became the highest-selling album in Japan selling over 7 million copies, while

became Japan's top selling female and solo artist, and Morning Musume remains one of the most well-known girl groups in the Japanese pop music industry.

Rock

In the 1960s, many Japanese

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

bands were influenced by Western rock, along with

Appalachian folk music Appalachian music is the music of the region of Appalachia in the Eastern United States. Traditional Appalachian music is derived from various influences, including the ballads, hymns and fiddle music of the British Isles (particularly Scotland), ...

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

mod Mod, MOD or mods may refer to: Places * Modesto City–County Airport, Stanislaus County, California, US Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Mods (band), a Norwegian rock band * M.O.D. (Method of Destruction), a band from New York City, US ...

and similar genres: a phenomenon called

Group Sounds , often abbreviated as GS, is a genre of Japanese rock music which became popular in the mid to late 1960s and initiated the fusion of Japanese '' kayōkyoku'' music and Western rock music. Their music production techniques were regarded as playi ...

(G.S.).

John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

became one of the most popular Western musicians in Japan. Late 1960s, Group Sounds bands such as The Tempters, the Tigers, the Golden Cups, the Spiders, the Jaguars, the Ox, the Village Singers, the Carnabeats, the Wild Ones,

the Mops The Mops (Japanese: ザ・モップス) were a Japanese psychedelic rock/ garage rock group active in the late 1960s and early 1970s. History The Mops were formed in 1966 by a group of high schoolers: Mikiharu Suzuki (drums), Taro Miyuki (guit ...

were popular. After the boom of Group Sounds came folk singer-songwriters. the Tigers was the most popular Group Sounds band in the era. Later, some of the members of the Tigers,

the Tempters ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

and the Spiders formed the first Japanese supergroup Pyg. Kenji Sawada and Kenichi Hagiwara started their solo career in the early 1970s along with rock bands such as the Power House, Blues Creation, and late 70s

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

bands like Murasaki, Condition Green, Bow Wow. Carol (led by

Eikichi Yazawa is a Japanese singer-songwriter, and a prominent figure in Japanese popular music. Yoko Yazawa of The Generous is his daughter. He has been nicknamed as Ei-chan (永ちゃん), Boss or The King of Rock. Biography Sources: 1949-1967: Early Lif ...

RC Succession was an influential Japanese rock band from Tokyo, formed in 1968. One of Japan's longest-running bands, it went through many line-up changes over the years with front man Kiyoshiro Imawano and bassist Kazuo Kobayashi the only constant members ...

and Funny Company helped define the rock sound. In the late 70s, Creation and Char performed

Jeff Beck Geoffrey Arnold Beck (born 24 June 1944) is an English rock guitarist. He rose to prominence with the Yardbirds and after fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, he switched to a mainly instrumental style, with a focus ...

-style rock. Beginning in the late sixties, but mostly in the seventies, musicians mixed rock with American-style folk and pop elements, usually labelled folk rock because of their regular use of the

acoustic guitar An acoustic guitar is a musical instrument in the string family. When a string is plucked its vibration is transmitted from the bridge, resonating throughout the top of the guitar. It is also transmitted to the side and back of the instrument, ...

. This includes bands like Tulip, Banban, and

Garo Garo may refer to: People and languages * Garo people, a tribal people in India ** Garo language, the language spoken by the Garo tribe Places * Kingdom of Garo, a former kingdom in southern Ethiopia * Garo, Colorado * Garo Hills, part of the Ga ...

. Rock artists include and early

Japanese musicians began experimenting with

electronic rock Electronic rock is a music genre that involves a combination of rock music and electronic music, featuring instruments typically found within both genres. It originates from the late 1960s, when rock bands began incorporating electronic instrum ...

in the 1970s. The most notable was

Isao Tomita , often known simply as Tomita, was a Japanese composer, regarded as one of the pioneers of electronic music and space music, and as one of the most famous producers of analog synthesizer arrangements. In addition to creating note-by-note realiz ...

, whose 1972 album ''Electric Samurai: Switched on Rock'' featured electronic

renditions of contemporary rock and

pop songs Pop Airplay (also called Mainstream Top 40, Pop Songs, and Top 40/ CHR) is a 40-song music chart published weekly by ''Billboard'' Magazine that ranks the most popular songs of pop music being played on a panel of Top 40 radio stations in the Un ...

. Other early examples of electronic rock records include Inoue Yousui's

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers suc ...

and

pop rock Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, earl ...

album ''Ice World'' (1973) and Osamu Kitajima's progressive

album '' Benzaiten'' (1974), both of which involved contributions from Haruomi Hosono, who later started the electronic music group "Yellow Magic Band" (later known as

Yellow Magic Orchestra Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO for short) is a Japanese electronic music band formed in Tokyo in 1978 by Haruomi Hosono (bass, keyboards, vocals), Yukihiro Takahashi (drums, lead vocals) and Ryuichi Sakamoto (keyboards, vocals). The group is cons ...

) in 1977. In the 1980s, Yutaka Ozaki was popular in young rock fans. Pop rock group such as C-C-B, Tokyo JAP, and Red Wariors gained hit songs.

Boøwy Boøwy ( ; stylized as BOØWY) was a Japanese rock band formed in Takasaki, Gunma in 1981. The classic lineup of vocalist Kyosuke Himuro, guitarist Tomoyasu Hotei, bassist Tsunematsu Matsui, and drummer Makoto Takahashi reached legendary sta ...

inspired

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

bands like

Shonen Knife Shonen Knife is a Japanese pop-punk band formed in Osaka in 1981. Influenced by 1960s girl groups, pop bands, the Beach Boys, and early punk rock bands such as the Ramones, the band crafts stripped-down songs with simple yet unconventional l ...

the Pillows are a Japanese alternative rock band formed in 1989. The group has released 22 studio albums, several EPs and compilations, and over 40 singles. Outside Japan, they are best known as the group responsible for the soundtrack to the '' FLCL'' ani ...

, and Tama & Little Creatures as well as more experimental bands such as Boredoms and mainstream bands such as

Glay Glay (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese rock band, formed in Hakodate, Hokkaido, Japan, in 1988. Glay primarily composes songs in the rock and pop genres, but they have also arranged songs using elements from a wide variety of genres, includ ...

. In 1980, Huruoma and

Ry Cooder Ryland Peter "Ry" Cooder (born March 15, 1947) is an American musician, songwriter, film score composer, record producer, and writer. He is a multi-instrumentalist but is best known for his slide guitar work, his interest in traditional music, an ...

, an American musician, collaborated on a rock album with

Shoukichi Kina , is a Japanese rock musician and politician. He, along with his band Champloose, played a large role in the Okinawan home-grown "folk rock" scene in the 1970s and 1980s. His first big hit was " Haisai Ojisan" ("Hey, old man") in 1972, which he wr ...

, driving force behind the aforementioned Okinawan band Champloose. They were followed by

Sandii & the Sunsetz Sandii & the Sunsetz were a Japanese synthpop band that collaborated from 1979 until the #1990s. The Sunsetz, led by Makoto Kubota, and Sandii started as separate artists, and each have a separate discography. However, their collaboration provid ...

, who further mixed Japanese and Okinawan influences. Also during the 1980s, Japanese metal and rock bands gave birth to the movement known as

visual kei is a movement among Japanese musicians that is characterized by the use of varying levels of make-up, elaborate hair styles and flamboyant costumes, often, but not always, coupled with androgynous aesthetics, similar to Western glam rock. Som ...

, represented during its history by bands like

X Japan was a Japanese rock band from Chiba, formed in 1982 by drummer and pianist Yoshiki and lead vocalist Toshi. Starting as a predominantly power/speed metal band with heavy symphonic elements, they later gravitated towards a progressive soun ...

