TOWARDS A UNIVERSAL LANGUAGE:
Evaluating Autonomy, Identity, and the Metropolis in
The legacy of Japanese Experimental Music
MATHEW GREGORY
A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the
Requirements of Liverpool John Moores University
For the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
June 2006
Abstract
Towards a Universal Language: (Evaluating Autonomy, Identity, and the Metropolis in
the legacy of JapaneseExperimental Music) attemptsto survey the rise and evolution of
half
Japanese
throughout
the
second
of the Twentieth century.
avant-gardemusic
radical
Analysing the vast economic and social changesthat have occurred within Japan's
Metropolitan centre over the past half-century, the study draws together diverse areasof
researchincluding Japanesemodernist composition, jazz, electronic, improvisational and
experimental psychedelicmusic, examining each within the context of key social, political,
and art historical issues.
The legacy of avant-gardemusic in Japan,which beganto take initial root during the
post-Hiroshima era under allied occupation, embodied for the first time in centuriesa
progressive,indigenous form of Japanesemusic that relied neither upon bland mimicry of the
West, nor nationalistic adherenceto its own folk traditions. The researchpresentedwithin this
thesis focusesupon issuesof creative independence,identity, and cultural autonomy,
examining the pursuit made by successivegenerationsof defiant, often anarchic avant-garde
musicians and sound artists, to develop a creative languagethat was/is independentof
dominant cultural and artistic practisesin Japan.Thesedominant mainstreamtrends have,
throughout Japanesehistory, been predominantly manifest in either its artists' nationalistic
adherenceto traditional folk culture, or unoriginal mimicry of Europeanand American
fashions.
The study examinesthe relationship betweenJapanand the West at eachpoint in history,
and the effect both contemporaneousand residual historical-political factors have had upon
cultural exchangesbetweenthe two. It also considersthe attitude of individual Japanese
artists to both traditional Japaneseculture and that imported from the West, as well as the way
in which the avant-gardecommunities of Tokyo have historically reactedto, been informed
by, and evolved as a result of the specific conditions and changing nature of the city itself.
The foremost aim of the study is to establish a modern historical lineage of radical avant.
garde music in Japan,examining how the historical, political and cultural relationship
between Japanand the West, as well as external political, social and cultural factors
(historical and contemporaneous),have influenced the developmentof Japaneseexperimental
music itself, and the possible reactionary nature of that work.
Towards a Universal Language considersthe extent to which Japaneseexperimental
music at its most progressive,challenging, and anarchic, can be defined historically by it's
autonomy from Japanesetradition and Western mimicry - remaining throughout its multiple
incarnations over the last fifty years, a statementof the new, the contemporary,
and the
independent.
CONTENTS
Page
INTRODUCTION
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
JapaneseModernism `beneaththe veneerof appropriation'
`Overcoming Modernity' in Japan- Historical Context
`Autonomy' in JapaneseExperimental Music
Literature Review and Researchmethodology
3.
6.
10.
12.
CHAPTER ONE
Modernist Composition in the Post-war Period:
Toru Takemitsu and the Avant Garde
1.0
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.4
Introduction: Toru Takemitsu
Upon Seeking Drastic Change:The Post-War Avant Garde in Japan
Exploring the West to Rediscover Japan
Universal Language:TranscendingWest TranscendingJapan
Conclusion
CHAPTER TWO
Jazz Kissa Radicals:
Tokyo Free Jazz and the Anti-ANPO Uprising
2.0
`... An ImportedSoundtrackof Liberation'
2.1
2.2
2.3
2.4
Anpo 1960
Free Jazz and Politics
Change
Conclusion
21.
23.
29.
31.
36.
39.
43.
46.
58.
62.
CHAPTER THREE
From Group Sounds to Avant Garde:
The Evolution of Japanese Psychedelic Music
3.0
3.1
Introduction: JapaneseCulture Catching Up and Down
TheOriginsof Japanese
Psychedelia
3.2
3.3
Psychedelic Sound In Japan
Towards Avant Gardism
3.4
DeepPurplemeetsStockhausen:
3.5
Contemporary JapanesePsychedelicMusic
Conclusion
64.
70.
77.
84.
97.
102.
CHAPTER FOUR
Isolation and Chaos:
Avant Garde Japanese Music and the Metropolis
4.0
Introduction:Megalopolis
4.1
City Noise- BeautifulNoise
105.
108.
113.
4.3
City Noise and Sadomasochism
City Noise- City Junk
115.
4.2
4.4
4.5
City Noise and Isolation
Conclusion
CONCLUSION
Afterword
118.
133.
137.
142.
Bibliography
SelectDiscography
144.
147.
APPENDICES
Appendix 1: Glossary of Terms
Appendix 2: Timeline
150.
151.
316.
2
Towards a Universal Language
JAPANESE MODERNISM `BENEATH THE VENEER OF
APPROPRIATION'
0.1 Introduction
Intellectuals should be criticised for bringing the theory of modernism- let alone
postmodernism- to art without considering theoretically suchfacts as the
structural differences betweendifferent cultures and societies
(Asano, 1994, p.71)
Japan is a country with manypeople, and many different aspectsto its music
scene,of course... But one interesting thing is thefact that anyonefrom another
culture can approach a country's musicfrom ad jerent point of view. Sofor
example,Japanesekids growing up can hear American rock and roll, and also
hear European experimental music, and then start a band that combinesrock
with experimental music in ways which wouldn't occur to an American kid.
(Mason Jones,2001, p.47 - JapaneseIndependentmusic)
European and American journalists don't really understand the differences
within the Japaneseindependentmusic scene.Musicians have grown up in very
tiny rock clubs and other uncommercial experimental venues.This has resulted
in a melting pot of the various Japanesedialects and young people 's slang.
(Haco, 2001, p.49 - JapaneseIndependentmusic)
Welearned everything about musicfrom the American and European music. We
have no Japanesemusical roots... Our musical roots are the music of other
countries. Japanesestyle is also basedon imitation but it is not analytical, it's
obscure. Whenthey start to copy something, they will soonfind themselvesgoing
in a different direction. It is not important for them to make a precise copy.
(Uchihashi Kazuhisa, 2001, p.51- JapaneseIndependentmusic)
Modern Japan has spent a long time trying to discover itself in the huge Western
European mirror, but now that some time haspassed, it should try to see itself in
those countlessfragments of mirror. But the ability to unite those numerous
scattered, distorted images is called imagination. And the power to do that
requires an act of will.
(Takemitsu,1995,p.70)
3
Towards a Universal Language
The researchpresentedwithin this thesis attemptsto survey the history of radical
avant-gardemusic in Japan.It focusesspecifically upon the most subversiveand anarchic
Japanesemusic of the post-war period', drawing together a rich and diverse range of
historical, social, and musical sources.As a body of work, it perhapsrepresentsone of the
first studiesto analyse,with such inclusive historical and stylistic scope,the developmentof
such rebellious aural art in Japan,placing the subject within the context of social, political,
and art historical issues,already familiar to discoursesaround visual and performancearts.
As well as providing a chronological account of the history of the most challenging
Japaneseexperimental music, eachchapter engageswith a specific thematic issue.Chapter
One establishesa number of themesthat subsequentlyrun throughout the duration of the
study, discussingthe Japaneseavant-gardeimmediately after world war two, and the social,
political, and artistic context in which they worked. Focusing largely upon the careerof Toru
Takemitsu, it introduces a number of key ideasregarding Japaneseavant-gardeculture: in
particular, the attitude of avant-gardeartists towards their native cultural heritage; the
influence of the West; and the endeavourto develop an autonomousand universal cultural
language.
ChapterTwo dealsmostdirectlywith the ideaof Japanese
musicasan
avant-garde
oppositional, reactionary phenomenon,examining the role and cultural statusof jazz and free
jazz music during the 1960s.The chapter looks closely at the decade'sheatedsocial and
political climate, which saw the outbreak of anti-ANPO riots in and around the Shinjuku
district of Tokyo -- an areathen renowned as both a centre for the student community, and
place most commonly populated by jazz kissas, the Japanesejazz cafes. While Japanese
protest folk (styled upon the American genre of the samedecade)is the music most overtly
associatedwith Tokyo's political unrest at that time, Chapter Two neverthelessexaminesthe
origins of Japanesefree jazz in this context, discussing both the highly politicised nature of
4
Towards a Universal Language
American free jazz, and the work of a few pioneering Japaneseavant-gardeartists. In
is
here.
Takayanagi
Masayuki
the
examined
particular,
work of
Chapter Three, From Group Soundsto Avant-garde, tracesthe developmentof
Japanesepsychedelicmusic from its origins in mid-1960s Japanesepopular culture (when
British
formula
laid
by
American
the
and
out
was
recreating
simply
placed
upon
emphasis
pop groups) to present,where the termpsychedelic possessesunique, and strictly avant-garde
connotations.Looking initially at the notion of cultural mimicry, it examinesmore widely
how psychedelic music as a concept has changedand evolved in Japanover a number of
decadesto gain severancefrom, and in a sensesurpass,its origins in 1960syouth culture.
Specifically addressingthe work of contemporary sound artists, Chapter Four looks at
Tokyo itself, seekingto examine how the unique conditions of the city influence both the
lives and work of the avant-garde.Looking at recent social conditions such as Hikikomori,
and drawing parallels with the work of Japaneseartists currently working in other media, it
focuseslargely upon the work of contemporary improvisers, whose approachto soundwork
has evolved in direct responseto their immediate environment. The chapter discussesthe
influential emergenceof Onkyo during the late 1990sat the Off Site Gallery
-a venue which,
like the jazz kissas of the 1950sand 1960s,owes its unique identity and characterto the
nature of Tokyo itself, and the physical restrictions the city imposesupon its residents.
' RatherthanuponJapanese
experimentalmusicasa whole
Towards a Universal Language
0.2 `Overcoming Modernity' in Japan
Historical Context
One can seea posture by which the Japanesecommunity has consistently
belief
its
in
its
identity
sought out own
a self-sameness,nurturedfor more
than ten centuries - to face the incessantintrusion of the modern era as a
product of enlightened reason. (Monroe, 1994, p.27)
Translated roughly as `overcoming modernity', Kindai no Chökoku was the title given
to a 1942academicconferenceheld in Kyoto. The essentialaim of the forum was to evaluate
the nature, and future development,of modernism in Japan- looking to establisha cultural
direction for the future that neither blindly followed the lead of the West, nor resisted
modernisation as an imposing foreign threat. Throughout the history of Japan,the confusion
betweenwesternisation and modernisation often resulted in episodesof nostalgic revivalism
and the popular rise nationalistic values.
Attendeesat the conferencesoughtto pioneera futurefor Japanthat wasboth
forward-lookingandmodern,yet autonomousandindependentof westerndevelopments:
a
cultural direction that exclusively representedand reflected contemporaryJapan,and which
would be instrumentalin determiningthe nation'sfuturedevelopment.
As historian Alexandra Monroe points out, `The Kyoto debatewas the culmination of
decadesof intellectual protest against western political, economic, and cultural influence in
Asia. On one hand, this movement grieved the passing of traditional Japanesevalues in the
wake of industrialisation ... on the other hand, it was related to leftist revolutionary ideals
which defended a modernisation processthat relied neither on western models nor reified
traditional forms. ' (Monroe, 1994, p.23)
6
Towards a Universal Language
Modern Japaneseart has been regarded,throughout the courseof the twentieth
century, as a problematic and paradoxical phenomenonin the West. Informed by the
presumed`universality' of the Western art historical values, dominant Europeanand
American discoursesoften seemedunanimous in the conclusion that Japaneseart could only
everreally existoutsidetherealmsof modernism-propere.
Throughouthistory,mainstreamJapanese
art andculturehasseemedto shuffle
betweenopposing and contradictory poles, moving sequentially betweencycles of
westernisationand nationalism with the passingof eachera. When artists in Europe and
America were first pursuing what came to be seenas the modernist ideal', exploring and
transcendingboundariesthroughout the arts, art in Japanwas generally regardedto have
changedvery little. It seemedto many Western onlookers that Japaneseartists were simply
continuing to do much the sameas they had always done: i. e. either producing highly
derivative work basedlargely upon Japan's ancient folk traditions; or superficially imitating
the latest Western trends, taking pride in their ability to imitate rather than innovate. In either
case,it was presumedin the West that Japaneseart, by its very nature°,would never be able
to truly encompass(inherently Western) modernist ideals.
This perception of Japanesemodernism, however, is symptomatic of a much deeper
fixed idea about Japaneseculture on the whole that, for centuries, has continued to linger and
misguidedly inform Western views.
Central to this, particularly during the latter half of the twentieth century, is the
common misreading of Japanas a mixed-up and unfathomable place -a nation characterised
by a multiplicity of contradictions and cultural paradoxesthat divide and define its culture in
equal measure.Such tensions are often thought to be manifest in the perceived failure of
Japanesesociety to find resolution between native culture and imported culture, or the uneasy
2 i.e. The Westernperception
modernism
of
3
The efforts made by artists during the first half of the twentieth century to
challenge and displace the
principles upon which art in the nineteenth century had been based.In the visual arts, for example, this
meant non-representationalaesthetic,structural, and technical concernsovertook the traditional
emphasisplaced upon explicitly conveying meaning, and representingsubject matter
i.e. As non-Western art
7
Towards a Universal Language
way in which cultural elementsof the pastand the presentremain at odds, with conflicts
betweenthe traditional and the innovative; the ancient and the progressive.
Throughout history, the prevailing attitude within Japanesesociety towards Western
but
key
historical
have
be
to
also served as
characterised
periods,
culture can seennot only
the catalyst for social, political and cultural change.Both the Meiji Restorationand the period
immediately following the Pacific war, for example, were defined and shaped(albeit under
different circumstances)by how Japanrelated to the West, as Japaneseculture moved swiftly
from outright rejection to the enthusiasticappropriation of Western culture.
In many respects,modernism has historically been consideredthe fundamental
American
by
European
West
the
and
preserveof
-a worldview pioneeredand effectuated
minds. Throughout the twentieth century, the idea that a country such as Japancould possibly
be capableof developing its own unique modernist ideal was, in the West at least, hardly
considered.As historical accountsof Japanesehistory frequently concur, ever since
CommanderMatthew Calbraith Perry arrived upon Japaneseshoresin 1853, his black war
in
industrialised
demonstrating
the
the
ships grimly
might of
world, modernism was regarded
Japanas the product and sole dominion of the Occident. Up until that point, Japanhad
undergone250 years of self-imposed international isolation under the Tokugawa Shogunate,
remaining an agrarian nation severedfrom the dealings and developmentsof the outside
world. That the modernist ideal could be something wholly unrelated to, distinct from, or
independentof Western culture was inconceivable, not only to Western minds, but the
majority of Japanesealso.
Throughoutthe decadesthat followed,aspopularaccountsusuallyattest,Japan
sought only to learn from Western industrialised nations, emulating as closely as possible the
meansand methods by which it could produce such technology. From this perspective,Japan
was simply seeking to catch up with the Occident - to westernise- and gave no mind to the
idea of pursuing its own independentmodernist identity.
Writers, historians, academics,and artists in Japan,as well as those in the West,
posited Western value systemsas universal. By apprehendingWestern modernism as
Towards a Universal Language
be
Japan
`non-Western'
the
only
could subsequently
modernity of
universal modernism,
inauthentic,
Japan,
as
subordinateand artificial.
of
outside
regarded,within and
Japanwas the first Asian country to self-consciously Westerniseduring the late
industrialised
Western
driven
by
to
the
need
with
perceived
catch up
nineteenth century,
by
it
Occident
Furthermore,
the
threat
the
made
a matter of urgency
posed
military
nations.
that Japanacquire modern skills and techniques,not only in the fields of scienceand industry,
but most notably that of warfare. Of theseobjectives, the Japanesestatepursuedthe latter
with such inexhaustivenessand intensity, that it incorporated not only the study of Western
technology and tactics, but also the whole culture of modern warfare - including music.
Together with the re-establishmentof music classesto schools and religious songs,
the arrival of military marching music was key to the initial introduction of Western-style
music to Japan.The first marching band was establishedunder the guidance of Irish
bandmasterJohn Fenton Williams around 1870, and the growth of Western-led military music
in Japanresulted in concertsand performancesbecoming popular with the public. It was the
importation of music in this way that, for example, brought about the composition of Kimi ga
yo, Japan's national anthem.
Japan's graduation from isolated agrarian nation to post-industrial global force,
historical
highly-accelerated
to
constitutes something of a
progressionand, according some
is partly responsiblefor the rapidly evolving,high-speedculturenow
commentaries,
frequentlyassociated
life by Westerners.
with Japanese
Although Japan's interest in the West (i. e. in adopting facets of Western culture and
technology) was initially undertakenas a matter of self-preservation,by the 1880s
Westernisationhad gone far beyond the pursuit of military and technological know-how. As
Endymion Wilkinson has suggested,by embracing European and US institutions, laws, even
ideas, `Japansaw a way in which to become ` u-kokukyöhei' ('a rich and powerful country')
in its own right. (Wilkinson, 1991, p.43).
3 Religious song was re-introduced following the
revocation of anti-Christianity laws in 1873.
9
Towards a Universal Language
0.3 `Autonomy' in Japanese experimental music
Translatedto mean `autonomy', the concept of Jiko hon 'I represents,on a number of
levels, a key principle underlying the developmentof Japaneseavant-gardemusic during the
latter half of the twentieth century. Discussedby writer Natsume S6seki (1867-1916) at the
turn of the century, Jiko hon 'I signalled the realisation that many of the cultural values
dominant
from
in
derived
during
be
`universal',
Meiji
the
to
the
presumed,
era,
were reality
Western patriarchy and possessedlittle real grounding or pertinence in Japan.Under the
precept of autonomy, S6seki strove to underline how crucial it was for Japaneseartists to
reject the largely acceptedimposition of `universal' Western ideasand conventions.
Following the ruin and devastationof the Pacific war, when many in Japansaw
American culture as the key to their own country's revival, an alternative and reactionary
form of Japanesemusic evolved in isolation: music that relied neither upon bland mimicry of
the west, nor nationalistic adherenceto native folk traditions. For avant-gardecomposerslike
Toru Takemitsu, this spirit was reflected in the impulsive creation of genuinely contemporary
art - art that was the product of everyday personal experience.
In focusinguponthe issueof culturalautonomy,the following studyexaminesthe
quest undertakenby successivegenerationsof avant-gardemusicians and sound artists, to
develop a creative languagethat was/is independentof mainstreamcultural trends in Japan.
These mainstreamtrends have, throughout Japanesehistory, been predominantly manifest in
either its artists' nationalistic adherenceto traditional folk culture, or unoriginal mimicry of
European and American fashions.
In considering this, the following thesis will, in part, seekto analyseradical Japanese
experimental music in relation to the vast changesthat have characterisedand shapedpostwar Japanesesociety, tracing its development as a reactionary phenomenon.Here, the idea of
autonomy exists in the legacy of artists and musicians who stood apart from, and in
opposition to, the political and cultural mainstream.
10
Towards a Universal Language
Utilising not only popular and experimental methodsfrom Europe and America, but
also musical strategiesderived from indigenous Japanesepractises,what resulted was the
growth of an avant-gardelineage that evolved independentlyof dominant artistic practisesin
Japan.This legacy of avant-gardemusic, which initially beganto take root during the postHiroshima era under allied occupation, embodied for the first time in centuriesa progressive,
indigenous form of Japanesemusic that relied neither upon bland mimicry of the West, nor
nationalistic adherenceto its own folk traditions.
11
Towards a Universal Language
0.4 Literature
Review and Research methodology
The primary aim of this thesis is to trace the developmentof the most dissident
Twentieth
half
the
in
Japan
the
throughout
of
second
experimental music and sound art
look
the
The
to
Two
World
to
from
examine
will
the
present.
study
war
end of
century,
developmentof the musical avant-gardewithin Japan's metropolitan centre, considering the
half-century.
have
the
that
past
over
occurred
masseconomic and social changes
in
few
(over
journals,
the past
years
The recent influx of articles,
and publications
its
Japanese
avant-gardemusic, clearly reflects
particular) covering various aspectsof
increasing international prominence,and recognition as one of the most vital and dynamic
however,
there
Despite
in
development
this
appears
the
new
music.
of
contemporary
grounds
to be, as the opening quotes suggest,a sensein which Westernjournalists are still striving to
Japanese
`understand'
demystify,
the
to
of
work
and satisfactorily
get grips with,
dominated
by
(often
doubt,
No
the
centuries
politically motivated)
musicians.
experimental
in
have
Japan
this, and the
their
played
part
about
stereotypesand misinformed perceptions
insidious legacy of such views - both in Japanand the West - is something I will return to.
In tracing the history of Japaneseavant-gardemusic, the thesis is written from a
in
being
the
Western
to
the
way
consider
principal aims
consciously
perspective,with one of
into
has
interpreted
Japanese
taking
literature
Western
avant-gardemusic,
which existing
importantly
history
account the
and nature of understanding,misunderstanding,and - most
genuine cultural exchangebetweenJapanand the West. In considering the extent to which
influenced
be
for
in
West
Japanese
the
example, still
culture
might,
widespreadperceptionsof
by long-standing misrepresentationsand stereotypesof Japan,it was important to examine the
historical and political factors that led to the formation of those stereotypesin the first place.
While a number of existing and recent studies successfully analyse either the work of
renowned Japanesemusicians, or the historical development of specific musical genresin
Japan,it was clear to me at the outset of my research,that very little had beenwritten which
12
Towards a Universal Language
sought to coherently bring together the historical lineage of experimental and pioneering
Japaneseavant-gardemusic as a whole.
The vast scopeof the subject, as well as the ever-evolving nature of contemporary
experimental music in Japan6,makes it impossible for the study to attempt to deal
exhaustively with the activities and minutiae of any one artist, movement or moment in
history. Indeed, notable bodies of researchhave beenproduced which deal specifically with
individual avant-gardeartists, movementsand genres.In part, one of the intended functions of
this thesis is to bring together existing researchinto such areasas Japanesemodernist
composition, jazz, improvisonational, and experimental psychedelic music which - while
often comprehensive- have remained largely self-contained areasof research.The present
study will seekto identify and discussthe common artistic, social and historical links between
each of thesemoments at their most experimental and subversive,mapping out a compelling
historical lineage of anarchic Japaneseexperimental music.
In The music of Toru Takemitsu,Peter Burt goes to great lengths to examine the
compositional techniquesand methodologies of the composer,analysing the structures
beneathall of his most renowned works. More interesting to the course of my own research,
however, were sectionsthat dealt with Takemitsu's attitude to both Western culture, and the
culture of Japan.Burt placesthe composer's early rejection of his native culture within the
context of his experiencesduring the Pacific war, and the conspicuousrelationship Takemitsu
saw betweentraditional Japanesemusic and the ultra-nationalist regime under which his
country had been led to war. Traditional Japanesefolk music and art had, after all, beenthe
key propagandistic tool by which patriotism and loathing for the enemy had been incited.
Burt usefully pinpoints key stagesin the career of Takemitsu, all of which revolve
around perceptions of Japanand the West: firstly, his rejection of Japaneseculture and love of
Western modernism; his re-discovering of Japaneseculture through the eyes of Western
modernism7;his attempts,through compositions such as November Steps,to blend East and
6 Spurredby the oftenprolific nature the
of
respectiveartists
7In particular,this relatesto Takemitsu'sfascination
with the work of JohnCage
13
Towards a Universal Language
West; and the final stageof his career,in which the composersought to transcend
has
definitions
`swim
in
to
that
no
music
altogether
of
an
ocean
geographicaland cultural
East or West'.
The artistic life of Toru Takemitsu, shapedas it was by his own complex relationship
have
issues
West,
Japan
that
tensions
the
the
and
perhapsepitomisesmany of
and
with
subsequentlyremained at the heart of the developmentof Japaneseavant-gardemusic.
Noriko Ohtake's Creative Sourcesfor the music of Toru Takemitsu further examines
the composer'sjourney, as he constantly sought throughout his life to find a resolution (in his
own mind) betweenhis position as Japanesecomposerand avant-gardist.This eventual
resolution, ultimately, was to nullify and discount the relevanceof geographicalboundaries
(i. e. physical points of origin) to the reception of music. In tracking Takemitsu's career,the
evolution of his creative, philosophical and aestheticprinciples, Confronting Silence, a
collection of the composer's own writings, is an essentialresource.Many of the essaysand
lecture notes compiled deal, particularly, with the composer's own ongoing efforts to
overcome not only the mental, historical, and creative boundariesbetweenJapanand the
West, but the inaccurateperceptions such compartmentalisingterms can often lead to in
music. As he assertsin Noh and Transience(1980), for example, `I dislike generalisations
such as "Western" or "Eastern," for even in such a simply constructedinstrument as the flute
one can hear subtle differences of a cultural nature in different geographic areas' (Takemitsu,
1995, p.56)
The catalyst for Takemitsu's initial reawakening to Japanesemusic was the work of
John Cage, a Western modernist composerobsessedwith Eastern philosophy, and Japanese
Zen Buddhism in particular. Helen Westgeest'sZen in the Fifties: Interaction in art between
East and Westlooks specifically to examine why, in the first place, influential Western artists
in the wake of World war Two, saw Easternphilosophy as the basis upon which a new avantgarde languagecould be based.
The relationship betweenJapaneseand American culture is also discussedat length
within the context of jazz music in E. Taylor Atkins' Blue Nippon: Authenticating jazz in
14
Towards a Universal Language
Japan. Atkins' account is notable in that it brings into play a number of issuesthat are
fundamentalto the history of Japaneseavant-gardemusic also. For instance,the longestablishedpractice of cultural mimicry in Japan,and the way in which such attempted
imitation - when got wrong - has often led to a uniquely indigenous Japaneseversion of its
model. The unique locations and venuesprovided by Japanesecities such as Tokyo (due to
the lack of available space)was also pivotal in shaping the developmentof Japanesejazz, and
has remained so to the developmentof live music in the ensuing years.
Other recent publications, such as the bi-lingual periodical Improvised musicfrom
Japan, and JapaneseIndependentmusic, published by Sonore,provide accessfor English
languagespeakersto contemporaryJapaneseavant-gardemusic, including essaysand
interviews with Internationally recognisedpractitioners and commentators.Sonore's text also
offers an A-Z directory listing Japanesemusicians and groups, although the acceleratedpace
at which new artists develop and come to the fore in Japan,would require updatededitions to
be published annually, at least, to remain up to date.
The foremost aim of this thesis is to trace and establishthe modem historical lineage
of Japaneseavant-gardemusic, following its development from the immediate postHiroshima generation,to those contemporary innovators whose work is attracting increasing
recognition on the international stage.This will be done consciously from the perspectiveof a
Western writer, assessingall relevant existing English-languageliterature on and around the
subject, to examine how the historical, political and cultural relationship betweenJapanand
the West has influenced both the development of Japaneseexperimental music itself, and its
reception in Europe and America.
In relation to this, a number of themesand areasfor discussion will recur throughout
the course of the thesis: "
The relationship betweenJapanand the West at each point in history, and the effect
both contemporaneousand residual historical-political factors have influenced
cultural exchangesbetween the two.
is
Towards a Universal Language
"
The attitude of individual Japaneseartists to both traditional Japaneseculture and
from
West.
imported
the
that
music, and
"
The way in which the avant-gardecommunities of Tokyo have historically reactedto,
been informed by, and evolved as a result of the specific conditions and changing
itself.
the
city
nature of
"
The influence of external political, social and cultural factors (historical and
contemporaneous)upon the work of artists of eachperiod and genre,consideringthe
possible reactionary nature of that work.
"
The conceptof culturalautonomy,andthe extentto which the mostchallengingand
against,
anarchicavant-garde
musiciansin Japanhavesoughtto definethemselves
andin isolationfrom, the dominantmusicalmainstreamof Japan.
The modern mainstreamculture of Japan(art, fashion, popular culture, etc) is
caricatured or dismissed in the West as a confused, chaotic and often comical amalgamof
Western popular trends and products, mutated, misunderstoodand misappropriated.For some
time, Japaneseculture - popular culture in particular - has been written off as merely the sum
of Western cultural products indiscriminately imitated, mixed and mingled, regardlessof their
original native cultural context.
In seeking to find a genuine mode of expression,however - something that was
immediate,andrepresentative
of contemporaryexperience(whetherpersonalor political) Japanese
avant-gardeartistshave,over the pasthalf-century,continuouslystrivento achieve
independent
dominant
identities,
the
trendof shallowmimicry.
rejecting
creative
`Throughout its rise to international prominence, the Japaneseavant-gardehas struggled with
how to preserve,transform or universalise its cultural legacy, and beneaththe veneer of
appropriation, has deeply resistedthe blind assimilation of western culture.' (Monroe, 1994,
p.21)
Although the endeavourfor creative cultural autonomy was evident during the Meiji
era, the solution was frequently seento reside in the formulaic blending of Western
16
Towards a Universal Language
The
Tokyo
School of Fine Arts established
Japanese
traditional
sensibilities.
modernism and
by Tenshin Okakura (1862-1913), for example, was founded upon the principle that a new
be
Japanese
could
pioneeredthrough the combination of
painting
convention of modem
traditional Japaneseand Western modernist styles. Here beganthe searchfor a meansby
develop
internationally
forward
Japan
successful
as
a
new,
modem,
could
and
move
which
heritage.
its
traditions
and
cultural
simultaneously
preserving
nation, whilst
Writing during the 1930s,Jun'ichirb Tanizaki expressedhis opposition to the way in
industry,
had
its
Western
technology
and
capitalism,
upon
emphasis
culture, with
which
becomean intrusive presencein Japan.Expressinghis views prior to the outbreak of the
Pacific war, and before the absoluteonset of ultra-nationalism, Tanizaki argued that
traditional Japaneseculture provided a true `spiritual' alternative to this fundamentally
imported and alien way of life.
According to Alexandra Monroe in Scream at the Sky, this `spirit of opposition'
demonstratedby the pre-war avant-garde,was the very thing that Japaneseartists after the
war would carry forward and use to try and pioneer a new future. Screamat the Sky, edited
and contributed to by Monroe, functions as a comprehensivecollection of writings which
chronologically tracesthe development of Japaneseavant-gardeart from 1945 to present
(1994). While no attention is given to experimentation in music, the essaysnevertheless
provide an essentialinsight into the social and political conditions under which the Japanese
avant-gardehave worked throughout the twentieth century. From the foundation of the Zen'ei
bijutsu-kai in 1947, for example, to the work of `obsessionalartists' in the 1960s,it became
clear that important common aims, motives and convictions had continued to be shared
between visual, performance,and sound artists of the Japaneseavant-garde.
Throughoutthe courseof the programmeof research,I was fortunateto makecontact
with a number of notable figures actively involved in various areasof Japaneseavant-garde
music. Ongoing email correspondencewith Kazu Yasutani and Yasunori Saitoh of Japanese
jazz label Jinya Disc provided an invaluable insight and first-hand account the Tokyo jazz
of
sceneof the 1960sand 1970s,specifically in relation to the life's work of Masayuki
17
Towards a Universal Language
Takayanagi. Similarly helpful was avant-gardemusician and producer Hoppy Kamiyama,
whose email interviews and archived materials proved invaluable. Other similar online
communications were established,and conversationswith academicssuch as Eckhardt
Derschmidt and practitioner/writer Frank Stofer enabledme to assessthe direction and focus
of my study during the initial researchphases.
This ongoing processof self-assessmentwhile undertaking the researchand writing
of the thesis was aided greatly in May 2002, when I was invited to presenta papersat the
History Matters Conference,held at The New School for Social Researchin New York. The
jazz
jazz
kissas
free
delivered
focused
I
the
the
phenomenon
of
and
paper
specifically upon
music during the 1960s,examining their role within Tokyo's volatile social and political
climate, and the outbreak of the anti-ANPO riots. The feedback and discussionsgeneratedby
the paper proved invaluable, particularly (given the nature of both the conferenceand the
institution itself) in grounding the political and sociological context of my research.
For similar reasonsof context, throughout the first phaseof my programme of
researchI also subscribedto a number of English-languageJapanesenewspapersincluding
Japan Today and the Daily Yomiuri, and studied elementary Japaneselanguageas an elective
module at Liverpool John Moores University.
An integral factor in my researchwas also to focus upon the soundwork itself, and
throughout the duration of the study I made provision to attend as many performancesas
possible. Travelling regularly to London, Manchesterand Leeds, as well as venues in
Liverpool, I was fortunate enoughto witness a number of performancesby many of the key
contemporary artists focused upon in the study, including Otomo Yoshihide, Acid Mothers
Temple, Sachiko M, Toshimaru Nakamura, Keiji Ilaino, Taku Sugimoto, I3oredoms,Haco,
.
Ishikawa Ko, Makoto Kawabata, Ami Yoshida, as well as recitals of the work of Toru
Takemitsu.
It was equally important that I was able to accessthe recorded output of virtually all
the artists discussed.As well as visiting retailers both personally and online, I also had some
18
Towards a Universal Language
successin contacting many of the relevant record labels (most of which are small,
independentorganisations,frequently run by the artists themselves)who currently releaseand
distribute such work. In nearly all instancesI was fortunate in receiving a great deal of
interest and support, ranging from continued correspondenceand offers of further
information, to CDs, catalogues,and archived pressmaterials being forwarded. Interviews,
reviews and up-to-date listings published in publications such as The Wire -a UK-based
periodical dedicatedto avant-gardemusic - also proved important sourcematerial,
particularly with regard to release,touring, and events information.
