Japanese musical instruments - traditional art

Hello, dear readers – seekers of knowledge and truth!

Japan is an amazing country. You have probably been convinced of this more than once when you saw photographs of cherry blossoms or the panorama of Fuji, and maybe even when you got behind the wheel of a Toyota or bought a brand new Sony TV.

Have you ever heard Japanese folk music? One has only to take a look at Japanese musical instruments, and you understand that these people have amazing imagination and remarkable intelligence.

The article below will tell you what instruments the Japanese used to create music. In order not to get confused in their diversity, we have prepared pictures with the names of these outlandish instruments.

Japanese musical instruments can be divided into 3 main types:

• drums;
• winds;
• strings

The latter, in turn, are divided into plucked and
bowed .

The most popular

The Land of the Rising Sun is special, unlike others. Therefore, the national Japanese musical instrument is also unusual. It is called shamisen. This is a Japanese plucked musical instrument. It has three strings attached to a wooden frame covered with the skin of a cat, snake or dog. The instrument is covered on both sides. Its length is 100 centimeters. The shamisen is played using a special device - a plectrum, which replaces the previously used mediator. Performers with high skill can extract special sounds from this instrument - savari. In addition, shamisen differ from each other in pitch and timbre. Storytellers and singers accompanied themselves during performances by playing this instrument. The appearance of this instrument dates back to the mid-16th century. The shamisen is played in three different styles. Minyo - performance of folk songs. Katari-mono - playing along with the storyteller. Uta-mono is a song style used to accompany Kabuki theatrical performances. Geishas in the Tokugawa era had to be able to play the shamisen.

How to get combinations using small letters

• The sounds “mya”, “to”, “bya”, “kyu”, “ze” and similar combinations.

To form derivative constructions involving sounds: “ya” “yu” “e”. To the symbols:

き, ぎ, し, じ, ち, に, ひ, び, ぴ, み, り - just add “ゃ” “ゅ” or “ょ” (in its small version!).

For example: やきゅう “yakyu” (baseball), きょう “kyo:” (today), シャツ “schiatsu” (shirt)

• Doubling consonants.

Before the letters of the lines: か; さ; た,は (i.e. it is a vertical line), to double a consonant,

a small letter “っ” is placed (or “ッ” in words written in katakana).

For example:

にっき “nikki” - diary

コップ "koppu" - glass

ベッド “beddo” - bed

Almost a harp

There are other Japanese stringed musical instruments. There is a large group united by one name - biwa. These Japanese musical instruments are made from mulberry wood and the strings are made from silk. The earliest mentions of them are found in documents dating back to the 8th century. There are several varieties of these instruments. They have an elongated, almond-shaped body, strings, and are played using a plectrum. But there are a number of features that make it possible to distinguish them from each other. This is not only the appearance and sound, but also a different purpose. Gakubiva was used to create special music - gagaku. The size of this instrument is 122*41 cm. It has 4 strings. A wide black leather tape is glued across the body. It protects him from the blows of the plectrum. For court orchestras, a five-string version was used. But over time they stopped using it. Blind monks played a four-string moso biwa. In order to play along during “The Tale of the House of Tara,” they took a special heike biwa with 4 strings and 5 frets. Satsuma-biwa has an extended range. This instrument has 4 strings, 4 high frets, and uses the largest plectrum to play. It was most often used in Satsuma Province during the Edo period. And in Meiji times they played chikuzen-biwa. It could have 4 or 5 frets, depending on this the playing style changed.

Ceremony process

While the water is warming up in a copper (cast iron) cauldron (kettle), they are treated to a light snack (kaiseki), which is designed not so much to satisfy hunger as to please the eye. Then they go out into the garden to walk, talk and get ready to drink tea together.

The owner replaces the saying in the niche with a composition (tabano), which combines things that, at first glance, are completely inappropriate: for example, a rough tree branch and a delicate flower, which symbolize the unity of contrasts. A good reason to think about harmony, the compatibility of incompatible things, the right of everyone to life and their place in it.

