正派邦楽会

Meiji shinkyoku refers to “new pieces” for the koto that appeared during Japan’s Meiji era, when musicians began to modernize Edo‑period koto traditions. These works favor a distinctive, brighter pentatonic sound (often related to the yo/yonanuki scale), and they are most commonly written for a duet of two kotos. Stylistically, Meiji shinkyoku balances courtly elegance with tuneful, forward‑looking lyricism. The two kotos are frequently tuned in complementary scordature and exchange clear, songlike melodies, antiphonal figures, and simple counter‑melodies. Compared with earlier, more austere repertoire, Meiji shinkyoku tends to feature concise forms, brighter modal color, and, in some cases, hints of Western tonal motion, reflecting the broader cultural reforms of the period.

Japanese classical refers to the courtly, religious, theatrical, and chamber traditions that crystallized in Japan from the Nara and Heian periods onward. It encompasses Gagaku (imperial court music), Shinto ritual music (kagura), Buddhist chant (shōmyō), Noh and Kabuki repertories (e.g., nagauta, jōruri), and chamber music for koto, shamisen, and shakuhachi (sankyoku). The style emphasizes modal color (ryō and ritsu modes, along with later in/yo pentatonic variants), the dramatic architecture of jo–ha–kyū (slow introduction, development, swift conclusion), and the aesthetic of ma (meaningful silence/space). Textures are often heterophonic or layered, timbres are cultivated for breathy, reedy, and bell-like colors (e.g., shō, hichiriki, ryūteki), and rhythm can range from free-flowing chant to stately ceremonial cycles. The result is a contemplative yet ceremonially powerful sound world distinct from Western common-practice tonality.