[UVERPOOLJOHN
MOORES
UNIVERSITY
AldhamRobarts
L.R.C.
TEL.01512313701/3634
aJazz Kissa Radicals
19
Towards a Universal Language
20
Towards a Universal Language
CHAPTER ONE
MODERNIST COMPOSITION IN THE POST-WAR PERIOD:
TORU TAKEMITSU AND THE AVANT-GARDE
1.0 Introduction: Toru Takemitsu
Conditions were harsh during the war, and the Japanesemilitary government
brutal. But among the commonpeople, some of them mayberememberedold
American movies, and thought that Japan couldn't win the war. Many thought
that Japan was wrong... Toward the end of the war, I was in Junior High School.
I was working alongside soldiers in the mountains, helping to build a food
distribution base. The only songs we could sing were army songs. There was
almost no music. (Takemitsu, 19949)
The score for Minamoto Yoshitsune (1966), a Japaneseperiod drama, marks one of
several important early stepsin the careerof modernist composerToru Takemitsu. Bringing
together the musical traditions of Japanand Europe in what might be seenas a very physical,
literal way, it was for this composition that he first placed conventional Japaneseinstruments
such as the shakuhachi,shinobue,and ryüteki, next to the Western classical orchestra.
Eclipse (1966) representedthe first transposition of these experiments into a classic
symphonic context and, importantly, was followed a year later by what is regardedto be one
of his most significant compositions10,November Steps(1967), commissioned by the New
York Philharmonic Orchestra in celebration of its 125'1'anniversary. Recorded in 1967 by the
Toronto Symphony Orchestra conductedby Seiji Ozawa, it has remained amongstthe most
widely received, high profile pieces of the composer's career.
9 Interview with Toru Takemitsu,
conducted for the documentary, Music for the Movies: Toru
Takemitsu,directed by Charlotte Zwerin. SeeBibliography for full details.
21
Towards a Universal Language
The successof NovemberStepsalso had the (perhapsunfortunate) outcome of giving
listeners,particularly in Europe and America, a false perception of Takemitsu's career and
life-long work. As historian Peter Burt suggests,the composition `had the deleteriouseffect of
creating the impressionthat the composer's careerwas dominated by the attempt to create
some sort of bridge betweentraditional Japaneseinstrumental praxis and western symphonic
music.' (Burt, 2001, p. 111)
In reality, only a handful of concert works openly juxtaposed Japaneseand Western
musical conventions in this way, including compositions such as Distance (1972) and Voyage
(1973). However, apart from the anecdotaluse of such interplay in his incidental music works
(which he would continue to explore throughout the courseof his career),Takemitsu's
appropriation and repositioning of traditional Japaneseinstrumentswithin a Western context,
was never really surpassedby November Steps.
Takemitsu is largely rememberedas a Japanesecomposerwhose work succeededon
an international level, and - in one way or another- found consolidation betweenJapanese
and Euro-American musical conventions. In a career spanning around forty years, his music
went through a number of notable stagesthat were shapedand defined by the composer's
attitude towards Western and Japaneseconventions.
To many, one ofTakemitsu's most significant achievementscan be seento have
developed during the secondhalf of his career. By the time of the 1980s,the composer's work
had attained a senseof creative autonomy completely in keeping with his internationalist
preoccupations,and the quest to develop a creative languagethat transcendedgeographical
cultural boundaries.Rather than being born of a synthesis between Western and Japanese
conventions, Takemitsu's later compositions constituted what Koozin describesas the
adoption of, `an international musical vocabulary to expressan indigenous aestheticgoal.'
(Koozin, cited in Burt, 2001, p.236). In other words, this was creative
autonomy realised
10As
well as being one of the most famous
22
Towards a Universal Language
through the expressionof distinctly Japanesethemesby way of a languagederived from
"
Western
contemporary
musical practices.
Takemitsu'swork, however,underwenta gradualjourney beforehe waseventually
able to realise or define his intentions thus, beginning with the outright rejection of Japanese
culture during the formative stageof his career.It was largely through a fascination with the
work of John Cage (whose work dealt with chanceoperations, indeterminacy, and the IChing'2) that Takemitsu himself first beganto explore and engagewith the musical heritage
of Japan. Through the interplay of Western avant-gardetechniquesand Japanesefolk
traditions, Takemitsu had, by the 1980s,begun to consciously work towards creating music
that transcendedtraditional cultural and geographicalboundaries.
1.1: Upon Seeking Drastic Change:
The Post-war avant-garde in Japan
In theyearsimmediatelyfollowing the Pacificwar, not only wasTokyo the centreof
the Japaneseart establishment,but dominant within its circles was an approachto art driven
by a Marxist and Socialist agenda.
In 1955, the Gutai 13yutsuKyökai13held their f irst exhibition: a twenty-four hour
outdoorevententitled`experimentalOutdoorExhibitionof modernArt to Challengethe MidSummer Sun'. A year later, in October 1956, the group's founder Yoshihara laid down the
core principles of the Gutai Group in a manifesto, published in Geyutsu Shinchöjournal.
To the dominant Socialist/Marxist contingent in Japan,whose work usually flaunted
their penchantfor surrealismandsocialrealism,the work of the Gutai Groupseemedselfindulgentandshallow,lackingthe requisitesocialcontentandpolitical
Politics
engagement.
was, in fact, somethingthe Gutai Group actively set out to avoid.
Biographer Peter Burt has also drawn attention to this point,
observing in Takemitsu's work from
this period, 'several points of congruencebetween certain aspectsof his
own native culture ... and the
contemporary preoccupationsof a number of "advanced" musicians in the West.' (Burt, 2001, 236)
p.
23
Towards a Universal Language
While the work of Japan's social realists was defined by its highly political nature
and, some might say, deep-seatedsuspicion of the US and the West, the Gutai Group
remained detachedfrom politics, concernedmore with achieving philosophical, artistic goals.
Nevertheless,that is not to understatethe movement's underlying social and cultural aims,
which regardedthe end of the war, and the fall of oppressiveJapanesenationalism, as
providing them with a fresh start and new possibilities for creative freedom.
Much of Gutai's work reflected the idea that, particularly in the immediate wake of
the war, physicality rather than symbolism was the most appropriate form of expression.As
historian Alexandra Monroe explains: `Deeply affected by the atrocities and betrayals of the
war, artists around the world found existential solace in the denial of symbolism, the freedom
of gestural abstraction,and the materiality of paint itself. ' (Monroe, 1994, p.84)
While most obviously, the notion of physicality made itself apparentin the work of
the Gutai Group through such things as action painting and performanceevents('physical'
endeavoursin the most literal sense),musique concretehas also been listed amongstthe
group's activities at that time. That musique concrete should be considereda physical
approachto art and music is related to its use of real, everyday sound, as well as the physical
manipulation of recorded soundson magnetic tape.
Relief Statique was the first musique concrete piece produced by Toru Takemitsu,
commissioned initially as incidental music for Yasuji Inoue's radio play Hono'4 (1955), and
premiered as an independentsound piece at a 1956Jikken Kobo concert. Unaware of the
work of Pierre Schaefferand Pierre Henry, the Europeaninnovators of musique concrete,
Takemitsu pioneeredhis own experiments with audio magnetic tape independently.
The careerof Toru Takemitsu beganwith him moving in identifiably nationalistic
circles: first under the guidance of Yasuji Kiyose from around 1948, and then in 1950 when
he was invited to join Shinsakkyokuha(the New Composition Group)
-a composer's
collective founded by Kiyose and his colleagues.In December 1950, Takemitsu performed
'2 The ChineseBook
of Changes
13`Gutai Art Association', founded by Jiro Yoshihara in December
1954.
24
Towards a Universal Language
Lento in Due Movimenti, a solo piano piece, at the SeventhShinsakkyokuharecital, for which
he received an acrimonious critical reception.
While Takemitsu was understandablyhit hard by the dire critical responsehis
Shinsakkyokuhaperformancereceived, his attendanceat the event neverthelessled his
making two opportune and important acquaintances:Jöji Yuasa (composer) and Kuniharu
Akiyama (poet and music critic). It was with theseand other similarly inclined artists, that
pioneer ShüzoTakiguchi founded the art movement he would nameJikken Köb&5.
In a manifesto-like statementset out for their first exhibition, the artists of Jikken
Köbö declaredthat, through an `organic combination' of various art forms, they sought `... to
create a new style of art with social relevanceclosely related to everyday life. ' (Jikken Köbb,
cited in Yoshiko Kakudo and Glen Glasow, 1995,p.xi).
however,wasdecidedlyconservativein its academic
WhereasShinsakkyokuha16,
musical sensibilities - particularly music of a nationalist bent - the experimental Workshop
was not. On the contrary, as one historian points out, `... it had a decidedly anti-academicbias
in
fact,
it
formal
kind
barrier
that
to membership,and
seems
of
musical
any
education
was
a
this naturally helped consolidate Takemitsu's position as an outsider to the highly
conservative world of institutional Japaneseacademicestablishmentat this period.' (Burt,
2001, p.39).
On 4 February1956,six monthsprior to Gutai's `experimentalOutdoorExhibition of
Modern Art to Challenge the Mid-Summer Sun', Jikken Köbb organised a showcaseevent
featuring musique concrete and electronic music. One of the key aims of such eventswas to
introduce Tokyo's public and music-loving fraternity to the work of renowned Western
experimental composers,many of who were still largely unheard of in Japan.Compositions
by the likes of Messiaenand Schoenbergreceived their Japanesepremieresthrough Jikken
Köbb performances.
14`Flames'. The
play was first broadcaston the radio station Shin Nihon Hoso in 1955.
t3 'The Experimental Workshop'
16With
whom Toru Takemitsu parted company in 1952)
25
Towards a Universal Language
Another underlying intention behind such eveningswas to showcasethe new and
progressivemusic of the collective's own members.
Born in 1930,and graduatingfrom High School in 1949,Takemitsu was
fundamentally self-taught, although is known to have spent sometime studying under the
direction of Yasuji Kiyose. However, of all of Takemitsu's contemporaries,it was perhaps
fellow Shinsakkyokuhamember Fumio Hayasaki that had the most influence upon the young
formative
during
his
had
Takemitsu
figure
years,
The
teacher
to
nearestthing a
artist.
Hayasaki is widely rememberedfor film scoreshe was commissionedto produce for early
Akira Kurosawa films such as Rashömon(1950) and The SevenSamurai (1954).
In 1957,two years after Fumio Hayasaki died, an ailing bed-ridden Takemitsu slowly
for
Strings.
Requiem
Orchestra
Symphony
Tokyo
for
entitled
the
completed a commission
The fact that Requiemwas such a large and elaboratepiece commissionedby the
Tokyo Symphony Orchestra,has led to the suggestionthat by this time he was perhaps
beginning to outgrow the more moderateundertakingsof Jikken Kabb. During the course of
the next three years, he also completed three additional commissions for the NHK, the
Sonore,
Solitude
first
Tableau
Noir
The
Japan.
broadcasting
two,
were
and
service of
national
1958
November
in
July
NHK
the
respectively.
of
and
aired on
While in many ways a reflection of the composer's own personalmelancholy (the
has
in
Requiem
to
Hayasaki),
by
inspired
his
title perhaps
context
a
wider
social
mourning of
he
in
been
the
which
grew up, and the prevailing air of
period
some extent
associatedwith
disillusionment and despondency.The experiencesthat, as a nation, Japanhad endured
during, and in the aftermath of, the Pacific war arousedsentimentsthat clearly defined his
work during this formative period.
One of the most tangible factors in this was the composer's strong anti-nationalist
feelings, clearly evident in the negative attitude he displayed towards traditional Japanese
music as a young man, and the discontent he often referred to upon hearing it. In this sense,
the personaldespondencyexpressedby Takemitsu through compositions such as Requiem, is
indicative of the wider social and cultural despondencyin the midst of which he had been
26
Towards a Universal Language
brought up and now experienced.The psychological damageof world war two, with the
complete undermining of the Emperor's divine statusand the fall of nationalism (creating
its
identity
Nation
in
Japan
as
a
and a people), was equally as
considerablequestions
about
far-reaching and consequentialas the physical ruin of the country17.
Raisedat a time whenthe musicof EuropeandAmericawasofficially bannedby
stateauthorities as the product of the `enemy', Takemitsu harboureda sinceredislike for
traditional Japanesemusic that stayedwith him as he decided to study music after the war.
Employed by the Taisho Nationalist regime as a tool of wartime propaganda,Takemitsu
rejected Japanesemusic for the bleak memories of war that it conjured. Far from being
restricted to simply music, in fact, theseanti-Japanesesentimentsinformed the young
composer's view of his native culture at large, As Ohtake points out: `Affected by his
negative impression of wartime Japan,Takemitsu developeda senseof predilection for nonJapaneseobjects. These preferenceswere amplified, consciously or unconsciously,by the
many Western imagesaround him. ' (Ohtake, 1998, p, 1).
So it can be seenthat the ground was preparedfor the root Takemitsu's careerwould
subsequentlytake, beginning with his profound interest in, and study of, Western avant-garde
music. Ironically, however, it was through his involvement with the work of John Cage that
Takemitsu beganto seethe music and culture of Japanafresh, and work towards a creative
aestheticthat would seek first to fuse, and later transcend,Japaneseand Western styles of
music.
Like other oppressedstatesduring the war, abstractart was bannedin Japan
throughout the 1940s,with only sanctionedpropagandisticwork to be produced and
displayed. In the years immediately after, there was a realisation amongstthe country's
gathering and regrouping avant-gardeabout the extent to which censorshiphad held Japanese
culture back. Nevertheless,as critic ShüzöTakiguchi observed in 1954, `There was a feeling
17`Vast ruin was the
material casualty of defeat in 1945. The far greater wound was a psychological
shameand loathing for Japan itself. ' (Monroe, 1994, p. 127)
27
Towards a Universal Language
'
drastically
for
that
to
enough.
was not changing
that we were waiting
something change
(Takiguchi, cited in Monroe, p.89)
To many, the work of the Gutai Group can be seento representa celebration of the
liberty and freedom artists were able to exerciseafter the conclusion of world war two.
Although the loss and devastationcausedby the conflict had left Japan- and the world at
large - in a stateof shock and mourning, the work of the group neverthelessmarked the dawn
freedom
The
in
Japan.
they now exercised
hope
creative
and optimism
of a new senseof
the
future,
the
off
shook
collectively
to
as
nation
the
utopian
chanceof a new
perhapspointed
fall of imperialism and moved (under the enforced control of General McCarthy) towards USstyle democracy.
The first thing actively undertakenby the Gutai Group was to produce a journal in
1955, which - perhapsillustrating their Internationalist sensibilities - was swiftly translated
into English.
The fact that the art institutions and authorities of Japanrefusedto acknowledgethe
is
life
during
its
(1955-1973)
Group
Gutai
the
perhapstestimony
span
active
significance of
to the subversive, anti-establishmentarianstanceof its founder, Jiro Yoshihara. Interestingly,
in
Japan,
lack
for
the
neglect
of
recognition
relative
and
critical
group's
one reasonoften cited
has been said to be Tokyo's domination of the Japaneseart world, and its aversion to anything
that might have evolved outside of the metropolis stronghold. The Gutai Group was basedin
the Kansai district, three hundred miles away from Japan's capital, and the group's founder,
Yoshihara, was a central figure in the development of the Kansai art scene.However, from
around the 1970s,the work of the Gutai group did begin to be afforded a new retrospective
significance at the handsof less Tokyo-centric, revisionist appraisalsof Post-war Japaneseart
history.
To artists belonging to and associatedwith the Gutai Group, abstract expressionism
gave them the freedom from political engagement,enabling their work to be dominated by
more aestheticconcerns,and distancethemselvesfrom the social realists of Tokyo.
28
Towards a Universal Language
Politics aside however, it should perhapscome as no surprisethat, just as visual
artists belonging to the Japaneseavant-gardeoften basedtheir expressivelanguageupon the
work of abstractexpressionistssuch as JacksonPollock, pioneersof avant-gardemodernist
music found the likes of John Cage so influential. Parallels have, of course,beendrawn
between the work of Cageand Pollock, contemporariesat the cutting edgeof US art during
the 1950s,both of whom developednew modes of perception and expressionbasedupon
indeterminate,chance-basedprinciples.
1.2 Exploring the West to Rediscover Japan
Takemitsu's relationship with traditional Japanesemusic and instrumentation can be
traced all the way back to his childhood, where he was brought up by an Aunt who played and
taughtthe Kötö, andwhosehousewasfilled to the brim with all mannerof traditionalmusical
instruments.
Until his first encounterwith the work of John Cage in 1958 however, Takemitsu
had, by his own admission, `struggled to avoid being Japanese.' (Takemitsu, cited in Burt,
2001, p. 110). As previously discussed,his early associationwith Jikken Köbö had seenthe
young composer develop a keen interest in the work of European composerssuch as Debussy
and Messiaen.Nevertheless,despite his dark opinion of traditional Japanesemusic, which he
largely associatedwith nationalist wartime propaganda,it had from an early age remained
something with which he was familiar.
Even prior to Takemitsu's discovery of Cage, the former had begun to stray from his
strict focus upon Western avant-gardemethods, and betray a growing interest in traditional
Japanesemusic. Even if only on a symbolic level, referencesmade in the programme
notes to
compositions such as Requiem(1957) and Masque (1959) (which alluded to Nö Theatre),
indicate that a curiosity with Japan's traditional musical heritage
was already making itself
present in the mind and work of Takemitsu. The next step- actually including traditional
29
Towards a Universal Language
Japaneseinstruments in a composition - was not far away, and appearedinitially in a number
of works he produced for film and TV. For the most part, the composerregardedtelevision
and movie score commissionsalmost as experimental sketchbooks.Exempt from the
conventions and restrictions of the concert hall, they presentedTakemitsu with the freedom to
experiment and try new ideaswhich, if successful,would usually later find their way into his
avant-gardeconcert pieces.
In a 1961 documentary producedby the NHK about JapaneseKimono, Takemitsu
employed instruments such as the Koto and Chikuzenbiwa (a Meiji-era variation on the Biwa,
a lute like instrument), as well as other native Japaneseinstruments in the scoresfor films
such as Seppuka18(1962) and Kwaidani9 (1965).
`To my knowledge, Japaneseinstrumentshad never been used in Japanesefilms.
They all had western music. I desperatelywanted to try using Japaneseinstruments... When I
first usedJapanesemusic in a film, it causeda sensation."Wow! He usedthe JapaneseBiwa
in movie musicl" Isn't that a strangeresponse?Even the Japanesewere confused by this
sound.' (Takemitsu, 199420)
Justasduringthe 1950sTakemitsuhadimmersedhimselfalmostexclusivelyin the
music of Western composers,throughout the 1960shis work increasingly beganto evolve as
the amalgamationof Japaneseand Western sensibilities. Juxtaposingthe classical Western
orchestraand the inherent aural qualities of traditional Japaneseinstruments,Takemitsu
developed a new creative languagethrough the amalgamationof thesetwo things. The
composer has himself recalled how stumbling, almost by chance,upon a Bunraku2t
performance during the early 1960s,helped awaken his interest in the melodic and tonal
qualities of Japaneseinstruments. Intrigued by the sound of the FutazaoShamisen,an
important part of the Bunraku orchestra, he becameincreasingly fascinatedby the differences
betweenWestern and Japaneseinstruments. The sonic qualities
and playing techniques
'a `Nara-Kiri'
19'Ghost Stories'
20Interview
with Toru Takemitsu, conducted for the documentary, Music for the Movies: Toru
Takemitsu,directed by Charlotte Zwerin. SeeBibliography for full details.
21ßunrakuis a traditionalform Japanese
dramaperformedwith musicalaccompaniment
of
30
Towards a Universal Language
integral to each, seemedto illustrate the wider, more profound contraststhat existed between
Westernand Asian musical conventions.
Noise, it seemed,was one crucial difference. Not only had Western music and
Westernmusical instrumentsevolved in such a way so as to createdistinction betweennoise
and music, but within those boundariesonly `musical-sound' was desirable- `noise-sound'
was a thing to be rejected and eradicatedfrom Western composition. WhereasWestern
instruments such as the piano, for example, evolved in such a way so as to limit their potential
for producing accidental noise (i. e. only the notes intended by the player would be heard,with
virtually no extraneous,unplanned-for soundsoccurring), traditional Japaneseinstruments,on
the other hand, actively included and encouragedthis.
1.3 Universal Language: Transcending West - Transcending Japan
White NovemberSteps(1967) is perhapsthe piece in which Takemitsu most
famously juxtaposed the sound of Japaneseand Western instruments, it did not, however,
unify or fuse them. November Stepsas a composition seemsto play thesepreviously
incognizant setsof soundsagainst eachother, highlighting the differences betweenthe two
setsof conventions rather than amalgamatingthem. It was with Autumn in 1973,however,
that Takemitsu first createdsuch unity, combining instruments such as the Biwa and
Shakuhachiwith a full Western orchestra,to consciously attain much more numerous and
poignant instancesof unity and coalescencethan are present in its 1967 predecessor.
Takemitsu's developmentof an autonomouscreative languagehowever, began in the
1960swith the combining of Japaneseand Western conventions, and reachedits apex during
the 1980s,as Takemitsu sought to transcendall notions of national identity and geographical
boundary. `To swim in an oceanthat has no East and West.' (Takemitsu, 2001, p.234)
Integral to this, therefore, was the composer's own conscious re-awakening to
traditionalJapanese
music- his moveawayfrom the anti-Japanese
sentimentsandexclusive
to Westernmusicthat markedhis early work, andnew-foundwillingnessto
adherence
31
Towards a Universal Language
influence
be
his
John
Cage
heritage.
In
this,
the
seenas
of
all
of
can
explore
native musical
significant, providing a bridge betweenWesternmodernism and Japanesetradition that
enabledTakemitsu to first explore the latter from a fresh perspective.
By studying John Cage's Zen Buddhist inspired works, Takemitsu was able to access
aspectsof traditional Japaneseculture that he had previously only beenable to associatewith
the ultra-nationalist regime of World war Two. Re-imported from the perspectiveof a
Western artist, Japanesemusic and culture no-longer bore the samehistorical and political
baggagethat made its study otherwise so undesirableduring the sensitive post-war period.
During this time, it was the overriding aim of the Japaneseavant-gardein general,to
find a new mode of expression-a new autonomousidentity - that truly representedJapanat
that time, and their experiencesof it. Discussing one infamous avant-gardecollective, for
example, Alexandra Monroe points out how, `Releasedfrom the ruins of history, the post-war
Gutai artists claimed to rebuild and re-imagine Japaneseculture in the post-occupationyears.'
(Monroe, 1994, p.98)
If the dominant cultural trend in Japan,both before and after the war, was to sway
pendulum-like betweenthe rejection and total-imitation of Westernculture, then any new
expressionof contemporary Japanwould have to avoid either of these.
Initially, for Takemitsu, this assertionof independenceand autonomy found
expressionthrough the combination of fundamentally Japanesesubjectsand ideas,with
modes and techniquesinfluenced by the Westernavant-garde- in particular the Fluxus group
and John Cage.
With this in mind, the composition Ring (1961) standsas both Takemitsu's earliest
and most significant graphic scores,as well as an indication of the extent to which he was
directly stirred by the chanceand Indeterminate work of John Cage during this period. The
four movementsof Ring, for which the title forms an acronym ('R' Retrograde; 'I'Inversion; `N' - Noise; `G' - General Theme),are to be performed in any order and
interpreted in numerous ways by the musicians. The physical graphic elements
of the
composition relate strongly to its title, with its three interludes and four movements notated
32
Towards a Universal Language
by
('ring'-like)
design
`a
Burt
historian
Peter
which
way
of,
circular
explains,
graphically, as
'
be
in
two
sense,
of
speeds.
and
at
4
choice
or
counter-clockwise
read
either
clockwise
may
(Burt, 2001, p.93)
Perhapsin part as a result of his associationwith graphic artist Köhei Sugiura,
Takemitsu produced quite a number of graphic compositions betweenthe years 1962and
1963, many of which continued to utilise a similar circular motif to that featured in Ring.
While Corona for pianist(s) (1962), for example, useda range of coloured circular
(1962)
interlocked,
for
be
Corona
II
String(s)
in
through
the
slits
card, could
shapeswhich,
and Arc for Strings (1963) continued to encompasssimilar circle motifs within systemsof
graphic notation.
It is in the caseof the latter of thesecompositions, however, Arc for String(s) (1963),
that a different kind of physicality might be said to be apparent,in the allusions to nature and
physical characterisationscalled upon by Takemitsu. In Arc, the structure and organisation of
the composition as a whole is basedupon an image of an imagined traditional Japanese
garden.The central sound of the piano aurally describes,through music, the pianist Yuji
Takahashitaking a stroll through this garden landscape,the featuresof which are represented
by the various elementsof the orchestra.The aural and compositional iconography of the
piece is highly descriptive, if not metaphorical, in its representationof the physical elements
of the scene,even conveying the particular manner in which Takahashi walks22.
Justasthe pianoscoretakeson the characteristics
andperspectiveof pianist
Takahashi walking through the garden,so too is the landscapeitself matchedby music and
instrumentsthat describethe physical nature of its various elements.The 'timeless' nature of
the sand,for example, is representedby'densely chromatic webs of sound for strings,' just as
the most ephemeralthings in the garden, grassand flowers, are alluded to through `"mobile"
patterns' performed by two of the four groups of wind and percussioninstruments.' (Burt,
2001, p. 104)
22`He has a unique
way of walking that resembleslimping, which is important in this piece.'
(Takemitsu, cited in Burt, 2001, p. 103)
33
Towards a Universal Language
In his critique, Burt also makesreferenceto severalother significant featuresof Arc.
Firstly, the composition as a whole is split into two distinct sections,marking the point at
which Takahashichangesthe direction of his perambulation- turning round and coming back
the other way. This turnabout is marked compositionally by the fact that featuresof the
gardenheard throughout the movementsof the first section, are revised in reverseorder on
Takahashi's walk back. The music illustrates the fact that the pianist, symbolically, is now
returning the way he came,walking passedthe things he saw on his way into and through the
garden.
ThatTakemitsushouldpredominantlybe remembered
asan artistwho brought
together Japaneseand Westernmusical traditions, however, does his legacy and important
place within Japanesemusical history somethingof a disservice.It was through the popularity
and successof NovemberStepsthat the composer's reputation was establishedthus, although,
in truth, the long-term significance of his careeras a whole pointed to something far more
relevant and fundamental to the future developmentof Japaneseexperimental music.
Although Takemitsu's careerbegan firstly with the rejection, and then the re-adoption
of Japaneseidentity (the latter through his extendedengagementwith Western modernist
composition), it was during the course of the 1980sthat he defined the raison d'etre of his
work most fully. This purpose,fundamentally, was not to blend various types of world music
traditions, or create a unified amalgambetween Western and Japanesemusical traditions, but
rather transcendany taxonomy wherein music is apprehendedand labelled according to its
geographicalorigin (as Western or Eastern,for example).
In a 1975 lecture at Yale University, Takemitsu drew attention to the fact that, `it is
extremely easy for Western music to adapt traditional Japanesemusic. It is not difficult to
blend the two. I have no interest in either of theseprocedures... Nothing that truly
moves us
will come from superficial blending of East and West. Such music will just sit there.'
(Takemitsu, 1995,p.92)
With this in mind, Takemitsuadoptedthe belief that musichadthe potentialto
graduallytranscendculturalandgeographicalboundaries,evolvingaspartof a `universal
34
Towards a Universal Language
language' that is autonomousand relevant to all. Importantly, this is an idealism that, while
he discussedin terms of music, seemedto have a more profound and far-reaching resonance
for the composer.To Takemitsu, the conceptdemandedthat people disregardtraditional,
inherited ways of viewing the world and its culture, displacing the old stereotypesand lines of
demarcationby discovering more about the actual characterand nature of various cultures,
and therefore nurture a genuine understanding.Within this ideology, there thrives the
prospectfor a music which both knowingly embracesthe culture from which it originated,
while openly referencing other globally and historically diverse musics, not as a crude fusion,
but as a new emancipated,autonomousform of expression(autonomous,that is, from longstanding perceptionsand opinions about music, which are often purely basedupon inherited
judgments about the characterof a nation and its culture; emancipatedby a genuine
awareness,understandingof, and opennessto various cultures).
In an article for Ongakuno YohakuKara in 1980,Takemitsuwroteof his dislike for
`generalisationssuch as "Western or Eastern",' questioning how something like the sound of
a flute, for example, could possibly convey `subtle differences of a cultural nature in different
geographic areas.' Continuing on the theme, he argued, `... it becomesincreasingly more
important for us to understandour immediate past Indeed, we are moving toward a
...
universal language.But rather than unnaturally forcing the process- crowding Japanese
soundsinto Western musical structures,for example - we must recognisethe varying
sensibilities and aestheticsthat give different cultures their special character.' (Takemitsu,
1995, p.56)
35
Towards a Universal Language
1.4 Conclusion
In discussingthe work of composerToru Takemitsu, and the first generationof posthe
belonged,
has
introduced
Japanese
this
to
chapter
many
artists
which
war
avant-garde
issuesthat will be central to this thesis, and the history of Japaneseexperimental music.
"
While comprising a diverse range of artists, methodsand movements,perhapsone of the
most crucial factors binding and underlying the work of Japan's post-war/post-Hiroshima
be
to
the
need
reflect,
express,
or
a product of,
as
was
common
avant-garde a whole,
In
directly
life
from
the
political
or
personal
perspective.
everyday
an
overtly
whether
immediate wake of the Pacific war and Atomic Holocaust, the prevailing senseof
despondency,loss, and uncertain identity were obviously fundamentalto this. Standing
in direct contrastto the long-standingdominant trends of Western mimicry and
nationalistic revivalism, the work of the early Japaneseavant-gardereflected, in a variety
of ways and from a variety of perspectives,the experienceof belonging to Japanat that
point in time. A distinctive, autonomous,and relevant artistic expression.
"
Takemitsu's searchfor an autonomouscreative languagewas largely governed by his
own changing attitudes towards the West and Japan,and the way in which he related to
the culture of each.
"
This wasmarkedinitially by his outrightrejectionof Japanese
musicasa youngman,
obsessedinstead with emulating the work of avant-gardecomposersfrom Europe and the
West. Partly as a result of John Cage's own infatuation with Easternphilosophy and
culture, Takemitsu beganto explore the indigenous musical heritage of Japan,
unrestricted by fears that he might be considerednationalistic because,in effect, it was
through the eyes of a Westernerthat he now rediscoveredtraditional Japanesemusic in a
new light.
"
While manyregardthe landmarkof Takemitsu'smusicalcareerto be the blendingof
EasternandWesternmusicalconventions(epitomisedby NovemberSteps),the composer
36
Towards a Universal Language
himself arguedduring the latter part of his career,againstthe uselessnessof judging
He
by
its
warned againstthe reductiveness,overorigin.
simply
geographical
music
labelling
Eastern
dividing
or
as
merely
and
music
and
of
simplicity
obstructiveness
Western. Primarily, he came to regard the complete transcendenceof such distinctions as
his ultimate objective.
"
Takemitsu believed that, by drawing indiscriminately upon old, new, native and world
language',
free
inherited,
from
`universal
become
the
outmoded,
cultures, music should
a
how
is
dictate
that
music
received.
restrictive value systems
often
Although various Dada-inspiredcliques existed during the first half of the twentieth-
century, risking a hazardousundergroundexistencein fear of the prevailing nationalistic
regime, it was only in the fragile aftermath of Nagasaki and Hiroshima that Japan'savantfollowing
itself.
In
began
Community
to
chapters,I will examine the
garde
establish
developmentof Japaneseexperimental music from these modernist origips, 'tracing a legacy
that runs throughjazz, psychedelic, noise music and contemporary sound art. While
stylistically and aesthetically many of the artists assembledwithin this legacy appear,
superficially at least, to often have little in common, the fundamental driving and binding
factors at the root of Japaneseexperimental music have remained the same.Essentially, these
factors - when broken down - draw a significant parallel with the issuesunderlying
Takemitsu's work and the early post-war avant-garde,summarisedabove.
"
Music which exists independentlyof prevailing fashions or traditional styles: an
autonomous,independent,or `universal' creative language.
"
Music which, while not necessarilyan overt political or personal statement,nevertheless
exists as an artistic product unique to that place, person and time, transcendingeither
bland mimicry or revivalism.
"
Music which, in its own way, is embroiled in and deals with issuesof identity (directly or
inadvertently) - whether personal identity, national identity, artistic identity, musical
identity.
37
Towards a Universal Language
38
Towards a Universal Language
CHAPTER TWO
JAZZ KISSA RADICALS:
TOKYO FREE JAZZ AND THE ANTI-ANPO UPRISING
2.0 `... An Imported Soundtrack of Liberation'
Throughout the courseof the 1960s,the Shinjuku district of Tokyo played host to
by
in
Angered
Japan.
the
first
Western-style
the
public
protest
of
ever
scenes
what were
double renewal of ANPO23;the situation in Vietnam; and the prolonged presenceof
American forces in Japan(highlighted by the situation in Okinawa), students,radical groups,
in
but,
in
Shinjuku
demonstrated
dissidents
the
and
of
streets
squares
not only
and social
1968, famously set out from the district to overrun Tokyo's Parliament building.