When everyone is invited back, the tea master will wash the dishes and dry them with a linen or silk napkin, although everything was perfectly clean, but not polished, as is customary among Europeans.

Then he will grind green tea into powder, taken with a spoon from a simple wooden box, pour it with hot water in a bowl for general tea drinking and whisk until foam forms with a bamboo whisk, dilute it again to the desired thickness.

Everything happens in complete silence, which is disturbed only by the sounds of grinding tea, whipping foam, and tapping dishes. It's a kind of meditation.

Everything is done clearly, every movement, honed over the years, is performed under the close supervision of those gathered.

And so the bowl is handed over to the honored guest with a bow, who takes it with his right hand, with the pattern facing him, but places it on his left palm, turning it towards the owner, so as not to touch this part with his lips. So the cup will go around everyone. No one will forget to wipe with napkins those places on the dishes that were touched with their lips during tea drinking. The last one to taste the tea will return it to the owner.

Then the empty bowl will go around again in a circle so that everyone can evaluate the design, shape, and material. Dishes play a very important role in the ceremony; it is a kind of presentation of taste and knowledge about the traditions of the owner of the house.

Tea from a common cup symbolizes deference, equality and respect. And drinking tea from separate cups is a time for conversations about what is written in the scroll, the taste of tea, and the beauty of the dishes. Sweets (omogashi) are served. The tea is lighter and more delicate.

The tea ceremony ends with an invitation to answer questions. Then the master apologizes and leaves the tea house - this is a sign that the ceremony is over. The guests bow to the host, who is standing at the door, and leave the house where the ceremony took place.

Not just music

Japanese folk musical instruments resemble drums, flutes and harps in appearance. All drums in this country are usually called taiko, which means big drum. They appeared in Japan in the 3rd-4th centuries. It is believed that their homeland is Korea and China. Japanese drums are divided into two groups. Belonging to one of them, you can customize, for this there are cords and screws. They are called shime-daiko. Those belonging to the second group, byo-daiko, have a rigid membrane secured with nails, which does not allow changing the sound of the instrument. Instrument bodies are hollowed out from a single piece of hardwood. Drums are used in the performance of classical music, but are also widely used among people. In Japan, it is believed that playing them develops coordination, fortitude and discipline. Besides, drumming is a whole performance. Therefore, there are musical ensembles whose members play only these instruments. A small hourglass-shaped drum is called a tsuzumi. It is adjusted using cords that are passed through membranes on both sides. The membranes should be wet when playing, this ensures better sound.

Biwa

This string instrument, about a meter in size, is used in ritual ceremonies and even to play modern musical masterpieces. This seems surprising, because it appeared 13 centuries ago.

The frame is made of mulberry wood and has an almond-shaped appearance. The strings are usually made of silk. They are sorted through using a plectrum.

Biwa

There are several types of biwa, each of which differs in appearance, in the sounds it makes and in its purpose:

• gakubiva - four-string, creates a special musical sound - gagaku;
• mosobiwa - four-stringed, was intended to be played by blind monks;
• haikebiwa – four-string, five-fret, for ak;
• satsumabiva - four-string, four-fret, with a wide range;
• Chikuzenbiwa - four- or five-fret, was common during the Meiji era.

Daiko

This is what all drums in Japan are called. They migrated from Korean and Chinese territories to Japanese territory at the turn of the 3rd and 4th centuries.

The completely wooden frame is covered with leather on both sides. Sizes may vary: some are very small, while others require several people to drum at once.

Daiko

Conventionally, daiko (or taiko) can be divided into two types:

• Shimedaiko - its sound can be adjusted using special screws;
• bedaiko - its design does not allow you to change the sound.

Most often, Daikos are used in classical music, although they are often used for any other performances or marches. It is believed that this sound increases discipline, coordination, and spirit.

There is a variety of Daiko called tsuzumi. It is small in size and has an hourglass shape.