, Buck-Tick,

Luna Sea Luna Sea (stylized as LUNA SEA) is a Japanese Rock music, rock band formed in Kanagawa Prefecture in 1986. Due to the use of make-up and costumes early in their career and their widespread popularity, they are considered one of the most success ...

Malice Mizer Malice Mizer (stylized as MALICE MIZER) was a Japanese visual kei rock band active from August 1992 to December 2001. Formed by guitarists Mana and Közi, their earlier music and themes were characterized by their strong French and classical ...

and many others, some of which experienced national, and international success in the latest years. In the 1990s, Japanese rock musicians such as B'z,

Mr. Children , commonly referred to by their contracted nickname , are a Japanese pop rock band formed in 1989. Consisting of Kazutoshi Sakurai, Kenichi Tahara, Keisuke Nakagawa, and Hideya Suzuki, they made their major label debut in 1992. They are one of t ...

L'Arc-en-Ciel L'Arc-en-Ciel ( French: 'The Rainbow', stylized as L'Arc~en~Ciel), also known as Laruku, is a Japanese rock band, formed in Osaka in 1991 by bassist tetsuya and vocalist hyde. Following the departure of original members hiro and pero, guitaris ...

Tube Tube or tubes may refer to: * ''Tube'' (2003 film), a 2003 Korean film * ''The Tube'' (TV series), a music related TV series by Channel 4 in the United Kingdom * "Tubes" (Peter Dale), performer on the Soccer AM television show * Tube (band), a ...

Spitz Spitz (derived from the German word ''spitz'' 'pointed') is a type of domestic dog characterized by long, thick, and often white fur, and pointed ears and muzzles. The tail often curls over the dog's back or droops. While all of the breeds rese ...

Wands A wand is a thin, straight, hand-held stick of wood, ivory, or metal. Wand or magic wand may also refer to: People * Günter Wand, a German orchestra conductor and composer * Hart Wand, an early white American blues musician and composer from Ok ...

T-Bolan T-Bolan is a Japanese rock band which debuted in 1991. Its members were vocal Arashi Moritomo, drummer Kazuyoshi Aoki, guitarist Takeshi Gomi, and bassist Hirofumi Ueno. The name of this band was inspired by T. Rex and its vocalist Marc Bolan. B ...

Judy and Mary Judy and Mary (often stylized as JUDY AND MARY) was a Japanese rock band formed in 1991 in Japan by bassist Yoshihito Onda and vocalist Yuki, with drummer Kohta Igarashi and guitarist Taiji Fujimoto completing the lineup in 1992. Guitarist Taku ...

Asian Kung–Fu Generation (stylized as ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION) is a Japanese alternative rock band formed in Yokohama in 1996. For its entire career, the band has consisted of vocalist Masafumi Gotoh, guitarist Kensuke Kita, bassist Takahiro Yamada, and drummer Kiyos ...

Field of View The field of view (FoV) is the extent of the observable world that is seen at any given moment. In the case of optical instruments or sensors it is a solid angle through which a detector is sensitive to electromagnetic radiation. Human ...

, Deen,

Lindberg Lindberg is a municipality in the district of Regen in Bavaria in Germany in the immediate neighbourhood of the larger town Zwiesel. Location Lindberg lies in the Danube Forest (''Donau-Wald'') region in the middle of the Bavarian Forest on ...

Sharam Q was a Japanese rock band composed of lead singer , on guitar, on drums and on keyboards. Biography They debuted with in 1992. They were not an instant hit initially, but their fourth single broke the top 50 of the Oricon charts. Eve ...

the Yellow Monkey The Yellow Monkey, sometimes abbreviated as , is a Japanese rock band originally active from 1988 to 2001, before officially disbanding in 2004. They announced their reformation in 2016. The band's name was derived from the ethnic slur that J ...

the Brilliant Green (stylized as the brilliant green) is a Japanese rock band from Kyoto formed in 1995. They were signed to Sony Music Entertainment Japan. Their major debut single under Sony, " Bye Bye Mr. Mug", was released in 1997. Their contract with Sony ...

and

Dragon Ash is a Japanese rap rock group founded in 1996 by Kenji "KJ" Furuya and Sakurai Makoto. They were one of the first groups to popularize hip hop in Japan. Dragon Ash is a member of Mob Squad, which is an affiliation with the bands Source and End ...

achieved great commercial success. B'z is the #1 best selling act in Japanese music since

started to count., followed by Mr. Children. In the 1990s, pop songs were often used in

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

television advertisement A television advertisement (also called a television commercial, TV commercial, commercial, spot, television spot, TV spot, advert, television advert, TV advert, television ad, TV ad or simply an ad) is a span of television programming produce ...

and

dramatic programming In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-ge ...

, becoming some of Japan's best-sellers. The rise of disposable pop has been linked with the popularity of

karaoke Karaoke (; ; , clipped compound of Japanese ''kara'' "empty" and ''ōkesutora'' "orchestra") is a type of interactive entertainment usually offered in clubs and bars, where people sing along to recorded music using a microphone. The music i ...

, leading to criticism that it is

consumerist ''Consumerist'' (also known as ''The Consumerist'') was a non-profit consumer affairs website owned by Consumer Media LLC, a subsidiary of '' Consumer Reports'', with content created by a team of full-time reporters and editors. The site's foc ...

Kazufumi Miyazawa is the founder of the Japanese bands The Boom and Ganga Zumba. The former was noted in the 1990s for a fusion of rock, pop, and local Okinawan folk music. Miyazawa is responsible for virtually all lyrics and music for The Boom, who are best kn ...

the Boom ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

said "I hate that buy, listen, and throw away and sing at a karaoke bar mentality." Of the visual kei bands,

, whose members toned down their on-stage attire with on-going success, was very successful, while

La'cryma Christi La'cryma Christi (Latin for "The Tears of Christ") was a Japanese visual kei rock band originally active from 1991 to 2007. At their peak, they were considered one of "the big four of visual kei" alongside Fanatic Crisis, Malice Mizer and Shaz ...

Shazna Shazna (stylized as SHAZNA) is a Japanese visual kei Rock music, rock band originally active from 1993 to 2000. Originally having a strong gothic rock influence, the band's sound greatly shifted to a more New wave music, new wave direction by 199 ...

Janne Da Arc Janne Da Arc was a Japanese visual kei Rock music, rock band, formed in Hirakata, Osaka in 1991. Although inactive since 2007, Janne Da Arc officially announced that they disbanded on April 1, 2019. The band's name is often seen shortened to ei ...

, and

Fanatic Crisis Fanatic Crisis (Japanese: ''ファナティック・クライシス'', often stylized as FANATIC◇CRISIS, and simply called FtC by fans) was a Japanese rock band active from 1992–2005. They were called "the big four of visual kei bands" alon ...

also achieved commercial success in the late 1990s. The rock band

Supercar A supercar – also called exotic car – is a loosely defined description of street-legal, high-performance sports cars. Since the 2010s, the term hypercar has come into use for the highest performing supercars. Supercars commonly serve as t ...

, which was characterized as having "almost foundational importance to 21st century Japanese indie rock", released its influential first album in 1998. They remained active through 2005, with their later albums containing more electronic rock. FujiGreenStage

The first

Fuji Rock Festival is an annual rock festival held in Naeba Ski Resort, in Niigata Prefecture, Japan. The three-day event, organized by Smash Japan, features more than 200 Japanese and international musicians, making it the largest outdoor music event in Japa ...

opened in 1997.

Rising Sun Rock Festival Rising Sun Rock Festival is an annual rock festival held in Ishikari, Hokkaido, Japan. The two-day event is organized by WESS. It chiefly features Japanese rock and indie Indie is a short form of "independence" or "independent"; it may refer to: ...

opened in 1999.