At the Treaty's first renewal in 1960,and it's secondin 1970, groups on the New
Political Left, workers' unions, and in particular studentmovementssuch as the Zengakuren
(National League of Students,est. 1968) and Zenkyoto (Committee of Interfaculty Struggle),
took to the streetsof Tokyo to protest on a scale, and with an intensity, that was
in
unprecedented post war Japan.
On the American side, one of the motivating factors behind the administration's drive
for a renewedagreementwas the fear that Japancould be on the verge of a socialist revolt. In
both the United Statesand in Japan,the rise of public protest during the 1960scorresponded
with the enforcementof increasingly strict state control and, in this context, was a response
not only to wider political issues,but also to the fear of oppression.The defeat of student
protestersin Tokyo, as measurestaken against them by the state intensified and the hazards
involved in protesting increased,led to both the breakdown of New Left protest movements,
and their subsequentdispersal from Shinjuku.
39
Towards a Universal Language
In this chapter, I want to consider the extent of the relationship betweensocial
movementson the New Left in Japan(and the major political uprisings for which they were
late
it
doing
during
1960s.
In
free
jazz
Japanese
this,
the
wilt be essential
responsible)and
first of all to look at the distinct cultural place occupied by mainstreamjazz music during the
twentieth century in Japan,particularly within the context of US occupation and its influence.
The role played by the jazz kissasof TokyoZ4in relation to both the proliferation of freejazz,
during
New
Left
for
the
the 1960s,will also
of
and as meeting places
studentsand members
be consideredas a significant factor, as will the contribution made by notable freejazz
(1932
1991).
Masayuki
Takayanagi
players, particularly
The link betweenpolitics and freejazz is very much grounded in the genre's North
American origins, and the interrelationship betweenfree jazz and black power. In looking to
the genesisof freejazz in the United States(i. e. the music of artists such as Albert Ayler,
Ornette Coleman, Chick Corea, and John Coltrane, etc), the following paper will compare
black political issuesat the origins of the music, to the experiencesof Japaneseactivists, and
consider whether these ideals were in someway presentin the free jazz of Japan.
It couldwell be arguedthatthe protestfolk of singer/songwriters
suchasKan
Mikami, Tomoya Takaishi, and Nobuyasu Okabayashireceived a wider following from
media and public alike2S,and shareda much closer relationship with the protest movement in
Japan(despite criticism from certain dissident corners that the adoption of protest folk
resulted more from a desire to emulate US trends, than genuine innovation).
Notwithstanding its highly politicised origins in the US, the relationship between
politics and freejazz in Japanis largely dismissed as an inconsequentialand marginal factor.
Throughout the course of the following chapter nevertheless,I hope to examine this further,
reassessingthe relationship betweenradical protest and free jazz in Japan,and the important
historical role of the latter in its influence upon subsequentgenerationsof avant-garde
musicians in Japan.
'3 TheUS-JapanJoint SecurityTreaty,AnpoJoyaku
Treaty'
-'Peacekeeping
24JazzKissatenmeaningJazzCaf&.
40
Towards a Universal Language
The proliferation of jazz music from America can generally be traced from the start
of the twentieth century, as it spreadfirst throughout Europe and, gradually, into Japan.
In discussingthis, historian Eckhart Derschmidt has identified a number of parallels
within the historical developmentof Europeanand Japanesejazz. In both, for example, it was
imported predominantly by membersof the affluent classes,despitefundamentally being the
product of oppressedsocial groups in America. Furthermore,jazz was subject to similar
censorshipin the years leading up to World war Two under both the Nazi regime, and the
ultra-nationalist government of Japan.Throughout the 1920s,jazz enjoyed enormous
popularity in Japan,and to a large extent was seenas a symbol of everything progressiveand
exciting about the West. Nevertheless,during the nationalist years of World war Two,
American music becamestrictly taboo, and the looming threat of persecutionfor anyone
caught listening drovejazz deeply underground(despite the fact that, in practise, such laws
proved almost impossible to implement).
However, with defeat and occupation at the conclusion of the war, and the period of
disillusionment in Japanthat followed, a crisis in national self-identity triggered the mass
assimilation of American ways and American culture. Partly becauseit had played such an
important part in nationalist propaganda,traditional Japanesemusic for many in the post war
period conjured up unwelcome associationswith World war Two. In the immediate wake of
the conflict, it was felt that anything inherently Japanese-by-definitionshould be rejected, and
any product of the Western World embraced.
The burgeoning prominence of jazz during the 1950sepitomised this hunger for
Western products and, aided by the presenceof US forces (and, in particular, their radio
stations), its popularity in Japanflourished.
Although the popular rise of jazz was something that occurred internationally during
the immediate post-war period, the historical and cultural position it occupied in Japan,
however, is incredibly unique. Only in Japandid the institution of the jazz kissa
evolve -a
place dedicatedto the playing of, listening to, and exclusive appreciation of jazz vinyls even
-u Around30,000
Folk Jamboreein 1971.
people,for example,attendedNakatsugawa
41
Towards a Universal Language
if
largely
jazz
themselves
is
Japanese
not
neglected,
were
this,
though, spite of
musicians
dismissed,by devoteesat home and in the US. Their dedication to accuratelyemulating the
is
historians,
for
is
in
large
to
this
the
US
and, some
reason
part
players
style and music of
in
Japan.
deeply
the
of
culture
mimicry
rooted
supposed
symptomatic of
From around 1954,GeorgeKawaguchi's Big Four becameone of the most popular
known
for
band
in
The
Japan.
jazz
adapting popular tunes of the
were
ensembles
native
hundred
jazz
like
to
and seventy
making
around
one
standards,and,
moment sound
became
Torfis,
Bunka
Hösö's
jazz
the
Japan's
at
most popular radio show,
performanceson
hugely popular with the nation's listeners(Derschmidt, 1998). Jazz could also be heard via
NHK's Rhythm Hour programme,as well as a number of other private radio stations,
US
in
Western
courtesy
of
military radio stations,
came
music mostly
although, general,
for
import
While
in
broadcast
on
available
records
were
metropolitan areasonly.
usually
Story
films
Glen
Miller
The
the
were
and
prices,
such
as
exorbitant
anyone who could afford
hugely popular, outside of Japan's major cities, accessto jazz music during the early 1950s
limited.
extraordinarily
was nevertheless
The first major US jazz combo to play in Japanwas the Gene Krupa Trio in 1952,
in
following
Norman
jazz
Granz's
Philharmonic
Armstrong
Allstars
Louis
the
the
at
and
with
1953.Visits from famed US players did not really becomea regular occurrenceuntil around
1961, and live jazz on the whole remained relatively rare in Japanthroughout the 1950s.
Justasit hadbeena decadebeforethe war (prior to its censorshipunderthe
in
1950s,
historian
jazz
the
to
early
adopted,
according
resurfaced
nationalist regime)
music
Michael McDonagh, `... as an imported soundtrack of liberation from domestic cares.'
(McDonagh, http://www. insightjapan.com/jazz.html). The idea that jazz was in some way
embracedas a liberating force - something that was modern, exciting, and an alternative to
tradition Japaneseculture - is a familiar one amongst Western commentators.As president of
Blue Note RecordsBruce Lundvall, for example, suggests:`I think jazz representsa certain
freedom and liberation that is not typical of the Japaneselifestyle. It representsa tremendous
42
Towards a Universal Language
opportunity for the people to just sort of let down their guard, and to hear music that is
improvised and free.' (Lundvall, http://www. allaboutiazz.com/iviews/blundvall.htm)
If, indeed,the wider Japanesepublic received popular jazz andjazz standardsas
jazz
free
during
1960s,
freedom
the
the
then
emergence
of
manifestationsof
and modernity,
be
its
by
Left,
New
the
seenas a more radical and concentrated
adoption
can
and
materialisation of these ideals. Furthermore,the work of freejazz pioneerssuch as Masayuki
Takayanagiand Abe Kaoru (1949 - 1978),with its growing retrospectiveacclaim
jazz
Japanese
that
the
time-honoured
criticism
musicians
renders
worldwide26,
unfounded
lacked inventiveness,and simply mimicked the style of players in the West.
2.1 Anpo 1960
1
Just as 1960 saw a rash of civil uprisings take place in America (e.g. in San
Francisco), so too in Japandid student factions orchestratesimilar incidents of civil dissent in
Tokyo: eventsthat were fuelled, in large part, by mounting anti-ANPO sentiments,the rise of
the New Left, and the formation of groups like Ampo Tösö (the Security Treaty Protest
movement).
Thesescenes,the largestexperiencedin post-warJapanup to that point, brought
together a diverse range of social groups from throughout Japanto remonstrateagainstthe
proposedrenewal of ANPO. What these gatheringsand rallies representedessentially, was a
coming-together of various elementsfrom the JapaneseNew Left: the formation of an
alliance between political parties, trade union workers, Communist Party youth groups, and
student radicals. Although espousingan ethos of relative passitivity throughout the protests of
1960, the confrontational tactics employed by anti-ANPO demonstratorsneverthelesspushed
the limits of what could be regardednon-violent protest.
26In 2000, for
example, American guitarist Jim O'Rourke releasedthe CD Tribute to Takayanagi,
which featured performancesby a number of other notable avant-gardemusicians, keen to
acknowledgeto the influence of Takayanagi. 1995 also saw the releaseof a biographical film, directed
by WakamatsuKohji, dramatising the life of Abe Kaoru.
43
Towards a Universal Language
The US-JapanJoint Security Treaty was establishedinitially in 1951,negotiatedby
JapanesePrime Minister Yoshida Shigeru and US Secretaryof StateJohn Foster Dulles.
Someof the most critical points agreedupon within its pagesincluded: 1. That US forces could be stationed in Japan,and carry out operationsfrom there without
first seeking permission from the Japaneseauthorities.
2. If deemednecessary,
the US military couldarbitrateandintercedein mattersof civil
conflict within Japan.
3. The US was not committed to defend Japan,should it fall under attack from any foreign
powers.
Somejustification was sought for the treaty by the fact that, in 1960,Japanhad no
military capabilities of its own, and so was vulnerable due to its close proximity to Korea and
the ongoing conflict there. According to AmbassadorDouglas MacArthur II, the US
ambassadorto Japan,American military presenceensuredthe defenceof the country.
Once the Korean War was over, however, and the Communist threat seemingly
diminished in Japan,suchjustification seemedneither sufficient nor relevant to many
Japanese.Nevertheless,the US administration were reluctant to renegotiatethe terms of the
treaty, cautious about what it saw as Japan's burgeoning relationship with the USSR:
something highlighted by talk of a Japanese-SovietPeaceTreaty, and the possible handing
over of the Kurile Islands (a small, sparsely-populatedarea which, in military terms at least,
possessedminimal strategic importance).
Citing Article 26 of the US-JapanJoint Security Treaty, Secretaryof StateDulles
claimed that the US had a right to demandequal treatment to the Soviet Union, and that if
such an agreementwere to be made in relation to the Kurile Islands, then the USA should
haveequalclaim to dominionoverthe Islandsof OkinawaandRyukyus.
After the successfulcompletion of negotiations between the USSR and Japan,the US
administration decided to commencetalks regarding the renewal of Anpo. Despite his
supposedlack of experiencein the field, newly appointed AmbassadorMacArthur 11was at
the centreof the talks,andreportedlycommandeda gooddealof respectfrom Japanese
44
Towards a Universal Language
Emissariesdue to both his name (i. e. being the nephewof General MacArthur) and his strong
political connectionsin the White House.
MacArthur undertook his post in February 1957, and after only a year had begun
be
US-Japanese
Washington
to
that
relations
reassessed,and Anpo
recommending
renegotiated.
In 1958,the Secretaryof Stateand JapaneseForeign Minister Fujiyama Aiichiro
announcedthat the treaty would, indeed, be renegotiated.It becameclear to both the President
and US Foreign Secretarythat much had changedin Japansince 1951,when the Joint
Security Treaty had first beenestablished.Speedynegotiations ensuedand the US Senate,not
too bothered about hearing the finer details of the proposal, generally agreedthat the Japanese
situation had altered significantly enoughto merit a revision of the current agreement.
Prime Minister Kishi Nobusuke, appointed in 1957,was a member of the Liberal
Democratic Party, and remaineda controversial - if not unpopular - figure to Japanese
politicians and public alike. During the SecondWorld War he had been a key member of the
Japanesegovernment under generalTojo Hideki and, after spendingthree years imprisoned
under US occupation for war crimes (releasedwithout charge), had managedto successfully
re-launch his political career.It was widely suspectedthat, beneaththe public facade,he
remained unconvinced by the virtues of democracy,and was simply exploiting the current
situation to satisfy his own ends(masking his own true beliefs beneaththe veil of his words).
TheNew Japanese
Left alsobeganto gatheritself duringthe late 1950s.Student
protest groups, well versed in the histories and principles of sociologist ideology, felt that
they could associatewith the campaignsbeing fought by revolutionary groups around the
world and, indeed, from throughout history. Enmity towards the US governmentwas at the
heart of the New JapaneseLeft, and behind much of the solidarity, empathy and kinship they
sharedwith guerrilla groups in other countries. However, as a de-militarised nation, they were
without the weaponry and arsenalspossessedby their revolutionary counterpartsabroad.
Despite bringing about the collapse of Japan's government of the day, the
demonstrationsof 1960neverthelessfailed to prevent the re-working the US-JapanJoint
of
45
Towards a Universal Language
Security Treaty, and in the years that followed studentgroups were left to contemplatejust
why it was their actions had failed.
In common with correspondingincidents in North America, the anti-Anpo protestsof
1960, far from being spontaneousoutbreaks,were the product of intenseorganisation and
juxtapose
in
US,
Japanese
Similarly,
to
the
the
protesters
attempted
case
planning.
as was
their own non-violent actions with what they saw as the repressivetactics of the authorities,
justness
highlight
the
to
the
of their own cause.Ultimately,
using
example of stateoppression
it was felt that the government had acted unlawfully by deciding to renew the treaty without
full backing from the Japanesepeople, and campaignersdeterminedto stiffen their resolve,
regroup, and preparefor the Treaty's secondplanned renewal in 1970.
By the mid-1960s, the ethos of non-violent protest was rapidly being abandoned,and
began
to make its presencefelt. With this,
the
social movement
a secondgenerationwithin
the nature of social movementson the New Left as a whole beganto change,as this new
in
favour
leaned
of adopting violent and confrontational
more
generationof protester
ever
meansto achieve their aims.
2.2 Free jazz and Politics
The interplaybetweenmusicandpolitics is, unquestionably,
a subjectof perpetual
interest. In a similar way to Blues music, it has beenarguedthat, historically, jazz developed
within a kind of dualistic context: existing as both an intrinsic part of capitalist culture, while
at the sametime acting as a reactionary art form against it, destabilising industrial/consumer
society from within its very boundaries.
Accordingto musiccritic Hua Hsu,jazz is boundup with `... contemporaryissuesof
cultural citizenship, identity, representation,authorship and "dissonance"," (llsu, 2001, p.78)
and,to this end,Hsu citesDukeEllington: `Dissonanceis our way of life in America.We are
somethingapart,yet an integralpart.' (Ellington cited in Hsu,2001,p.78).
46
Towards a Universal Language
Musically, socially, politically and historically, free jazz is closely rooted to the idea
of non-concurrence- the collapsing of boundariesbetweentheir being a right and a wrong
way -a destroying of linear perceptions,linear histories, and linear expectations.
In terms of the music itself, freejazz mounted a challengeto traditional expectations
harmony,
(conventional
notation, rhythm, song, etc), exploring
of music
structure, melody,
the possibilities of improvisation and free-playing as an essentialpart of this.
In socio-political terms, however, its history is also deeply rooted in the social climate
of America during the post-war period, leading to its associationwith the civil rights
movement and, ultimately, the black power movement.
Music commentatorBen Watson describesit thus: `freejazz's challengeto black
music's role as entertainment... A historical sketch- slavery, reconstruction, post-war
exclusion, civil rights, the Black Panthers.. jazz as a cry of resistance... African
improvisation versus Europeanfixidity, utteranceversus transcendence.
' (Watson, 2001,
p.79) Freejazz defiantly challengedthe foundations of the dominant capitalist culture of
America, situated, as it was, at a rather lowly position within that culture.
Thegenesisof freejazz canbe saidto be rootedfirstly in be-bopduringthe mid-late
1940s(the music of artists such as Charlie Parker, Charles Mingus, and Dizzy Gillespie), and
later that of Lenny Tristano. Classedas a cool jazz or west coast cool player, two of Tristano's
songsfrom 1949,Digression and Intuition, are consideredforerunnersto freejazz music in
that they were without pre-arrangedharmony or rhythm, although unlike freejazz they did
however possessharmonic consonance.
Also referred to at the time as `energy music' and `the new thing', free jazz derived
its name from the 1960 Ornette Coleman album Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation,
although two preceding recordings, SomethingElse and The ShapeofJazs to Come, are
regardedto mark the real start Coleman's avant-gardeplaying. Epitomised later by works
such as Ghosts by Albert Ayler (1965), and Ascension by John Coltrane (1965), free jazz was
pioneeredby a number of other key artists including Charles Mingus, Sonny Rollins, Eric
Dolphy and Cecil Taylor.
47
Towards a Universal Language
In terms of the relationship betweenfreejazz and politics, there are two possible
jazz
in
itself
free
first
be
The
that
always
overtly
not
political
might
arguments.
- was
hijacked by black power as a soundtrackto the civil rights movement, partially through the
Nationalism
Black
Revolution
(e.
in
Kofsky
Frank
the
g.
and
writings of people such as
Music) and Amiri Bakara (e.g. Blues People - 1963). Bakara, known also as Le Roi Jones,
for
black
influential
critic,
social
and
commentator
music
playwright,
was not only an
poet,
civil rights, but also the leaderand key protagonist of the Black Arts Movement. Sharing
close political affiliation with black power, the movement looked to both Marxism and precolonial African culture to empower and liberate African Americans. Freejazz, poetry and
plays were central to the Black Arts Movement, and regardedas meansby which independent
and authentic black culture could be reclaimed and established27.
To suggestfreejazz was simply appropriatedby the civil rights movementwithout
any social-political content of its own, however, is misleading. On one level, songssuch as
Fable of Faubu? by Charles Mingus, Now's the Time by Charlie Parker, and Alabama" by
John Coltrane directly addressedpertinent black civil rights issues.There is an argumentto
suggestthat while jazz was popular as an export of American culture around the world, it was
neverthelessanti-American by its very nature. America projected onto the world that its way
of life was centred upon civil freedom, but jazz exposedthe fundamental floors of that - it
exposedthe real rule of capitalism and the domination of the white bourgeoisie.That globally
celebratedjazz musicians such as Miles Davis and John Coltrane still didn't get paid,
credited, or treatedthe sameas white musicians31,only strengthenedthe idea that jazz was a
music of freedom, emancipation, and a call for change.
27Theseformsof art andperformance
could,by their very nature,alsobe both performedat public
meetingsanddemonstrations.
28Fable Faubus
of
related to the racism of Orvil Faubus,the governer of Arkansas.
n Now's the Time (1959) is
seenas a call for social change
30Alabamawasa response
to the racistmurderof four black girls in a churchbombing.
31For example,blackjazz
musicianswould be forcedto enterclubsandvenuesvia the backdoor
48
Towards a Universal Language
John Coltrane, whose music in many ways was deeply rooted in African culture32,
becamesomething of a figurehead in the link betweenfreejazz and civil rights, despite
he
did
X,
Coltrane
Malcolm
While
meet
support
and
contesting any outright connection.
in
his
believed
that
time,
that
the
of
particular
place
and
and,
product
music was
simply
it.
in
As
it
is
his
through the
much
as
else,
anything
experiences
particular, an expressionof
is
linked
Coltrane
human
to the civil rights
that
the
of
work
expressionof
existence
in
belief
Malcolm
X,
that
the
to
the
art
reflects
conditions
social
movement and
adhering
which it was made.
The unique place of jazz within Japanesesociety is crucial, and through the history of
jazz and free music, much can be explored and discernedconcerning Japan'swider political
and cultural history.
In any examination of the Tokyo free-music sceneduring the late 1960s,and, for that
matter, its link with student political activism, Masayuki Takayanagi standsto the fore as a
pre-eminent figure. Overtly engagedwith social and political issuesas a writer, critic, and,
most significantly, a freejazz guitarist, Takayanagi's work embodiesthe most political and
reactionary elementsof Japaneseavant-gardemusic and art during this period.
A controversial and outspokenfigure, Takayanagi remained consistently single
minded and resolute throughout his career, in both his social and political commentaries,and
in his approachto music. An artist whose musical beginnings in the 1950swere defined by
his virtuosity and distinction as a mainstreamjazz guitarist, Takayanagi, by the end of the
1960s,stood as a lone outspokenvoice of political dissidencewithin Japanesefree jazz
circles.
Through the development of `Mass Direction 33vand `Gradual Direction34' approaches
to improvisation, the establishmentof the New Artist Organisation,33the formation of his
32E.g. Coltrane's
more Afrocentric works include Black Pearl (1958), Africa (1961), Dahomy Dance
(1961) and Tunji (1962)
33The theory Mass Projection, developedby Masayuki Takayanagi,
of
offset his altogether more
restrained *Gradual Direction approach with its loud, aggressive,and chaotic dynamics. According to
Jinya Disc's Kazu Yasutani, Takayanagi once said that when he played a 'Mass'
piece, his aim was to
49
Towards a Universal Language
Akita
Masami
and
artists
such
as
New Direction36ensembles,contemporarynew music
Otomo Yoshihide now cite Takayanagias a major influence during their formative years.
Together with the likes of Kaoru Abe, Takayanagiis acknowledgedas one of the few notable
jazz
American
transcend
Autonomously,
mere mimicry of
jazz players of the era to work
and
and free music.
However, evident in most of Masayuki Takayanagi's work, whether musical or
For
political
matters.
on
social
and
views
written, was the presenceof strong personal
Takayanagi
1970,
March
5
jazz,
in
Issue
the
interview
in
magazine
of
published
example, an
he
did
jazz
Not
Tokyo
that
time.
denounced
the
only
sceneat
systematically criticised and
dismiss the jazz Cafe circle for its lack of innovation and its adherenceto the culture of
Western mimicry, but also offered scathingremarks about musicians and critics on the scene,
latter
the
It
that
by
the
most controversy
created
perhaps
them
was
personally name.
rebuking
in Japan:public naming and shamingwas seento be both unacceptableand socially
disruptive, and from this point onwards many notable venuesandjazz kissas in Tokyo refused
to have him play.
The extortionate price of collecting jazz records meant that, in the main, only radio
indulge.
jazz
kissas
to
afford
could really
stations and
The jazz kissaswere officially coffee shops,although in the main, coffee drinking
in
Manga.
immerse
to
and
oneself
music
was very much a secondaryconcern - an excuse
During the 1960s,personal audio technology had not yet made music and popular
decade
become
later.
jazz
kissas
Tokyo,
In
it
the
of
not
a
would
entertainmentas accessibleas
but
like
Dolphy
Eric
Ornette
Coleman
the
played,
and
of
only were
records western artists
due to limited funds and space- JapaneseImprovisers would also often play solo, yielding
project the imaginary sound of blood bursting and flowing from a suddenly cut artery - in an abstract
sense,attempting to expresssomeperception of life itself. (Yasutani, 2002)
34A style of play developedby freejazz pioneer Masayuki Takayanagi, Gradual Direction is
essentially a quiet and pensive improvisational approach,which standsin complete contrast to his
*Mass Projection style.
35A workshop to
encourageyoung musicians to explore improvisation, renamedRen Juku in 1975
36Renownedfree jazz group founded
and led by Takayanagi
50
Towards a Universal Language
performancesthat, according to contemporarysound artist Otomo Yoshihide, were `more
abstractand extreme' than those of a band. (Yoshihide, Iss.185, p.34)
Jazz cafes during the 1950swere frequentedby enthusiastsas placesof knowledge
and learning, and, as Eckhart Derschmidt explains, patronswere expectedto `be able to tell
be
jazz
fan[s].
black
if
`real
from
' (Derschmidt,
'
thought
to
they
of
as
players,
wished
white
1998,p.308)
These early jazz kissaswere seriousplacesof learning. Due to the high cost of
importing records from the US, they took on the ambienceof jazz appreciation classes,even
to the extent where customerswould take notes and addressthe owner as sensei.The serious,
academic-like nature of the jazz cafes was paralleled by the tone of popularjazz publications,
such as Swing Journal. This kind of authoritarian disseminatingand dedicatedappreciation of
jazz, while perhapscontradictory to the nature of the music itself (particularly in its popular
Western context), reflects the studied seriousnessit demandedas an almost sacred,highbrow
product.
By the 1960s,although records had becomea little easierto get hold of, they were
neverthelessstill sufficiently rare and expensiveto ensurejazz kissas maintained their
indispensablecultural role. Late night radio shows still remained one of the best ways a
listener could get to hearjazz at home, although in 1969the first dedicatedjazz program also
appearedon television,hostedby WatanabeSadao.
Thedevelopmentof Live Housesin the Shinjukudistrict of Tokyo from around1965,
correspondedwith a notable change in the collective attitudes of the student population. It
was around this time that studentsbeganto turn away from the consumeristrewards and
trappings of economic growth, and develop an empathy with freejazz musicians in America
who, in ways to which they could relate, had also suffered at the handsof state repression.
As Derschmidt explains in his study on the rise and fall of the jazz kissa, in free jazz
studentssaw kindred spirits expressingcomparative experiencesto their own: `In the
musicians of the free jazz movement - John Coltrane, Albert Ayler, Cecil Taylor - they found
powerful allies expressingtheir common experienceof oppressionand solitude (Steinhert
51
Towards a Universal Language
1992:212; Nakano 1984:86). There are severalaccountsof how closely the studentmovement
and the intellectuals related the musical expressionof freejazz to their own situation (e.g.... a.
short citation from a small literary magazinein 1970: "The New Left is jazz. And We Are
Ayler. "). ' (Derschmidt, 1998,p.307)
Someof the mostpalpablemanifestations
of this socialconsciousness
canbe foundin
the 1970saudio tape performancesof Masayuki Takayanagi, where guitar improvisations
from
Hitler's
footage
things
such
as
speeches,the Japanese
combined
with
were
recorded
Emperor's broadcastat the end of World war Two (acknowledging defeat), and TV news
footage taken from the 300 Billion Yen Burglary. He also basedimprovisations upon subjects
such as the DAI-GO-FUKURYU-MARU, a Japaneseship that was seriously contaminated
after drifting into a US test areafor nuclear weapons.In addition to this, Takayanagi would
often set asidethirty minutes or so at the end of a performanceto allow open floor
discussions,expressinghis views on a range of social, historical, environmental, and political
issues:from the proposedbuilding of a new nuclear energy plant, for example, to World war
Two and the JapaneseEmperor.
In retrospect,it couldbe arguedthatTakayanagi'sexclusionfrom thejazz kissa,
subsequentlyled to him undertaking some of the most important work of his career,away
from the mainstreamcommercialjazz establishmentof Tokyo. In his personal account of the
Tokyo freejazz scene,Otomo Yoshihide, a former student of Takayanagi, recalls the
guitarist's belief that as an artist, it was his responsibility to engagedirectly with social and
political issues:`In his somewhatseverewriting style, he would scrutinisejazz or improvised
music always from the vantagepoint of its relationship with society... Takayanagiwas indeed
constantthroughout his life in his dedication to an independentpursuit of self-expression
against the background of society.' (Yoshihide, www. l-m-c.org.uk/texts/otomo.html)
Kazu Yasutani ofJinya Disc, a label dedicatedsolely to the releaseof Masayuki
Takayanagi's work, concurs with this: `... [Takayanagi] statedclearly that music is
an
expressionof the root of humanity and society, and true musicians have to be able to read
52
Towards a Universal Language
'
history.
in
facts
the
context of our society and
and events
newspapers and understand the
(Yasutani, 2002)
factions
during
States
the
arose
United
both
Japan
radical
In
mid-1960s, new
and the
both
leading
the validation of violent protest, and
to
within counter-cultural social groups,
(e.
Cuba).
the
being
world
g.
around
movements
social
made with revolutionary
contact
However, just as the confrontational tactics employed by these social movementsintensified
during 1967 and 1968, so too did attemptsby the governmentto counter such action, with
Police proceduresbecoming ever more hostile, and new laws introduced to help thwart
Nonetheless,
the
of
fragment
new
generation
only
was
the
not
movements.
social
protests and
by
kind
the
to
the
but
of
counteractions
employed
used
more
also
activist more aggressive,
authorities, and quite adeptat evading and slipping through the net of statecontrol.
While 1968 saw the growth and expansionof the Black Panther Party in the US, and
the formation of the Black Liberation Army deepwithin its ranks, Japaneserevolutionaries
beganto believe in their own potential to be at the forefront of world revolution. It was with
this conviction that movementssuch as the Zengakuren(National League of Students,est.
1968) and Zenkyoto (Committee of Interfaculty Struggle) were founded, and began
before
Anpo
the
to
second
of
proposed
renewal
support
gather
canvassingstudent campuses
in 1970.
Many participantsin the 1960anti-Anpoprotestsnow led Japan'snew student
had
in
either
a personal recollection of the
recruits
movementsand, general, most new
boom
had
Due
both
baby
taken
to
that
the
part.
or
post-war
previous uprisings, older relatives
and recent educational reforms, there were more college and university studentsduring this
time than ever before, which may well have contributed significantly to the scaleand intensity
issues,
Other
mounting
such as the Japanese/SouthKorean
of political activism on campus.
PeaceTreaty of 1965, fuelled anti-government sentimentsamongstthe New Left even further.
A new generationof jazz kissa also evolved during the mid-1960s, which were
altogether different in characterto their austere,scholastic predecessorsof the 1950s.
Meditative listening, rather than academic-stylelearning, came to dominate these darker,
53
Towards a Universal Language
louder, far more intenseplaces.Jazz kissasbecamealmost temple-like spaces,with the dense
atmosphere,loud music, and strict rules enhancingthe statusof jazz as a cult.
The popularity of US freejazz pioneerslike John Coltrane, Albert Ayler and Omette
Coleman in the mid-late 1960swas a worldwide phenomenon,and by no meansexclusive to
Japan.However, as previously stated,what was unique was the specific way in which this
music was adoptedin Japan,evident in both the developmentof freejazz-orientatedjazz
kissas,and the unique way in which studentprotest groups associatedtheir own ideals with
those historically rooted in the music.
To the generationinstigating the Demos, free jazz symbolised their kinship with other
radical social movementsaround the World. They saw their strugglesagainstthe Japanese
government- who stood accusedof cowing down to the West - as analogousto the battle
against social oppressionwaged by the black power movement in the United States,and
revolutionaries of Chd Guevara in Cuba. The origins of traditional jazz in the religious music
and work songsof African Slaves in North America was significant, although freejazz
possessedits own directly political heredity linked to black power, and the struggle for Racial
Equality.
The adoption of Muslim namesand ethnic, African clothing formed an integral part
of these musicians' challenge to the dominant white society in which they lived.
Critic Ben Watson, in a recent article, has suggestedthat a number of parallels can be drawn
between freejazz and other dissident movementsthroughout history, including Dada and
punk: namely, the mixture of derision and anger imbued in the artists' evasion of, and
contempt for, conventional approachesto music andjazz. Freejazz can be seenas marking a
complete `break' with the statusquo, raising `... unheardpossibilities for musical and
political action. ' (Watson, 2001, p.79)
Members of the New Left in Japanempathisedwith this and, through the adoption of
freejazz as the soundtrack to their cause,the jazz kissas of Shinjuku becamenot
only places
to drink coffee and listen to records, but also a gathering point for those on the revolutionary
left.
54
Towards a Universal Language
The uprisings in 1968 are closely linked to what was seenas the ongoing influence of
the US in Japan.After initially losing the Anpo argument,and suffering a dearth in selffound
like
Narita
Airport
the
new
struggles
confidence as a result, studentprotest movements
Issue to unite behind. This controversial event was supportedby an infamous and welldocumentedprotest concert, featuring many of the most notable freejazz, Folk and avantMasayuki
in
including
Kan
Mikami
Takayanagi.
Japan,
and
garde musicians
Despite his strong political views, however, and willingness to speakand act out
dismissive
large-scale
Takayanagi
Japanese
the
the
nevertheless
of
was
authorities,
against
his
Joint
Treaty
if
did
Security
Rarely,
the
stray
or
writing
onto
music
ever,
anti-Anpo riots.
debate, but rather, he remained critical about the protests against Anpo, feeling that they
fashionable
kissa
boom
jazz
just
became
the
pursuit
amongst
a superficial
or
eventually
generation.
Yasunori Saitoh, founder ofJinya Disc and lifelong friend of Takayanagi, recalls
things as follows: `I remember his comment about a protest march and riot covered in a music
him
he
I
in
1970s.
When
thought about the
the
asked
what
magazinearticle published
"Demo" (which, in Japanese,meansa protest march that usually results in a riot), he
answered:"That is just a nuisance.They have gone about it all by the wrong means".'
(Saitoh, 2003)
Affirming the guitarist'scommitmentto political activismandengagement
with
issues
however, Yasunori Saitoh further recountsthat: `Takayanagi participated in antisocial
Vietnam-war concerts.., he was sensitive to social and political movements.He often said to
his studentsthat artistic activity is to expressthe foundation of the world they now live in, and
taught how to read newspapersto know their social environment well. Though, as far as Anpo
and political protests in Tokyo during the late 1960sare concerned,I believe he thought of it
as a childish boom, in which very few people had given seriousthought to either their causes
' (Saitoh, 2003)
or consequences.