Japanese pipe

A bamboo flute called shakuhachi also came to Japan from China. Its name accurately characterizes its length. "Shaku" is a foot, and "hachi" is eight. By our standards, 54.5 centimeters. Over time, they learned to make it in this country. Today, these Japanese musical instruments are widely used. In total there are about 20 species. This flute is a favorite of the people for the beauty of its sound and ease of manufacture. The original sounds that musicians extract from it are often used to write meditation music.

Phonetics and pronunciation in Japanese

Phonetics and pronunciation in Japanese

Pronunciation in Japanese is not very difficult, but it has its own characteristics. Firstly, almost all syllables in Japanese are open (consonant + vowel). There are few closed syllables, and in Japanese they can only end in n. Secondly, the Japanese language does not have many sounds that are in Russian (“l”, “sh”, “y”), and vice versa, some sounds differ from those familiar to us.

Let's take a closer look at the pronunciation of vowels.

The first row of the Japanese syllabary consists of five vowels: a, i, u, e, o.

あ – similar to the stressed Russian “a”, but the Japanese “a” is less open

い – like Russian i. The consonant before it is always soft.

う– in transcription it is rendered as Russian “u”, but it looks like a cross between Russian u and ы. .

え – should be pronounced clearly, but less openly, Japanese え is more like “e” after hard consonants.

お–clearly, like the Russian stressed “o”

Japanese has long and short vowels. Long vowels are 2 times longer than short vowels. Long and short vowels must always be distinguished, since some words differ only in the length of the vowels. In transcription, the length of a vowel is indicated by a colon or a line above the letter.

In hiragana, longitude is indicated either by repeating the corresponding vowel or the vowel う after お (as in the word けんこう kenko: "health"), in katakana - by a horizontal bar after the vowel. The combination えい in some cases is read as a long “e” (for example, the word せんせい (sensei) can be pronounced as sensei or sensei:, and がくせい (gakusei) as gakusei or gakuse:).

“U” and “i” between voiceless consonants are reduced, that is, they are almost not pronounced. For example, the words すこし “a little” or そして “then” sound almost like “mow” and “suck.” Also, the reduction rule sometimes applies to the case if “I” or “U” are at the end of the word after a voiceless consonant, for example, the linking verb です is read as “des”, and the ending of the verb ます is read as “mas”.

Now let's talk about the pronunciation of consonants.

K in the series か, き, く, け, こ is similar to the Russian k.

In the syllables さ sa, す su, せ se, そ so, the first consonant is similar to the Russian “s”. The consonant in the syllable し si looks like a cross between the soft Russian s and shch.

In た ta, て te, と that - like t in Russian. In ち ti looks like a cross between t' and h'. The ts in the syllable つ tsu is similar to the Russian “ts”.

In the syllables な na, に ni, ぬ well, ね ne, の but the consonant is similar to the Russian “n”.

X in the syllables は ha, へ he, ほ ho is pronounced aspirated and easy. In the syllable ひ hi is like a soft x. In the syllable ふ fu, the “f” is pronounced easily, with aspiration.

M is the first sound in the syllables ま ma, み mi, む mu, め me, も mo. Identical to Russian m.

In や i, ゆ yu, よ е the first consonant is th. These syllables are similar to the Russian letters i, yu, ё.

In the syllables ら ra, り ri, る ru, れ re, ろ ro, the consonant is less booming than our “r”, it is formed almost the same as in Russian, but with one blow of the tongue on the palate, which is why it becomes a kind of middle between r and l. Some peoples claim that there is no “r” in Japanese, but only “l”.

The consonant of the syllable わ wa resembles something between the Russians в and у (cf. English w).

The syllable を is pronounced like "o".

The consonant ん is read as “m” before m, b and p (かんぱい kampai – toast, しんぶん shimbun – newspaper), as a nasal before k and g – (けんか kenka “quarrel”), and as “n” in other cases.

