is a type of music used in

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 ...

theatre performances in Japan. Originally derived from the

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

word , meaning a stretchy material (and still used today to refer to knitted garments), came to denote a form of theatrical music which expanded and contracted in order to fit the events unfolding on stage. Played on the , interludes are generally called for to accompany sections of dialogue. As a result, they are usually instrumental solos, rather than songs. Despite this, the genre is still classified as a subset of ("long song") music.

References

Japanese styles of music Kabuki {{Japan-music-stub