Summer Sonic Festival The , also known as Supersonic, is an annual two- or three-day rock festival held at the same time in Osaka and Chiba, Japan. The majority of the bands playing in Osaka the first day go to Chiba the following day and vice versa. The line-up cont ...

and

Rock in Japan Festival The Rock in Japan Festival is an annual three-day rock festival held during early August at the Hitachi Seaside Park, in Hitachinaka, Ibaraki, Japan, organized by ''Rockin'on ''Rockin'On Japan'', often stylized in all caps, is a monthly magazin ...

opened in 2000. Though the rock scene in the 2000s was not as strong, bands such as

Bump of Chicken is a Japanese alternative rock group from Sakura, Chiba, Japan. The band members are Motoo Fujiwara (Vocalist, vocals, Rhythm guitar, rhythm), Hiroaki Masukawa (guitar), Yoshifumi Naoi (Bass guitar, bass) and Hideo Masu (Drum kit, drums). Since ...

One Ok Rock (stylized in all caps as ONE OK ROCK) is a Japanese rock band, formed in Tokyo, Japan, in 2005. Originally five members, the band currently consists of vocalist Takahiro Moriuchi, guitarist and bandleader Toru Yamashita, bassist Ryota Kohama, a ...

Sambomaster is a Japanese rock band signed by Sony Music Japan. The band's name, Sambomaster, refers to the Russian martial art called Sambo. History Lead vocalist and guitarist Takashi Yamaguchi first met drummer Yasufumi Kiuchi at a university music club ...

, Flow,

Orange Range are a 5-member Japanese rock band, based in Okinawa, Japan. Formed in 2001, the band began with Spice Music and later signed with Sony Music Japan's gr8! records division in 2003. The band left gr8! records in 2010 to start their own label, S ...

Remioromen is a Japanese rock band, formed by Ryōta Fujimaki, Keisuke Maeda and Osamu Jingūji in 2000. History Remioromen was formed in December 2000 with their current three person line up. They say that the name of the band has no real significance as ...

Uverworld Uverworld (stylized as UVERworld) is a Japanese rock band consisting of six members and originating from Kusatsu, Shiga. They have released eleven studio albums and over thirty singles and have sold over three million records worldwide. "Uverwo ...

and

Aqua Timez was a Japanese rock band signed to Epic Records. Overview Futoshi and OKP-Star met on with9.com in 2000 and attempted to start a band together. Unable to agree on the band's future, the two disbanded. In 2003, the current band members gathered ...

achieved success. Orange Range also ventured into hip hop. Established bands as B'z, Mr. Children, Glay, and L'Arc-en-Ciel continued to top charts, though B'z and Mr. Children are the only bands to maintain high sales through the years. Japanese rock has a vibrant underground rock scene, best known internationally for

noise rock Noise rock (sometimes called noise punk) is a noise-oriented style of experimental rock that spun off from punk rock in the 1980s. Drawing on movements such as minimalism, industrial music, and New York hardcore, artists indulge in extre ...

bands such as Boredoms and

Melt Banana Melt-Banana is a Japanese noise rock band that is known for playing extremely fast noise rock mixed with experimental, electronica and pop-based song structures. Since forming in 1992 the band has released ten albums and toured worldwide extensi ...

, as well as

stoner rock Stoner rock, also known as stoner metal or stoner doom, is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of doom metal with psychedelic rock and acid rock. The genre emerged during the early 1990s and was pioneered foremost by Kyuss and Sleep ...

bands such as Boris, psychedelic rock bands such as

Acid Mothers Temple Acid Mothers Temple & the Melting Paraiso U.F.O., commonly shortened to Acid Mothers Temple or AMT, is a Japanese psychedelic rock band, the core of which formed in 1995. The band is led by guitarist Kawabata Makoto and early in their career feat ...

, and alternative acts such as

(who were championed in the West by Kurt Cobain),

Pizzicato Five Pizzicato Five (formerly typeset as Pizzicato V and sometimes abbreviated to P5)Yang Jeff, Dina Can, Terry Hong, (1997) ''Eastern Standard Time'' pg 277 New York: Mariner Books was a Japanese pop band formed in Tokyo in 1979 by multi-instrume ...

and

(who gained international attention in 1999 for the ''

FLCL is an original video animation (OVA) anime series created and directed by Kazuya Tsurumaki, written by Yōji Enokido, and produced by the FLCL Production Committee, which consisted of Gainax, Production I.G, and King Records. ''F ...

'' soundtrack). More conventional

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

artists such as

Eastern Youth Eastern Youth is a Japanese punk rock trio formed in 1989 in Hokkaidō. Their sound blends many different styles, and is especially complex for a three-piece band. Their lyrics express the helplessness of Japanese youths. Their influences includ ...

the Band Apart is a Japanese rock band formed in Tokyo in 1998. Since their formation, they have released 9 albums, 20 EPs and 6 DVDs. Their album ''Adze of penguin'' (2008) reached number 9 on the Oricon Albums Chart. Discography Studio albums *K. and his Bi ...

and

Number Girl was a rock band formed in Fukuoka, Japan in August, 1995 by guitarist and vocalist Shutoku Mukai. They first disbanded in 2002 following bassist Kentaro Nakao's departure from the band. Number Girl played fast, guitar-driven rock similar to th ...

found some success in Japan, but little recognition outside of their home country. Other notable international touring indie rock acts are

Mono Mono may refer to: Common meanings * Infectious mononucleosis, "the kissing disease" * Monaural, monophonic sound reproduction, often shortened to mono * Mono-, a numerical prefix representing anything single Music Performers * Mono (Japanese b ...

and Nisennenmondai.

Punk rock / alternative

Early examples of punk rock include SS,

the Star Club is an influential Japanese punk rock band that was formed in Nagoya in 1977 and has been based in Tokyo since 1987. The band has had a long career with numerous lineup changes, all centered on vocalist Hikage. Biography The Star Club was the ...

the Stalin were a Japanese punk rock band formed in June 1980, by leader and vocalist Michiro Endo. After numerous member changes, he disbanded the group in February 1985. In May 1987 Michiro formed a group called Video Stalin, which mostly made vi ...

, , , Bomb Factory, Lizard (who were produced by

the Stranglers The Stranglers are an English rock band who emerged via the punk rock scene. Scoring 23 UK top 40 singles and 19 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are one of the longest-surviving bands to have origin ...

) and

Friction Friction is the force resisting the relative motion of solid surfaces, fluid layers, and material elements sliding against each other. There are several types of friction: *Dry friction is a force that opposes the relative lateral motion of t ...

(whose guitarist Reck played with

Teenage Jesus and the Jerks Teenage Jesus and the Jerks were an influential American no wave band, based in New York City, who formed part of the city's no wave movement. Background Lydia Lunch met saxophonist James Chance at CBGB and moved into his two-room apartmen ...

before returning to Tokyo) and

the Blue Hearts was a Japanese punk rock band active from 1985 to 1995. They have been compared to such bands as the Sex Pistols, The Clash and the Ramones.Sogo Ishii, who directed the 1982 film '' Burst City'' featuring a cast of punk bands/musicians and also filmed videos for The Stalin. In the 1980s, hardcore bands such as GISM,

Gauze Gauze is a thin, translucent fabric with a loose open weave. In technical terms "gauze" is a weave structure in which the weft yarns are arranged in pairs and are crossed before and after each warp yarn keeping the weft firmly in place. ...

, Confuse, Lip Cream and Systematic Death began appearing, some incorporating

crossover Crossover may refer to: Entertainment Albums and songs * ''Cross Over'' (Dan Peek album) * ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987 * ''Crossover'' (Intrigue album) * ''Crossover'' (Hitomi Shimatani album) * ''Crossover'' (Yoshino ...

elements. The independent scene also included a diverse number of alternative/post-punk/new wave artists such as Aburadako,

P-Model P-Model (also typeset as P-MODEL and P. Model) was a Japanese electronic rock band started in 1979 by members of the defunct progressive rock band Mandrake. The band has experienced many lineup revisions over the years but frontman Susumu Hira ...