The protest environment of the late-1960swas radically different from that at the start
of the decade.In Japan,protestershad their own reasonsfor demonstrating against Vietnam:
55
Towards a Universal Language
Nation
in
had
led
bases
Japan
US
the
to
the
that
playing an
military
presenceof
specifically,
issue
became
focus
The
Okinawa
in
Vietnam
the
the
of
also
war.
unwilling, yet crucial, part
bases
be
1970
US
increasing
Treaty
that
tension,
the
maintained
of
proposed
revision
of
since
on the Islands, even when sovereignty had beenreturnedto Japan.
Even though Japanesestudentsduring the mid-1960s were lessable to travel abroad
than their counterpartsin the United States,they neverthelessused all other meansand media
at their disposal to keep abreastof radical movementsabroad.
International Anti-war Day in 1966representeda point at which Japaneseprotesters
from most factions (the political Left, old and new) felt united by a common goal - both with
lie
What
in
Japan
the
at the centre of
world.
around
and other protesters
counterparts
frustrations was the Japanesegovernment's foreign policy, and the way in which it had
influence
American
in
Japan.For the
the
the
of
military
sanctioned
continuing presenceand
Japanesestudent movements,thesetwo things createda tangible link betweenAnpo and
Vietnam, cementing their opposition to both.
While most protestsduring the mid-late 1960swere aimed at government policy,
however, it was extremely rare that the government ever made any attempt to addressor
intently
focused
in
Rather,
the
the
the
attention
of
state
was
more
question.
repeal
policies
it
developing
Most
tactics
to
the
of
actions
protesters.
upon
commonly, was the
counteract
police who would be called upon to counter-act protester action, and so the police -a tangible
symbol of the State- subsequentlycame to be seenas the adversaryand target of protester
angst, regardlessof the specific political issue in question.
After the death of a student during a Demo in 1967,who was hit and killed by a
police vehicle, the government beganto target new laws against the New Left in Japan.A
new body was set up to gather information on radical, subversive, anti-establishmentpolitical
groups, and a new statutepassed:TheAnti-SubversiveActivities Law. In conciseterms, the
law meant: -
1. Stiffer punishmentif it wascleara crimewas linkedwith anti-governmentactivities.
56
Towards a Universal Language
2. Special investigations allowed which would enablecertain social movementsto be legally
National
found
be
if
threat
to
to
security.
a
sufficient
outlawed
In addition, a major disturbanceat the Shinjuku Railway Station in 1968 sparkeda
new Criminal Riot law, which enabledstateauthorities to officially pronouncea situation to
be a riot, and in doing so arrest anyone still within the vicinity after thirty minutes had passed.
The statutealso included the offence of incitement within its margins, which made anyone
by
(i.
or
not
e.
way of a previous speech,
present
suspectedof provoking a particular situation,
(which
hearing
bail,
imprisonment
hand
bills,
to
pending a court
without
etc), subject
political
could take months to arrange).
The protestsof 1968 beganat the very outset of the year in January,when members
in
Sasebo,
in
both
Tokyo
demonstrations
New
Left
the
and
reaction
the
at
port
of
mounted
of
to the landing of a US nuclear aircraft carrier, the Enterprise.As previously mentioned, it was
the National League of Students,the SanpaZengakuren,who were at the centre of most of
thesedisturbances,with their three factions: Chukaku, Seikai and Bunto. The Enterprise
demosat Sasebolasted around five days and, despitethe many press reports condemning
student action, thesedemonstrationsattracteda good measureof public backing, and even
public participation.
However, the violent clashesbetweenpolice and protestersthat had begun with the
SaseboHarbour Protest, continued to escalateat other demonstrationsthroughout the course
of the year. One such incident took place at Oji, the site of a proposednew American military
hospital, while financial mismanagementissuesat Colleges and Universities led to students
arranging further major strikes, and occupying a number of campusbuildings. While in
general, public Universities were quite tolerant of such action, private institutions (which, at
the time, made up 70% of all) often called police in to arrest studentsfor riot offences.
As the year progressed,not only did anti-Vietnam sentimentsgrow, but clashes
continued to break out betweenPolice and protesters,as work began on the new Airport at
Narita in March. With US B-52 bombers setting off from Okinawa to Vietnam, many
57
Towards a Universal Language
Japaneseprotesterswere obviously keen to expresstheir anger at their Nation's unwilling
involvement in, and proximity to, the conflict.
By late spring 1968, studentson the New Left had continued to gather increasing
support from the studentpopulation at large, as an atmosphereof dissent spreadthroughout
Japanesecampuses.Beyond simply rebelling over the situation in Vietnam, studentsalso took
issueover a number of on-campusmatters. High tuition fees, together with huge financial and
class discrimination issueswithin the higher educationalsystem, becamefurther causefor a
growing number of studentsto instigate protests,and occupy campusbuildings.
The establishmentof the Zenkyoto (Committee of Interfaculty Struggle) in 1968,was
yet another indicator as to the scale of the growing unease,targeted at symbols of the state
and, as some saw it, US Imperialism. Zenkyotowas not merely a studentorganisation, but
included membersfrom all facetsof academiclife, from professorsto researchers,and
workers' union membersalso attendedthe demonstrationsthey helped to organise.
Throughout the course of theseorganisedpublic events,the US Embassy,Police
Headquarters,Parliament Building, and Railway Station in Shinjuku all came under fire.
TheTokyo protestsof 1968peakedover a seriesof threedays,afterwhich the state
authorities managedto force student protestersback onto the campusesfrom which they set
out, with the final Zenkyoto stronghold - an occupied building of Tokyo University eventually giving way in January 1969. In the period that followed, the government
introduced a seriesof measuresin direct responseto what had occurred, attempting to come
down hard on those who had beenat the centre of events that year.
2.3 Change
In light of the above, then, the nature of the relationship between freejazz and the
anti-Anpoprotestsstartsto becomemoreapparent,bringingto light a numberof issues
relatedto the broaderhistoryof jazz musicin Japan,andits uniqueplacein theNation's
culture.
58
Towards a Universal Language
With this in mind, two key points can be identified at which freejazz and social
activism convergedduring the 1960s:"
Firstly, the political heritage of freejazz in the United States,and the empathy student
in
fighters
America.
Civil
Rights
identified
in
felt
Japan
they
with
activists
"
Secondly, the cultural significance of jazz music itself in Japan,and the history,
development,and important social function played by the Tokyo jazz kissas.
Not only were musicians like Masayuki Takayanagi fully committed to engaging
in
he,
but
issues,
took
others,
an active part specially
and
publicly with controversial political
Genyasai
Sanri-Zuka
Nippon
Festival.
1971
the
concerts,
as
such
organisedprotest
In addition to this, by the early 1970s,it becamecommon for jazz magazinesto print
Vietnam,
Anpo,
issues,
the
of
and Japanese
subjects
particularly on
articles on political
foreign policy. This burgeoning political consciousnesswithin the Tokyo freejazz
fact
is
highlighted
by
further
that New Left protestersand student
the
community,
demonstratorswere regular attendeesat jazz kissas - places, according to Otomo Yoshihide,
that were `... rich with the youth subculture of the day. Avant-garde jazz, Manga, music and
leftists,
filled
the
with
opinions
of
young
concerts every one or
notebooks
culture magazines,
two months, and 8 millimetre film shows.' (Yoshihide, www. l-m-c. org.uk/texts/otomo.html).
In contrast to his dismissive attitude towards the anti-Anpo Demos, Masayuki
Takayanagi neverthelessparticipated in anti-Vietnam protest concerts, and supportedthis
causefully even though, for the social movementsat the heart of the most intenseTokyo
protests,thesetwo issueswere by no meansunconnected.However, I think it is important to
note that Takayanagi was not so much critical of the anti-Anpo/anti-Vietnam argument itself,
but rather of the methodsof protest adoptedby activists as ever more violent meanswere
adopted.
His irritation was directed againstthe secondgenerationof New Left studentswho,
emerging during the secondhalf of the 1960s,enrolled at college with activism, rather than
education, as their primary objective. His frustration was seemingly further intensified by the
59
Towards a Universal Language
having
bandwagon,
had
the
by
1970,
anti-Anpo
climbed aboard
vast number of studentswho,
beenpro-actively canvassedby social movementslike the Zengakuren.
Sanri-Zuka
the
`He
Saitoh
Yasunori
at
As
uttered once after performing
recalls:
listened
to
the music
that
seriously
no one
protest concert
...
I also rememberhim expressing
his opposition to the superficial anti-Anpo movement advocatedby somejazz magazines.'
(Saitoh, 2003)
Just as he doubtedtheir political conviction and their motives for protesting, so too
free
jazz
jazz
kissa
Takayanagi
and
performances
suspiciousof their presenceat
was
fashion
following
than
rather
expressingany real
that
merely
many
were
concerts, aware
concern for music or politics.
By 1969, in light of increasing statepressure,a growing senseof disillusionment had
begun to creep into many of the studentmovements,with growing doubts and questionsbeing
askedas to whether massstreet protestswould ever succeed.
The dominanceof freejazz on the underground scene,and of the meditative-typejazz
kissa to which it belonged,also fell into decline towards the start of the 1970s,replaced by the
it.
jazz
kissa
lighter,
that
jazz
Fusion
spaces
accompanied
more relaxed
music, and the
rise of
This changein fashion can be attributed to a number of things: the emergenceof a new
jazz
death
free
US
tastes;
the
their
pioneers such as
of
and
own styles
student generation,with
John Coltrane (1967) and Albert Ayler (1970); and the defeat of New Left studentsin the
in
demonstrations
1970.
Anti-Anpo
violent
By this time, not only had the rioting social movements and student groups begun to
feel that their actions, however fierce, were failing to changeanything, but also plans to
dramatic
The
district's
bohemian
had
Shinjuku
to
take
countenance
effect.
started
redevelop
was gradually being erasedby the emergenceof skyscrapersand businesscomplexes,
displacing, as a consequence,the non-conformist revolutionary contingent it had harboured
throughout the previous decade.
Just as membersof the protest generationscatteredand seemingly disappearedduring
the early 1970s,the decade'spassingalso saw the widespreaddecline of the jazz kissa cult,
60
Towards a Universal Language
and very few of the original Tokyo establishmentssurvived. Despite this however, in the time
that has elapsedsince, the relationship betweenimprovised new music and social awareness
has not only remained in evidence,but burgeonedthroughout the courseof the 1990s.
As recently proposedby writer Yoshiyuki Kitazato, `the story spansthe period from
the New jazz Hal137era in the '60s... to the `90s, when Japanesemusicians becamea real
presenceon the global scene,' although, as he rightly points out, `It is unlikely that the
musicians themselvesexperiencedthe '60s as an era of infancy. ' (Kitazato, 2003, p.55)
Just as artists like Otomo Yoshihide and Keiji Haino continue to engagedirectly with
social, political and cultural issues,the work of others- particularly those associatedwith the
so-called Onkyo genre - have reactedto contemporaryTokyo life in more subtle, indirect
ways38.The word Onkyo translatesclosely to mean `sound' `echo', or `reverberation', and it
is with the texture, absenceand isolation of sound - rather than in expressivenoise or music
that artists associatedwith Onkyo are often preoccupied.Primarily, it relatesto the `no-input'
concept - removing all but the most minimal, residual, fundamental elementsof the sound
sourceat hand: i.e. a samplerwithout samples(Sachiko M); a self-contained mixing desk
using its own output as input (Toshimaru Nakamura); A turntable without records (Otomo
Yoshihide); or aural spacesbetweenthe striking of guitar notes (Taku Sugimoto). In terms of
its autonomousavant-gardedevelopment,exploration of improvised means,and close
proximity to contemporary societal issues,such work exists within the larger legacy of
reactionary new music, that evolved, in large part, through the free jazz of the anti-Anpo
generation.
37A seminal Tokyo freejazz
venueestablishedin 1969 by Goro Sakai, managerof the equally
venerablePit Inn. The New Jazz Hall was the first venue in Tokyo dedicatedto experimental
improvised music, and avant-gardefree jazz.
3eThe
minimal meansused,and often barely perceptible nature of such sound works, have been posited
as a reactionary gestureto the `information overload' of contemporary urban life, rejecting the flood of
noise and information that saturatesovercrowded urban centreslike Tokyo. As Toshimaru Nakamura
recently conceded in an interview with Phil England, he is caught up in a battle against information,
and, despite making a number of limiting decisions like not having a TV, not reading newspapers,etc,
there is still too much information around him. `I have to say no. So probably my music is that kind
of
statement.' (Nakamura in England, 2000, p. 12)
61
Towards a Universal Language
2.4 Conclusion
Throughout the courseof the 1950sand 1960s,American jazz was not only one of
the most popular forms of music in Japan,but one of the male population's favourite
pastimes.Jazzcafe's were intrinsic to the social lives of many Japanese,and - particularly
during the 1950s-jazz music was a thing to be appreciatedin the most serious,studied
manner, inviting its own very unique brand of intellectual snobbery.
Jazz came to Japaninitially as a direct result of American occupation.That it was
initially received in such a wholesale, almost obsessiveway, however, owes much to the
cycle of Westernisationthat marked the era, as Japansought to re-assessits National identity
and reject the disastrousnationalism of recent decades.
Despite its extreme popularity and important place within Japaneseculture at that
time, it is worth pointing out that it was strictly jazz-as-an-American-productthat attracted
such veneration. Jazz was an exotic import: something that could be brought into the country
at no small cost39,or recreatedby Japanesemusicians attempting to mimic as closely as
possible the soundsand techniquesof their American heroes.
However, several factors lead to the evolution of certain forms of Japanesejazz music
that, rather then being completely derivative of Western styles, becamesomething wholly
unique to Japan.
For example,asvenuesfor live performance,
jazz kissaswereoftentoo smallto
accommodatefull jazz ensembles,resulting in musicians having to adapt suitable styles and
techniquesfor solo performance.That musicians of such posthumousrenowned as Kaoru Abe
and Masayuki Takayanagi performed thus is notable, since not only did both make the
significant transition from Traditional jazz player to Avant gardist, but are now also
acknowledgedto have been highly influential to contemporary avant-gardemusicians.
39Whether
paying foreign musicians to visit Japan,or importing expensive vinyl records.
62
Towards a Universal Language
63
Towards a Universal Language
CHAPTER THREE
FROM GROUP SOUNDS TO AVANT-GARDE:
THE EVOLUTION OF JAPANESE PSYCHEDELIC MUSIC
3.0 Introduction:
Japanese Culture Catching Up and Down
TheJapaneseeconomyand society is geared to catch up with the west.
Therefore,Japanesesociety also expectstheir artists to catch up with the West.
But maybecatching up, or down, is not culture's business.(Nam June Paik, p.81)
The practise of mimicry, it is argued,constitutes an integral part of Japan'sartistic
by
being
traditions
heritage
of
evolved
centuries
passed
convention
over
and cultural
-a
master onto apprentice.
Japan'shistoricalinclinationto undergoperiodsof Westernisation,
andmimic
Western cultural forms is, according to certain sociological conjecture, a symptom of the
sameinherent mindset. As at the end of World war Two, when the failure of Nationalism (as
the supposedembodiment of Japanesenational identity) triggered what might be regardedas
a crisis in National self-confidence, Westernisation,and the adoption of Western culture,
representedan attempt to start anew and re-learn from a new Master: the West.
If, however, America was indeedthe new teacherfrom whom Japan,at the
conclusion of World war Two, would seekto learn40,then one subsequentoutcome would be
that,throughthis eagerness
to learnandprogress,Japanese
culturewould becomeextremely
familiar with, andknowledgeable
about,Americanculture.Much betterinformed,in fact,
64
Towards a Universal Language
than America was of Japaneseculture. By casting itself in the apprenticerole, Japanmade it
almost natural for foreign Nations to assumethe position and characterof educator (a role
fulfilled, throughout the centuries,by China, Europe, and the US respectively).
According to Wilkinson, one significant upshot of this is that Japanhas remained
historically more knowledgeableabout Westernculture, than the West generally is about
Japan.Essentially, it could be argued,this is becauseits society's opinions, perceptionsand
worldview are basedupon `a rich tradition of knowledge' (Wilkinson, 1991, p.46), rather than
reductive stereotypesand projections - fundamentalelementscharacteristicof nineteenthcentury Orientalism, for example.
The Oxford English Dictionary41credits Orientalism as `Oriental scholarship;
knowledge of Eastern languages',and Exoticism as merely the `Tendencyto adopt what is
exotic or foreign.' Here, the former is implied to be an erudite, scholarly pursuit -a meansby
which to enhancecultural understanding- and the latter nothing more than a shallow,
fetishistic pursuit, more inconsequentialthan insightful. Throughout the courseof the
twentieth century, however, differentiation betweenthe two terms blurred, as the fallacious
scholarship of 19thCentury Orientalism seemed,upon revision, increasingly to have been
driven by exoticist sensibilities.
That Exotic is defined as, `Outlandish, barbarous,strange,uncouth. Also, having the
attraction of the strangeor foreign, glamorous,'42is significant, and saysmuch about many
insidious preconceptionsconcerning `The East'.
The skewed stereotypesand presumptionsthat define the Western legacy of
Exoticism, are all-too evident throughout the course of nineteenth and twentieth century art
history: from the paintings of Jean-LeonGerome43,Henri Regnault44,and Etienne Dinet", to
40Positioning the US, this
at
point in history, as a role model for Japan's future development (which
was perhapsenforced by General MacArthur's determination to re-mould Japan in America's image).
41The Oxford English Dictionary Online, SecondEdition, 1989. Subscribed by Liverpool
John
to
Moores University.
42The OxfordEnglishDictionaryOnline,SecondEdition, 1989.Subscribed by
to LiverpoolJohn
MooresUniversity.
43E.g. Pelt Merchant Cairo (1869), Guard Harem (1859), An A1meh
Pipe (1873)
of
of
with
44E.g. Salome (1870), The Carpet Market (1887), The SnakeCharmer
(1883)
65
Towards a Universal Language
the compositions of Puccini, Debussy,and Berlioz (not to mention Benjamin Britten, Martin
Denny, Peter Gabriel and Paul Simon). Furthermore,the collective designation `Oriental' has,
for over five hundred years, helped to perpetuatea tendency in the West to mix-up and
different
Asia-Pacific
Nations
identities
distinct
the
of
customs,peoplesand
confuse
whether Japan,China, Korea, or Singapore,etc.
Sound artist and author David Toop describesthe notion of `Exotica' as a place
invested with imaginary qualities, and a senseof mystical Othernessthat, in reality, never
desires
betrays,
Occidental
the
that
to
extent,
needs,
some
minds
really existed: a construct of
Toop,
West.
'
According
`The
in
`industrialised
to
fantasies
those
the
ultimate goal of
of
and
the true exotic is to erasehistory, stop time, manufacturememories; by force of will, to
fabricate an identity basedon ethnic and cultural characteristicsthat have never before
into
fabulous
island,
become
the
then
the
to
sinking
of
sea,
once
more
out
rising
a
existed;
abyss'. (Toop, 1999,p.77)
From another perspective,however, it might be suggestedthat perhapsJapanhas
knowingly benefited from - and sought to perpetuate- certain consequentialaspectsof
Orientalism. It might be said, for example,that as a Nation, it has suited Japanin many ways
to remain shroudedin mystery and evadecomprehensionabroad.
During the early years of his career,renowned filmmaker Akiro Kurosawa46was
in
for
his
had
by
Japanese
the
the
press
popularity
achieved
work
criticised
some quarters of
America and Europe - movies such as Rashömon(1950) and TheSevenSamurai (1954). He
was accused,primarily, of Internationally popularising Japaneseculture, and pandering to
American/Europeanaudiencesby selling them exoticised imagesof Japan.Supportedby a
number of contemporaneouscritics, Kurosawa repelled such criticism, arguing that perhaps
his detractors' disapproval stemmedfrom their uneasethat a product of Japanhad become so
successful- and had therefore been understood- abroad.
43E.g. Girls dancingandSinging(1902),TheSnakeCharmer(1889),Slave Love
andLight of my
of
Eye(1904)
66
Towards a Universal Language
Just as the role model of Chineseculture was gradually abandonedin the nineteenth
it
had
from
depart
European
began
the
1920s
Japan
to
by
model
the
similarly
century,
World
The
of
towards
events
a sensibility of pan-Asianism.
previously aspiredto, gravitating
in
integral
have
this.
largely
One
to
role
thought
an
played
are
war
In addition,EuropeanNationshadthemselvesbegunto recogniseanddiscussthe
The
degeneration
the
selfstage.
on
world
their
and
gradual
position
weakening
of
problems
its
Europe,
decline
impending
the
of
diagnosedsymptoms of
and acknowledgement
part of
on
disillusionment
Japan's
further
the
preof
to
strengthening
and
contributed
own vulnerability,
World war Two Pan-Asian sentiments.
Nevertheless,the construct of `New Japan' - which epitomised the nation's UltraNationalistic wartime ideals - was itself, largely contradictory in nature. On the one hand,
`New Japan' was knowingly reliant upon certain facets and products of Western culture,
forces
US
Allied
it
in
to
to
things
over
and
victory
would need secure
particularly relation
(e.g. military strategies,technology, marching music, propagandatechniques,etc). However,
the Japanesealso saw `New Japan' as the driving force behind Pan-Asianism,and the central
both
Asia's
Asian
to
the
force
of
ancient past,
preservation
crucial
culture:
within
superior
legacy.
its
future
of
and creation
In the larger schemeof things, however, this pattern of adoration and rejection would
As
balance
full
the active
the
changed.
world
shifted
and
of
power
circle as
ultimately come
Global influence of Europe diminished, and the USA emergedto take its place, so too did
Japanlook to the latter as the ideal model for its own redevelopment.US victory over Japan
in the Pacific war was, of course, a significant factor in this radical shift from supreme
Nationalism to extreme Westernisation.
Eventually, however, as the economy and international confidence of Japanincreased,
the USA also ceasedto be perceived as the figurehead after which it fashioned its social and
economic structure. Once the teacherhas been surpassedby the pupil (or, at least, equalled), it
46Notably,Kurosawafrequentlycommissioned
Toni Takemitsuto scoresomeof his mostcelebrated
films, andwashighly praisedby the composer(with somegratitude)for the trust andfreedomhe
67
Towards a Universal Language
best)
(at
becomes
be
to
or subject of pity or scorn (at
a
competitor
ceases
a role model, and
worst). As the twentieth century wore on it might be arguedthat, in terms of businessand
economy, at least,Japan'srespectfor the US diminished greatly.
The cycle of adulation, disillusionment, and rejection of a role model Nation whether China, the USA, or any number of prominent Europeancountries - pervadesthe
course of Japanesehistory. In choosing its models from abroad,however, it might be argued
that there exists an historical tendencyto over-idealise thesecountries, often causingthe
Japaneseto becomedisappointed,even scornful, as a result (feeling somehowcheatedby the
inability of theseteacher-Nationsto match their own unrealistic expectations).As Wilkinson
proposes,`Time and again young Japanesewould report their disappointmentat finding that
actual Europeansor Americans did not live up to the ideals of freedom, humanism, love of
truth or whatever qualities they had associatedwith Europe or America. ' (Wilkinson, 1991,
p.42)
According to a five-yearly survey undertaken in Japan,Japanesecitizens in the early
1990sgenerallyregardedthat only they,the Chinese,andthe Jewishhadnot suffereddecline
asa raceof peopleoverthe lastfifty years.
Despite the widespreaddrive towards modernisation/Westernisationthat dominated
Japaneseculture for severaldecadesafter the Pacific war, during the 1980sthe social, cultural
and economic structuresof Europe and the USA becameincreasingly undesirableas models
for Japan.According to Endymion Wilkinson, various reasonscan be suggestedfor this:
"
Europe and the US took much longer to recover from the oil crisis in 1973than Japan.
"
The financial and industrial markets of WesternNations were also having a tough time
trying to contend with Japan.
"
The incessantso-called 'Japan bashing' it was felt media on the Occident, particularly
businessmedia,wereindulgingin.
"
The perception that Western nations had over time misplaced their work ethic, instead
becoming proud, overconfident and hedonistic.
affordedhim in his work,
68
Towards a Universal Language
"
in
be
the
to
that
social
frequently
Inherent and
were
seen
evident
publicised problems
drugs,
(e.
America
etc).
crime,
g. racism,
structure of
In addition to this, there was also the feeling that countries in the West had
for
blame
their
Japan
the
own shortcomings.
tried
to
or
excuse
as
use
consistently
Europe,generallyspeaking,wasill at easewith the rising influenceof theJapanese
be
it
the
to
a
its
boom
and
of
during
expense
at
time,
seemed
when
particularly
economy
threat to - its own economic welfare.
The USA was also uneasyabout the emergenceof this burgeoning economic
have
beaten
Japan
to
being
irony
that
the
seemed,
economically,
added
superpower,with
America at its own game on a number of different levels. This was epitomised, for example,
by the successof the Japanesemotor industry, and in general it appearedthat the Japanese
had managedmore effectively to embody all the values and ethics integral to the American
Dream (particularly in the rewards of hard honestwork coming to fruition). By the late 1970s,
businessesin Europe and the United Statessaw the Japaneseway of conducting and
by
ideal
An
business
the
a wave of
accompanied
entire culture emergedmodel.
as
managing
Japanese
to
the
theories
success
of
encapsulate
sought
which
publications, coursesand
businesses,and enablethose in the West emulate its successes.
Whereasthe USA was still regardedas the dominant World force, however, Europe
High
Culture,
by
Japanese
is)
than a relevant or
(and
the
of
as
a
museum
more
seen
was
still
influential power in contemporaryterms. Europe is apprehendedalmost like a piece of living
history, and a repository of High Culture from which lavish objects can be obtained to adorn
in
for
life
than
the
of
concerns
which
catered
are
more
practical
and embellish everyday
Japan.The attainment and enjoyment of Western material products as something akin to
statussymbols, is somethingthat was establishedin the Meiji era.
Essentially, it has becomecommon for cultural commentatorsin Europe and America
to assertthat Internationalism and Globalisation have, to a large extent, transcendedthe old
trans-cultural distinctions and polarisations in Japan.
69
Towards a Universal Language
An image emergesof the contemporaryJapaneseyouth as having a richer and
broader mix of cultural sourcesto draw upon than any generationpreviously. Also, like other
nations, Japanis constantly engagedin the (often a-historical) re-assessmentof its culture and
traditions.
3.1 The Origins of Japanese psychedelia
[AJll foreign cultures are acceptedunconditionally. And becauseof this
...
very lack of conflict with an axis, there is no developmentexceptfor the
constant importation of the new.As a result, what we see in Japan is a
cohabitation of foreign thoughts, regardless of their cultural or historical
origins... (Karatani, p.37)
Vast economic change,political unrest, and radical social upheavaldefined the 1960s
in Japan.Not only were more people flooding in from rural areasto seekcareersin the
burgeoning cities, but an atmosphereof social radicalism, not unlike that in countries such as
China, France,the UK and USA, was making itself felt. University students,Workers Unions,
and social movementsassociatedwith the New Political Left demonstratedagainst issues
such as the renewal of the US JapanJoint Security Treaty47;Japan's unwilling involvement in
the Vietnam war; and the continued US occupation of Okinawa (despite Japanregaining
independencein 1952).
Althoughthemusicof Japanese
psychedelicartistsduringthe mid-late 1960susually
avoided any engagementwith politics, there neverthelessemergeda small, nonconformist
contingentof undergroundartists,whosework wasalmostaspolitically pro-activeasthat of
the generation'sfolk-inspired protest singers4$.At the forefront of this psychedelic avant-
47More commonlyknown Anpo.See
Protest.
as
chapter
entitled
48
E.g. Protest singers such as Nobuyasu Okabayashi, for example, who has beendescribed Japan's
as
answerto Bob Dylan. One major event to highlight the popularity of folk during the late 1960sand
early 1970s,was the NakatsugawaFolk Festival of 1971. Despite attracting over 30,000 people
70
Towards a Universal Language
Rallizes
Keiji
Haino)
Les
featured
(which
Aaraaf
like
Lost
young
and
a
garde were groups
Denudeswho, according to writer Paul Collett, might be seenas `the ultimate seminal
Japanesepsychedelicgroup.' (Collett, p.25)
In common with jazz49,avant-garde,and electronic music, psychedelicpossessesa
in
banal
belies
its
in
the
Japan,
denotation
history
origins
more
which
cultural
and
unique
by
1960s
(vastly
their
(GS)
the
trends
genres
characterised
popular
of
sounds
eleki and group
fashionable
British
American
dedicated
styles).
to,
and
of,
mimicry
and
strict adherence
One of the first attempts in Japanto recreatethe Rock `n' Roll soundreflected the
Japaneselove of jazz as much as anything else.Hi no Tama Rock by Izumi Yukimura
late
big
band
jazz,
Glen
Miller-esque
fundamentally
and
of
awkward amalgam
constituted a
1950sAmerican rock `n' roll.
The relationship betweenjazz and the burgeoning pop culture of the mid-1960s,
however, is significant. For example, in major cities jazz kissas5°were central to the growth
in
Japanese
diffusion
development
guitar pop, crucially providing places which
of
and
and
bandscould regularly play, earn a wage, and cultivate a following. In a crampedcity such as
Tokyo, all accessibleperformance spaceswere willingly utilised, and throughout the 1960s
the role of jazz kissas extendedbeyond merejazz-dedicated coffee shops, increasingly
in
larger
jazz
kissas
While
terms
live
the
host
to
able,
only
were
musics.
a
of
variety
playing
live
in
(smaller
band
full
terms
of
to
were
establishments
restricted,
of space, accommodatea
Houses,
functioned
Live
together
these
to
as
with
venues,
music, solo performances),
important conduits enabling Japaneselive music to flourish and develop.
A residency at Tokyo's La Seinejazz kissa was given, to GS band The Golden Cups
during 1967, for example,just as an array of other bands like The Tempters", The
however, the criticism of participant Kan Mikami (who shunshis associationwith folk) that it was `just
a big Woodstock imitation', underlines the criticism that Japaneseprotest folk simply constituted
another example of cultural mimicry. The rhetoric of dissent contained within the music, had less to do
with genuine political conviction, as it did an ambition to emulate famous American protest singers.
(Mikami, hitpJ/www.
info.net.nztopprobrium/html/print3/in
3j ikami.html)
49SeechapterentitledProtest.
S0SeechapterentitledProtest.
sl Fromaroundthe time of their formationin 1965.
71
Towards a Universal Language
Thunders52,and The TigersS3all developmentas professional bandsby playing at jazz kissas.
An early incarnation of The Spiders,featuring drummer Tanabeand vocalist Hiroshi
Kamayatsu (whose father was a jazz singer brought up in the United StatesS4),
also played
regularjazz-based setsat the coffee shops.
Just as intermittent appearancesby famed American artists like as The GeneKrupa
Trio and Louis Armstrong Allstars5Sstoked the popularity of jazz during the early 1950s,so
too did visitors from the West impact equally significantly upon the growth of Japanesepop
later.
decade
music a
Two tours, in particular, were notable in this regard, triggering a reaction amongst
teenagelisteners and aspiring musicians that would define how Japanesepopular music
developedthroughout the courseof the next decade.
In 1966The Beatlestravelled to Japanto undertakea seriesof performancesat
Tokyo's Budo Kan Hall. While by this time, the so-called `Liverpool Sound'56phenomenon
historic
in
The
Beatles'
Japan,
visit neverthelessdid much more than
was already present
simply build upon their existent popularity there". Impacting significantly upon the
subsequentdirection of youth culture and popular music, the Budo Kan Hall shows were
influential in the developmentof (and were the catalyst for) an entirely new trend in Japanese
boom.
the
group
popular music:
sounds
It wasafterthe visit of an Americagrouponeyearprior to this however,that an
earlier, albeit equally derivative, Western-stylegenre pre-emptedthe rise of group sounds
(GS) music. Touring Japanin 1965, it was the Ventures' instrumental, echo-guitar driven,
surf sound that triggered the copycat Japaneseeleki phenomenon.Bands who would later
redefine their music in the group soundsmould, such as The Spiders, Mops, The Tempters,
52Earning a
regular wage performing at Kyoto's Den-en.
53Secured 7000-Yen
a
residency at the Nanba-Ichiban Jazz Kissa on Osaka while still going under the
name The Funnies.
34Although,
apparently, his main fondnesswas for Country and Western music.
ssFollowed by
a continuous string of others from 1961 onwards.
56A term
which referrednot only to groupsinspiredby the MerseySound,but British Beatmusicin
eneral,influencingsuchbandsasThe Spiderscirca 1965.
The formation of groups such as The Tokyo Beatles as early as 1964, atteststo the long-standing
nature of The Beatles' influence in Japan.
72
Towards a Universal Language
The Tigers58,and The BluejeansS9,all beganas Ventures-style imitators, performing West
Coast surf covers as faithful to the Ventures' model as possible.