Consonants in voiced rows are pronounced:

G in the series "ha" is similar to the Russian "g". When the syllables が ga, ぎgi, ぐ gu, げ ge, ご go are in the middle of a word, the “g” is pronounced with a nasal sound similar to the English ŋ (for example, in the word あげる ageru “to raise”).

In the syllables ざ dza, づ, ず dzu, ぜ dze, ぞ dzo, when they are written at the beginning or middle of a word after n, a continuous “dz” is pronounced. In other cases - as Russian z. In the syllables じ, ぢ, dzi is pronounced softly and with a lisping sound.

In だ yes, で de, ど do consonant = hard Russian “d”.

The first sound in the series ば ba, び bi, ぶ bu, べ be, ぼ bo is similar to the Russian “b”.

In the syllables ぱ pa, ぴ pi, ぷ pu, ぺ pe, ぽ po, the consonant is similar to the Russian “p”.

There are also doubled consonants in Japanese. They are indicated by a small つ before a syllable with a double consonant: けっか kekka, いったい ittai, いっぽん ippon, etc.

In conclusion, I would like to say that in general, mastering Japanese pronunciation is much easier for Russian-speaking people than, for example, for English speakers or speakers of other languages.

This is due to the fact that the Russian language includes almost all the sounds that are found in the Japanese language.

In order to improve your pronunciation, I advise you to listen to Japanese speech as much as possible and practice listening. Listen carefully and pay attention to the intonation and pronunciation and then proceed to practice - try to exactly repeat after the announcer, and then your pronunciation will noticeably improve after some time of regular practice.

PS For listening, for example, dialogues from the textbook Minna no Nihongo are good.

You can put all the subtleties of the phonetics of the Japanese language into practice by taking a year-long course in studying the Japanese language.

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Unusual beauty

Japanese musical instruments resembling a harp are koto. They were introduced to Japan in the first millennium. They played the koto in the imperial palace. All aristocrats had to own it. Therefore, playing the koto was included in the educational program of the elite segments of society. In order to extract sound from this instrument, the musician uses false nails. One for the thumb, the second for the index and the third for the middle finger of the right hand. The frets are pre-tuned using bridges. There are two types of koto. A large one, 1.8-2 meters long, with 1 or more strings, is used for playing in an orchestra. It's called "co". For a solo instrument, a smaller koto is chosen, 1 meter long with seven strings. The most popular piece of music for this instrument is Rokudan no Shirabe, written by the blind man Yatsuhashi Kenge in the 17th century.

Koto

Japanese music is known for an instrument in the form of a harp with a cross between a gusli. It was brought to the country more than a thousand years ago and named koto.

It can be called noble because it was played at the court of the emperor. Any self-respecting member of the aristocracy had to be able to play it. For this purpose, playing the instrument was even included in the curriculum of privileged schools.

Koto

To play the koto, you need to use special pads on the nails of the middle, index and thumb. For orchestral performances, large kotos up to two meters in size were used and could have only one string. For solo performances, a smaller option was chosen - a meter, seven-string.

A relative of the oboe

What other Japanese musical instruments are there? Brass is a cunning guy. This instrument is considered the progenitor of the oboe. It is made from bamboo and decorated with cherry tree bark. It is small in size and has a sound range of only one octave. Externally, the khitirik resembles a flute. The body has holes for sound extraction, as well as a ring for adjusting tone and volume.

And there is an unusual musical instrument in Japan that anyone can play. It is not necessary to have an ear for music. This will happen naturally when you wash your hands. We are talking about suikinkutsu.

Tea house

And only now the guest is ready to cross the threshold of the tea house (chashitsu), which must also certainly correspond to “wabi”, i.e. not contain anything that might hint at luxury.

Murata Juko arranged Japanese ceremonies in the palace of Shogun Ashikaga in a simple room to conduct them in complete silence, surrounded by the simplest things. His follower Joo Takeno decided to use a tea house for these purposes - a peasant house covered with straw.

Tea houses in Japan have not undergone any fundamental changes even now. This is a room with a narrow and low (about 90 cm) entrance. To enter, you have to bend down a lot, i.e. show respect to the host and guests. The ceremony requires obligatory respect.