Uchoten Uchōten (有頂天 ecstasy) is a Japanese experimental new wave/ post punk band, active in the 1980s and early 1990s. They formed in 1982 and disbanded in 1991, after releasing eight studio albums and two live albums. In 2015, after over two dec ...

, Auto-Mod, Buck-Tick,

Guernica Guernica (, ), official name (reflecting the Basque language) Gernika (), is a town in the province of Biscay, in the Autonomous Community of the Basque Country, Spain. The town of Guernica is one part (along with neighbouring Lumo) of the mu ...

and Yapoos (both of which featured

Jun Togawa is a Japanese singer, musician and actress. Her close friends over the years include Susumu Hirasawa. Career After gaining attention a guest singer for the New Wave band Halmens and her acting roles in Japanese dramas and commercials for the ...

), G-Schmitt, Totsuzen Danball and Jagatara, along with noise/industrial bands such as

Hijokaidan is a Japanese noise and free improvisation group with a revolving lineup that has ranged from two members to as many as fourteen in its early days. The group is the project of guitarist , its one constant member, who is head and owner of the Os ...

and Hanatarashi. Ska-punk bands of the late nineties extending in the years 2000 include Shakalabbits and 175R (pronounced "inago rider").

Heavy metal

Japan is a successful market for

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

bands. Notable examples are Judas Priest's ''

Unleashed in the East ''Unleashed in the East'' is the first live album by the English heavy metal band Judas Priest, released in September 1979 on Columbia Records. It was recorded live over two nights in Tokyo during their Hell Bent for Leather Tour in Februa ...

'',

Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock music, but their musical style has changed over the course of its existence. Ori ...

's '' Made in Japan'',

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. While fluid in the early years of the band, the lineup for most of the band's history has consisted of Harri ...

's ''

Maiden Japan ''Maiden Japan'', released as ''Heavy Metal Army'' in Japan, is a live EP by the British heavy metal band Iron Maiden. The title is a pun of Deep Purple's live album '' Made in Japan''. Release There are at least two different versions of ...

'',

Michael Schenker Group The Michael Schenker Group (often abbreviated as MSG) are a guitar-oriented hard rock band, formed in London in 1979 by former Scorpions and UFO guitarist Michael Schenker. In 1986, Schenker and vocalist Robin McAuley formed the McAuley Sche ...

's ''

One Night at Budokan ''One Night at Budokan'' is a live album by Michael Schenker Group released in 1982. This album was recorded at Nippon Budokan in Tokyo, Japan as part of their 1981 tour. Track listing 1982 original LP All songs written by Michael Schenker ...

'' and

Dream Theater Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 under the name Majesty by John Petrucci, John Myung and Mike Portnoy while they attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. They subsequently dropped out of the ...

's '' Live at Budokan''. Japanese metal emerged in the late 1970s, pioneered by bands like Bow Wow, formed in 1975 by guitarist

Kyoji Yamamoto is a Japanese musician, singer-songwriter and record producer who is the leader of the hard rock/ heavy metal bands Bow Wow (known as Vow Wow for a period of time) and Wild Flag. He is known for his skillful guitar playing, with former bandma ...

, and

Loudness In acoustics, loudness is the subjectivity, subjective perception of sound pressure. More formally, it is defined as, "That attribute of auditory sensation in terms of which sounds can be ordered on a scale extending from quiet to loud". The rel ...

, formed in 1981 by guitarist

Akira Takasaki is a Japanese musician. He is best known as the lead guitarist and sole constant member of the heavy metal band Loudness. He is also the guitarist of the band Lazy, with which he first rose to prominence in the 1970s. Career He started his ...

. Contemporary bands like Earthshaker, Anthem and 44 Magnum released their debut albums only around the mid eighties. The first overseas live performances were by Bow Wow in 1978 in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

, the

Montreux Jazz Festival The Montreux Jazz Festival (formerly Festival de Jazz Montreux and Festival International de Jazz Montreux) is a music festival in Switzerland, held annually in early July in Montreux on the Lake Geneva shoreline. It is the second-largest annual ...

, and the

Reading Festival The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend. The Reading Festiv ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in 1982. In 1983, Loudness toured United States and Europe. In 1985, the first Japanese metal act was signed to a major US label. Their albums '' Thunder in the East'' and '' Lightning Strikes'', released in 1985 and 1986, peaked at number 74 (while number 4 in homeland

chart), and number 64 in the ''Billboard'' 200 charts respectively. Till the end of the eighties only two other bands,

Ezo (also spelled Yezo or Yeso) is the Japanese term historically used to refer to the lands to the north of the Japanese island of Honshu. It included the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido, which changed its name from "Ezo" to "Hokkaidō" in 18 ...

and

Dead End Dead End or dead end may refer to: * Dead end (street), a street connected only at one end with other streets, called by many other official names, including ''cul-de-sac''. Film and television * ''The Dead End'' (1914 film), directed by Davi ...

, released albums in the United States. In the eighties few bands had a female member, like the all-female band

Show-Ya are a Japanese all-female heavy metal band formed in 1981. The group disbanded in 1998, but reformed with the original line-up in 2005 for the 20th anniversary of their first release. Their music is deeply rooted in classic rock and they have ...

fronted by

Keiko Terada is a Japanese rock singer. She was co-founder and lead singer of the successful Japanese female hard rock and heavy metal band Show-Ya from 1982 to 1991, before going solo. On her solo albums she expanded from hard rock and heavy metal to blu ...

, and Terra Rosa with Kazue Akao on vocals. In September 1989, Show-Ya's album ''

Outerlimits ''Outerlimits'' is the seventh album of the Japanese female hard rock group Show-Ya. The album was released on 6 September 1989, in Japan. The album was mixed at the famous Cherokee Studios in California and was arranged by Masanori Sasaji and ...

'' was released, reaching #3 on the Oricon album chart. Heavy metal bands reached their peak in the late 1980s and then many disbanded until the mid-1990s. Xjapan hongkong

In 1982, some of the first Japanese

glam metal Glam metal (also known as hair metal or pop metal) is a subgenre of heavy metal that features pop-influenced hooks and guitar riffs, upbeat rock anthems, and slow power ballads. It borrows heavily from the fashion and image of 1970s glam r ...

bands were formed, like Seikima-II with

Kabuki is a classical form of Japanese dance-drama. Kabuki theatre is known for its heavily-stylised performances, the often-glamorous costumes worn by performers, and for the elaborate make-up worn by some of its performers. Kabuki is thought to ...

-inspired makeup, and

who pioneered the Japanese movement known as

, and became the best-selling metal band. In 1985, Seikima-II's album ''Seikima-II - Akuma ga Kitarite Heavy Metal'' was released and although it reached number 48 on the Oricon album chart, it exceeded 100,000 in sales, the first time for any Japanese metal band. Their albums charted regularly in the top ten until the mid 1990s. In April 1989, X Japan's second album '' Blue Blood'' was released and went to number 6, and after 108 weeks on charts sold 712,000 copies. Their third and best-selling album ''

Jealousy Jealousy generally refers to the thoughts or feelings of insecurity, fear, and concern over a relative lack of possessions or safety. Jealousy can consist of one or more emotions such as anger, resentment, inadequacy, helplessness or disgus ...

'' was released in July 1991; it topped the charts and sold 1.11 million copies. Two number one studio albums, '' Art of Life'' and ''

Dahlia Dahlia (, ) is a genus of bushy, tuberous, herbaceous perennial plants native to Mexico and Central America. A member of the Asteraceae (former name: Compositae) family of dicotyledonous plants, its garden relatives thus include the sunflower, ...

'', a singles compilation ''

X Singles ''X Singles'' is a compilation album released by X Japan on November 21, 1993. It collects all the singles, and their B-sides, released by the band while still named "X" and under contract with CBS/Sony. The album reached number 2 on the Oricon ch ...

