A Musical Trip Into The Sounds Of Traditional Japanese Theater

Theater is an important part of Japanese culture and art. Japanese theater takes many forms, but the three major traditional kinds are Kabuki, Noh, and Bunraku. While the three forms vary greatly in the types of performances that they give all three of these types of theater often have musical accompaniment. In this blog post we’ll be exploring what these three forms of theater are and what makes the music that goes along with them so unique.

The first of the three theater types that we will discuss is known as Kabuki. Kabuki is generally considered to be the most popular of the three forms of theater today, it originated in Japan’s Edo period (1603-1868). Kabuki theater was originally performed by women, however after the Tokugawa Shogunate banned women from participating the roles were exclusively performed by men (even the female roles). Kabuki theater usually features elaborate costumes, over dramatized stories, and exciting music.

Here is an example of kabuki theater music, the primary instrument is Shamisen which is an instrument similar to a guitar or lute that has only three strings. The song featured is called Echigojishi.

The Shamisen tends to have a flowing twangy timbre that always seems to bring images of a flowing stream to my mind.

The second form of traditional Japanese theater that we are going to discuss is called Noh theater. Noh theater is much slower and more structured both in movement and style than Kabuki theater, it features male actors telling stories from history or legend that often have a supernatural theme. The reason for Noh theater’s strict structure comes from it being named the official ceremonial art of the Tokugawa Shogunate and therefore was strictly regulated by the government of the time. Noh performers often wear masks, and go hand in hand with shorter comedy acts in the in the intermissions called Kyogen. The musicians in a Noh play are called Hayashi, and always include four people playing the fue flute, kotsuzumi shoulder drum, otsuzumi hip drum, and taiko stick drum respectively. The fue flute has a distinctive airy and mysterious sound that you may have heard in the background of the kabuki music piece, while the drums have different pitches and are played with a steady rhythm.

Here is an example of a traditional Japanese Noh theater performance, unfortunately the identity of the play and performing group were not provided. If you pay close attention you can spot the Hayashi playing their instruments in the back.

The final of the three traditional Japanese theater types is Bunraku theater. Bunraku theater is very different from the other two forms of theater because it is performed with puppets. Unlike the western image of puppets however, the puppets of Bunraku theater have no strings, and their puppeteer are in clear view of the audience (though they dress all in black to show that they should be overlooked. Bunraku puppets are incredibly elaborate and are often capable of complex movements and expressions. The puppets are accompanied by a chanter/singer called the Tayu who tells the story and a shamisen player (the same instrument that takes the lead in Kabuki music) who plays in harmony with the Tayu.

Here is an example of a Bunraku performance, the video is actually a pretty informative video about Bunraku theater from UNESCO: the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization It contains several good examples of Bunraku theater and there is a great view of a Tayu and a shamisen player at about the 18 second mark.

I think that it’s fascinating how the three different forms of theater can be so completely different, and even have different feeling music even though roughly the same instruments are used in all of them. I do however think that the musical portions of traditional Japanese theater have a distinct timbre that acts as a kind of musical signature which makes the music of traditional Japanese theater easy to identify. For me that signature is the mysterious and supernatural feel that is carried by the shamisen and especially by the fue flute; while many cultures utilize drums similar to those used here, the fue and shamisen are so distinct and different from anything that I’ve ever heard before that they are instantly recognizable.

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