Previously, such an entrance humbled both people in high positions and proud samurai: long swords did not allow entry into the room. Weapons were left in the garden along with worries, and most importantly, arrogance. Moreover, for a samurai, the tea ceremony could begin only when he had a fan in his hands.

Surprisingly, the windows in such a house are cut high so as to only provide the necessary light and not distract from the action. Sometimes, at the tea master's discretion, the doors are opened to allow one to enjoy the views of the garden.

The decoration and furnishings are ascetic. The walls are coated with clay, reflecting the light from the windows, it muffles it.

There are tatami or mats on the floor. The most important part of the room is the niche (tokonoma). It is located opposite the entrance. Participants in the tea ceremony immediately approach there to read the saying that the master specially selected for this occasion. The recess may also contain a portrait of an old master, an incense burner, flowers, and plant branches.

The central place is given to a built-in hearth or a portable brazier (binkake), where a fire is burning when guests arrive. The table is replaced by a mat. The host sits facing the guests. Guests take off their shoes and pass.

Underground melody

Translated, this word means “cave of the water koto.” Previously, such devices were installed at springs, but in the modern world they can be found in parks, shops, and residential premises. The Japanese love the sounds of suikinkutsu, and although the sounds are made not by man, but by nature, it is still people who tune it. It is a jug buried in the ground, turned upside down. Water enters the jug through a hole in the bottom, giving birth to simple melodies. Ceramic jugs are best, although metal ones are also used. Those who hear sounds coming from underground for the first time are amazed when they learn how this instrument actually works.

Japan is an unusual country. Therefore, the Japanese musical instruments, photos of which are presented in the article, are distinguished by their originality. Of course, the best thing is not to look at the images, but to hear how they sound.

Requirements for the tea ceremony

The most important preliminary step is to agree with the invited guests on the type of event for which the ceremony is being organized.

If this is a formal event, for example, on the occasion of some important celebration, the men present must wear a silk kimono, a black cape with a specially inscribed sign, a white belt and hakama. And women invited to the ceremony, even if the ceremony is held on an informal occasion, must have a strictly consistent appearance; clothing should not be flashy or bright!

Strict requirements are also imposed on the room in which the tea ceremony takes place. It should consist of two zones: closed and open.

Soan huts are the ideal setting for a tea ceremony. The main feature of this hut is the absence of a veranda and the absence of a foundation, that is, such a hut is not elevated above the ground! They are located on the same straight line. The tea ceremony room is a place for communication, a symbol of unity and harmony with nature.

Long vowel sound

A long vowel is made by increasing the duration of the vowel sound.
In writing, to do this, add 「あ」、「い」 or 「う」 to the vowel, according to the table: Lengthening vowel sounds

To lengthen the vowel sound in 「か」, add 「あ」 to it to make 「かあ」. More examples: 「き → きい」, 「く → くう」, 「け → けい」, 「こ → こう」, 「さ → さあ」, etc. The reason for this is simple. Try saying 「か」 and 「あ」 first separately, then in a row as quickly as you can. You will find that it is much easier to stretch the vowel.

It is important that the full duration of both characters is preserved: many similar words differ only in the length of the vowels. For example, 「ここ」 means “here” and 「こうこう」 means “high school.”

Below is a small list of example words with a long vowel. The long vowel is highlighted in a different color:

• がくせい (ga-ku-se) - student
• せんせい (sen-se) - teacher
• きょう (kyo) - today
• おはよう (o-ha-yo) - good morning
• おかあさん (o-ka-san) - mother

We will look at examples of exceptions when 「え」 is added to lengthen “e” or “o” is lengthened with 「お」.

In katakana, lengthening vowels is much easier. Use this trait: 「ー」.

• ツアー (tsu-a) - tour (from English tour)
• メール (me-ru) - email (from English mail)
• ケーキ (ke-ki) - cake (from English cake)