MIYUKI YOSHIKAMI, Ph.D.
Author of Japan's Musical Tradition, Koto Musician, Professor of Japanese Performing Arts
My friend, Kurahashi Yodo sensei will be performing his shakuhachi in conjunction with the art work found at the Freer Art Gallery April 8, 2021 at 7:00 p.m. I attach a flyer and how to listen in!
Updated: Apr 2, 2021
Dr. Marlene Mayo, emeritus history professor of University of Maryland, sent me an old photograph of little girls playing the koto. My initial reaction was,”Oh, how cute,” but upon close scrutiny, I found they were of the Yamada school of koto music. I could tell because of their oval plectrum. Plus, they are seated perpendicular to the koto, and they were playing on very beautiful kotos with wavy designs on the wood. Plus, the ivory bridges meant it was a special occasion. And it was. Elenor Roosevelt had visited Japan after the war and the little girls were posing for her.
Updated: Mar 29, 2020
I wrote a book for the general public called, Japan’s Musical Tradition: Hogaku from Prehistory to the Present. The title may sound daunting but really, the less you know about Western music, the easier it is to understand Japanese music. This is because without any preconceived notion about music, you will be able to approach it with an open mind.
Basically the book illustrates how Japanese music developed from a different musical tree. The roots were anchored on different soil and nurtured by remote people with their own needs and logic for music. As a consequence, the resulting fruit is different but just as beautiful, tempting, and nutritious to the human soul.
To follow the development of Japanese music, I start with Japan’s pre-prehistoric people’s beliefs and aesthetics, particularly the Shinto norito (religious incantation) that are relevant today. Musical elements gleaned from the incantations carry a certain Japanese-ness, like mitochondria, that have been passed onto new genres by every generation of composers. Recently, the late NHK conductor, Hiroyuki Iwaki, said that the works of today’s composers contain the embedded Japanese philosophy. This book helps discover the Japanese musical mitochondria persistent in Japanese music.