Whether as a direct result of The Beatles' 1966 visit or not, the global revolution in
familiarly
from
in
its
Japan
this
touted
point
onwards,
with
popular music also made mark
bands like The Rolling Stones,The Kinks, The Zombies and The Small Facesall amassing
in
from
It
Ventures-style
Japanese
this
the
shift
eleki music to
was
amongst
youth.
popularity
its
implying
in
derived
led
that
the
name,
a
shift
emphasis
genre
group sounds
vocally
pop
instrumentalists.
from
solo
performers
and
away
GS music was essentially basedupon a principle of authentic recreation, copying the
most popular Western artists as faithfully as possible (developing, in this respect,in a similar
jazz,
imported
to
eleki,
mainstream
whether
or military
styles:
way previously
musical
marching music, etc). However, unlike the preceding eleki trend, where such mimicry
focused simply upon the music alone, GS was informed by the unprecedentedworldwide rise
in
invasion
This,
British
Beatlemania.
the
and
general, createdan entirely new template for
of
teen-imageand youth culture that, for a time, would be simulated not only in Japan,but
throughout Europe and the US as well (e.g. highlighted in America by groups such as The
Aerovons or, more famously, The Monkees).
As well as the well-crafted image, carefully reconstitutedalbum sleevedesigns,and
faithfulness to Western musical models, GS bands alsojumped enthusiastically on the moviemaking bandwagon.A good many of these films, like The Jaguars' 1968 offering, Jaguars
TekizenJyouriku, were basedlargely upon the formula laid down in The Beatles' movie
Help! from 1965. While The Spidersalso made a string of films in similar musical-comedyslapstick vein, The Tigers deviated slightly with their first movie release,Sekai wa Bokura wo
Matteiru6° -a sciencef iction-type offering releasedin 1968.
The GS era is generally thought to have lasted between 1966 and 1969, during which
time it was not only the musicians whose behaviour and identity would be modelled on that of
58TheTigers
wereknownthenby their originalmonikerSally & The Playboys.
59The Bluejeans
werelaterrenamedTheBunnys.
73
Towards a Universal Language
their Western peers,but that of the fans also. Chart-topping GS bandssuch as The Tempters,
The Carnabeats,or The Jaguars,were idolised by Japaneseteenagerswith the samefrenzied
enthusiasmone might have thought exclusively reservedfor the Fab Four themselves.As
Hitomi I explains in his liner notes to the 1999GSI Love You61CD compilation: `This pop
explosion was ably supportedby a wildly enthusiasticteen audiencethat gave the major GS
groups such as The Tigers and The Spidersthe kind of popularity reservedfor visiting stars
such as the Walker Brothers or The Monkees, i.e. hit singles, movies, lavishly-packaged
albums and mob sceneswherever they played.' (Ilitomi, 1999,
http://60spunk.m78.com/gs.htm).
Just as television programmeslike Beat TheBeat, and New Eleki Sound had, in 1965,
served as a platform for Japaneseeleki bandsto play their Ventures and Shadows-stylecover
versions, so too by 1967 had a new generationof TV shows emerged,like Young 720,
catering for the GS Boom, and playing host to bandssuch as The Golden Cups. The creation
of popular media forms dedicatedto the GS market, and its emergentteen generation,
continued through the publication of periodicals and magazinessuch as Seventeen.
The difficulty and expenseinvolved in obtaining records from the West proved
problematic for jazz and pop enthusiastsalike throughout the 1960s,and - for musicians - was
paralleled only by the near impossibility of importing authentic instruments(e.g. Fender and
Gibson guitars, or Vox backline equipment and effects, etc).
The GoldenCups,of all the GS bands,werethe mostfortunatein this respectand,in
many ways, highly influential becauseof it. One of the band's guitarists, Kenneth Ito, had
grown up in Hawaii, and due to the Island's strong connectionswith the US, was able to
acquire a FenderTelecasterguitar -a rare commodity for a musician in Japan.In addition to
this, lead guitarist Eddy Ban becamethe first GS guitarist to use an American-style Fuzz
pedal, bringing it back to Japanafter a brief stay in the Statesduring 1965.Jimmy Page,
during his time in The Yardbirds, performed a similar historical role in introducing the
effect
60`TheWorld is Waitingfor Us',
released10April, 1968.
61GS1Love You:JapaneseGarageBands(1999),Big BeatUK, CDWIKD
159
74
Towards a Universal Language
to England. Until this point, the Fuzz pedal had most notably beenthe staple of American
Garageand early Psych bands.The imported effects pedal was subsequentlycopied by a
R&B,
burgeoning
disseminated
in
duly
the
Japan,
throughout
community
of
manufacturer
and
freakbeat,and psychedelic-inspiredmusicians.Amongst the first early GS songsto feature
the distinctive Fuzz sound, was The Spiders' 1967 single Taiyou no Tubasa.
In his brief historical outline of eleki and group soundsmusic, Glenn Sadin has
built
GS,
than
trend,
the
that
much
a
constituted
more
simply genre
argued
unlike
preceding
upon the mimicry of British and American models: `Rather thanjust merely imitate their
British and American heroes,the GS groups developedtheir own, distinctly Japanesestyle,
characterisedby darkly dissonantoriental melodies and a tendencyto go from a gentle ballad
or a straight-aheadpop song into an over-the-top, fuzzed-out screamingrave-up, all within the
samesongl' (Sadin, http://60spunk.m78.com/glenn.htm)
In responseto this idea, however, it might well be suggestedthe quirks and
characteristicsthat supposedlydistinguish group soundsmusic from Western Garage,Psych,
imitation
by-product
R&B,
the
of
gone wrong. In other words, thesewere
merely
and
were
traits and idiosyncrasiesthat, in many cases,the artists themselvesmay not necessarilyhave
desired or intended: the product of misinterpretation or unsuccessfulimitation, rather than any
outward, concerteddrive to pioneer an original sound or approach.
In retrospect,muchhasbeenmadeof the mass-produced
way eleki andGS bands
saturatedthe Japaneseteen market during the 1960s,as they attemptedto find the formula
that would take them as close to their British and American heroesas possible.There are few
grounds upon which the musicianship, production, arrangementor recording quality of GS
music can be questioned,although - even from the time such bands started out playing at the
American military bases- the issueof originality has remained consistently problematic.
Whether in relation to politics or fashion, economicsor cinematography,there is little
question about the immense impact American culture had from the time of the Allied
occupation onwards. Japan's drive towards post-war re-development and modernisation was,
75
Towards a Universal Language
for severaldecades,defined to someextent by the urge to emulate and `catch-up' with the
United States.
With the force of such influence in mind, playing at venuesfrequentedby American
GIs - particularly military establishments- was an important step for any band seekingfame
and professional status,and yet anotherreasonwhy adopting both an American sound,and
set-list of Western covers, was so desirable.Just as Golden Cups played their versions of
favourites like Gloria and I Got My Mojo Working, other groups like The Spidersand The
Carnabeatsactually went on to releasea range of covered material. The Spiders' secondLP
Spider Album 2, for example, failed to contain a single original composition, while The
Carnabeats'debut single was a cover of I Love You by The Zombies (which, interestingly,
was sung in Japanese).
A numberof groupsalsoflirted with the dreamof internationalsuccess.While The
Swoonershad travelled to Hong Kong to supportThe Kinks and Manfred Mann, The Spiders
becamethe first GS act to sign up to the American musicians union, and performed to a
largely American crowd at their 1967Hawaii concert. Together with the likes of The
Bluejeans, The Spiders had performed support sets for the visiting (eleki-inspiring) Ventures
in 1965,and despite also later opening for The Animals and The Beach Boys, refusedto play
on The Beatles' Japanesetour - their confidence dentedby frequent criticisms and accusations
of unoriginality. As GS essayistI Iitomi I explains: `They played some original songsalong
with lots of the Beatles and Animals covers. Sometimes,the audienceshouted,"Go home
imitators! ". This made them nervous, so when The Beatlescame to Tokyo in '66, when they
were offered the opening act slot, the band refused it becausethey were tired of being called
imitators.' (Hitomi, http://60spunk.m78.com/spiders.htm).
Without doubt, some of the most significant factors and conditions underlying the GS
boom were existent only in Japan,and contributed to the dualistic paradox that made the
music both unique and extremely derivative62.
62Or, perhaps,uniquepurelybecause its
to Westernmodels.
of attemptedadherence
76
Towards a Universal Language
As previously mentioned,the various types of live venue on hand in Japanesecities,
often played a part in dictating the sort of music a band would play. For example, the more
crowd-pleasing setstailored to suit mainstreamcabaret/concerthalls, would differ from what a
group would play in small, inner city Live Housesandjazz kissas,or US military bases.
In addition to this, the relative lack of adequaterecording facilities meant that bands
would have only extremely limited studio time, and thus record in a way that would optimise
what few hours were available.
The absenceof drugs and drug culture in 1960sis also a notable and fascinating aspect
in the history of Japaneseyouth culture, particularly given the eventual assimilation of
psychedelic music and fashion into the GS equation.
3.2 psychedelic Sound In Japan
While opinions vary as to the actual extent to which drugs may have influenced
cutting-edge music and fashion over the years,the fact that they have played a significant part
within the history of youth culture is unquestionable.In England, for example, the use of
uppers (Amphetamines,etc) becamea defining feature of mod culture during the mid-1960s,
not only providing a recreational substanceless loutish than alcohol (seento be the vice of
beer-swilling rockers, and older generations),but contributing to the popularity and growth
of
Northern Soul, R&B, and freakbeat music on the scene.
Similarly, the vibrant London psychedelic scene,which evolved in 1967around
music
and multimedia nights - or happenings- such as the UFO or The 14 Hour Technicolour
Dream, would not have transpired had it not been for the vast intake LSD indulged in by
of
those involved. It was genuinely felt by many amongstthe psychedelic generation that taking
acid really did enable one to explore some intangible, unknown mental/spiritual territory, and
77
Towards a Universal Language
in
As
Palacios
`inner
describes
Palacios
argues
Julian
as
space'.
through
writer
what
voyage
his study of the life of Syd Barrett63,`The idea was popularised by Timothy Leary, as well as
Alex Trocchi who wrote in the early sixties about drug usersbeing `cosmonautsof inner
space'. (Palacios, 1998, p. 145)
Although The Mops were the first self-professedpsychedelicband in Japan,their
in
1967,
When,
the
beyond
the
point
of
artifice.
to
much
claim psychedelianever extended
himself
for
America,
the
Coast
West
from
to
trip
sampling
of
a
group's managerreturned
into
he
tap
to
Haight-Ashbury
the
Francisco's
opportunity
area, saw
sights and soundsof San
bypassed
Japan.
had
Western
that
so-far
cultural phenomenon
a
debut
their
Ventures-influenced
formerly
band,
The
eleki ensemble,released
another
Japan,
Sound
In
its
title,
1968.
The
April
psychedelic
sledgehammersubtlety of
albumin
kind
intent,
the
offar out
underlining
acted as a statementof self-designationand outward
image they hoped to convey. Through cover versions of definitive West Coast songssuch as
Light My Fire64,SomebodyTo Love6Sand White Rabbit6, as well as the band's well-crafted
image (from the album's typically psychedelic sleeve,to their correspondingstyle of dress),
The Mops' managementwent to great lengths to recreateboth the aural and visual
iconography associatedwith psychedelia.As Alan Cummings proposes:`Their enthusiasm,in
drugs
lack
The
is
was
the
of psychedelic
the absenceof
right chemicals, utterly commendable.
Party'
`LSD
the
felt
The
Mops
to
the
album.
set
up
promote
supply
couldn't
when
only really
Instead, they handedout dried bananaskins to the assembledjournalists, in the hope that
1999,
31)
levitational
(Cummings,
p.
effect67i.
them
appropriate
an
would produce
smoking
63Founder member of the Pink Floyd, and the group's singer, songwriter, and lead-guitarist between
1965 and 1968. David Gilmour eventually replaced Barrett, following the latter's rapid mental decline
thought, to some extent, to have been triggered by a combination of drug use and an inability to deal
with the burdens of suddenfame.
6' ReleasedJanuary 1967 on The Doors eponymousdebut album, The Doors (Elektra/Asylum records)
65Featuredon Jefferson Airplane's 1967 album Surrealistic Pillow (RCA 74321847912), although
originally written and performed by the group's vocalist Grace Slick whilst still a member of previous
band The Great Society.
66Also featured on the 1967 Surrealistic Pillow album by California-based psychedelic group,
Jefferson Airplane.
67Althoughtheavailabilityof mind-expanding
drugswassuitablyabundantat the event,writer Julian
Palacios,in LostIn TheWoods,nevertheless
recountsthe noveltyappearance
of similarly fruity highs
at The 14HourTechnicolourDream:`A plasticigloo hadbeensetup in onecorner,wherea laughing
78
Towards a Universal Language
In many respects,the discovery of LSD, and its appropriation for youthful recreation
important
direction
both
Atlantic,
to
the
the
popular music took
massively
of
was
on
sides
during 1967 and 1968. From The Beatlesto Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd; The Pretty Things to
The Hollies (all of whom had their roots in Beat and R&B and, to varying extents,
experimentedwith psychedeliaduring this period); the experienceof taking LSD momentarily
triggered alternative ways to perceive both the creative processand the world at large. As a
it
felt,
into
was
what,
was the unknown, a spirit of
root
and
mysterious
new, unexplored,
discovery and experimentalism envelopedthe generation's youth culture and creative arts.
Nevertheless,that is not to say that the relationship betweendrugs and the creative arts
should not be seenin perspective.It was the absenceof originality and creative independence,
be
historically
Mops
dismissed
drugs,
The
lack
than
would
ultimately
a
of
which
meant
rather
GS
band,
in
Japan.
As will
than
the
genuine
pioneers
of
psychedelia
another
rather
as simply
be seenlater in the Chapter, the legacy of psychedelicmusic in Japan- perhapsowing to its
independencefrom drug use - has both outlived and in many ways transcendedits 1960s
Western namesake.
In additionto the absenceof narcoticsduringthe 1960s,the issueof languagealso
becamesignificant at the outset of the GS era, contributing to the way in which Japanese
popular music developedover the coming decades.Although eleki could be considered
equally, if not more, derivative of contemporaneousWestern trends, the very fact that it was
for
instrumental
it
Japanesemusicians, with the right
style
easy
an
of music made relatively
equipment and ability, to perform. Sounding authentically like The Ventures did not require a
single note to be sung, or lyric uttered, enabling a generation of young musicians (amounting
to hundredsof eleki bands from 1965) to reproducethe soundsof their American and
Europeanpeerswithout hindrance.
The 1966 arrival of The Beatles in Tokyo, however, and the subsequentexplosion of
vocal-orientated group soundsmusic, brought to bear a new set of problems - problems which
SuzyCreamcheese
dispensedbanana-skin
joints. Toutedfor their hallucinogeniceffects.A bitter
aftertastewasall it left onewith, but onesimply hadto laughat the incongruityof standingin the midst
79
Towards a Universal Language
help
in
Western,
hinder
both
to
those
yet, retrospect,
artists wanting sound authentically
would
to createsomeof the distinctly original qualities of GS music.
The issueof languagein Japanesepopular music is a concern which contemporary
for
In
has
Haino
task.
Keiji
to
the
taken
struggle
authenticity that
openly
avant-gardeartist
Rock
lyrics
GS
typical
regarded
a
crucial
and
component,
were
artists, song
gripped so many
`n' Roll argot was duly usedto add an air of genuinenessand legitimacy - despite, in actual
fact, often serving to do little more than confuse Western listeners (e.g. `But I don't care of
them/So I'm just a Mopsi68).However,just as Japaneseremains a difficult languagefor native
English speakersto master,so too might it be said that the Japaneseaccentand enunciation is
dialect,
leading to results often caricatured
English
in
to
not easily suited - particularly song in the West as humorous,unintelligible, or confusing69.The Golden Cups were, perhaps,one
by
the languagebarrier owing to the fact
unhindered
notable exception, remaining relatively
that vocalist/guitarist Kenneth Ito had beenbrought up in Hawaii, and therefore possesseda
natural grasp of English.
As Keiji Hainohasargued,however,the decisionto frequentlyadoptthe English
languagein songs(or, more to the point, the idiosyncratic languageof Western Rock `n' Roll
for
GS
the
authenticity70over originality. Haino, keen to ward
music) epitomised
predilection
against what he regardsthe hazardsof US cultural imperialism, suggeststhat had such bands
sung exclusively in Japanese,the different requirementsin timing, rhythm, timbre, cadence,
etc, naturally demandedby this, would have brought about a completely autonomousform of
Japanesepop music.
of this mad,milling throngsmokinga banana!' (Palacios,1998,p.141)
641'mJust A Mops (Suzuki/Hoshi) The Mops : from the
Psychedelic
Sounds
In
Japan,
Victor
album
Sjv-356 (1968) [Japan]. Also featured on Nuggets II: Original Artyfacis from the British Empire &
Beyond (2001), Various Artists four CD box set, Rhino 76787.
" In an interview translatedby Hitomi I
and Glenn Sadin, former Carnabeatsand Golden Cups
member Al Takano recalls an incident from 1971, at a Golden Cups performance in Okinawa: `While
we were playing... bassist George said, "I smell something!" and openedthe curtain behind the drums.
Suddenly, fire attacked me! There were drunk foreigners and GIs there, so I shoutedin English "Fire!
Fire!" but, as you know, Fire is the title of a song, so the audiencethought I
was calling out the song
and said, "C'mon. " All of our instruments got burned... It was sad.' (Takano,
htt 1L6Ospunk
m78 com[interviewtcg htm)
70i. The
e.
authentic recreation of British and American Pop, Garage,Freakbeat,and Psychedelicmusic.
80
Towards a Universal Language
In an interview with Alan Cummings from 2002, Haino makesclear his feelings that,
despitebeing rooted in the GS music of the 1960s,this is a problem that stilt blights
in
Japanese
just
`If
Japanese
they
once, they'd soon realise
sang
contemporary
popular music.
that Rock `n' Roll won't fit into eight-beatrhythms. And if they'd realisedthat then I believe
that all they could do would be to develop new rhythms. That would have createdJapanese
rock. ' (Haino in Cummings, 2002, p.36)
There are also parallels to be drawn betweenHaino's own concern for language,
by
his
those
through
engaged
contemporary artists working
with
and
sound works,
expressed
in other media. The works of Linda Nishio, for example, reflect her own experiencesas a
Japanese-American,and the necessityshe feels to assertor reclaim her cultural identity as
such. In one notable piece from 1989 (Competitor), Nishio programmedan electronic
billboard in Times Square,New York, to display the namesof Japanesecorporations which
were literally American householdnames:companieslike Fuji and Sony. As historian Bert
Winther explains, however, the nameson the billboard were displayed in such a way so as to
challenge Americanisation, with Nishio using spellings that evoked the correct Japanese
pronunciation, i. e.: '..."FOO-gee" ..."SO-knee" ..."KNEE-sahn" ..."nen-ten-DOUGH" ..."towYO-taah"
her own name, "KNEE-she-oh": (Winther, p.65)
ending
with
...
Describing Haino's own elusive, autonomous,use of languagein music as a kind of
antidote to the problems identified, writer Alan Cummings explains: `Consciousof the social
conditioning and control aspectsof language,Haino's lyrics employ a strictly controlled
vocabulary within a slippery syntax... Someof the languagetwists tlaino puts his words
through are virtually impossible to reproduce in English, but a particular favourite is the
blurring of active and passivevoices... Though ambiguously worded, it would be read in the
context of his eternal wariness of authority in any form, and his advocacyof uniqueness,
which he seesthreatenedby changesin Japanesephysiology. ' (Cummings, 2002, p.36)
The management
bandsduringthe 1960sprovedto be yet another
of Japanese
significantfactorin determiningthe way the music,andthe GS sceneasa whole,developed.
81
Towards a Universal Language
Record companies,by their very nature, are driven by the needto generateprofit and
both
industry
in
Japan,
to
GS
During
the
attempts
period
sell records - as many as possible.
GS
both
influence
huge
the
the
had
way
upon
a
second-guessand dictate new teenagetrends
Numerous
in
been
it
has
how
developed,
retrospect.
perceived
subsequently
and
scene
demands
forced
to
comply with record company
examplescan be cited whereby groups were
their
by
own personal sensibilities
the
often
against
tracks
management,
chosen
and release
and instincts.
The assortmentof songsfeatured on The Golden Cups 1968 debut album, for
While
reflect
illustrates
original
compositions
and
this
cover-versions
several
well.
example,
Glass
Giniro
(e.
the
Garage-style
for
fuzz-pedal-inspired,
or
band's
g.
no
music
the
penchant
included
Melody,
the
Unchained
My
Girl
like
at
Hey
Joe),
are
or
others,
proto-punk version of
behestof Capitol Records- reflecting its demandfor mass-marketable,widely saleable
Capitol
by
In
the
proved
terms
strategy
employed
units,
of shifting
commercial products.
Shoujo7l.
Kami
balled
Nagai
biggest
band's
no
was
a
entitled
selling single
successful,and the
Despite the single itself being disliked profusely by the band, however, its B-side (a more
band's
Girl)
Bad
This
the
Garage-style
track
own
reflected
called
aggressive-sounding,
Shoujo
in
Nagai
September
1968
Kami
Nevertheless,
identity.
was
no
underlying musical
followed by an album of similarly harmless,run-of-the-mill material, again at the behestof
Capitol, and againstthe better judgement of the band.
dictatewould alsolargelyshapethe generalatmosphere
Management
within the GS
music community. Not only did record companiesexercisestrict control over what music a
it
between
hype
but
took
themselves
to
the
rivalry
upon
also
and
release,
group would record
bands,not only publicly (i. e. as a ploy to sell more records), but privately also, forbidding
friendship or socialising between rival acts. As musician Al Takano recalls, this scenariowas
by
Tempters:
`At
between
The
The
Tigers
the
time
controlled
our
and
we were
played out
71'A Girl With Long flair'. To help ensureThe Golden Cups had a mainstream commercial hit,
Capitol Recordsemployed the servicesof a professional songwriter to composethe single, rather than
rely upon the band's own writing. A similar strategy was employed by The Tempters' management
who, seekingoutside assistancefor the group's third single, produced a slow ballad which remained
disliked by the band despite going to number one in the charts.
82
Towards a Universal Language
friends
bands
because
become
bands
the
Each
GS
were
the
other
not
could
of
producers.
Sin
[The
Jaguars'
Jaguars
Okamoto...
familiar
The
We
vocalist]
with
were
consideredrivals.
'
(Takano,
forbidden.
it
house
in
because
to
was
secret
came my
httl2://60spunk.m78.com/interviewl eg.htm)
The GS era is widely thought to have peakedaround 1968,and by 1969had begun to
likes
bands
Rock
New
the
of
the
to
which,
with
emulating
popular rise of so-called
give way
Led Zeppelin, maintained popularity throughout the early 1970s.
The decline of the group soundsboom, however, did not necessarilyoccasionthe end
it
be
it
the
in
On
Japan.
that
the
only
with
might
argued
was
contrary,
music
of psychedelic
late-1960s
beyond
GS
Japanese
the
that
of
moved
superficial
mimicry
psychedelia
passingof
Western fashions,and burgeonedas an Autonomous, avant-gardephenomenon.
Both Jacks and, to some extent, The Mops illustrate early crossoversbetween
Japanesepsychedeliaand the avant-garde,despite being groups more widely associatedwith
the GS trend. The latter, in 1968, participated in the 1968 Orchestral SpaceContemporary
music Festival on the invitation of modernist composersToshi Ichiyanagi and Toru
Takemitsu. Jacks,on the other hand, have been widely recognisedfor achievementsbeyond
the West Coast mimicry typical of their peers.
First signed to jazz label Takt in 1968(courtesy of jazz musician SadaoWatanabe),
Jack's work has been re-visited and performed in recent years by contemporary pioneers like
John Zorn and Keiji Haino, both of whom are keen admirers of the group. In addition, Jacks
also came from a background of avant-gardetheatre - something they sharedwith one of
Japan's most notable, longstanding, and fiercely independentpsychedelic pioneers: Les
Rallizes Denudes72.
Les Rallizes Denudesare notorious, as much as anything, for their elusiveness,and
the sheerscarcity of easily available recorded material. Little more than rare and infrequent
bootlegged recordings of their performancesmaterialise from time to time.
72Also knownasHadaka Rallizes.
no
83
Towards a Universal Language
The historical relationship betweenavant-gardetheatre and avant-gardemusic in the
twentieth century is, without doubt, immensely significant. Whether in relation to the chaotic
performanceeveningsof the Futurists; Dada's anarchic CabaretVoltaire in Zurich; the
Happeningsof New York Fluxus artists during the 1960s;or the theatricality pioneeredwithin
more popular musical areassuch as The Exploding Plastic Inevitable (featuring The Velvet
Underground) and The Pink Floyd's 1968 GamesFor May event; sound and visual
performance sharean important legacy in the history of Western avant-gardeart.
3.3 Towards Avant Gardism
An awarenessof radical artistic movementsfrom Europe and America was as
important to the Japaneseavant-garde,as EasternPhilosophiesand cultural traditions were in
the West (e.g. of the Zen-Boom/Beat-Zengeneration).The formation of art and performance
movementssuch as Ankoku Butoh danceor The Neo-Dada Organisers73atteststo this quite
clearly.
The work of the Gutai Group has also been frequently comparedto that of their
Fluxus contemporariesin New York, and they were the first Japaneseavant-gardemovement
to seizethe attentionof the West.Establishedin 1955by YoshiharaJiro, the grouphailed
mainly from Osaka,andpartookin the City's landmarkinternationalevent,Expo'70.
For centuries,Japaneseand Western art has continued to sharea mutually difficult,
erratic,andsomewhatcontradictoryhistoricalrelationship,the difficult natureof which is
perhapsillustratedby the earlyhistoryof theTokyo Schoolof FineArts.
Establishedduringthe Meiji era in 1889,between1890and 1898the schoolwas
placed under the direction of Tenshin Okakura - former student of Ernest Fenollosa, a scholar
renownedfor his absorptionin traditionalJapanese
art. Despitebeing in the midstof the Meiji
" Formedin 1960by ShinoharaUshio,
an occasionalcollaboratorwith AnkokuDutch founder,
TatsumiHijikata.
84
Towards a Universal Language
Fine
Arts
Tokyo
School
Westernisation74,
defining
drive
its
was
towards
of
era, and
This
Arts.
Japanese
dominated
by
traditional
founded
the
initially
upon principles
nevertheless
Fenollosa,
Harvard
US
life's
influence
largely
graduate
to the
scholar and
work of
and
owed
Fenollosa
University.
Tokyo
Imperial
lecturer
in
1878
Japan
not only
to
at
a
as
moved
who
believed that traditional Japaneseart possessedcharacteristicsthat took it beyond anything
in
fact
West,
these
the
that
the
but
of
aware
acutely
also
was
modernism could achieve,
European
in
that
Art,
the
and
way
same
say,
per
cultural products were not credited as
American art was.
Fenollosa'sself-appointed undertaking, therefore, was to createa critical discourseand
As
in
West.
Art
it
the
history
Japanese
as
art, which would see establishedand recognised
of
a
historian Kojin Karatani asserts,`What he introduced was a position from which to see
Japaneseart as "art". Art does not exist without a discourseon itself. Although Japaneseart
had long existed, its statusas "art" was assertedby Fenollosa: he singled it out as "art". '
(Karatani, p.33)
With this in mind, Karatani assertsthat both the Tokyo School of Fine Arts and Tokyo
National Museum (then the Imperial Household Museum) were instrumental in reinventing
traditional Japaneseart as "art" within a Western framework. However, less than ten years
by
his
doctrine
both
he
the
Okakura,
traditionalist
the
ousted
and
were
after
appointment of
supporters/agentsof Westernisation.
is
haveemergedrelatingto how Japanese
Contradictoryperspectives
art perceived
both at home and in the West. That which is often dismissed in Japanas derivative and too
traditional, is welcomed in Europe and America, and what the Japanesehave frequently
praised and held up as modern, is derided in the West for being simply imitational - born out
of the mimicry of Western trends.
As Karatani proposes,'...this Westernisation has wrestled with a radical paradox ever
since: that which is praised as new and anti-traditionalist in Japanappearsto be mere mimicry
74Which,wasconfusedwith, andseenas inseparablefrom, Modernisation,
85
Towards a Universal Language
in the West, where, conversely, a return to Japanesetraditionalism is viewed as cutting edge.
And we remain trapped in the samepredicamenttoday.' (Karatani, p.34)
Nevertheless,Okakura remained firmly againstthe idea of Westernisation,and
resolute in his championing of traditional Eastern(or pan-Asian) values, believing that in the
West, the measureof a nation's civilisation was its technological capacity for warfare. At the
end of the nineteenth-century,Japancameto be respectedas 'civilised' by the West after
defeating Russia in battle in 1905- demonstratingits level of industrialisation by its capacity
for mechanisedwarfare.
Okakura, however, arguedagainst such a crude and barbaric yardstick for civilisation,
and advocatedan alternative social and cultural model basedupon art, ceremony, and peace.
He was keen to advocatethe importance of the link betweenJapaneseculture and Asian
culture, with the former deeply rooted in the history and traditions of Asia as a whole. In this
context Buddhism, which had come to Japanvia the Ch'an sect in China, is particularly
significant, having laid the foundation for Zen Buddhism in Japan.Spendingcenturies in
international isolation had, in Okakura's view, enabledJapanto preservesome of the most
fundamental elementsof Asian culture which, in countries like India, were lost with the arrival
of Western Colonists and Missionaries.
In-between the Nationalist reaction to Meiji Westernisationat the turn of the
nineteenth-century,and the Ultra-Nationalism of World war Two, there was, according John
Clark, a period betweenthe late 1920sand late 1930s75wherein, 'A new kind of artistic
subjectivity developed in Japan.' (Clark, p.41)
Relating specifically to painters during the late Taisho (1912-26) and early Showa
(1926-89) periods, it seemsthat while most of the work was basedstylistically upon that of
Western avant-gardeartists, there were notable moves made by others to expressmore
subjective, `self-conscious' concerns.As Clark points out: `Among the small number of
JapaneseFuturists, Dadaists, and, by around 1935, far larger number Surrealists,there
of
begana private discourseabout the situation of the creative artist in the
world... in their
86
Towards a Universal Language
consciousredeploymentof "Western" style, they placed their own self-consciousnessat the
centre of their creative practice.' (Clark, p.41)
This, essentially, reflects a wider trend in painting betweenthe two World wars, which
tended to be more inward-looking, and focus upon the expressionof the artists' own feelings
and experiences.
duringthe 1920scorresponded
Notably,the rise of Japan'spainterlyavant-garde
with
the establishmentof a government-devisedSalon system,putting in place an official
orthodoxy and symbol of authority and conservatismagainst which the avant-gardecould
define themselves.
Reacting to someof the work in the Akushon76exhibition of 1924,JapaneseDadaist
Murayama Tomoyoshi arguedvehemently againstthe blind mimicry of Westernavant-garde
artists: -
'Stand up by yourselves. I beg you to stop acting like monkeys. Respectyourselvesmore...
Most of it is an imitational spinelessFrench Imperial salon style boiled down from Picasso
and Braque. There's nothing more shamelessthan this for the Japanesepainting world. It
makesyou want to puke. Oh Mates, how far will you be slaves?It's as if you had been born
slavesfor generations' (Murayama, cited in Clark, p.42)
This argument marked the first of many such 'attacks' Murayama would make on the
subject,continuinghis argumentsagainstJapanese
mimicry throughoutthe 19S0sand 1960s.
In 1925,Murayamaestablishedthe fleetingDada-inspiredtheatregroupGekijo no
Sanka(Theatre of the Third Section). Artistically 'radical', the group's work was criticised by
some quartersof the Japaneseavant-gardecommunity for not engagingnearly closely enough
with political and social issues.
Artist Ichiro Fukuzawain 1937arguedthat Japanese
Surrealismwasmerelythe
product of sycophantic Japaneseartists, trying desperatelyto emulate the artists they admired
in Europe.AlthoughFukuzawahimselfdid usestylesandstrategieswhich, in aestheticterms,
"'The earlyShowa
period'
76Theavant-garde
collective'GroupAction'.
87
Towards a Universal Language
he
Surrealism,
from
derived
European
neverthelessusedthem to addresscontemporary
were
Japanesesocial issues.
1928was the year in which Surrealismwas first introduced to Japan-a time when the
between
artists who simply mimicked the
split
nation's artistic community was seemingly
EuropeanSurrealist style, and those that who criticised them for it.
It was also around this time that Police persecutionbeganto be directed at those artists
betrayed,
Left
Wing
in
political tendencies.
way
some
whose work overtly expressed,or
During the mid-late 1930s,Surrealist art was openly linked with Communism by the
JapaneseStateauthorities, resulting in numerousartists and movementsbeing placed under the
1941,
By
during
Police
the
this
time.
virtually all avant-gardeart was regarded
eye
of
watchful
interrogation
leading
State,
by
to
the
the
then
of a
arrests
and
as subversive
ultra-nationalist
The
Fukuzawa.
including
Surrealist
premise under which such questioning
number of artists,
took place, was to ascertain(and presumably break) the supposedlink between Surrealism and
Communism.
In the tensepolitical climate of Japanduring the 1960s,radical theatre (not unlike the
became
by
Dada
Surrealists)
and
an important instrument through
anarchic eventsorganised
which dissenting social groups would give expressionto their frustrations and dissatisfactions.
The close interrelationship between theatreand music has enormoussignificance in the history
of the Japanesearts, with sound playing an integral part in such performancetraditions as Noh
Theatre and Kabuki.
The Taisho period (1912-1926) was a significant time in the history of Japanesemusic
and theatre, heralding not only noteworthy changesinfluential to its future development,but
also a radical growth in popularity.