'', all sold more than half a million, ending up with thirteen top five singles before disbanding in 1997. Japanese metal came to global attention in 2014 with the success of "

kawaii metal Kawaii metal (also known as idol metal, cute metal, J-pop metal or kawaiicore) is a musical genre that blends elements of heavy metal and J-pop that was pioneered in Japan in the early 2010s. The genre combines both Eastern and Western influenc ...

" band

Babymetal (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese kawaii metal band consisting of Suzuka Nakamoto as "Su-metal" and Moa Kikuchi as "Moametal". The band is produced by Kobametal from the Amuse talent agency. Their vocals are backed by heavy metal instrume ...

. They recorded viral

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

hits like "

Gimme Chocolate!! is a song by the Japanese kawaii metal band Babymetal from their self-titled debut album. Though it was not released as a single in Japan, the song became an international success, with its music video gaining over 170 million views on YouTube. ...

" as well as international performances including at the UK's Sonisphere Festival 2014 and Canada's

Heavy Montréal Heavy Montréal (stylized as Heavy MONTRÉAL, formerly known as Heavy MTL) is a two-day, summer heavy metal and hard rock music festival held annually at Parc Jean-Drapeau in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It also includes various other events at ...

alongside the likes of

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

and Slayer. Babymetal was the opening act to five of

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

's concerts in her ArtRave: The Artpop Ball 2014 tour. Babymetal won numerous awards including

Kerrang! ''Kerrang!'' is a British weekly magazine devoted to rock, punk and heavy metal music, currently published by Wasted Talent (the same company that owns electronic music publication ''Mixmag''). It was first published on 6 June 1981 as a one- ...

's The Spirit of Independence Award and

Metal Hammer ''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' features news, reviews and long-form ...

's Breakthrough Band Award.

Extreme metal

Japanese

extreme metal Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. It has been defined as a "cluster of metal subgenres characterized by sonic, verbal, and visual tran ...

bands formed in the wake of the American and European wave, but didn't get any bigger exposure until the 1990s, and the genre took underground form in Japan. The first

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and often fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, 2007, . ...

bands formed in the early 1980s, like

United United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

, whose music incorporates

death metal Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep growling vocals; aggressive, powerful drumming, feat ...

elements, and

Outrage Outrage may refer to: * Outrage (emotion), an emotion * Tort of outrage, in law, an alternative term for ''intentional infliction of emotional distress'' Books * ''Outrage'', a novel by Henry Denker 1982 * ''Outrage'', a play by Itamar Moses 2 ...

. United performed in Los Angeles at the metal festival "Foundations Forum" in September 1995 and released a few albums in North America. Formed in the mid 1980s,

Doom Doom is another name for damnation. Doom may also refer to: People * Doom (professional wrestling), the tag team of Ron Simmons and Butch Reed * Daniel Doom (born 1934), Belgian cyclist * Debbie Doom (born 1963), American softball pitcher * ...

played in the United States in October 1988 at

CBGB CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in Manhattan's East Village. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for '' Country'', '' BlueGrass'', and '' Blues'', Kri ...

, and was active until 2000 when it disbanded. The first bands to play

black metal Black metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. Common traits include Tempo#Beats per minute, fast tempos, a Screaming (music)#Black metal, shrieking vocal style, heavily distorted Electric guitar, guitars played with t ...

music were

Sabbat The Wheel of the Year is an annual cycle of seasonal festivals, observed by many modern pagans, consisting of the year's chief solar events (solstices and equinoxes) and the midpoints between them. While names for each festival vary among dive ...

, who is still active, and Bellzlleb, who was active until the early 1990s. Other notable acts are

Sigh Paralanguage, also known as vocalics, is a component of meta-communication that may modify meaning, give nuanced meaning, or convey emotion, by using techniques such as prosody, pitch, volume, intonation, etc. It is sometimes defined as relatin ...

Abigail Abigail () was an Israelite woman in the Hebrew Bible married to Nabal; she married the future King David after Nabal's death ( 1 Samuel ). Abigail was David's second wife, after Saul and Ahinoam's daughter, Michal, whom Saul later marri ...

, and

Gallhammer Gallhammer () were a Japanese extreme metal group that drew on blackened crust, black metal, doom metal and crust punk. They formed in Tokyo in 2003 and released three studio albums. The current group lineup is Vivian Slaughter (vocals, bass g ...

Doom metal Doom metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other heavy metal genres.K. Kahn-Harris, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'' ...

also gained an audience in Japan. The two best-known Japanese doom metal acts are

Church of Misery is a Japanese doom metal band from Tokyo, formed in 1995. Church of Misery's musical style melds early Black Sabbath-style doom with psychedelic rock; most of the band's songs are about serial killers and mass murderers. Bassist Tatsu Mikami ...

and Boris: both gained considerable popularity outside the country.

Metalcore

In the 2000s, Japanese metalcore bands such as Tokyo's

Crystal Lake Crystal Lake or Crystal Lakes may refer to: Lakes Canada * Crystal Lake (Saskatchewan) * Crystal Lake (Ontario), drain into the Lynn River, which drains into Lake Erie United States * Crystal Lake, California, a mountain lake in Nevad ...

, Nagoya natives

Coldrain are a Japanese rock band from Nagoya, Japan, who were formed in 2007. The band combines melodic singing with screams typical of the post-hardcore genre. Although the band is Japanese, all of their songs are written in English. The lineup consi ...

and

Deathgaze is a Japanese visual kei metal band formed in 2003. History Deathgaze was formed in the summer of 2003 by Hazuki, Ai, Naoki, and Kanna. After releasing their first EP, "294036224052", vocalist, Hazuki, left in spring 2004 to form his own band ...

, Kobe's

Fear, and Loathing in Las Vegas Fear, and Loathing in Las Vegas ''( sic)'' (フィアー·アンド·ロージング·イン·ラスベガス) is a Japanese electronicore band from Kobe that was formed in summer 2008. The band currently consists of vocalist So, keyboardist Mi ...

, and Osaka's

Crossfaith Crossfaith (Japanese: クロスフェイス) is a Japanese metalcore band from Osaka that was formed in 2006. Since its formation, the band has retained the same line-up with no member changes, which currently consists of vocalist Kenta Koie, gu ...

formed.

Hip hop

Hip-hop came in the late 1980s and continues to thrive. This was mainly due to the music world's belief that "Japanese sentences were not capable of forming the rhyming effect that was contained in American rappers' songs." Different "families" of rappers perform on stage at a genba, or nightclub. A family is essentially a collection of rap groups that are usually headed by one of the more famous Tokyo acts, which also include proteges.Condry, Ian. "A History of Japanese Hip-Hop: Street Dance, Club Scene, Pop Market." In Global Noise: Rap and Hip-Hop Outside the USA, 237, Middletown: Wesleyan University Press, 2001. They are important because they are "the key to understanding stylistic differences between groups." Hip-hop fans in the audience are in control of the club. They judge who is the winner in rap contests on stage. An example of this can be seen with the battle between rap artists

Dabo is a Japanese hip-hop rapper. He first appeared on the Japanese hip-hop scene in the 1990s, collaborating in a Shakkazombie song, ''"Tomo ni ikkou"''. Since 2002, he has released three albums: ''Hitman'' (2002), ''Diamond'' (2003), and ''The Fo ...

(a major label artist) and Kan (an indie artist). Kan challenged Dabo while Dabo was mid-performance. The event highlighted showed "the openness of the scene and the fluidity of boundaries in clubs."

