R

E
T
A
E
H
T
E
S
E
N
J A PA
PRESENTED BY:
ANGEL;
C
R
A
H
IT
E
K
,
2

B
;
IA
C
IN
A
B 1, GODWIN AB
BROCOY
T
N
E
C
IN
V
,
4

B
;
ES
T
N
LA
IL
B 3, AARON BR

SHORT BACKGROUND
JAPAN IS RICH IN CULTURE AND

TRADITION.
IKEBANA AND CHERRY BLOSSOM
REPRESENT THE BEAUTY OF ITS
CULTURE HERITAGE.
ONE OF THE TRADITIONS THAT IS
VERY POPULAR UNTIL TODAY IS THE
TRADITIONAL FORM OF THEATER
WHICH BEGAN AT THE END OF 16TH
CENTURY AND SOON BECAME THE
MOST SUCCESSFUL THEATER
ENTERTAINMENT IN THE RED LIGHT
DISTRICTS OF THE GREAT CITIES.

JAPANESE THEATER
A. NH

NH, ORNGAKU DERIVED FROM THE

SINO JAPANESE WORD FOR "SKILL"
OR "TALENT IS A MAJOR FORM OF
CLASSICAL JAPANESE MUSICALDRAMA
THAT HAS BEEN PERFORMED SINCE THE
14TH CENTURY. DEVELOPED BY
KANAMIAND HIS SONZEAMI, IT IS THE
OLDEST MAJOR THEATRE ART STILL
REGULARLY PERFORMED TODAY.
IT IS CONSIDERED THE MOST
IMPORTANT JAPANESE CONTRIBUTION
TO WORLD THEATER.

JAPANESE THEATER
A. NH
NOHMASKS ARE CARVED FROM

BLOCKS OF JAPANESE CYPRESS AND

PAINTED WITH NATURAL PIGMENTS ON
A NEUTRAL BASE OF GLUE AND
CRUNCHED SEASHELL. NOH ACTORS
WEAR SILK COSTUMES
CALLEDSHOZOKU(ROBES) ALONG
WITH WIGS, HATS, AND PROPS SUCH
AS THE FAN.
THE USE OF PROPS IN NOH IS
MINIMALISTIC AND STYLIZED. THE
MOST COMMONLY USED PROP IN NOH
IS THEFAN, AS IT IS CARRIED BY ALL
PERFORMERS REGARDLESS OF ROLE.

JAPANESE THEATER
B. KABUKI

KABUKI IS A CLASSICALJAPANESE DANCE

DRAMA. KABUKI THEATRE IS KNOWN FOR

THE STYLIZATION OF ITS DRAMA AND FOR
THE ELABORATEMAKE-UPWORN BY SOME
OF ITS PERFORMERS AND TRANSLATED AS
"THE ART OF SINGING AND DANCING.
THE HISTORY OF KABUKI BEGAN IN 1603
WHENIZUMO NO OKUNI, POSSIBLY
AMIKOOFIZUMO TAISHA, BEGAN
PERFORMING A NEW STYLE OF DANCE
DRAMA IN THE DRY RIVERBEDS OF KYOTO.
IT ORIGINATED IN THE 17TH CENTURY.

JAPANESE THEATER
B. KABUKI

BOTH NOH AND KABUKI ARE

UNIQUE AND GENUINE

EXPRESSIONS OF THE JAPANESE
SPIRIT AND CULTURE.
THEY MIRROR, HOWEVER, TASTE
AND IDEALS OF DIFFERENT
SOCIAL CLASSES, IN
PROFOUNDLY DIFFERENT
ENVIRONMENTS AND PERIODS.

SAKURA
SAKURA IS ONE OF THE POPULAR TRADITIONAL SONGS OF JAPAN
(TRANSLATED AS CHERRY BLOSSOMS IN ENGLISH).

IT IS A TRADITIONAL SONG THAT PRODUCES DISTINCT CHARACTERISTICS

USED IN THE ASIAN STYLE OF MAKING MELODIES ALSO KNOWN AS THE
PENTATONIC STYLE ADOPTED MAINLY FROM CHINA.

THIS STYLE IS MOSTLY USED IN THE PERFORMANCE OF NOH AND

KABUKI.

THE "SAKURA" MELODY USES APENTATONIC SCALEKNOWN AS

THEJAPANESE MODE. THIS COULD ALSO BE CONSTRUED ASNATURAL

MINORINWESTERNMUSICAL THEORY, USING SCALE DEGREES 1, 2, 3, 5,
AND 6 (A, B, C, E, F OR DO, RE, ME, SOL, AND LA INSOLFGE).

SAKURA

VOCAL TECHNIQUE
ONE OF THE KEY FEATURES OF JAPANESE THEATER IS THE VOCAL TECHNIQUE USED IN
SINGING.

A. IPPONCHSHI
KNOWN AS CONTINUOUS PATTERN THAT IS USED IN SPEECHES BUILDING UP TO AN EXPLOSIVE
CLIMAX IN THE ARAGOTO (OVERSIZE, SUPERNATURAL, ROUGH HERE) STYLE, IT REQUIRES AN
EXTRAORDINARY BREATH CONTROL THAT ONLY FEW EXPERTS SUCCEED IN ACHIEVING.

B. NORI
ADAPTED FROM THE CHANTING OR JRURI THAT IMPLIES A VERY SENSITIVE CAPACITY OF
RIDING THE RHYTHMS OF THE SHAMISEN (STRING INSTRUMENT), DECLAIMING EACH
ACCOMPANIMENT.

C. YAKUHARAI
DESCRIBES THE SUBTLE DELIVERY OF POETICAL TEXT WRITTEN IN THE JAPANESE METRICAL
FORM OF ALTERNATING SEVEN AND FIVE SYLLABLES.

VOCAL INSTRUMANTS AND

FEATURES
DANCES AND MOVEMENTS ARE ACCOMPANIED BY
SHAMISEN MUSIC WHICH COLLECTED AND
POPULARIZED A NUMBER OF ASPECTS FROM ALL
PREVIOUS FORMS OF JAPANESE MUSIC, FROM GAGAKU
(CLASSIC COURT MUSIC IMPORTED FROM CHINA
DURING THE 18TH CENTURY), KAGURA (PERFORMED IN
SHINTO SHRINES), NH (CHANT DERIVES FROM
SHMY, THE SOPHISTICATED AND RICH TRADITION
OF BUDDHIST CHANTING), DOWN TO THE FOLK
SONGS AND FASHIONABLE SONGS OF THE DAY.

NAUGATA
THE MOST POPULAR SHAMISEN

MUSIC WAS CALLED

NAGUTA (LONG SONG) WHICH REACHED A GOLDEN AGE
IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE 19TH CENTURY AS DANCE
MUSIC FOR THE HENGE MONO OR QUICK CHANGE
PIECES.

NAUGATA MUSIC IS VERY FLEXIBLE, CAN BE PERFORMED

BY ONE SHAMISEN OR BY AN ENTIRE ORCHESTRA OF
TWENTY MUSICIANS, OF WHICH TEN ARE SHAMISEN
PLAYERS, WHILE OTHERS PLAY FLUTES (FUE TAKEN FROM
THE N) AND DRUMS (SMALL DRUM KOTSUZUMI;
WAIST DRUM TSUZUMI; STICK DRUM TAIKO).

D
O
G
D
N
A
U
THANK YO
BLESS!

THE END