To manyinvolvedin the artsduringthis period,effortsmadeduringthe Meiji erato
introduce Western styles of music and theatre to Japanseemed,in hindsight, merely
superficial; although that is not to say that Western practisesand influences were dismissed
altogether.Rather, what developedwas a set of creative practisesthat not so much copied
Western influences, as reshapedthem to create something new and unique to Japanese
culture.
88
Towards a Universal Language
Shikö Tsubouchi, for example, saw the developmentof new conventionsin National
music and Theatre as essential,if Japanwas ever to truly emulate modern Western countries.
Regarding it as an important tool to both pleaseand enlighten people, Tsubouchi outlined that
the theatre shouldn't rely exclusively upon traditional Japaneseconventions,but should be
open to the use of other devises,such as Western-stylemusic to give emphasisduring key
parts of a play. On the whole, however, he was widely in opposedto Westernisation,and
believed that the arts should do more than simply seekto emulate Europeanand American
trends. One of Tsubouchi's main subjectsof contention, was the rapidly growing taste for
EuropeanOpera the Japanesepublic had seemingly developed.
As historian Roland Dominig points out, Tsubouchi saw the future of Japanese
theatre and music as residing in the strengthsand styles of traditional Japaneseforms. `He
stressedthat the Japanesemusic theatre of the future should not be a mere imitation of
western music theatre but unite the strength of the traditional Japanesemusic theatre forms.'
(Dominig, 1998, p.270)
JustasTsubouchisawthe futureof New Theatrein the reformationof traditional
Japanesetheatre, so too did his counterpart/contemporary,Kobayashi, believe that it should
appeal to everyday people and, in doing so, should not simply be a copy of Western Opera.
WhereasKobayashi propagatedthe blending of Japaneseand Western conventions into a new
harmonious whole, however, Tsubouchi saw the future of New Theatre in the reforming of
traditional Japanesetheatre.
Kobayashi believed that if the theatre was to be modernised,then Western music had
to be used in a leading role, although while he regardedWestern music as important, it was
neverthelessessentialthat the content of the plays be Japanese.
Les Rallizes Danudesbegantheir early careerproviding sound for Gendai Gekijo77,an
avant-gardetheatre troupe in Kyoto (the only one). The band's use of lights, mirror balls, and
excessivevolume has, in retrospect,led to many parallels being drawn with New York's
89
Towards a Universal Language
Warhol-led Exploding Plastic Inevitable, with Les Rallizes Denudesfulfilling the Velvet
Underground role of aural provocateurs.Unlike their counterpartsin Downtown Manhattan,
however, the band - headedby guitarist Takashi Mizutani - found that their feedback-driven
phonic barragewas not so much welcomed by membersof Gendai Gekijo, as regardeda
definite problem: somethingthey performed in spite of, rather than in unison with. In light of
this, the two parties inevitably parted companyby early 1969,with the theatre group itself
subsequentlydisbanding.
Unlike the general political detachmentprevalent amongstGS groups, Les Rallizes
Denudes' direct engagementwith divisive social issuessuggestsan ideology more in line with
free jazz players like Masayuki Takayanagi,or ProtestFolk singers such as Kan Mikami, than
other psychedelic artists. The fact that Mizutani and Keiji Haino were, until around 1971,
close friends78is no surprise given the staunchconvictions and Autonomous principles both
candidly espoused.In 1971, Les Rallizes Denudesand Lost Aaraaf appearedtogether on the
billing for that year's Trip Festival.
The extentof LesRallizesDenudes'political undergroundinvolvement,however,was
nothing short of intensive. In 1969the group took part in the Barricades-a-Go-Goprotest
concert at Kyoto University, and a year later, perhapsmore controversially, one member of the
group (Wakabayashi)was found to have been involved in the notorious Aeroplane hijacking
incident of Yodo-Go. Les Rallizes Denudes' New Left credentials were further underlined, not
only by band leader Mizutani's supposedlinks with Sekigun (the JapaneseRed Army), but
also an incident wherein the group reportedly distributed Communist material to children (e.g.
texts by the likes of Guevaraand Lenin) after performing at a Junior School.
The evasionof commercialmodesthat hasdefinedLes RallizesDenudesthroughout
their career,in many ways exists as another symptom of these samepolitical sensibilities.
From around 1971, it seemsthat Mizutani plunged the group into a
consciously devised,
readily-embraced,anti-commercial fissure, acquiring cult statusthrough deliberate obscurity
77
7 'The ModernTheatre.'
90
Towards a Universal Language
(representing,perhaps,the antithesis of the GS psychedelicera, which was overtly
Western
imitation
dualistic
in
its
of
models).
commercial and popularist
if
however,
in
1967,
formation
the
From the moment of their
group were outwardly GS
As
Boom.
felt
the
they
to
the
epitomised
cultural mimicry
not vehemently - opposed
his
first
Mizutani
`Politically
too,
Cope
has
Julian
co-conspirators,
and
observed:
musician
Kato and Tada Takashi, found the cultural cow-towing of the group soundsbandsdeeply
Rallizes
Les
Tokyo
instead
So,
the
scene,
commercial
pop
more
of courting
embarrassing.
'
(Cope,
2002,
Kyoto.
in
the
to
city
of
ancient and much smaller
preferred remain
http"//www headheritageco uk/unsung/albumofthemonth/index.12hp?
review id=611)
This consciousdecision to avoid the Tokyo mainstreamis by no meansa unique
in
Japanese
both
has
is
art
parallels
elsewhere
and
presidents
gesture,and somethingwhich
history79.By 1970,however, Mizutani decided to relocate the group in Japan's capital after all.
The early 1970sare regardedhistorically as the beginning of a period of growing
Nation self-confidence in Japan,not only in economic terms, but culturally also. In 1972,a
Western
interplay
between
in
Tokyo
by
to
the
examine
academics
conferencewas organised
findings
debate,
both
its
in
the
tone
Japanese
event proved
and
of
prevailing
although
art,
and
'meaningful'
Ultimately,
that
the
concluded
cultural exchangecould
panel
relatively one-sided.
importation
the
between
two
the
of western culture was
although
since,
peoples
not occur
Japan
Western
influence
'the
Japanese
to
on
culture was so superficial and
of
culture,
central
bleak.
55)
dialogue
'
(Winther,
for
that
were
p.
meaningful
prospects
so negligible
It was also decided at the 1972conferencethat, although Westernersperceived
themselvesas worldly-wise and well-informed enough to undertake a sophisticateddiscourse
on Japaneseculture, they were merely'flattering themselves' Historian Burt Winther suggests
that, although there was very likely some wider 'nativist agenda'(Winther, p.55) at work here
(which thrived on the idea that Japanwas, by nature, too complex for foreigners to
understand),there are neverthelesscertainly grounds for such criticisms - both then and now.
"The two apparentlydiscontinuedtheir friendshipfollowing a disagreement
concerningKeiji Haino's
girlfriend.
91
Towards a Universal Language
Central to consideringthe developmentof indigenous Japanesepsychedelia80,is the
influence of Taj-Mahal Travellers, and the group's founder memberTakehisaKosugi.
Kosugi left Tokyo University of Arts in 1962 as a graduateof musicology, after
Events
in
1961
Group
Ongaku
through
their
collective
which,
already co-founding
- an arts
Pieces,Happenings,and performancesof Short Form-like scores,have been strongly likened
to Zurich Dadaand,in particular,New York Fluxus.
In 1969,KosugiformedTaj-MahalTravellers.Performedwith a similarcombination
being
himself
(Kosugi
hums,
etc
a violinist), their
strings,
oscillators, amplified
of amplifier
La
lengthy
drone-based
bears
in
to
the
compositions
of
comparison
many
respects,
music,
Monte Young's Theatre of Eternal Dreams(also known as The Dream Syndicate).
A number of important connectionsalso exist betweenTakehisa Kosugi and avantboth
in
but
Ongaku,
Not
Group
Tone.
Yasunao
co-founders
only
were
of
garde sound artist
became
National
University
in
1957,
Tone
his
from
Chiba
following
graduation
addition,
involved in the musicology programmeat Tokyo University of Arts, from which Takehisa
himself graduated.
Fromthe outsetof his career,it seemsthat threekey sourcesof outsideinfluence
helped to shapeTone's work as an artist: Dada and Surrealism (e.g. Duchamp); US free jazz
(e.g. Eric Dolphy and Ornette Coleman); and 'ethnic' music (e.g. from Indian traditional music,
to the nativefolk traditionsof JapansuchasNoh andKabuki).
GroupOngakumembershadof avant-garde
Tonehas,himself,recalledthe awareness
artistsandmovementsin the West,describinghow - in certainways- it servedto inform their
work: 'We thoughtthenour improvisationalperformancecouldbe a form of automatic
writing, in a sensethat the drip paintingof JacksonPollockwasa form of automaticwriting.'
(Tone,cited in Licht, Iss.223, p.31)
79E.g. the GutaiGroup,basedin Kansai.Seechapter1.1, 28
p.
$QA legacy of psychedelic music which, far from being based
upon mimicry of late-1960s
Western bands,has seenartists continue to explore and push out the boundariesof
Psychedelia.
92
Towards a Universal Language
Active as a performanceartist from around the end of the 1950s,Tone's first solo
concert in 1962 - One Man Show by a Composer- included a performanceof the graphic score
Anagram For Strings, as well as anotherfourteen pieces,lasting around six hours in total. A
version of Anagram For Strings was later releasedon cassettefor a Fluxus-dedicatedissueof
Tellus Magazine, performed by TakehisaKosugi and Malcolm Goldstein.
According to future New York Fluxus artist Nam June Paik, one key hub of avantgarde activity during the early 1960s,was the S6getsuArt Centre of Tokyo. Not only recalling
how `John Cage, David Tudor, Yoko Ono, and GeorgeMathieu had all done significant work
there,' (Paik, p.77) Nam June Paik also cites this as the place where he himself first came into
contact with avant-gardistssuch as Toshi Ichiyanagi, Toru Takemitsu, YasunaoTone, and
Takehisa Kosugi. Notably, it was Kosugi who introduced Nam June Paik to Jir6 Takamatsu,
Natsuyuki Nakanishi, and Genpei Akasegawa:founder membersof Hi Red Centre.
In 1964at the Tokyo Olympics, Tone worked in collaboration with Iii Red Centre,
undertaking performancepieces such as Cleaning Piece (stopping traffic, pretending to be
street cleaners- the police were even conned into helping); Closing Event (closed down a
gallery spacefor a week, only unlocking the doors on the final day to celebratethe opening of
the closing); and YamateLoop Train Event: 'a happening on a commuter train. (Licht, The
Wire, Iss.223, p.3 1).
Tone'savant-gardeactivitiescontinuedashe movedfrom Tokyo to New York in
1964, returning the following year to organisethe week-long Fluxus Festival, while continuing
to explore the concept of paramediain his own work. In wider historical terms however, Tone
has expressedhis view that Fluxus only really had genuine poignancy betweenthe
years 1962
and 1966, insisting that once institutionalised, its vitality was lost: 'Works are on exhibit in
Museums.., in such a way that works originally meant to be played as
gamesor toys [are
placed] in glass showcasesonly to be looked at, and the audiencecan't play with them. How
can it be possible to make Fluxus still alive? (Tone, cited in Licht, The Wire, Iss.223, p.3 1).
During the late 1960sTonehad,for the interim,returnedagainto Tokyo, during
which time he declinedTakehisaKosugi'sinvitation to join Taj-MahalTravellers.Aroundthis
93
Towards a Universal Language
time, he continued to be highly active in his avant-gardepursuits, running a studentworkshop
from home, and founding Team Random -a computer arts-basedcollective, responsiblefor
first
festival
(the
Biograde
Process
the
computer arts festival in Japan).
organising
Taj-Mahal Travellers ultimately consistedof six musicians and one sound engineer,
with Takehisa Kosugi - signal generatorexperimentsaside - not straying from his instrument
of choice, the violin.
Clearly, one of the most important points to note is that in a radical departurefrom GS
music - or popular culture in any sense,for that matter - the connection betweenWestern
psychedeliaand that of Taj-Mahal Travellers exists, not in relation to 1960spsychedelic pop
music, but rather Western avant-gardeart practises.Even the group's monumental camper-van
tour (1971-1972), which saw them travel in a Volkswagen from Holland to the Taj-Mahal in
India, was conceived by Kosugi as a performancepiece in the Fluxus tradition, rather than
simply an eccentric Rock `n' Roll tour81.
Kosugi's involvement with the Fluxus group gradually becamemore direct, and a
move to New York later saw him becomethe musical Director of the Merce Cunningham
Dance Company. His engagementwith, and awarenessof, the avant-gardeon a global scale is
something that has permeatedthe artist's work throughout the duration of his career. While his
involvement with Hi Red Centre found an instant empathy with membersof the Fluxus group
in New York, critic Alan Cummings has also identified an element of cross-cultural interplay
presentbetween Group Ongaku and avant-gardepractices in the West: `...like the use of nonmusical objects, and an 'automatism' approach inspired equally by Cageanideas of chance,
Surrealist automatic writings and JacksonPollock's action painting. ' (Cummings, lss.220,
2002, p.59)
Taj-Mahal Travellers were by no meansthe only psychedelic pioneersto possesssuch
palpable associationswith the Europeanand American avant-garde.Alan Cummings, in an
earlier article, says of Les Rallizes Denudesfounder, Takashi Mizutani: `... from his few
81Notably,as
partof the performancepiece/tour,Taj-MahalTravellerspartookin a numberof
significantarts festivals,includingOsaka'sExpo'70, andICES '72 in London,amongstothers.
94
Towards a Universal Language
Symbolism
Surrealism,
French
the
facets
darker
is
it
and
and
that
the
of
clear
statements
theatrical avant-gardeof Jerzy Grotowski and Julian Beck were influences. (Cummings,
Iss.186,1999, p.34)
Also, like Les Rallizes Denudes,very few officially releasedrecordings exist of TajMahal Travellers' work. This evasion of the commercial market and, ultimately, the recording
Haino's
Keiji
first
during
is
twenty
years
of
studio, somethingwhich was also clearly evident
in
Japan.
New
music
and
career: another pioneer of psychedelia
The work of Haino has generally beendivided betweencollaborative ventures
(ranging from Lost Aaraaf and Fushitsushato Nijiumi and Vajra) and his solo output, which
(although
had
1990
two
since this time, the releaserate
recordings
official
spawnedonly
until
Otomo
Masami
Akita,
been
has
that
his
artists
such
as
of
prolific, matching
of
work
Yoshihide, and Makoto Kawabata).
In an interview with Biba Kopf from 1999, Haino affirms the place of his work within
the legacy of Japanesepsychedelia,crediting Western artists such as Blue Cheer, The Doors,
Robert
Plant)
having
(namely,
technique
Led
Zeppelin
the
of
as
a profound effect
vocal
and
from
himself
keen
distance
is
Nevertheless,
Haino
to
his
also
working methodologies.
upon
the herd, and arguesthat he has never limited or drawn the kind of boundariesin his work that
his
is
doing.
Principally,
to
while
music
often perceived at
conventional musicians are prone
the vanguard of post-I960s psychedelia,Haino neverthelessstateshis ultimate intention is not
to surpassor transcendpsychedelicmusic82,but rather to extend its perceived boundariesand
implications: `The goal of my music is not to go beyond psychedelic music, but to deepenit.
There are many people who call my music psychedelic. My music is faster. Unlike
psychedelic musicians who stop becauseof their desire for easiness,for shortcuts,I do not
stop.' (Haino in Kopf, 199, http: //www. thewire.co.uk/out/9911 1i.htm)
What remains evident more than anything, however, is the artist's emphasisupon
creative autonomy and isolation, raising similarities between his own career-long working
12Perhapsin the way that GS bands did in the early 1970s,changing their styles in order to be
so-called New Rock.
95
Towards a Universal Language
ideology, and the highly politicised, anti-commercial convictions of Les Rallizes Danudes.
Primarily, Keiji Haino is keen to emphasisethat little progressionor changehas ever taken
place in his work, ranging from his early saxophoneplaying with Lost Aaraaf in the early
1970s,to the most recent guitar or vocal-basedsolo projects. Haino stressesthat the
convictions and beliefs he expressescontinue to remain the same,and his ability to be true and
faithful to theseprinciples is what differentiates his work from that of other, more transient,
pop artists. As Biba Kopf explains: `Changeequalsbad faith, a lack of couragein seeing
things through to the last. Popular music, from punk through psychedelia,is scatteredwith
part-explored paths or prematurely spent ideas.Projectsare begun and then abandonedfor
want to will-power; musicians buckle under the pressureof the market place, where the idea of
permanentchangeis essentiallya way of talking up a novelty product.' (Kopf, 1999,
http://www. thewire.co.uk/out9911 l i.htm)
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Towards a Universal Language
3.4 Deep Purple meets Stockhausen:
Contemporary
Japanese psychedelic music
In recent years, group soundsmusic has undergonesomethingof a historical reevaluation, with some critics and commentatorspositing it not merely as musical mimicry, but
a trend which, through its unique quirks and characteristics,standsapart from its Western
model. In aestheticterms, at least, this is can be convincingly argued.Taken out of its original
cultural context, appropriated,and reconstitutedwithin a wholly new cultural framework,
1960spopular music did assumea unique and different identity when interpreted by GS
artists.
The reasonsfor this, however, are implied within the early sectionsof this chapter.
The range of instrumentsavailable in Japanat the time; the languagedifferential; the type of
venuesartists would perform in; the dictates of Japanesemusic management;and the unique
social and political circumstancesprevalent in Japanduring the 1960s,all inevitably
contributed in distancing the music, however subtly, from that of the West.
In addition,it couldalsobe questionedwhetherthe social,musical,andstylistic
differences that defined various youth culture factions in the UK and US (e.g. mod,
psychedelic, Garage,R&B, freakbeat,etc) carried the samecultural connotationswhen
assimilated into Japaneseyouth culture. Discussing this issuein an interview with Monia De
Lauretis, Japan-basedsound artist Mason Jonessuggeststhat, `one interesting thing is the fact
that anyone from another culture can approacha country's music from a different point of
view. So, for example, Japanesekids growing up can hear American rock and roll, and also
hear Europeanexperimental music, and then start a band that combines
rock with
experimental music in ways which wouldn't occur to an American kid. ' (Jones,cited in De
Lauretis, p. 47)
Jones,when later askeddirectly about the ability of experimental musicians to
seamlesslydrift from one genre to another, continues thus: `it can be traced back to the
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Towards a Universal Language
Western
the
introduced
to
to
without
samepreconceptionsand
music
get
opportunity
"baggage" that we have. When an American kid hearsrock, they have a certain image in
isn't
band
image.
Combining
different
have
jazz,
hear
they
genres
a
they
within
a
mind; when
done here as much (though it's becoming much more common) as in Japan,becausethe
imagesthat come with a style of music seemto forbid it. ' (Jones,cited in De Lauretis, p. 59)
However,while it couldbe arguedthat significantdifferencesexistto makeGS music,
British
American
from
identifiable
distinctive
that
face
and
of
contemporaneous
and
on
value,
differences
important
is
that
these
it
to
are purely aestheticconsider
nevertheless
artists,
brought about through the combination of incidental circumstancesdiscussedabove, rather
than artistic intent on the part of GS musicians.
With one or two notable exceptions(for example,Jacks), the common intention of GS
bandswas to emulatethe music currently being imported from the West, and it is only through
imitation gone wrong, for want of a more articulate phrase,that GS developedits own
(retrospective) identity.
In view of this, the beginnings of an independentlydeveloped,uniquely Japaneseform
but
1960s,
is
the
to
the
traceable,
sounds-boom
rather
of
mid-late
group
not
of psychedelia
artists such as Les Rallizes Denudesand Taj-Mahal Travellers. During the early 1970s,when
largely
had
freshly
GS
their
turned
the
to
popular
psychedelic
attention
of
music
proponents
New Rock trend, theseartists developedtheir music within a context that, while not selfconsciously psychedelic, neverthelessexplored and expandedthe meaning of psychedelia
beyond its previous superficiality: primarily by virtue of their commitment to experimentation
and seriousmusical discovery.
Interactionwith the avant-garde
at homeaswell asin EuropeandAmericais
unquestionablyof paramount importance. Just as Takehisa Kosugi, for example, worked
actively with Group Ongaku and the Fluxus group, so too were artists in the West exploring
similar possibilities brought about through interaction between avant-gardeart and popular
music. While John Cale, for example, brought the pioneering drone work of La Monte Young
to The Velvet Underground's music, so too were musicians such as The Beatles, The Mothers
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Towards a Universal Language
informed
by
Captain
Beefheart
Syd
Barrett,
Invention,
their background in the arts,
of
and
bands
These
in the West who, essentially,
their
the
were
and
avant-garde.
relationship with
GS groups sought to emulate,although did so in a purely limited, aestheticcapacity only:
superficially copying merely stylistic elementsof the work, rather than seekingto embrace
the samegenuine spirit of discovery and experimentalismthat defined psychedeliaas
something radical.
Basically I am Japanese,so the music I play has a Japanesefeeling, but
naturally I also listen to Westernmusic and it's part of the wholeprocess of
making music to see how I could mix thesedifferent elements...People might
misunderstandthe use of ethnic instruments...like, to makeJapaneserock
you have to useJapaneseinstruments,which is like saying German bands
should use German instruments.(Kawabata, cited in Kopf, Iss.155, p.20)
Keiji Haino (whose legacy - as discussed- datesback to the early 1970s)and
Masami Akita, are amongsta number of contemporary avant-gardeartists in Japanwhose
work, both challenging and prolific, is often linked to the continuing exploration of postGS/post-1960spsychedelia.Another to engagewith such concerns,perhapsmore selfconsciously than the aforementioned,is Osaka-bornMakoto Kawabata.
Like contemporaries
OtomoYoshihideandMasamiAkita, Kawabataalsobeganhis
careeras a young man, distributing early solo works via a home-recorded,hand packaged
cassettelabel entitledRevolutionaryExtractionProject.
Perhapsmore than any of his avant-gardecontemporaries,Kawabata is keen to
emphasisethe importance of Europeanand American influences in his work. By his own
admission,he grew up relatively indifferent to, and independentof, Japaneseexperimental
new music: partly because,living in the small rural town of Nara, he was far removed from
cutting edge events and happeningsin Tokyo. Nevertheless,Kawabata has also confessedthat,
with the possible exception of Keiji Haino, he still has very little interest in the Japanese
99
Towards a Universal Language
from
in
Western
have
influences
his
the
that
music
resided
always
more
claiming
avant-garde,
1960sand 1970s(particularly ProgressiveRock, Hard Rock, electronic, and Krautrock).
Rather than representingsome frivolous or fetishistic enthralmentwith Western
has
Keenan
David
however
Western
(or
critic
arguedthat
exoticism),
music,
accusationsof
the work of artists such as Kawabatarevealsa deep understandingof Western popular music,
born out of an immersion in, and seriousdissection of, selectedgenresand moments in
Western musical history. This can be seenwithin the context of jazz history in Japan,and in
American
jazz
disseminated
intense
the
was
way
music
and
particular
almost
academic
83
Referring
1950s
jazz
kissas
during
the
through
specifically to the art and music of
absorbed
Acid Mothers Temple84,Keenan proposes,`... one of the great things about the new Japanese
in
is
degree
the
theoretical
of
seriousness their approachto rock, which doesn't so much
music
inhibit the music's excitement,as intensify it. ' (Keenan, 2001, p.38).
Discussing his lifelong absorption in Western experimental music, particularly that of
the late 1960sand 1970s,Kawabata has directly expressedhis interest in pushing out the
boundariesof contemporarypsychedelic music. Describing his initial motivation in forming
Acid Mothers Temple, Kawabataexplains: `I'd listened to all sorts of trippy psychedelic
records but I was never fully satisfied with them. So I wanted to createa really extreme
music.' (Kawabata, cited in Keenan, Iss.210,2001, p.38). In addition to influences culled from
the history of British psychedeliaand early Rock (from the original Pink Floyd, to Blue Cheer,
to Black Sabbath),the discovery of Europeanavant-gardemusic is something the artist also
cites as central to his early development:particularly the electronic music of Karlheinz
Stockausen.'In terms of actual musical content, Stockhausenwas the first thing that really
shockedme... hearing electronic music was a total culture shock.' (Kawabata, cited in Keenan,
Iss.210,2001, p.35).
Beyond simply wanting to emulate or reproducethe work of influential artists,
however, Kawabata suggeststhat, even from the age of 13 when he formed Ankoku Kakumei
" SeeChapter2
84Collectivefoundedby MakotoKawabata
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Towards a Universal Language
Kyodotai ('Dark Revolutionary Collective'), his intention was always develop and explore new
music through the synthesisof his influences.What resulted was the developmentof a
methodology and mindset that would expandthe potential meaningsof existing works and
genres,while simultaneouslycollapsing the narrow boundariessuch taxonomy often leadsto.
Although not necessarilya consciousintention (or, at least,not in the way of any
consciously declared artistic-political manifesto), Kawabata's Ankoku Kakumei Kyodotai
debut recording85,through its spirit of sheerunguided experimentation,neverthelessachieved
some real senseof cultural autonomy. Armed with only one borrowed synthesiser,membersof
the collective built their own instrumentsand, oblivious to any orthodox approach,devised
their own guitar tunings. Needlessto say, the music they createdwas by necessityequally
experimental - in the most literal sense- with no member of the group possessingany formal
knowledge of how to play.
ReflectingKawabata'sown recollectionthat he 'dreamtof how cool it would beto find
a record that combined hard rock like Deep Purple with the electronic music of Stockhausen,'
critic David Keenan saysofAnkoku Kakumei Kyodotal: 'the album's two sidelong percussive
jams are soakedin torrential electronics, revealing an approachto sound that invokes Amon
Dun1,musique concreteand surrealism, as well as early Nurse with Wound' (Keenan, Iss.210,
2001, p.36).
This observationbearsremarkablepoignancyin relationto a commentmadeby
Kawabata himself later in the samearticle, as he recalls the making of the first Acid others
Temple recording: `I edited and overdubbedall the tapes of jam sessionsthat we'd done and
ended up with something that is like musique concrete...that record certainly felt like the first
time that I'd fully realised my childhood dream of creating a music that fused hard rock and
electronic music.' (Kawabata, cited in Keenan, Iss.210,2001, p.38).
$sKawabata'sfirst self-made
cassette-album,
releasedinitially in 1980,andre-issuedon a limited
editiontenCD box setduringthe 1990s.
101
Towards a Universal Language
3.5 Conclusion
ChapterThree has traced the developmentof Japanesepsychedelic music from its
Europe
fashions
the
in
Japan
current
of
and
as a mere copycat genre,recreating
origins
America during the late 1960s.As seenin previous chapterswith modernist composition and
jazz, psychedelic music first cameto Japanas a form of Western mimicry, evolving through
copycat Western genreslike eleki and group soundsmusic.
Beginning with the extendedperformancesof artists such as Taj Mahal Travellers
during the early 1970s,however, the concept of psychedelic music developedits own unique
identity in Japan.It's adoption by successivegroups of artists, ranging from Takehisa Kosugi
has
develop
Kawabata,
Makoto
Haino,
Akita
the
term
Masami
Keiji
to
a
seen
and
and
its
in
far
1960s
Western
in
Japan
that
origins
counterextends
meaning and application
culture.
Far from bearing any retrospectiveor nostalgic connotationsßb,ever since psychedelic
(and
in
West
fashionable
being
the
mainstreamJapanesepop culture,
culture stopped
therefore, found a new trend to mimic), psychedelicmusic in Japancontinued to flourish
amongstthe country's avant-garde.
Even in the West, psychedeliaas a movement or genre had, by the end of the 1960s,
freeboundaries,
its
breaking
be
trading
to
spirit
of
experimentation
and
about
new
ceased
thinking for a self-referential uniform and formula. However, it was once the mainstream
youth culture of Japanlost interest in copying and recreating Western psychedelic culture,
that the JapaneseAvant Gardist take on psychedeliatook root.
From Jacks,to Taj Mahal Travellers, to Les Rallizes Denudes,to Acid Mothers
Temple, for example, the work of successivegenerationsof Japanesepsychedelic artists have
little in common musically with what, in the West, would be considered `psychedelic' in the
popular context of late-1960s San Francisco, for example. There is little of the Flowery,
86Offeringlicenceto follow a well-usedformulafrom by-gone
era
a
102
Towards a Universal Language
melodic psychedelicpop of JeffersonAirplane, Iron Butterfly, or Fairport Convention, for
example, to be found in post-1960sJapanesepsychedelicmusic.
The fact is, however, that even in the late-1960s,if psychedelicmusic was to be
defined as avant-garde,it would be the early albums of The Mothers of Invention, or The
Velvet Underground in New York, whose music was driven and informed by experimentation
break
boundaries,
develop
desire
follow
to
to
the
that
to
the
an
approach
sound
and
refused
simple formula of mainstreampop music. It is essentially in this vein that Japanese
psychedelic music continued to develop after the 1960s,acquiring a history and identity that
is unique to Japan.
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Towards a Universal Language
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Towards a Universal Language
CHAPTER FOUR
ISOLATION AND CHAOS
AVANT-GARDE JAPANESE MUSIC AND TIDE METROPOLIS
4.0 Introduction:
Megalopolis
Tokyo is built on compactedlayers of pornography. The imagesseepthrough
into every eye, irrepressible and volatile. Every conceivablesexual encounter
is documentedin the comic books and internet guides which the Tokyo
salarymen read compulsively, on their way to andfrom work Only the
duplicate
brutality
the
can
sexual
encounter
of their own
extremity of a violent
hours
for
bodies
bodies
into
on end on the subways,
crashing
existence,
(Barber,
2001, p.83)
the
city.
avenuesand corridors of
In 1986, it was estimatedthat around ninety million people resided in the thin strip of
land betweenTokyo and Hiroshima$7,one of the main inhabitable non-mountainousareasof
Japan.Amongst the most densely populated regions of the world, this vast urban expanse
standsin sharp contrast to the rice field and mountain landscapesdepicted in traditional
Japaneseprints and woodcuts: imagesthat have proven so alluring to Western Orientalists
from the nineteenth-centuryonwards.
Tokyo is frequentlyportrayedin the Westasa vast,topsy-turvy,unfathomable
Metropolis; a denseand sprawling Disney World mutated by space-agetechnology, masscapital investment, and a miscellany of misguided cultural appropriation. Crammed and
87Architectsat the Crossroads:Prog.6 Japan: TheZen Way Building,Written/producedby Peter
of
Adams,1986.
105
Towards a Universal Language
land
has
in
high
the
contributed,
some part, to what Westerners
of
extremely
price
anarchic,
life
in
both
Tokyo; unique social
the
of
everyday
and
restrictiveness
as
often see
quirkiness
inhabitants
in
to
the West, seem
of
equally
wealthy
cities
characteristics
which,
and cultural
unfamiliar.
In many ways, the city representsa physical manifestation - an embodiment - of the
many myths and perceptionsthat define the West's understandingof Japan;a metaphorin
concreteand neon for some of the projected internal dichotomies presumedto be at the heart
of contemporaryJapaneseculture.
Tokyo appearsto encapsulatemany of the extremes,paradoxes,and contradictions
Western onlookers often like to believe underlie modem Japaneselife. The lines of cram
schools and sky-scraping office blocks (occupied around the clock by hard-working, highly
committed executives- the so-called `salarymen') pay testimony to the idea of the Japanese
as automaton-like, disciplined worker-bees.
During the late 1970sand early 1980s,US businesseswere particular ill at easewith
what they saw as the work ethic and mentality of the Japanese.The successtheir Asian
counterpartswere reaping at the expenseof the American market, gave rise to a spateof
`Japan-bashing'in the US, largely justified and driven by the feeling that Japanwas simply
not playing fair. It becamemuch discussed,for example, how Japaneseworkers were willing
to work for much lower wagesand far longer hours, than would be deemedacceptablein the
civilised, ethical US market.
As frustration at Japan's successmounted in the US, the worker-bee salarymen
becameincreasingly demonised,regardedby some as a contemporary incarnation of the
Samurai warrior, or kamikaze f ighter pilot - the next in a long line of inhuman and
treacherousfundamentalistswhich, all throughout history, Japanhad seemedto spawn.
There evolved a discoursepunctuatedby disdain and corporate xenophobia,
maligning the Japanesemarket as an unyielding army of commerce, mannedby scoresof
Salarymen Samurai and Worker-bee warriors who were conditioned to
succeedat any
expense.They were impervious, it seemed,to the usual trappings, perks, and personal gains
106
Towards a Universal Language
in
life.
tireless
The
time
the
that
this
the
a
cog
was
of
at
salaryman
myth of
of executive
for
for
Not
the
the
the
of
collective.
good
automaton
uncompromisingly
an
working
machine;
first time in history, the Japanesewere fundamentally dehumanisedwithin dominant Western
discourses.
In the context of such protectionist and paranoid typecasting,the city of Tokyo
belligerent
threatening
to
and
about the Japanesebusiness
seemed epitomise what was most
world, and the impending threat of this new Yellow Peril upon US and global economies.
Images of facelesssalarymencrammedtightly onto tube trains, or marching down inner-city
causewaysas a collective massto machine-like glass towers, seemedto confirm the city's
place as inhuman hive to the Japaneseworker-bee. From Fritz Lang's dystopian MetropolislRB
and Ridley Scott's Blade Runner89,to familiar images of kamikaze pilots and warriors
in
honourable
deaths,
West
(America
the
particular) had the languageand
enacting
iconography already in place with which to interpret and construct these ideasof Japan.
