Classical and theatrical music
Classical music can be divided into gagaku (court orchestral music) and shomyo (Buddhist chanting). Gagaku came from China 1500 years ago as Confucian ceremonial music of the Chinese court. Similar to a chamber orchestra...

Ancient Roots
The many musical styles found in Japan have their roots in Japan's particular historical circumstances - China, Korea, Central and Southeast Asia all exerted considerable influence on the early development of music. The history of music in Japan dates back to the third century BC, but the arrival of eighty...

Traditional instruments
Shakuhachi: A bamboo flute with five finger-holes - four on the front and one on the back - the shakuhachi has a full range of chromatic notes, obtained by adjusting the position of the flute and partially covering the holes...

Min'yo - folk music
Japan's min'yo (folk) tradition is long and rich. Each region has its own style, perhaps the most famous of all being the instrumental shamisen style from Tsugaru in Tohoku. The continued popularity of min'yo is partly due to the...

Developing modern styles
As Japan began the process of modernization under the Meiji Reformation of 1868, there was already a large pool of traditional music - classical, folk and urban - available for development or incorporation into newer styles.Another influence..

Postwar pop
After the famine and devastation that followed the end of World War II, people turned for solace to songs like the influential 1945 hit Ringo No Uta (The Apple Song), sung by Namiki Michiko and Kirishima Noburo. Despite the arrival of...

Enka - Japan's soul music
Enka has been described as the "nihonjin no kokoro", the soul of the Japanese. It's about lost love, homesickness or simply drowning the sorrows of a broken heart with sake. The songs feature fog or rain, a smouldering cigarette that...

Japanese rock
By the late 1960s, musicians were starting to create Japanese-language rock . Many pop bands at the time sang in English but some underground groups tried splicing Japanese into the rock mix. Seminal band Happy End were pioneers.

The Roots Boom
The Japanese genius for assimilating foreign sounds into a new form is well known, and the invasion of World Music has had a significant effect. Reggae, for example, was considered "underground" for years, but the rise of...