Grime

Grime Grime may refer to: * Dirt, in the form of black, ingrained dust * Grime (music genre), a genre of music * ''Grime'' (album), a 2001 album by Iniquity * ''Grime'' (video game), a 2021 Metroidvania video game * "Grime", a 2022 song by Dallas Woo ...

is a British electronic genre that emerged in the early 2000s derived from

UK garage UK garage, abbreviated as UKG, is a genre of electronic dance music which originated in England in the early to mid-1990s. The genre was most clearly inspired by garage house, but also incorporates elements from dance-pop, R&B, and jungle. It ...

and

jungle A jungle is land covered with dense forest and tangled vegetation, usually in tropical climates. Application of the term has varied greatly during the past recent century. Etymology The word ''jungle'' originates from the Sanskrit word ''ja� ...

, and draws influence from dancehall,

ragga Raggamuffin music, usually abbreviated as ragga, is a subgenre of dancehall and reggae music. The instrumentals primarily consist of electronic music. Similar to hip hop, sampling often serves a prominent role in raggamuffin music. Wayne Smi ...

, and hip hop. The style is typified by rapid, syncopated breakbeats, generally around 140 bpm, and often features an aggressive or jagged electronic sound.

Rapping Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

is a significant element, and lyrics often revolve around gritty depictions of urban life. In 2004, Japanese DJ's began to play grime. In 2008 that MC's, primarily from

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

, began to emerge. The MC's were inspired by British grime crew

Roll Deep Roll Deep (formerly Roll Deep Entourage) are a British grime crew. They were founded in 2001 by Wiley shortly before the disbandment of UK garage crew Pay As U Go Cartel. The group have had two UK No. 1 singles, "Good Times" and " Green Lig ...

, and their mixtape ''Rules And Regulations.'' The Osaka MC's consisted of pioneers MC Dekishi, MC Duff and MC Tacquilacci. MC Dekishi released the first ever Japanese grime mixtape in 2009, titled "Grime City Volume 1". Osaka MC's are known for rapping extremely fast. Another scene sprung up in the Tokyo region of

Shibuya Shibuya ( 渋谷区 ''Shibuya-ku'') is a special ward in Tokyo, Japan. As a major commercial and finance center, it houses two of the busiest railway stations in the world, Shinjuku Station (southern half) and Shibuya Station. As of April 1 ...

led by Carpainter, Double Clapperz, MC ONJUICY, PAKIN and Sakana Lavenda.

Synth-pop and club music

Synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...

in Japan was influenced by German electronic and techno artists such as Kraftwerk. New wave and synth-pop bands such as Hikasyuu,

and The Plastics were popular. Many musicians of the 1970s and 80s who were known for pop music turned to techno production such as C-C-B and

Akiko Yano is a Japanese pop and jazz musician and singer born in Tokyo and raised in Aomori and later began her singing career in the mid-1970s. She has been called "one of the major musical talents of the Japanese popular music world", and her vocals and ...

. In the 1990s,

Denki Groove is a Japanese music group founded in 1989. It consists of Takkyu Ishino and Pierre Taki. History Denki Groove was founded in 1989 by Takkyu Ishino and Pierre Taki, both of whom are natives of Shizuoka, Shizuoka Prefecture. The group's major-lab ...

formed and became mainstays of the Japanese electronica scene. Artists such as

Polysics is a Japanese Techno/Electronic Music band from Tokyo, who dubs its unique style as "technicolor pogo punk". It was named after a brand of synthesizer, the Korg Polysix. The band started in 1997, but got their big break in 1998 at a concert in ...

pay explicit homage to this era. Capsule's

Yasutaka Nakata is a Japanese DJ and music producer. He formed the band Capsule in 1997 with vocalist Toshiko Koshijima and himself as composer and record producer when both were 17. The band debuted in 2001 with the song "Sakura". He is known for being the ...

has been involved behind the scenes of popular electropop acts

Perfume Perfume (, ; french: parfum) is a mixture of fragrant essential oils or aroma compounds (fragrances), fixatives and solvents, usually in liquid form, used to give the human body, animals, food, objects, and living-spaces an agreeable scent. Th ...

and

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu Kiriko Takemura (Japanese: 竹村桐子, born January 29, 1993), known professionally as Kyary Pamyu Pamyu (Hiragana: きゃりーぱみゅぱみゅ), is a Japanese tarento, singer, and model. Her public image is associated with Japan's ''kawai ...

, both of which had domestic and international success; Kyary in particular was dubbed the "Kawaii Harajuku Ambassador".

Kawaii Future Bass

Kawaii Future Bass is a subgenre of

Future Bass Future bass is a style of electronic dance music which developed in the 2010s that mixes elements of dubstep and trap with warmer, less abrasive rhythms. The genre was pioneered by producers such as Rustie, Hudson Mohawke, Lido, San Holo and ...

, with a generally upbeat sound and heavily inspired by Japanese culture, and often includes Japanese lyrics or references to anime or manga. It began to see success around 2015, mostly pioneered by

Snail's House , also known as Snail's House or Ujico*, is a Japanese Electronic music, electronic musician. He currently resides in Saitama Prefecture, Saitama, Japan. History He started publishing music on SoundCloud in 2012 under the name Ujico* (which he ...

. Due to Japan's increasing influence in foreign countries, Kawaii Future Bass grew popular around the world.

Roots and country music

In the late 1980s, roots bands like

Shang Shang Typhoon is a Japanese band of the 1980s and 1990s. Led by Kōryū, the band also features female singers Satoko Nishikawa and Emi Shirasaki. The SST sound is a blend of Okinawan music, min'yo singing and other Japanese elements, with some rock, pop and r ...

and

became popular. Okinawan roots bands like Nenes and

Kina Kina can refer to: * Kina (animal), a sea urchin endemic to New Zealand * Kina (musician), American singer/songwriter, and former member of musical group Brownstone * Kina, an Italian music producer known for the single "Get You the Moon" * Kina ( ...

were also commercially and critically successful. This led to a second wave of Okinawan music, led by the sudden success of

Rinken Band is an Okinawan band that helped popularize their homeland's musical forms and Okinawan music, traditional Okinawan music starting in 1985, when their first hit, "Arigatou", was released. Rinken Band was founded by , the son of well-known Okinawan ...

. Bands followed, including the comebacks of Champluse and Kina, as led by Kawachiya Kikusuimaru; very similar to kawachi ondo is

Tadamaru Sakuragawa From Osaka came the 'musical anarchist' , who sang in a style called Goshu ondo. With the backing of the now disbanded Spiritual Unity, Tadamaru broke out of the festival circuit with his only album, Ullambana, released in 1991. ''Ullambana'' ...

's goshu ondo. J-country is a form of J-pop that originated in the 1960s, during the international popularity of

Westerns The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred ...

. Early artists included Biji Kuroda, Jimmie Tokita, The Blue Rangers, Wagon Aces, and Tomi Fujiyama. It continues to have a dedicated following, with major companies such as

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...

and

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

continuing to produce country and Western music within Japan. Some other musicians associated with this movement include Charlie Nagatani, J.T. Kanehira, Dicky Kitano, and Manami Sekiya.

Latin, reggae and ska music

Music from

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

and elsewhere were assimilated. African

soukous Soukous (from French '' secousse'', "shock, jolt, jerk") is a genre of dance music from Congo-Kinshasa and Congo-Brazzaville. It derived from Congolese rumba in the 1960s, becoming known for its fast dance rhythms and intricate guitar improv ...

and Latin music, like Orquesta de la Luz (オルケスタ・デ・ラ・ルス), was popular as was Jamaican

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...

and

ska Ska (; ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a walki ...

, exemplified by Mice Teeth,

Mute Beat Mute Beat was an influential dub music, dub reggae band from Japan. They are often considered a precursor to acid jazz, ambient music, ambient and trip hop having performed similar-sounding music before those genres emerged. The band was formed by ...

, La-ppisch, Home Grown and Ska Flames, Determinations, and

Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra , commonly abbreviated by fans as Skapara or TSPO, is a Japanese ska and jazz band formed in 1988 by the percussionist Asa-Chang, and initially composed of over 10 veterans of Tokyo's underground scene. At the time, the band's sound was unlike t ...