Tokyo has also come to representfor many foreigners, the Japanesepopulation's
chronic embracementof consumerismtoo. According to commentator Peter Adam, the
mixture of `ritual, politeness,[and] shrewd commercialism' practised almost to perfection
within the boutiques and departmentstoresof Tokyo, `saysas much as anything about Japan.'
(Adam, 1986)
If the city itself is regardedby some to constitute a futuristic, technology-driven
Megalopolis, then the multitude of brightly coloured boutiques it houses,selling all manner of
gadgetry and miniaturised personal appliance, enforce this on a microcosmic level. It perhaps
also provides evidence for what many in the West seeas Tokyo's, and Japan's, inherently
paradoxical nature. The city and its people are seemingly seento exist at both ends of
opposite extremes.Salarymen,for example, are widely known on the one hand for their
extreme dedication to work, and their insatiable out-of-hours appetite for sex, drink, and
karaoke on the other. Equally, Tokyo life is also broadly associatedwith its inhabitants'
B8JNetropolis(1927), film directed by Fritz Lang.
89BladeRunner(1982),film directedby Ridley Scott,
107
Towards a Universal Language
dedication to the world of commerce(both as committed businesspeople and ardent
consumers);or the strict, unspokenconventionsthat rule everyday outward social relations
(i. e. Tatamaeand Honne), in contrast to Tokyo's supposedlypromiscuous,sexually-charged
private world.
Tokyo swims in its own richly damaged,intricately obsessed,sexual
books
In
its
and photography magazines,the young women
comic
atmosphere.
And
ligatured
for
to
the
tightly
sexual
onslaughts.
vulnerability
maximum
are
figures of the photographer Romain Slocombesbroken dolls, bandaged,necklie
limbs
beds,
hospital
immobilised
in
their
gaping
with
on
plaster,
or
collared
further
Tokyo
their
the
wounds,
streets
with
anticipating
calmly
walk
or else
damages.(Barber, 2001, p.75)
4.1 City Noise - Beautiful Noise
While it could be questionedthe extent to which such perceptionsof urban Japanese
society are grounded more in Western misconception than living reality, Tokyo's darker
social side - its own uniquely seedy underbelly - has neverthelessfeatured strongly in the
work and working methodologies of a number of experimental sound artists.
One of the most significant developmentsin the history of Japanesesound art has
beenNoise music, representedin the 1990sby the cut and paste,collage aestheticsof After
Dinner and Ground Zero, and contemporarily by improvisers associatedwith the Onkyo and
No-input approach.Pre-emptedby the post-freejazz works of artists like Masayuki
Takayanagi and Keiji Haino during the 1970s,the genesisof Noise music-proper (i. e. Noise
as a definable movement) took place during the 1980s.Evolving through the densely
saturated,intense and volumatic compositions of groups such as CCCC, Hijokaidan,
Incapacitants,Masonna, Aube, Hanatarash,MSBR, Gerogerigegegeand Merzbow, Noise
developedunderground in the Metropolis areasof Tokyo and Osaka.
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Towards a Universal Language
Initially distributed during the 1980son homemadeDIY cassettelabels, and small
independentlabels such as Alchemy, the physical appearanceand presentationof Japanese
Noise was usually marked by its artists' purposeful adoption subversiveand confrontational
imagery.
With regard to conventional Westernmusic practices,the constituent elementsof
Noise music might be regardedas the waste; the unwanted elements;the products of mistakes
or faults.
In wider historical terms, however, JapaneseNoise music (known also as J-Noise,
Noise music and Japanoise) forms a significant chapter in the long-running twentieth-century
deconstructionof traditional Westernmusical practises.In line with the preceding work of
free
jazz
for
both
Minimalists,
1960s
or
musicians,
example,
composers,
post war avant-garde
in Japanand America, Japanoisewas driven initially by the needto challengethe complacent,
has
Western
As
conventions.
age-old
musical
upon
unquestioning,widespreadreliance
frequently been identified in countlesshistories of experimental music, principles such as
rhythm, melody, and notation, have been derided throughout the history of the avant-gardeas
restrictive and outmoded rules. Why should a musician necessarilyconform to twelve beats in
Upon
lines
between
for
bar,
the
three-minute
songs?
criteria
or
write
pop
what
are
example,
a
noise and music drawn?
As writer andsoundartistBrandonLaBellesuggests,in WesternClassicaltradition
disorder
the
order
and
noise
equals
music represents
authority, whereas
elementsof unwanted
and disarray. `Easternmusic in general... is basedupon a wider set of harmonic rules than
Western classical music... Noise exists not in opposition to this attitude but rather is seenas
the result of a musical pursuit, a positive by-product. In contrast, the Western classical
tradition basesitself on harmonic rules that tend to refuse these sonic details.' (LaBelle, 1996,
p.168).
Composer Toru Takemitsu firmly believed that the barrier betweennoise and music
was a mindset born primarily in the West, evolved primarily from the nature of classical
Western musical instruments. In much traditional Non-Western music, including that of
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Towards a Universal Language
Japan,sound is apprehendedpurely as sound,without any such line of demarcationbetween
noise and music.
In an article published in music journal The Wire, David Toop has drawn attention to
Takemitsu's embracementof what he terms `Beautiful Noise' (Toop, 1998). A seemingly
oxymoronical term, the conceptof Beautiful Noise refers to the capacity for music to broadly
embody all sound, and not simply adhereto the conservativedictates of Western notation, and
melody, etc.
Takemitsu strongly regardednoise to be an integral part of Japanesemusic,
epitomised by traditional musical forms such as that of the Gagaku orchestra,and aural
characteristicsof instruments like the Shakuhachi.WhereasWestern classical instruments
(e.g. the piano) were designedto reduceany capacity for noise and inaccuracy,traditional
Japaneseinstruments inherently incorporated what David Toop describesas, `the active
inclusion of noise in sound.' Toru Takemitsu, for example, found himself fascinatedby the
Biwa, a traditional four stringed lute-like instrument played with the use of a huge triangular
plectrum. The plectrum fundamentally necessitatesa playing technique unconnectedto the
Western perception of technical accuracy,actively including elements of Noise as part of its
sound. It was this very lack of distinction betweenNoise and music in traditional Japanese
music that, Takemitsu believed, aided `creativity'. (Toop, 1998, p.28)
As Takemitsucommentedin his essayOngakuno YohakuKara90,`On examination
we find that the Japaneseprefer an artistic expressionclose to nature while the Westerner
treasuresan artificial expressionthat is not part of nature... Historically Western music has
striven to eliminate noise... But again we find the Japaneseseemto have a very special
attitude toward natural sounds.' (Takemitsu, 1995, p.56)
Within the modern history of Western music9', the work of artists seeking to collapse
the boundariesbetween noise and music has almost always been contemporaneously
marginalised. The Futurist Art of Noises manifesto (1913); the noise machinesof Luigi
90The Margin
of Music' (1980)
Ito
Towards a Universal Language
Russolo92;the musicalisation of found soundsthrough musique concrete;the early work of
(which
Underground
Velvet
the
The
The
Who
pioneered
amalgamation
as
and
such
groups
between feedbackNoise and popular music). All such artists sought to challengethe
deemed
in
doing
between
boundary
all
were
customarily
and,
so,
noise and music,
perceived
least,
initially
detach
designations
the
`avant-garde'
be
`experimental'
work
which,
at
to
and
from associationwith mainstreamtastes,portraying it as something fundamentally marginal.
Accordingto someaccounts,Noisemusicrepresents
an approachto soundwhich
draws purely upon the `Rock' elementsof Rock `n' Roll; the phonic ingredients that
distinguish `Heavy' music from mere pop or Easy Listening. While a Heavy Metal song and a
top-ten pop song, for example, are usually basedaround similar twelve bar principles, a verseit
hopes
(if
(very
time
threshold
to
three
minute
chart),
a
often)
structure,
and
chorus-verse
there are, of course, fundamental differences: primarily, in terms of sound alone, the former
its
increased
following
`select'
to
tempo, volume, and owing
a
more
usually attracts
fundamentally - constituent elementsof so-calledNoise. Feedback,fuzz, forceful vocals, and
defining
be
`Heavy'
the
to
characteristics
of
music, and
raised volume, etc, are often regarded
in this respectNoise music also.
However, whereasHeavy Metal, for example, might be regardedas an amalgam of
Noise and traditional pop music, Noise music rather despatcheswith most melodic, songbasedcomponents,featuring Noise as the sole central element. A deconstructionof Rock,
Noise music takes only the feedback,volume, rapidity, and supposedextraneous`waste'
elementsof Heavy music, and explores their potential to be used as independent,rich, and
powerful sourcesof sound in themselves.
91This also includes the dominant musical trends in other parts of the
world during the twentieth
century, such as Japan,where Western musical practices came to dominate, displacing a nation's own
historic traditions.
92Using the Noise machines,or Intonarumori ('Intoners'), Russolo
and Filippo Tommaso Marinetti
gave the first performance of Futurist music/sound art in 1914, which ended (as did many Futurist
performance evenings) in a chaotic brawl between the performers and their outragedaudience.For a
111
Towards a Universal Language
The explosion in JapaneseNoise music during the late 1980sand early 1990s
representsan unquestionablysignificant chapter in the modern history of experimental music
worldwide. Apprehendedas a form of deconstructedavant-gardemusic, JapaneseNoise is
frequently regardedto have antecedentsin the West, addedto a lineage that runs not only
93
Krautrock,
1970s
Punk,
but the most cutting
1960s
through
and
psychedelicmusic, early
edge Europeanand American avant-gardeperformancepractices.
`On whichever side of Noise-music one stands,it appearsas a compelling extension
and confluence of Cage and Fluxus performanceand the rock psychedeliaand punk
traditions. It takes the boldnessof punk, the improvisatory spirit of psychedelia,and the ethos
of noise as a possible music - which cage and Fluxus brought to the forefront of avant-garde
living
in
kind
theatre of subcultural extremity. (La
this
and
appropriates
a
of
practise all of
Belle, 1996, p. 169)
further account, go to http://csunixl. lvc. edu/-sn dy
er/em/russolohtmi- and for The Art of Noises
manifesto, hlW://www. unknown-nu/futurism/noises.html.
112
Towards a Universal Language
4.2 City Noise and Sadomasochism
As embodied by the sleeveart of compilations such as Extreme musicfrom Japan94
(designedby Romain Slocombe),artists suchas Masonna,Incapacitants,Hijo Kaidan, and
Hanatarashsoughtto establishparallels betweenthe pleasure-painprinciples/experiences
Japanoise
to
performances.
at
presumably
are
subject
audiences
during the early 1980swere particularly
The live performancesof Hanatarashi9S
bass,
Biro
Featuring
Seiichi
Yamamoto
guitar,
on
on
and Boredoms founder
notorious.
Yamatsuka Eye96on drums, the band namedthemselvesafter the Japaneseword for 'snotnosed', Hanatarashi,referring to Eye's apparentclaim that they were sure to get a punch on
the nose sooner or later for what they were doing.
Although their exploits have no doubt received some measureof mythologisation
over the course of time, anecdotesneverthelessabound as to the violent, belligerent,
dangerous
involve
Recollections
their
excessively
nature
of
some
of
performances.
sometimes
stories of chainsawedcats, band self-mutilation, and the demolishing of nightclubs with
stolen bulldozers.
Eye in particular has, throughout his career, seemingly maintained a fascination with
the relationship between audienceand performer/audienceand music. While in relation to
recent Boredoms work, this takes a more profound form (bound up with the concept of
Kotodama, and connotations derived from their Vo rdoms name-change),in earlier
Hanatarashiperformanceshowever, the link was largely physical and confrontational.
Edwin Pouncey in The Wire cites one contemporary review of a Hanatarashigig:
`Ten minutes after the show begins, the room was full of broken glass... The fence set up to
protect the audiencewas the first thing to be destroyed,and they are throwing pieces of the
fence around. The audienceare huddled like refugeesin the corners of the hall. A broken pipe
93SeeLaBelle,Brandon(1996)`Musicto the "nth" degree'for further
a
exampleof this. Full details
citedin Bibliography.
94Various Artists (1994) Extreme Music From Japan, SusanLawlyC, SLCDO08.
95The `i'
was later dropped, with the band renaming itself Ilanatarash.
113
Towards a Universal Language
flaming.
So
burner
into
A
the
was
much metal and glassand concrete
gas
spewedwater
room.
just
I
being
that
thrown
the
watching. The fire extinguisherswere
got
cut
against
walls
was
from
indeed
There
the audience.The fore alarm
or
sound
any
smashed.
was no applause,
bits
dead,
little
dry meat
There
The
to
too
see.
were
of
smoky
room was getting
went off.
is
Yamatsuka
(Cited
from
insane.
'97
the
the
to
cutting...
animal
clearly
and
walls
ceiling
stuck
in Pouncey,The Wire, Iss.223, p.36)
Michel Henritzi, discussingthe work of proponentsof Japanoisesuch as Merzbow,
Hijokaidan, and Incapacitants,has arguedthat perhapsthe appeal of such sound experiences
to Western listeners, centresupon their perceptionof it as something both exotic and extreme.
As implied above, the extremity of Noise music presentsitself on a number of levels: the
extreme physicality and `violent visual' elementsof many performances;the confrontational,
overpowering nature of the soundworks/compositionsthemselves;and the appropriation of
sexual, fetishistic, and sadomasochisticvisual imagery on the sleeveart, etc., of noise music.
In relation to the latter, Henritzi suggeststhat for artists such as Merzbow, S&M
imagery possessesa fundamental symbolism which extendsbeyond that of a mere marketing
tool (i. e. shock tactics - the concept of negative publicity being used for good), reflecting to
some extent the relationship sharedbetweenperformer and listener, art and audience.
`The relationship betweenthe noise performer and the listener also seemsto be
informed by the rituals of sadomasochisticsex, as the audienceagreesto submit itself to the
sonic pain of white noise inflicted by the performers.' (IHenritzi, 2001, p.31)
In 1992, Masami Akita (whose work is produced under the pseudonymMerzbow)
releasedmusicfor BondagePerformance on the Australian label Extreme, followed four
years later by musicfor Bondage Performance Vo1.11in 1996. The idea according to the artist
was to createan album that allowed Akita to reflect his interest as a writer, researcher,
musician and filmographer, in the historical and contemporary place of Japanesebondage
96After a
numberof namechanges,theartist is currentlyknownas YamatakaEye
114
Towards a Universal Language
Japanoise
has
become
the
imagery
the
bondage
While
of
with
genre
synonymous
practice.
late 1980sand early 1990s,its associationwith the music was primarily as a superficial, overt
instant
break
taboos,
credibility as an underground
to
gain
and
social
way shock,
phenomenon.
The art of Japanesebondage,which involves using only an ancient form of rope to
decoratively bind the subject, was rediscoveredduring the Edo period in around 1600.
Notably, he has remained keen to distancehimself from, and disapproveof, the Japanoise
knowledge
ise,
imagery
bondage
to
any
merely shock and sensational without
clique who used
Having
historical
its
releasedseveralpublications on
nuances.
genuine social, cultural, or
of
like
bondage
his
in
his
feels
justified
Akita
that,
music
ancient
practice,
the subject,
claim
finds an expressionof beauty'in cruelty.
`My basic idea is that the connectionbetween S&M and noise is fetishism... S&M is
for
for
is
That's
Noise
body.
human
the
the
fetishistic
to
the
sound.
reason
same
approach
a
important
in
in
both
interest
the
theme
was
most
eroticism
and
of
course,
areas,
my
Surrealism,' (Akita, cited in Keenan, Iss.159, p.47)
4.3 City Noise - City Junk
The concept of finding value in the undesirableruns consistently throughout
Merzbow's catalogueof work on a number of levels, and constitutes part of a wide art
historical lineage running through Dada, Surrealism, pop Art and Punk. From the inception of
Fountain in 1917, Marcel Duchamp's first Ready Made98,there has developed an artistic
tradition basedessentially upon creating new meaning for existing objects through
recontextualisation:discovering beauty in the subversive; value in the unexceptional; and new
identity through subversion.
97In his
article, Edwin Pouncey also cites the provocative, ironic, and rather flippant manifesto of
Hanatarashi:`Kill the all noise artists! We hate Whitehouse. Piss off NWW. Asshole C93. Suck PTV.
Fuck Coil. We love disco.' (Pouncey,The Wire, Iss.223, p.36)
9$SeeGlossary
115
Towards a Universal Language
Not only hasthis lineage played an important part in consciously informing the
him
has
itself
Tokyo
but
with
Merzbow,
the
also
provided
city
of
of
methodologies
working
his
in
both
outlook
key
clearly
recognisable
the
experiential
and
physical
materials
someof
it
in
Surrealism,
Dada
junk
exploring
line
In
was
his
the
of
and
art
sensibilities
with
work.
and
IIonne",
(the
Tokyo's
flip-side
seedier
underground
the
corporate,consumeristouter-guise
of
Merzbow.
began
his
the
Tatamae10°)
that
work
as
artist
to the city's outer shiny
The name Merzbow alone servesas a strong enough indicator of the extent to which
Akita has in some way either drawn upon, or been influenced by, Dada and Surrealism.
Merzbau/TheCathedralof Erotic Misery (translatedas `MerzHouse')wasthe name
in
first
built
interior
life
Schwitters'
work -a monumentally constructedcollaged
of Kurt
Hanover (destroyedby Allied bombing), then Norway (destroyed by fire), and finally
England.
As an art student at TamagawaUniversity, Akita studied the work of Surrealistslike
Salvador Dali and GeorgesBataille, and DadaistsKurt Schwitters and Marcel Duchamp,
drawn to their work not so much out of academicintrigue, as by its confrontational and
dissident raison d'etre. Evidence of Akita's empathy with such concernscan be found early
by
in
Intrigued
1980.
LowerArts
in
his
the
and
music
establishmentof
career,with
on
EuropeanIndustrial bands such as Throbbing Gristle, Akita (like avant-gardecontemporaries
his
home-made
distributing
began
Kawabata)
Makoto
early
mail art
recordings
via
such as
into
(which
later
Arts
label
Lower
the
the
and music
would
mutate
cassettes,establishing
more professional ZSFProdukt).
Discussing this, and the work of Schwitters, Akita explains `Ile made art from the
from
just
I
in
he
the scum that surrounds my
the
as
make
sound
street,
oddments picked up
life. This does not matter to me as much now. The name is only important to my early work...
I was very inspired by Dada and Surrealism, I thought that my early works were a realisation
of Surrealism in music. But in a very punk way and not like academic electroacoustic music.
9' SeeGlossary
10°SeeGlossary
116
Towards a Universal Language
Probably the most influential Surrealist concept for me is: "Everything is erotic, everywhere
is erotic". ' (Akita, cited in Pouncey,200?, p.48)
The self-proclaimed parallels Akita draws betweenhis work and that of Industrial
musicians in Europe, epitomisesthe knowingly marginal and reactionary nature of Merzbow
had
by
1978
Unlike
the
of
suffered commercialisation and
end
punk, which
sound works.
imported
from
like
(and,
the West, had no doubt
most styles
mainstreamappropriation
found
in
imitative
Akita
West
Japanese
to
the
an
approach
sound
which,
genre),
an
spawned
like his own at home, existed firmly within the margins.
Initially, however,the rootsof Akita's long-termworking ethicandapproachstretch
back to his initial investigations at art school, and the Surrealist strategiesof cultural
by
famously,
Salvador
bringing
formulated,
Dali.
In
the
particular,
perhaps
most
subversion
together of objects belonging to, and associatedwith, extreme high culture on the one hand,
and extreme low culture on the other.
It is perhapswith such strategiesof subversion in mind - exploiting the congenital
penchantto distinguish betweenhigh and low, good and bad - that Akita put together the
Lower Arts and music cassettelabel. Drawing upon the Dada and Surrealist fascination for
waste,junk, and found objects, Akita set about collecting cheap porn magazinesand adverts
from rubbish bins, using them to packagehis recordings. According to the artist, by exploiting
such iconography, he wanted people to approachbuying his music with the sametrepidation
and secrecyas they would buying pornography. As such, the resulting products were not only
intentionally marginal, antagonistic, and informed by twentieth century avant-gardetactics,
but also the exclusive product of Tokyo. Not only did such packaging embody the attitude
and approachwith which the soundworks were imbued, but - in a similar way to the music representedfundamental aspectsand experiencesof Tokyo life, beneaththe artifice of either
outward social convention or tainted Western perceptions.
117
Towards a Universal Language
4.4 City Noise and Isolation
Architectural scholar PeterAdam has speculatedthat, after thousandsof years
(often
dogmatic
the
the
under
rule of the state),
constraint
art
of
and
public
social
practising
the Japanesenow possessan innate ability to make constriction work, and the chaosof cities
bearable.
Tokyo
as
such
However, over recent years, it might be arguedthat an increasing amount of evidence
can be compiled which might suggestthat, beneaththe outward workings of everyday city
life, the often intensedemandsand conditions of metropolitan life are causing some to react.
As Mariko Fujiwara points out, a researcherinto youth trends in Japan: `We have
it
have
We
with
you can play gamesthroughout the day.
portable
phones;
machines.
game
Media in generalcreatesa virtual reality. You don't spendas much time talking to your
parents,talking to your colleagues,people in the neighbourhood... [teenagers]are always
in
busy
the
classes cramming school. With fewer
with
working, always studying, always
children born into a family, if parentshave some dreams,or hopes for their children, if you
feel
fulfil
kids
that
the
certainly
only
child
who
can
pressured.' (Mariko Fujiwaralot,
are
2002)
According to a 2002 BBC documentary102,
over one million young Japanesemales,
ranging from teenagersto men in their early twenties, living predominantly in urban city
areas,have fallen subject to a unique Japaneseform of agoraphobia.
Hikikomori is a socialdisorderwhich existsonly in Japan,andafflicts almost
exclusively young city-dwelling men. Becoming frequently more common every year, the
basic symptoms of the indisposition are that sufferers lock themselvesaway for sometimes
years upon end, refusing to leave their room, speakto anyone, or have any contact with the
outside world.
101Interviewed by Phil Reesfor the BBC's Correspondent documentary, `Japan:
The Missing Million',
Sunday20 October, 2002)
118
Towards a Universal Language
Exactly why such an extremecondition should manifest itself exclusively amongst
intense
is
in
Japan
the
speculation and researchalike, although
still
subject of
young men
there is little to doubt the basic fact that Hikikomori, at the most fundamental level, is a
lastlife.
A
intense
Japanese
the
pressures
of
metropolitan
everyday
uniquely
reaction against
ditch attempt to turn away from the complicated social structures,and the constant influx of
information, stimuli, and new pressures,which are an ever-presentreality in cities like Tokyo.
In an interview with the BBC's Phil Rees,former Hikikomori Counsellor and sufferer
Yasuo Okawara explains: `I think everyonehas a different reason [for becoming Hikikomori].
The causesare complicated so I can't give you an exact answer. In my caseI was stressedout
by our competitive society. I becamea workaholic. It's not that I wanted to becomea
Hikikomori, I happenedto end up as one. Japanesesociety is not capableof accepting people
with different attitudes so the lives of the people who are slightly different are very hard. If
you drop out there is nowhere to go so the only place you can feel comfortable is in your
houseas a Hikikomori. ' (Yasuo Okawara, 2002)
Feeling similarly at odds with the demandsand intensity of Tokyo life, it seemsthat
some architects too have respondedto the problems of space,disorganisation, and
overcrowding, through analogousgesturesof amputation.
Described as an `architecture of denial,' (Adam, 1986) Tadao Ando's cube shaped
house representsthis craving for seclusion, every bit as much as the glassy office towers and
neon lights of contemporary Shinjuku epitomise Tokyo's appetite for all things bright, high
speed,and purchasable.
Split symmetrically into two sections- one roofed over, and one open Adam further
describesAndo's structure as `a responseto a world overloaded with trivial forms and
chaotic
shapesthat cancel each other out... a monk-like refuge.' (Adam, 1986)
Coupledwith TadaoAndo's convictionthat everydaycomfortslike air conditioning
or centralheatinghavedulledour senses,it is easyto readthe building asan architectural
10'Phil Rees,Correspondent,
`Japan:The MissingMillion', Sunday20 October,2002.119
Towards a Universal Language
life
the
technological
the
trappings
specifically,
and commodified
of modern
protest against
existenceembodied by perceptionsof Tokyo. The housecontains minimal furnishings, little
to immediately catch or pleasethe eye, and refusesto convey any senseof modern day
comfort, reflecting the architect's doctrine that technology, convenience,and all the
paraphernaliaof modern living has robbed people of their innate feelings and senses.Ando
believes that individuals in society have not only become disconnectedfrom nature, but also
developed an increasingly false impressionof what actually constitutes nature: `Nature is not
just flowers and trees. It is also wind, rain and light. Ando's idea is to make people aware of
the physical environment and themselves.' (Adam, 1986)
Importantly, this kind of response,in its aestheticand structural starkness,bears
comparison to a range of methods, ideologies and tactics employed by a number of Tokyobasedsound artists and experimental musicians.
`It seemslike I just keep saying no to everything... Everything is small, tiny or "no". I said no
to emotion. I changedto a minimal set-up with this minimal music. I play in small
combinations to small audiences.I don't subscribeto a newspaper,I don't have a TV. But the
information coming in is still too much. I have to say no. So probably my music is that kind
of statement.' (Nakamura, in England, The Mire, Iss.197, p. 12)
On movingfrom guitar-playingto a branchof electronicmusicvariouslytermedby
Onkyo,ZenMinimalism,or No-Input (moreof which later),Toshimaru
commentators
Nakamurahasconsciouslymarkedhis groundasa kind of musicalreactionaryabstainer.
As suggestedin Nakamura'sstatementabove,his work - like Ando's architecture
-in
manywaysexistsasa reactionto his experiences
of Tokyo; an attemptto denythe barrageof
information,noise,andmulti-sensoryexcessthat saturatecontemporaryurbanlife. However,
thework of Nakamuraandhis contemporaries,
aswell as its integralconnectionwith Tokyo,
amountsto muchmorethanthis alone.
Toshimaru Nakamura began predominantly as a guitarist but, as one of
a number of
pioneering Japaneseimprovisers of his generation, during the mid-1990s turned away from
120
Towards a Universal Language
expressivemodesof composition altogether.Using what is often referred to as the no-input
mixing board, what Nakamura does in the most simplistic terms is feed the desk's input and
by
into
sound-works
manipulating the resulting feedback.
each other, creating
output sockets
In principle, it is perhapsunderstandableto seewhy such an approachhas been
labelled `No-Input', and why its seemingembodiment of spaceand `the immediate'
stimulated the use of Zen-derived argot amongstWestern critics (e.g. the designation `Zen
Minimalism').
The fact of the matter, however, is that in Nakamura's instance,`No-Input' is
it
implication,
his
is
The
that
and
widespread
a
misnomer.
perception of
work,
something of
consistsof nothing more than the feedbackfrom the mixing desk itself- the result purely of
the implement's input being fed into its output. The fact, however, is that a number of effects
units - delay effects in particular - are usedto enablethe artist to mediate and manipulate the
sounds,greatly influencing the soundworksthat result.
This is by no meansto undermineNakamura's art, or diminish the quality or
importance of his work, but - despitehis own protestationsat being categorised the
No-Input
the
tag has neverthelessplayed an important part in capturing the
of
mystique
imagination
attention and
of listeners.The vague understandingmany in the West have of
Zen Buddhism, coupled with a willingness to apply Zen terminology to anything that seems
remotely empty, spatial, or 'spiritual', perhapsmakesOnkyo unavoidably prone to
103
`Zen
impulse.
'
the
associationswith
How muchof this, however,is alsopart of the orientalistlegacyrootedboth in 191h
Century exoticism and thel950s Zen-Boom period? To what extent are Western listeners
willing to believe - if not project - the idea that No-Input strictly meansno-input, and that
artists like Nakamura genuinely are able to create thesevast electronic soundscapesfrom
nothing more than the internal feedback of a mixing board? Might it be suggestedthat the
nature of certain artists' work, like those associatedwith Onkyo, are in some ways
103
Termusedby critic Phil Englandin discussingNakamura'swork (England,TheWire,Iss.197, 12)
p.
121
Towards a Universal Language
fit
long-perpetuated,
to
their
overseas
mythical perceptionsof the
manipulated upon
reception
Japanese?
In many ways, the eagerapplication of Zen terminology could well attestto this, and
it is questionablewhether in some casesassociationswith Zen are made purely becausethe
artist is Japanese.
While not necessarilythe casewith any artists associatedwith no-input or Onkyo
sound art, it is neverthelessinteresting to highlight how a number of Japaneseartists from
various disciplines have begun to usetraditional overseasperceptionsof Japanto their
advantage.
Directed by Shu Lea Cheang,the underground,tongue-in-cheek,sci-fi movie LK U.,
interesting
in
featuring
2001,
a
number
amongst
of
was released
contributions -a
soundtrackwritten by The Saboten,one of many projects lead by sound artist and prolific
music producer Hoppy Kamiyama.
Despite the allure of the film in terms of its clever plot; it's contradictory parodying
and celebrating of pornographic convention; and its smooth sci-fi production, with just
enoughtwist and chic to make it cool - despite all of this - one of the most interesting things
about the movie according to critic Robert Schwartz, is the successfulway in which its
disparatecollaborators worked. `LK. U., ' Scwartz enthuses,`brings together some of the
cream of Japaneseunderground/avant-gardeculture with one of their opposite number from
New York City. ' (Schwartz. 2001, p.6)
deeplyrootedin the underpinningideasof I.K.U., however,its producer
Somewhere
and co-writer Takashi Asai implies that there was a conscious acknowledgementand
understandingexpressed,of how the Japanesefeel they are perceived as a nation by the West.
The film, in this sense,interestingly and - to some extent self-reflexively picks
up on
popular occidental notions of a Tokyo-centred, Bladerunner-esqueidea of Japan,which is
dominated on the surface by futuristic hyper-technology and fantasy-sex,
yet beneathit all is
unable to escapeits traditions or past - its fundamental Japaneseness.
122
Towards a Universal Language
In many ways (and it would be easyto say in the tradition of Tatamae) it seemsthat
Japan
Western
the
to
knowingly
do
is
the
of
to
caricature
re-present
the
producer wants
what
West, rather than what the Japanesemight feel is the reality.
Takashi Asai: `I wanted to make somethingthat was unusualas a parody ... In the
West these days it seemsthere is a lot of interest in Japanimationand the coyly erotic
ideas
has
it
Japan
that
Moon'
the
in
`Sailor
west
about
some
seems
adolescentsexuality
...
include an overt, brimming sexuality, you know, geisha and that kind of thing. Lastly, Tokyo
is viewed as a futuristic city, abroadyou seeall these flashy imagesof Shibuya or hyperI'd
I
frequently.
Thus
thought
give people around the world what
technological scenesquite
incorporates
digital
film
for
that
looking
this
effects, animation,
they were
sci-fi porn
with
in
2001,
7)
Asai,
Schwartz,
'
(Takashi
technology.
cited
p.
and an obsessionwith
It would be far from accurate,however, to imply that Tokyo's contemporaryno-input
in
in
knowingness
kind
that
their
their
were
or
goals
the
work,
of
same
sound artists employed
is
both
Where
the
two
together,
that
they
to
those
the
come
are
above.
of
any way similar
how
Japanese
Western
residual
to
of
culture
which,
no-matter
preconceptions
subject age-old
key
difference
is
is
The
it
how
influence
that, while some
received.
or subtle, nevertheless
identity,
I.
K.
U.
the
to
to
their
makers
of
sought
use and
projected
merely
subject
are
artists
parody it.
key contemporary
In a seriesof interviewsundertakenby Monia De Lauretis104,
figuresfrom Japan'savant-gardemusicscenewereaskedto commentuponthe influenceof
Europeancultureupontheir own work, aswell asthatof otherJapanese
experimentalists.
Solo artist and founder member of After Dinner, Haco, suggeststhat for the most part
Western culture is not given the opportunity to freely influence Japaneseart and culture, since
for
from
USA
Europe
imported
the
or
public consumption, is usually `filtered by the
anything
Japanesemedia.' (Ilaco, cited in De Lauretis, 2001, p.46).
104
Publishedasthe essay`AboutMyths,CommonPlacesandOther(Japanese)
Oddities',in Franck
Stofer(ed.) (2001)JapaneseIndependent
Music,Sonore,France,pp.46-64
123
Towards a Universal Language
Aurally, the work of some Onkyo-related artists (Nakamura and Sachiko M in
particular, perhaps)might be said to bare someoutward resemblance- aesthetically as well as
by
1960s
Minimalist
Both
during
developed
the
to
that
early
musicians.
methodologically La Monte Young and Tony Conrad, for example,engagedheavily with sine waves,
frequencies,repetition, and the exploration of the drone, creating highly extended
improvisations and compositions centredupon a single note or minute gesture.Japaneseavant
highlighted
by
lengthy
droneworks
Kosugi
the
Takehisa
territory,
similar
explored
gardist
late
1960s
during
1970s.
by
Taj
Mahal
Travellers
the
and
early
performed
In his review of Nakamura's Vehicle CD from December2002, critic Dan Warburton
suggeststhat the artist's work had moved closer to the realms of something approximating
Techno music. Techno, however, is also where Warburton seesSteve Reich's early
in
As
A
Gradual
(expressed
Process,1968), and
music
as
minimalist principles residing
comparesNakamura's "I set limits and then wait and watch the music take its own path," to
Reich's statement:"Once the processis set up and loaded it runs by itself. " (cited in
Warburton, The Wire, Iss.226, p.63)
Although often describedas one of the pioneers of the Onkyo movement (a term,
incidentally, first credited to Otomo Yoshihide in describing such works), Sachiko M has
been keen to distanceherself from the designation.Not only this, in fact, but she has
furthermore set out quite frequently that her position is not that of a musician, and that her
sound work - even in the broadestsense- is not music.
