Layers of Modern Music and Japan

Author(s): William P. Malm

Source: Asian Music, Vol. 4, No. 2 (1973), pp. 3-6
Published by: University of Texas Press
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/833826
Accessed: 29-10-2018 18:38 UTC

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 LAYERS OF MODERN MUSIC AND JAPAN*
By
William P. Malm

The term "modern music" is most frequently applied to the activities of a

specialized group which produced musical events for a dedicated but
relatively small audience. One could apply such a definition to such
great moments in music history as the products of Beethoven, Bartok, or
Takemitsu Toru. For many, such music is the major topic of the conference.
However, in the spirit of broadening our concept of the assigned theme
(Modern Music and Japan), let us concentrate for a moment on other less
"artistic" musics in order to grasp more fully the socio-historical meaning
of music in the moder mass communication world with special reference
to Japan.

Modern world music in the context of Japan can be categorized in many

ways but the following essay is organized in only five layers; "serious",
educational, ideological, folk revival, and popular musics. The term
"layers" does not imply that one layer is necessarily higher or better than
another. It merely means that in the modem musical scene of Japan all
exist at the same time and all are accessible through live or electronic
media. On the "serious" layer we should note how very efficiently some
Japanese composers have handled all aspects of the avant-qarde from
multi-media happenings and electronic pieces to string quartets. We
must also note that there are two other aspects of this layer; the Western
and the Japanese classicists. One group plays Bach, Beethoven, or
Mahler while the other uses traditional Japanese instruments to perform
Yamada Kengyo, Kineya Rokuzaemon, or Zeami.

Turning quickly to the educational layer of music, we see that the public
school music system of Japan has, until recent times, been almost totally
committed to training children in Western-style singing or instrument
performance. One example of a historical result of this system is the
survival in Japan of many Stephen Foster songs long after their general
demise in America. Another example is the constant use of a slowed down
version of "Turkey in the Straw" in the folk dance section of many school
undo-kai. A rather different aspect of Japan's educational music is
exemplified by the so-called Suzuki violin method. Through it, western
classical string music is taught under the influence of Japanese traditional
rote vis a vis note methods. The flow of this system and its accompanying
industry (instruments, lesson books, records, etc.) to Europe and America
place it even further into the context of the conference theme.

*Editor's note: This paper was read at the International Conference on

Japanese Studies of the Japan PEN Club in Kyoto, November 23, 1972,
and is printed with permission of the author.

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The layer of ideological music with specific moral or social goals is equal
to public school music in terms of the number of people active in or
effected by it. Evangelistic Christian, Buddhist, and new sects such as
Tenri-kyo or Sogagakkai illustrate moral goals while Ro-on and Utagoe
are best known in the social action groups. Let us turn briefly to the
latter type. Utagoe has its parallels in world proletarian (as well as
militant) movements with its emphasis on student and worker's com-
munal singing and composition as well as its mixture of topical songs
and old standards of international fame. Examples of the latter are
"The Red Flag" and "The International" which were derived from old IWW
song books. Examples of topical songs include such pieces as
"Beautiful Indonesia" which was dropped from the repertoire when
Sukarno fell and "Return Okinawa" which is still sung though the goal
of the song has been accomplished. The reason behind the continued use
of this last topical piece may be its value as an ego reinforcing
reminiscence of previous successful anti-establishment stands. The
reason may also be that, like the Christian hymn, "A Mighty Fortress is
Our God," the tune of "Return Okinawa" has simply outranked its text
in the long-range evaluation of the proletariat. All over the world, the
thousands of young people who know such pieces are a definite part of
any picture of modern music.

The Ro-on movement is rather novel as a Japanese modern music event

for its original goal in 1949 was to make Western classical bourgeois
music financially available to the workers. Since then it has become a
booking agent for popular and jazz groups as well. Like Utagoe, it runs
workers' circles but the Ro-on emphasis has been more on music
appreciation than on the Utagoe-style of performance. Another unique
aspect of Ro-on in the modern music scene is that it provides opportu-
nities to play shamisen and folk music untainted by the world socialist
musical symbol, the accordion. Utagoe has supplied an equally inter-
esting but different event in its support of a 1971 message opera,
"Okinawa," concerned with the displacement of farmers by occupying
forces. No one would find its musical idiom "modern" but the communal
composition and production, the folk source of many of the melodies
(thoroughly cloaked in Western-style romantic settings), the use of
mass choruses and audience participation, and the political and
emotional timeliness of its creation combine into one of the better
examples of reconstructed people's music. Such works are an important
part of moder music in those areas of the world which prefer marxist
musical aesthetics.

Turning to the layer of folk music one finds that the moder rise of post-
war nationalism and prosperity in Japan have led to a revival of older
folk songs and festivals. Naturally, the tourist trade has had its own
influence on this phenomenon, but it really should be viewed in a
larger world context. Younger generations in many countries are looking
for grass roots in a seemingly internationalizing electronic world.

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Thus a young performer of matsuri bayashi sociologically is as important
a part of modern music in Japan as is an electronic music composer.

The layers of modern music are not compartmentalized. We have already

noted several interpenetrating examples such as Suzuki violins and
Japanese "folk" operas set in Western romantic style. The youth men-
tioned above in the folk music revival is often pulled as well by the
strong layer of international or regional popular music and perhaps jazz.
Another form of sentimental song exists for the middle aged. Let us
concentrate, however, on music for modern youth since they are the
greatest consumers of the product.

A general view of popular music shows that such a form has always
existed. In all periods of every urban society there has been a topical,
aurally transferable, and evanescent idiom. For example "Batotai"
(1877) or "Manshu Omoeba " (1936) stand firm in old Japanese ears, but
are of as little concern to ears under the age of twenty as "Tokyo Boogie
Woogie" (1947) or perhaps even "Wagon Master" (1955). There are, of
course, standard tunes like "Miyasan Miyasan" (1868) just as there are
in other layers of music; for instance, Beethoven's Fifth for an orchestra
or "Rokudan" for the koto zither. However, the singular advantage of
popular music over other forms is that it operates without dogma. The
pop tune writer is not trapped by the cult of the composers in which each
artist must sound different and be "original". Neither must he follow the
doctrines of a given political or religious organization nor the lesson plan
objectives of an educational board. He can continue to write topical
tunes until people stop buying or listening to them in which case he
looks for whatever new style or topics will appeal. In this context a
study of hack tune lyrics may prove to be the most fruitful source for a
view of modern Japanese thought in a musical setting outside that of
the intellectual.

The first reaction of most academics or serious Japanese musicians to

the points emphasized in this outline would probably be a concern for
the value of a given music. What pieces are good music? A sociological
response might be made by asking in return, "Good for what? " Looking
at all the layers of music let us turn to Leonard Meyer who has sug-
gested in his Music, the Arts, and Ideas (Chicago, 1967) that the mass
communication world seems to have brought composition into a condition
known in physics as a stasis or steady state. Under such conditions it
is now possible anywhere in the industrial nations to listen to any music
from any country and any period by the mere manipulation of the proper
electric equipment. With this plethora of sources the Western cult of
originality may now be replaced by rather different criteria; (1) to what
degree is a given piece of music communicating with someone outside

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of the composer and the performer? and (2) to what degree did these
musicians create and perform the work well in whatever idiom the piece
was set?

This paper obviously calls for a view of modern music and Japan which
considers composers and works in terms of their functions in and
responses from contemporary Japanese society. International exchanges
of ideas along these lines will hopefully be one of the results of
conferences such as this one.

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