Noise music

Another recognized music form from Japan is noise music. The noise from this country is called

Japanoise , a portmanteau of "Japanese" and "noise", is the noise music scene of Japan. Nick Cain of ''The Wire'' identifies the "primacy of Japanese Noise artists like Merzbow, Hijokaidan and Incapacitants as one of the major developments in noise music s ...

. Its most prominent representative is

Masami Akita is a Japanese noise project started in 1979 by , best known for a style of harsh, confrontational noise. Since 1980, Akita has released over 400 recordings and has collaborated with various artists. The name Merzbow comes from the German dada ...

with his project

Merzbow is a Japanese noise project started in 1979 by , best known for a style of harsh, confrontational noise. Since 1980, Akita has released over 400 recordings and has collaborated with various artists. The name Merzbow comes from the German dada ...

Theme music

Theme music Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at so ...

for films,

tokusatsu is a Japanese term for live action film or television drama that makes heavy use of practical special effects. ''Tokusatsu'' entertainment mainly refers to science fiction, War film, war, fantasy, or Horror film, horror media featuring such te ...

() and

dorama , also called , are television programs that are a staple of Japanese television and are broadcast daily. All major TV networks in Japan produce a variety of drama series including romance, comedy, detective stories, horror, jidaigeki, thr ...

are considered a separate music genre. While musicians and bands from all genres have recorded for Japanese television and film, several artists and groups have spent most of their careers performing theme songs and composing

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

s for visual media. Such artists include

Masato Shimon , also known as Masato Simon, is a retired Japanese vocalist from Meguro, Tokyo. He is most known for his contributions to the theme songs of various anime and tokusatsu series. In his career, he has sung under the names and . "Masato Shimon" is a ...

(current holder of the world record for most successful single in Japan for "

Oyoge! Taiyaki-kun is a song by Japanese singer Masato Shimon, released by Canyon Records (now Pony Canyon) on December 25, 1975. The B-side "Ippon Demo Ninjin" was sung by Japanese folk music, folk singer Kenichi Nagira. However, the label claimed that the song was ...

"),

Ichirou Mizuki , better known by his stage name , was a Japanese singer, lyricist, composer, voice actor and actor best known for his work on theme songs for anime and tokusatsu. For over 50 years, he had recorded over 1,200 songs for Japanese film, televisio ...

, all of the members of

JAM Project JAM Project ("JAM" standing for "Japan Animationsong Makers") are a Japanese anison band founded on July 19, 2000 by anison singer Ichirou Mizuki. The band is composed of many vocal artists well known in the anime music industry. Aside from the m ...

(i.e.

Hironobu Kageyama is a Japanese singer and composer prominent in the soundtracks for anime, video game and tokusatsu productions. He is sometimes called Kami (Kei) by his fans. Kageyama got his big break at age 16, as lead singer of the rock band Lazy. By the ea ...

who sung the openings for ''

Dengeki Sentai Changeman is a Japanese television series and the ninth installment of the Super Sentai metaseries. It aired from February 2, 1985 to February 22, 1986, replacing ''Choudenshi Bioman'' and was replaced by ''Choushinsei Flashman'' running for 55 episodes, ...

'' and '' Dragon Ball Z''),

Akira Kushida , is a Japanese vocalist who is well known for his work in the soundtracks for anime and tokusatsu productions, most notably ''Taiyou Sentai Sun Vulcan'', ''Kinnikuman'', and '' Space Sheriff Gavan''. His nickname from his fans is . His real give ...

, members of

Project.R are a Japanese musical ensemble established by Nippon Columbia and Toei Company to perform on the soundtracks for the Super Sentai Series beginning with '' Engine Sentai Go-onger''. For the various series, Columbia has taken various popular voca ...

Isao Sasaki is a Japanese actor, voice actor, and singer. He has had voice roles in anime such as '' Legend of the Galactic Heroes'', ''Space Battleship Yamato'', and '' Gatchaman''. He has also performed the opening themes for anime such as ''Yamato'', ''S ...

and

Mitsuko Horie is a Japanese actress, voice actress and singer. She was born in Yamato, Kanagawa. She has voiced several characters throughout her career, such as Sailor Galaxia in '' Sailor Moon: Sailor Stars'' and Remi in the Nippon Animation World Master ...

. Notable composers of Japanese theme music include

Joe Hisaishi , known professionally as , is a Japanese composer, musical director, conductor and pianist, known for over 100 film scores and solo albums dating back to 1981. He is also known for his piano scores. Hisaishi's music has been known to explore ...

Michiru Oshima Michiru (満, みちる, ミチル) is a Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, 1970s J-Pop artist *, Japanese composer *, Japanese pop singer and songwriter *, Japanese voice actor *, Japanese anime scriptwriter *, Japane ...

Yoko Kanno is a Japanese composer, arranger and music producer best known for her work on the soundtracks of anime series, television series, live-action films, video games, and advertisements. She was born in Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan. She has wri ...

Toshihiko Sahashi is a Japanese composer. He graduated from Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music in 1986. Sahashi has composed music for various anime series (including OVAs, movies, and drama CDs), video games, movies, dramas, and musicals. His ...

Yuki Kajiura Yuki, Yūki or Yuuki may refer to: Places * Yuki, Hiroshima (Jinseki), a town in Jinseki District, Hiroshima, Japan * Yuki, Hiroshima (Saeki), a town in Saeki District, Hiroshima, Japan * Yūki, Ibaraki, a city on Honshu island in Japan * Y ...

Kōtarō Nakagawa is a Japanese composer and arranger. He is noted for composing the soundtracks for several anime series, including the Gorō Taniguchi-directed productions '' s-CRY-ed'', '' Planetes'', ''Gun Sword'', and ''Code Geass''. He provided the music f ...

Shunsuke Kikuchi was a Japanese composer who was active from the early 1960s until 2017. He specialized in incidental music for media such as television and film. Kikuchi was regarded as one of Japan's most highly demanded film and TV composers, working pri ...

and Yuki Hayashi.

Game music

When the first

electronic games An electronic game is a game that uses electronics to create an interactive system with which a player can play. Video games are the most common form today, and for this reason the two terms are often used interchangeably. There are other common ...

were sold, they had rudimentary

sound chips A sound chip is an integrated circuit (chip) designed to produce audio signals through digital, analog or mixed-mode electronics. Sound chips are typically fabricated on metal–oxide–semiconductor (MOS) mixed-signal chips that process a ...

with which to produce music. As the technology advanced, quality increased dramatically. The first game to take credit for its music was ''

Xevious is a vertically scrolling shooter video game developed and published by Namco for arcades in 1982. It was released in Japan and Europe by Namco and in North America by Atari, Inc. Controlling the Solvalou starship, the player attacks Xevious f ...

'', also noteworthy (at that time) for its deeply constructed stories. One of the most important games in the history of the video game music is '' Dragon Quest''.

Koichi Sugiyama was a Japanese composer, conductor, and orchestrator. He was best known for composing the music for the '' Dragon Quest'' franchise, along with several other video games, anime, film, and television shows. Classically trained, Sugiyama was ...

, who composed for various anime and TV shows, including ''

Cyborg 009 is a Japanese science fiction manga created by Shotaro Ishinomori. It was serialized in many different Japanese magazines, including '' Monthly Shōnen King'', ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'', ''Shōnen Big Comic'', '' COM'', '' ...

'' and a feature film of ''

Godzilla vs. Biollante is a 1989 Japanese ''kaiju'' film written and directed by Kazuki Ōmori, with special effects by Koichi Kawakita. Distributed by Toho and produced under their subsidiary Toho Pictures, it is the 17th film in the ''Godzilla'' franchise, the sec ...

'', got involved in the project out of curiosity and proved that games can have serious soundtracks. Until his involvement, music and sounds were often neglected in the development of video games and programmers with little musical knowledge were forced to write the soundtracks as well. Undaunted by technological limits, Sugiyama worked with only 8-part polyphony to create a soundtrack that would not tire the player despite hours of gameplay. A well-known author of game music is

Nobuo Uematsu is a Japanese composer and keyboardist best known for his contributions to the ''Final Fantasy'' video game series by Square Enix. A self-taught musician, he began playing the piano at the age of twelve, with English singer-songwriter Elton ...

. Uematsu's earlier compositions for the game series, ''

Final Fantasy is a Japanese video game, Japanese science fantasy anthology media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi and developed and owned by Square Enix (formerly Square (video game company), Square). The franchise centers on a series of fantasy and ...

'', on

Famicom The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit Third generation of video game consoles, third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redes ...

(Nintendo Entertainment System in America), were arranged for full orchestral score. In 2003, he took his rock-based tunes from their original MIDI format and created

the Black Mages The Black Mages were a Japanese instrumental rock band formed in 2002 by Nobuo Uematsu, Kenichiro Fukui and Tsuyoshi Sekito, who were three video game composers for Square and Square Enix. The band arranged Uematsu's ''Final Fantasy'' video game ...

Yasunori Mitsuda is a Japanese composer, musician, and sound producer. He is best known for his work in video games, primarily for the ''Chrono'', '' Xeno'', ''Shadow Hearts'', and ''Inazuma Eleven'' franchises, among various others. Mitsuda began composing musi ...

is the composer of music for such games as ''

Xenogears ''Xenogears'' is a 1998 role-playing video game developed and published by Square (video game company), Square for the PlayStation (console), PlayStation video game console. It is the debut entry in the larger ''Xeno (series), Xeno'' franchise. ...

'', ''

Xenosaga Episode I ''Xenosaga Episode I: Der Wille zur Macht'' is a role-playing video game developed by Monolith Soft and published by Namco for the PlayStation 2; the game was released in 2002 in Japan and 2003 in North America. It is the first entry in the ''X ...

'', ''

Chrono Cross is a 1999 role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the PlayStation video game console. It is set in the same world as ''Chrono Trigger'', which was released in 1995 for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. ''Chrono C ...

'', and ''

Chrono Trigger is a 1995 role-playing video game developed and published by Square. It was originally released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System as the first game in the ''Chrono'' series. The game's development team included three designers th ...

''. Koji Kondo, the sound manager for

, wrote themes for '' Zelda'' and ''

Mario is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his cre ...

''.

Jun Senoue is a Japanese composer and guitarist who works for Sega, known for his various contributions in the ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' video game series. He is also the songwriter for the band Crush 40, which has also contributed to many ''Sonic'' games. B ...

composed for '' Sonic the Hedgehog''. He also is the main guitarist of

Crush 40 Crush 40 is a Japanese-American hard rock band. The group consists of guitarist and composer Jun Senoue and vocalist Johnny Gioeli, although Senoue has featured other lead vocalists on a Crush 40 album. Crush 40 is best known for their contri ...

, which is known for creating the theme songs to ''

Sonic Adventure is a 1998 platform game for Sega's Dreamcast and the first main '' Sonic the Hedgehog'' game to feature 3D gameplay. It follows Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Prower, Knuckles the Echidna, Amy Rose, Big the Cat, and E-102 Gamma in their ...

'', ''

Sonic Adventure 2 is a platform video game developed by Sonic Team USA and published by Sega. It was the final ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' game for the Dreamcast after Sega left the home console market. It features two good-vs-evil stories: Sonic the Hedgehog, Tail ...

'', ''

Sonic Heroes is a 2003 3D platform game developed by Sonic Team USA and published by Sega as part of the ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' series. The player races a team of series characters through levels to amass rings, defeat robots, and collect the seven Cha ...

'', ''

Shadow the Hedgehog is a fictional character appearing in Sega's '' Sonic the Hedgehog'' franchise. Shadow was created by Takashi Iizuka and Shiro Maekawa, and first made his debut in ''Sonic Adventure 2'' (2001). Although this was intended to be his only appear ...

'', and '' Sonic and the Black Knight'', as well as other ''Sonic'' games.

Motoi Sakuraba is a Japanese composer and keyboardist. He is known for his numerous contributions in video games, such as for '' Tales'', ''Star Ocean'', ''Mario Golf'', ''Mario Tennis'', '' Golden Sun'', and ''Dark Souls'' series, as well as several other ani ...

composed the '' Tales'', ''

Dark Souls is a series of action role-playing games created by Hidetaka Miyazaki of FromSoftware and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. The series began with the release of '' Dark Souls'' (2011) and has seen two sequels, ''Dark Souls II'' (2014) ...

'', ''

Eternal Sonata is a role-playing video game developed by tri-Crescendo and published by Bandai Namco Games. The Xbox 360 version of the game was released on June 14, 2007 in Japan, September 17, 2007 in North America, and October 19, 2007 in Europe. The game w ...

'', ''

Star Ocean is a franchise of action role-playing video games developed by the Japanese company tri-Ace and published and owned by Square Enix (formerly Enix). Development History The series is also known for being some of the earliest action RPGs to allo ...

'', ''

Valkyrie Profile or is a series of role-playing video games created by Masaki Norimoto, primarily developed by tri-Ace and published by Square Enix (formerly Enix). The series is notable for featuring elements from Norse mythology. Common elements The ''Val ...

'', '' Golden Sun'', and the '' Baten Kaitos'' games, as well as numerous

Mario sports games There have been numerous sports games in the ''Mario'' franchise. Although originally a branch of the Mario sports games, the '' Mario Kart'' series is not included in this list, as it has since become a stand-alone series in the Mario franchise. ...

Yuzo Koshiro is a Japanese composer and sound programmer. He is often regarded as one of the most influential innovators in chiptune and video game music, producing music in a number of genres including rock, jazz, symphonic, and various electronic genres ...

composed electronic music-influenced soundtracks for games such as '' Revenge of Shinobi'' and the '' Streets of Rage'' series. Pop singers such as

Nana Mizuki is a Japanese voice actress, singer and narrator from Niihama, Ehime. She is represented by the agency StarCrew. Mizuki was trained as an enka singer, releasing one single under her birth name, Nana Kondō, in 1993 and made her debut as a voice ...

and

BoA Kwon Bo-ah (; born November 5, 1986), known professionally as BoA, is a South Korean singer, songwriter, dancer, record producer and actress. One of the most successful and influential Korean entertainers, she has been dubbed the " Queen of K- ...

sometimes sing for games.

References

External links

*
Audio clips: Traditional music of Japan.
Musée d'ethnographie de Genève. Accessed November 25, 2010.
BBC Radio 3 Audio (60 minutes): Minyo singers and Taiko drumming.
Accessed November 25, 2010.
BBC Radio 3 Audio (60 minutes): Sadao China, Yoriko Ganeko, The Rinken Band.
Accessed November 25, 2010.
columbia.jp – Japanese Traditional Music

Best Japanese non-pop music artists

Japanese Performing Arts special interest group, Society for Ethnomusicology
(international group of scholars who research Japanese music and performing arts) {{World topic, Music of

Traditional and folk music

Gagaku, hougaku

Biwa hōshi, Heike biwa and goze

Wadaiko

Min'yō folk music

Okinawan folk music

Traditional instruments

Arrival of Western music

Japanese blues/Enka

Art music

Western classical music

= Orchestras

Jazz

Popular music

J-pop

Idol music

Dance and disco music

Rock

Punk rock / alternative

Heavy metal

Extreme metal

Metalcore

Hip hop

Grime

Synth-pop and club music

Kawaii Future Bass

Roots and country music

Latin, reggae and ska music

Noise music

Theme music

Game music

See also

Further reading

References

External links