I don't think I'm part of Onkyo. Lately in Europe they talk about "Tokyo Onkyo" and
"Japan Onkyo," but I think the people who refer to the word and the people who
actually made the word are different. After Otomo used it to simplify things, it becamea
catchword. I never thought of myself as Onkyo, and I didn't get my start in that scene.
(Sachiko M, 2003, p. 13)
124
Towards a Universal Language
That Sachiko Matsubara's careeractually beganas a sound effects engineer,rather
than as a musician in the strictest sense(e.g. her counterpartsOtomo Yoshihide and
Toshimaru Nakamura both startedout as guitarists), is perhapsindication that her approachis
one of a sound artist rather than experimentalmusician. Experiments undertakenas a student
demo
in
led
her
broadcasting
tapes
the radio department,and as a
to
school
making
at
consequencebecoming highly familiar with the open reel tape recorder. As the result of a
teacher's recommendation,shealso beganto branch out into sound effect-making working,
like countlessothers from Japan's sonic avant-garde,within the realms of theatre.
It was whilst producing sound effects for the Rinkogun theatre troupe that Sachiko M
first came into contact with Otomo Yoshihide and, buying her first sampler in 1993,joined
however (after a number of years producing fairly
Ground Zero. It wasn't until 1998105,
standardsampledsounds)that she first beganto work in more abstract ways, and set out on
the path towards the pioneering sine-wave-basedsoundscapeswith which she is now most
commonly associated.The purchaseof a new samplerwas also fundamental to this: `... after I
bought an S20, I was doing somework at home and noticed there was this really clear sound.
Then I started experimenting, taking this "ooo" sound and changing the volume and pitch and
doing various things. At the time I was tired of being in situations where I couldn't hear the
sound I was makingt06... and when I discovered sine waves, I realised the sound would
definitely be audible, even when everyonewas making extremely loud sounds... I was tired
of sampling, and even though I was doing some electronic sounds,I didn't think they were
really my sounds.' (Sachiko M, 2003, pp. 13-4)
In 2001,the LondonmusicCollective(LMC) sponsoredthe Japanorama
tour. From
one perspective,the event provided a number of Japan'smost pioneering experimental
musicianstheir first chanceto performin the UK. Fromanother,it gaveUK audiencesthe
105On Ground Zero's Consume
project.
rERPOOLJOHN7M-WRES
ERSITY
UNIV
AldhamRobart4 R.
C.
L,
° TEL.01512313701
125
Towards a Universal Language
hand
first
the work of artists whose recordings and
to
experience
unprecedentedopportunity
increasing
international
in
them
the
earning
were
rapidly
world,
performanceselsewhere
critical acclaim.
Curated by one of Tokyo's most prolific experimental musicians, founder member of
Ground Zero Otomo Yoshihide, the tour brought together a number of artists commonly
associatedwith the idea of Onkyo, or no-input music (despite often their own protestsat
being pigeonholed thus). As well as Otomo himself, these included Sachiko M, Toshimaru
Nakamura, and Taku Sugimoto, although others such as Utah Kawasaki, Ami Yoshida and
Uchihashi Kazuhisa, while not part of Onkyo, were also key participants on the 2001 tour,
Generation'.
`Japanorama
the
considered
amongst
and are
Parallels can be drawn betweenOnkyo and certain movements from the canon of
visual art history, primarily Minimalist painting and sculpture, with regard to some of the
notable aestheticand methodological principles underlying their work. Sol LeWitt (sculptor);
Frank Stella (painter); Richard Serra(sculptor); Ad Reinhardt (painter).
FrankStella'sproclamationthat with Minimalist art "Whatyou seeis what you see"
(heralded as Minimalism's underlying maxim by critic Deborah Solomon), can be compared
to the attitude conveyed by artists such as Otomo Yoshihide, Sachiko M, Toshimaru
Nakamura, and Taku Sugimoto, et al. `I simply make soundsI like, ' declaredOtomo in 2001,
`The answer is in the listener's imagination. It's the listener who discovers something in the
work of Taku Sugimoto and Sachiko M. This is fundamentally different from the method
where the music maker has the answer from the beginning and presentshis or her work to the
listener.' (Interview with Michael Henritzi, Improvised musicfrom Japan,
http://www. japanimprov. comiyotomo/interview0l. html. 30 June, 2004)
106
Particularlywhenworkingwith GroundZero,whenshefelt her sampledcontributionswereoften
anonymousandburiedbeneaththe largersoundof the ensemble.
126
Towards a Universal Language
In more ways than one, however, this form of improvised New music owes, both its
inception and its fundamental aestheticmake-up,to contemporarycity life, and in particular
that of life in Tokyo.
The demanding,high-octanenature of inner-city life within Japan's capital has
already beendiscussed,and given Toshimaru Nakamura's earlier `just say no' proclamation,
it is not difficult to seethis approachto music in general as one that advocatesa methodology
and aestheticof denial. The denial of information (i. e. a sampler with no samples;a mixing
desk with no external input); the denial of musical means(a record-lessturntable; a broken
information
(a
denial
the
and
of
sound
phonic
synthesiser);
vocal technique where
analogue
the sound of inhaled air resonatesjust as much as exhaled sounds;guitar compositions where
spacesin between notes dominate, and of those notes actually played, most are barely
audible).
However, while in many ways this could easily be seenas a reaction againstthe
everyday demandsof life in the Megalopolis, constituting a stand against its technologyfuelled daily `information overload', there are also very specific reasonswhy this music
evolved solely in Tokyo.
Geographical conditions and practical restrictions upon land and space,have long
been a fundamental factor in determining the nature of life in Tokyo for its residents.For one
thing, the mountainous,uninhabitable nature of much of Japanmakes the region surrounding
Tokyo traditionally one of the few larger areassuitable for habitation by a large population.
Over the years, decades,and centuries,the increasing political, economic, and social
importance of Tokyo contributed - as in most major capital cities around the world to
a
vastly burgeoning population, making land for building, businessand habitation at an
absolutepremium.
Evenby the standardsof mostmetropolitancentresaroundthe world, however,the
demandfor -and, therefore,costof-land in Tokyo is particularlyhigh. While this,
of
course,is a majorfactor in creatingthe dense,highly-concentrated
natureof the city, and its
127
Towards a Universal Language
demandingway of life, the scarcity of land and spacehas also played a huge part in
influencing the developmentof Tokyo's own unique leisure and recreation culture: evident
fifty
its
history
in
the
than
of
past
years.
musical
none more
Emerging during the 1950s,the small, intimate nature of jazz kissasproved
fundamentally important to the way in which jazz, and consequentlyavant-gardemusic in
Japan,developed.Just as the restrictive cost and availability of property meant that jazz kissas
had to be establishedin the smallest of venues,so too did their limited size impact greatly
upon the nature of the live music performed there. Becausemost of the jazz coffee bars in
Shinjuku - and other Tokyo districts - suffered due to limited funds and space1°7,
emerging
freejazz players like Masayuki Takayanagi and Kaoru Abe performed solo, adapting their
playing techniquesand improvisation styles.
In this respect,jazz kissaswere not only an important conduit for jazz in Japan,but,
in
but
to
the
conditions
present
nowhere
specific
social
economic
else
and
world
owing
Tokyo, meant that musicians had no choice but to evolve and adapt their approachto music in
new ways. As contemporaryNew musician Otomo Yoshihide recalls, the jazz kissa -- and, in
hosted
incredibly
live
important
the
them
to
proved
of
a
performancesmany
particular,
young generation of attendeeswho would pioneer the future of improvised avant-gardemusic
in Japan.
'[W]hat hadthe mostimpactwaslive music.Sometimesthe kissawould organisea
concert. They had no money and the spacewas tiny, so they would book musicians to play
solo . And a solo can be more abstract and extreme than a band. The first real impact on me
was Kaoru Abe, playing a solo sax concert in Fukushima. I could hardly understandit but
there was something there. It was similar to early punk, very high energy, and looked like
total anarchy.' (Otomo Yoshihide, The Wire 185, p.34),
The emergenceof Live Houses in Shinjuku from around 1965 proved equally
significant, particularly in providing a unique venue type where new extreme bands could
play, particularly as JapaneseNoise music developed.
128
Towards a Universal Language
The relationship betweenthe city and its performancespaces,the performancespaces
is
due
(i.
they
the
to
to
specific
they
set
conditions
provide)
the
of
e.
give rise
music
and
therefore incredibly vital. This link is none more evident than in the caseof Tokyo's
contemporary minimalist108improvisers.
In 2000, Taku Sugimoto, Tetuzi Akiyama, and Toshimaru Nakamura relocatedtheir
in
Tokyo.
Yoyogi
Site,
Off
improvisational
the
to
gallery
a
small
space
area
of
night
monthly
From the late 1990suntil that point, the trio's performanceeveningshad been held at Bar
Aoyama in Shibuya, a regular, busy, high streetnightclub. Importantly, however, it was the
in
develop.
in
the
to
their
the
that
way
was
which
work
real catalyst
provided
change venue
Foundedandrun by visualartistAtsuhiroIto, the Off Sitegalleryspaceis widely
development
Japanese
Onkyo/No-Input
in
inception
the
of
music.
and
recognisedas pivotal
In a successionof recently published essaysand articles109,testimony has been madeto
intimacy,
intensity
the
the
concentrated
air
of
restraint,
and
gallery, and
unique conditions of
that has become synonymouswith both the venue and the music. The combination of
threadlike walls and closely adjacentresidential homesmeant that, from the outset, any plans
to host live performancesat Off Site would necessarilybe conditioned by the need to
hardly
Off
Site's
for
levels.
Many
the gallery
neighbours
would
grieve
volume
of
minimise
(itself an old houseconverted by founder Atsuhiro Ito) should it be forced to close, and
local
have
the
with
council over disturbanceand noise
registeredcomplaints
certain residents
pollution issues.As Ito himself saysof one particular neighbour, `I think he doesn't like
strangepeople coming in and out. It's such a small street, it's like his own back yard. Ile
would be happy if it were closed down, but so far he hasn't taken legal action! (Ito, cited in
Clive Bell, The Wire, Iss.233, p.40)
107In many Jazz Kissas, setting up a full jazz ensemblewould have left
no room for customersor staff.
108`It's
not that their sound is always minimal; it's that they insist on keeping their systemsminimal.
Part of the idea is to get maximal effect out of a minimal system.' [Minoru Hatanakadiscussing the
work of Sachiko M and Toshimaru Nakamura] (Ilatanaka, 2002, p.9)
109
SeeBibliography.
129
Towards a Universal Language
However, like many such significant moments in avant-gardehistory, external
in
Off
Site:
do
the
they also
tensions
of
stand
way
what
goes
on
at
simply
not
restrictions and
serve, conversely, to provoke the most exciting and radical new art.
That the artists most identifiably linked with the music were gravitating towards more
is
is
is
fact
Onkyo/No-Input
Off
Site
true,
the
that
to
their
as
residency
minimal meansprior
international
Ito's
As
dependent
their
to,
gallery
space.
critical
upon,
or
neither exclusive
have
been
burgeoned,
bars,
has
the
theatres,
all
gallery
spaces
around
and
world
acclaim
is
instrumental
in
determining
improvisers,
by
the
the
these
often
of
setting
nature
and
utilised
one's experienceof a performance.
In theatresand gallery spaces,for example, audiencesare within surroundingsthat,
for the most part, are associatedwith certain polite conventions- namely paying attention,
in
hush,
Since
the
the
presence
of
voices
art/performance.
when
respectful
with an expected
traditionally go silent as the theatre lights dim, and visitors speak in hushedtones upon
in
it
these settingsto apprehendlive
and
natural
entering an art gallery, seemsnormal
in
large
is
hushed
in
The
that
the
expectancy
greets
a performance
sameway.
performance10
part customary: the product of age-old Western gallery/theatre-going conventions which
breed
to
an anticipatory tensions around the microcosmic soundscapes,and magnify
serves
the minimalistic aural gestures.In a gallery or theatre,remaining still and silent for the
duration of a performance is the expectedsocial norm, to which most listeners adhereto, and
frame
idyllic
through which to apprehendthese soundworks.
the
crystal clear
which creates
While the gallery or theatre spacemay presentthe ideal setting in which to be
immersed,unhindered, in every minute sonic texture of Onkyo, some of the most interesting
performances- or performancesituations - neverthelessoccur in less traditionally high-brow
locations.
In the main, bars and nightclubs hosting Onkyo performances,are usually those
whose specific agendait is to champion, promote, and accommodateavant-gardemusic in the
widest sense.While bound by a common left-of-the-centre artistic position, however, the
130
Towards a Universal Language
broad
designation
'avant-garde' is
the
under
range of music and soundart collected
Venues
incredibly
such as The Spitz in London, or The
and
varied.
wide
nevertheless
Knitting Factory in New York, for example,play host to everything from free Improvisation,
to Noise, to Ambient, electronic, Dub, Leftfield ('Avant-') Rock, and any other
variation/amalgam of the aforementioned.Avant-garde, in this context, applies to virtually
any music, or approachto music, that by the restrictive mainstreamstandardsof any genre,
might be deemedcutting edgeor alternative.
In the caseof Onkyo/No-Input, listenersdo, of course,attempt to attend to
hush
in
find
the
and
silence
one
might
with
a gallery/theatre.
performances
respectful
However, at such venuesthe potential for incidental noises and soundsto break in is slightly
11,
greater since, even at most other avant-gardeperformances' the clunk of glasses,rattle of
12.
change,or occasionalmurmured voice would go unnoticed'
As previouslymentioned,however,the evolutionof what developedinto andbeyond
No-tnput/Onkyo music, is unquestionablytied to the unique nature of the Off Site Venue. Not
only is the small upstairs performancespaceunable to host audiencesany larger than around
fifty people, but it's paper-thin walls -- and irritable close-by neighbours make performances
of even any reasonablevolume a threat to the venuesfuture. While the artists initially
involved with Meeting at Bar Aoyama' 13were already beginning to experiment with a limited
palette of sound and volume, it was only upon moving the monthly event to Off Site that their
work beganto explore theseprinciples with more focus.
Off Site not only provided a willing venue sympathetic to the needsof avant-garde
musicians, but the unique circumstancesit presentedplayed a huge part in pushing the work
of improvisational artists like Taku Sugimoto, Toshimaru Nakamura, and Otomo Yoshihide
110Onkyo/No-Input music, in this particular instance.
alt Where the emphasisupon silence and minimal
phonic gesturesis not so pronounced.
112At one
performance at The Spitz, London) in 2002, the tense, almost inaudible first moments of
Sachiko M's improvisation were disrupted as bar staff, unaware that the performance had
started,
beganto cash up the register. The suddensmashof coins, and thunderous
printing of receipts brought
the piece, momentarily, to a halt until the artist (succumbing first to a fit of the giggles) regained her
composureand began again.
"' TheMonthly Improvisationaleventinitiatedby TetuziAkiyama,Taku Sugimoto,
andToshimaru
Nakamura.
131
Towards a Universal Language
into what the latter would describeas Onkyo (although the designationitself would be
him,
he,
and
others
would subsequentlystrive to escape).
something
around
As Minoru Hatanakaobserves,this music evolves in many ways from the strict limits
the artists impose upon their own creative processes,focusing in to explore and maximise the
sonic possibilities they discover within those parameters.In relation to this, the conditions of
the venue are obviously central, and the limitations Off Site imposesupon performers - both
in terms of spaceand volume - is reflected directly in the type of improvised music that
evolved there: `... the music that is performed at Off Site is music that conforms to the
conditions of the space,and the spacethat is Off Site defines the type of music that is created
there... What kinds of possibilities are hidden in restrictions? If musicians don't have the
ability to play with the limitations, they will quickly become burdensome.' (Hatanaka,2003,
p.9-10)
While at one extreme even denying its position as music114,
this form of
contemporaryJapaneseSound Art can be seen,from another perspective,within the wider
context of Twentieth century experimental musical history (or, at least, can be seento share
common characteristicswith certain key styles and movementsfrom within that history,
particularly in the West). Toshimaru Nakamura, Taku Sugimoto and Otomo Yoshihide, for
15,
in
have
jazz
their
the
example, all
early musical roots
world of
guitar' just as Sachiko M
first set out experimenting with sound effects, radio, and found sounds.
Throughouthistory,the musicalavant-gardehaveconsistentlyexploredminimalism
and self-constraint as a potential path to artistic liberation -a meansto challenge musical
conventions, and the values of technical virtuosity upon which they rely. The New York
avant-gardeof the 1950sand 1960sfor example, were particularly significant in this,
including the work of influential artists such as La Monte Young, Tony Conrad, John Cage,
and CharlemagnePalestine.
114
E.g. 'TherewereseverallonelyyearswhenI couldn't enterthe placecalledmusicandmusicians.
'
SachikoM interviewedby TakashiAzumaya(Azumaya,2003,p. 12)
OtomoYoshihide,for example,wastaughtby FreeJazzpioneerMasayukiTakayanagi.
132
Towards a Universal Language
While Onkyo/No-Input music can be seenhistorically within the context of
Minimalist music in the West, it is also neverthelessfundamentally unique to Tokyo, and the
legacy of Japaneseexperimental music. The elementsof space,silence and diminution that
is
less
the
for
that
aspect
of
the
pervades
every
something
search
a
work,
reveal
characterise
to
the
the
the
the
used
and
resulting
produce
sound;
methodologies
artist;
mindset
of
music:
nature of the compositions.
4.5 Conclusion
I have examined in this chapterthe way in which contemporaryJapanesesound art
Central
Japanese
history
to the work of artists
the
avant-garde
music.
wider
of
connectswith
is
Otomo
Yoshihide
Akita,
Sachiko
Matsubara,
Masami
Keiji
Haino
disparate
and
as
and
as
the urge to establish distanceand a senseof self that is detached- or set apart - from everyday
external pressures,expectations,and conventions.
Akita's early use of imagery and items from the gutter, for example - objects that the
from,
detachment
had
to
this
challenge,
attempt
and
gain
rejected- exemplify
rest of society
the statuesquo. By embracingjunk and pornography,Merzbow confronted Tokyo society
by
Automatically,
life
Akita
to
polite
convention.
sought to
everyday
secreted
side
with a
define his work against mainstreamart and music in Japan,by prodding at nerves and social
taboos that already exist, imbuing his work with the sameunderground senseof prohibition as
pornography.
While the influenceof westernart movementshasinformedthe art andmusicof
Merzbow,Akita nevertheless
andrespondsto the specificnatureof Tokyo life, and
addresses
his own experienceof the City.
The work of contemporary improvisational musicians and sound artists is similarly
linked intimately to Tokyo life. The demand for spaceand property has, for example, led to
the establishment
of uniquevenueswhosenecessarilyrestrictiveconditionsrequire
performersto adapttheir approachto playing.Justasthe tiny jazz kissasof the 1950sand
133
Towards a Universal Language
1960smeant performers like Kaoru Abe and Masayuki Takayanagi had to improvise solo
(breaking new ground in the process),so too have contemporaryartists respondeddirectly to
their surroundings.
In recentyears, it has becomedf cult for many galleries to stay in business...
Under thesecircumstances,there are spacespopping up that are searchingfor
In
break
the
to
spacesof this type, a senseof
galleries...
old
with
ways make a
leads
be
This
be
to
to
in
new
seems
emerging.
place can created which something
a sort of community that revolves around the artists who show at the space and
the musicians whoplay there. (Minoru Hatanaka,p.8,2002)
As discussed,it was the restrictions imposed upon noise and audiencenumbers at
Tokyo's Off Site Gallery, that provided the catalyst for Japan's now- renowned Onkyo/NoInput contemporary Improvisational scene.However, aside from the specific conditions of the
Onkyo,
fostering
Off
Site
in
the
their
aesthetics
of
was also
minimal
role
venue, and
fundamental in that it provided a focal point for a burgeoning artistic community.
Its influence on my own work - as a place to meet numerous musicians, as well
been
has
in
to
avant-garde
experiments
and witnessvarious
as participate
immeasurable.(Otomo Yoshihide, p. 10,2002)
That these artists should be drawn to such a venue in the first place however, and
116,
it
is
it
that
the
to
the
clear
makes
venue
alone
not solely
restrictions
presents
attracted
branch
Sound
Japanese
for
Art.
the
this
of
evolution
of
responsible
As discussedthroughoutthe courseof the chapter,the artistsnow associated
with Off
Site were all engagedwith avant-gardemusic prior to the improvisational events being held
there. In addition to this, that they should predominantly be drawn so extensively to a
Minimalistic, pared-down creative ideology, can be seen,in part, as a reaction to the
experienceof contemporary life in Tokyo. A refusal to subscribeto the multitude of
16Restrictionsthat, in conventionalmusicalterms,would be regarded
only asproblematicand
inconvenient,andavoidedif at all possible.
134
Towards a Universal Language
technological options offered by a technology-driven society: to use the most minimal means,
in its most minimal state,to produce a body of work void of excess,indulgence,or comfort.
135
Towards a Universal Language
136
Towards a Universal Language
CONCLUSION
This thesis set out to track the developmentof the most challenging and anarchic
Japaneseavant-gardemusic to have developedthroughout the secondhalf of the twentieth
century. The central aim was to presenta unique account which examinedthe rise and
its
historical
in
derivation from more
Japan,
tracing
of
experimental
evolution
music
establishedstyles, approachesand genres.In doing this, I believed it would be possible to
establish a coherenthistorical lineageof the most revolutionary and subversiveexperimental
music in Japan,which would bring to light common themesand characteristicsbetweena vast
and disparaterange of artists who, over the courseof the last half-century (and frequently
independently),have sought autonomy and isolation from the dominant musical mainstream
of Japan.
From the outset, I establisheda number of key issuesthat would needto be addressed
throughout the course of the investigation. Primarily, these were related to the relationship
betweenJapanand the West'": the history and nature of cultural exchangesbetweenthe two;
the way in which historical-political relations and eventshave influenced how each society
perceivesthe other, and the extent to which these perceptionsare coloured by - and perhaps
have led to - the formation of certain stock views and cultural stereotypes.In order to evaluate
the reactionary nature of the avant-gardein Japan,it was also equally important to discuss
some of the key defining traits, and dominant cycles in mainstreamJapaneseculture
throughout history. In particular, I choseto focus specifically upon the vastly changing nature
of Tokyo over the past fifty years, examining how the Japanesemegalopolis has played a key
part - both directly and indirectly - in the history and development of Japaneseexperimental
music. In exploring the history of Japaneseavant-gardemusic as an autonomous,reactionary
phenomenon,it is essentialthat any analysis be undertakenwithin the context of the immense
transformations that occurred within post-war urban Japanesesociety.
137
Towards a Universal Language
Throughout the courseof the thesis, from the post-war avant-gardismof Toru
Takemitsu to Japanesejazz, psychedelicmusic, and Contemporary Sound Art, several
fundamental
development
Japanese
have
to
the
issues
remained
of
which
recur
significant
experimental music.
"
Japaneseexperimental music is somethingwhich does not simply directly mimic
Western avant-gardetrends, but establishesa creative autonomy often by combining
both
from
Japan
West
the
to establish
and
philosophies
aesthetics,methodsand
somethingnew.
"
There is frequently a tension that exists in Japaneseexperimental music between
indigenousJapaneseculture and Western culture. Quite often, Japaneseavant-garde
juxtapose
defined
by
to
is
how
the
combine,
chooses
reject,
or play with
artist
art
thesetwin aspects.
9
The most anarchic and challenging Japaneseexperimental music is largely a reaction
to dominant musical and artistic trends. With mainstreamPost-war Japanesemusic
dominated by either backward-looking revivalism or - more frequently - mimicry of
the current most-popular Western styles, Japaneseavant-gardemusic has frequently
developedthrough the twisting and subversionof dominant trends.
9
This more dissident side of Japaneseexperimental music has also stood as a reaction
to dominant social and political events.Japaneseavant-gardemusic, as a direct
in
it
the
time
place
and
which
of
was conceived, has been
product or expression
inextricably linked, throughout its history, to the prevailing social or political
situation, whether as direct political statementor more subtle, personalreaction.
Encompassinga period from mid-way through the Twentieth century to present,the
avant-gardemusicwithin the contextof
precedingchaptersexaminethe historyof Japanese
significantsocialandpolitical developments
overthe last fifty years.The relationship
"7 i.e. Europe
and America
138
Towards a Universal Language
betweenthe period of Allied occupation immediately after World war 11and early Japanese
Folk,
jazz
Protest
free
for
the
controversial renewal of
and
example;
modernist composition,
development
dense,
Japan's
1960s;
the
the
Treaty,
of
Anpo
of
the
and studentprotests
technological, cityscapes,and the social and cultural tensionspermeatingcontemporary
developments.
avant-garde
Any review of the history of reactionaryJapaneseavant-gardemusic must also, by
from
diverse
sound
artists
and
experimental
musicians
assortmentof
necessity,encompassa
the past half-century. Inevitably, therefore, the roll call of namescollected within the margins
Keiji
Otomo
Takemitsu,
Haino,
Ami
Yoshida,
Toru
broad
is
both
and eclectic:
of this study
Yoshihide, Toshimaru Nakamura, Masayuki Takayanagi, Masami Akita, Kawabata Makoto,
Kaoru Abe, YamatsukaEye, Taku Sugimoto, Kazuo Imai, Hoppy Kamiyama, Shoji Haino,
however,
Other
Yellow
but
Ko
Ishikawa,
magic
Onda
to
artists,
such
as
Aki
some.
name
and
Orchestraor Ryuichi Sakomoto, for example,were positively and intentionally excluded from
Japanese
While
mainstream
artists were at the
these
more
the
other
the scopeof
and
study.
during
1980s,
the
the
music
study
the
synthesiser
evolution
of
electronic
centre of
history
the
to
trace
of the most underground,anarchic and
out
neverthelessstrictly set
Japan's
avant-garde.
of
artists
challenging
Chapter One looked primarily at the immediate post-war, post-Hiroshima era,
Chapter
Toru
Takemitsu.
the
composer
the
modernist
of
work
context of
specifically within
Two examined how an avant-gardeapproachto jazz and improvisation arosefrom the
Chapter
1960s,
Three
1950s
jazz-boom
traced a similar
the
and
and
of
mainstream
development in Japanesepsychedelic music. Away from the unoriginal, popular copycat
1960s,
there eventually evolved an approach to, and perception of,
the
genre
of
sounds
group
both
that
avant-gardeand unique to Japan.Finally,
remains
psychedelic experimental music
Chapter Four focused upon the work of contemporaryImprovisational Sound Artists in
Tokyo, examining the relationship betweentheir work and the City environment around them.
While the work and,quiteoften,the motivesof theseartistsmight initially seem
evidenta numberof fundamental,distinctiveunderlying
unrelated,thereis nevertheless
139
Towards a Universal Language
it
binding
their
explicitly within a common avantwork,
and
characteristics underpinning
legacy
fifty-year
lineage.
The
this
of experimental Japanese music have
of
protagonists
garde
hegemonies,
defied
developing
and
social
artistic,
political
conventional
consistently
is
(in
the spirit ofJiko Hon 'J) free from both
sphere
which
soundworks within an autonomous
the total adherence to Euro-American trends, and slavish regurgitation of traditional Japanese
Japanese
between
twin
mainstream
music, and culture, has consistently
poles
which
styles fluctuated not only in modern times, but throughout the centuries.
Japaneseavant-gardemusic at it's most experimental and confrontational, essentially,
from
it's
by
Japanesetradition and Western
be
defined
Independence:
this
autonomy
can
mimicry. While often referencing and bringing together various forms of Japaneseand
western convention, Japaneseexperimental music is, and has remained throughout its
multiple incarnationsover the last fifty years, a statementof the new, the contemporary and
the independent.What the freejazz of Masayuki Takayanagi, Minimalism of Taku Sugimoto,
and psychedeliaof KawabataMakoto, for example, all share,is that they are the exclusive
product of the time and place in which they were created.Such works were motivated not by
devotion to existing music, be it Westernor Japanese,modern or Ancient, but by a need to
speak,and express,and respondto contemporaryJapaneselife in a way that is inherently
individual, relevant, and personal(whether consciously or intuitively).
Toru Takemitsu: `I have beentrying not to view Japanas an absolute identity but as a
duality, otherwise the tradition doesnot come alive but remains a meaninglessantique... In
the near future there may appeara new culture with a new universal scope,but it will take
time and, as I mentioned earlier, we should take our time. Too rapid a changemay result in
something lopsided.' (Takemitsu, 1995, p.67)
140
Towards a Universal Language
141
Towards a Universal Language
Afterword:
Although contemporaryJapaneseexperimentalmusic has received notable and
increasing critical attention over the last ten to fifteen years, and researchinto the work of
individual composersand musicians continuesto burgeon, it is neverthelessthe casethat
history
been
fewer
have
to
the
explore
wider
made
of avant-garde
attempts
substantially
in
Japan
as a whole.
music
Having completed Towardsa Universal Language, I would obviously be keen to see
further researchundertakento pursuemany of the various ideas, problems, questionsand
believe
If
the
the
that
throughout
course
of
study.
irmly
observationsraised and presented
in
helping
instigate
further
discourse
to
this
contribute
could
positively
of
study
publication
discussion
for
future
and research.In attempting to engage
the
as
subject, acting a catalyst
on
it
the
this
strict
confines
of
study,
within
was of course
matter
an
extensive
subject
such
with
history
Japanese
to
the
experimental music within a very specific context
of
explore
necessary
further
for
investigation
Each
the
opportunity
presents
and
parameters.
chapter
and set of
expansion.
The proposedsubject of Cultural Mimicry is one such issuewhich extendsnot only to
the relationship betweenWestern and Japanesemusic, but rather that of the former to the
instances
discussedwithin the context of
In
the
of
most
music of most non-Westerncultures.
this study - whether modernist Composition,jazz, or psychedelic music for example - the
directly
from,
in
emerged
or
artists
either
opposition to, popular Japanese
of
avant-garde
work
trends which, in themselves,merely sought to mimic and recreatecurrent Western styles.
Further researchinto the interplay between Western and non-Western music could look to
addressnot simply the issueof Cultural Mimicry itself, but perhapsalso the way in which (as
in the caseof 1960sG.S music) misinterpretations of Western musical trends have often lead
to a version or interpretation of that trend which is wholly unique to Japan.That so many
Western avant-gardeartists and musicians have often taken insight from non-Western culture
is one issue (be it, for example, in the Indian music of La Monte Young, or Zen Buddhism
of
142
Towards a Universal Language
John Cage), but that theseartists have often provided the lead for Japaneseartists to diverge
investigation.
further
issue
is
of
worthy
and experiment another
As a practising sound artist I have, for the past severalyears, been closely engaged
limited
by
to
approaches
sound,experimenting
or
reduced
the
presented
possibilities
with
by
is
2002
In
form
both
imposed
the
my
to
means
which
a
piece
created.
and
restrictions
with
Ode
Ballad
Thinman,
Installation
in
Sound
the
in
to
the
this
of
a
areaculminated
work
Art.
The
for
Contemporary
Biennial
Liverpool
the
methodologiesand values
presentedat
have
be
I
Sugimoto
Taku
by
to
continued
something
with
which
expounded artists such as
Minimal
in
Reduced
Soundworks
identify
the
the
or
aesthetic
of
with,
not
only
strongly
themselves,but the principles underlying them - most notably in attitudes towards the
Noise
Silence.
demarcation
Sound,
and
music,
of
conventional
`At presentit seemsthat silence is still regardedas sort of a horrible thing in music...
there are even a lot of critics who never talk about silence and space.All they care about and
'
is
development
the
music.
as
of
music
report on
(Taku Sugimoto, 2002, p. 69)
It remainsabsolutelyessentialto me,asit wasthroughoutthe durationof this
both
frameworks
that
practical
and
academic
within
continues
my
work
programme,
research
to inform one other. Recent opportunities I have had to explore these ideaswithin the context
of popular music will result in a number of audio releasesthis year, and have continued to
inform and fully compliment my future plans for both Post-Doctoral researchand continuing
experimental Soundwork.
143
Towards a Universal Language
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Acid MothersTemple& the Melting ParaisoU.F.O. (2002),In C/In E, Squealer,SQLR
37CD
"
Acid Mothers Temple & the Melting Paraiso U.F.O., New Geocentric World ofAcid
Mothers Temple,Squealer,034
"
Acid MothersTemple& the Melting ParaisoU.F.O., Ohio
"
"
"
"
"
"
Acid Mothers Temple & the Melting ParaisoU. F.O., Wholly Weary Flashback
Acid Mothers Temple & the Melting Paraiso U. F.O., To The Hop
Acid Mothers Temple & the Melting Paraiso U. F.O., Heroine Heroine's Heritage
Acid Mothers Temple & the Melting Paraiso U.F.O., Absolutely Freak Out
After Dinner (1990) After Dinner: Editions, ReR, ReR ADCD I
Aube, Chained Spark
"
"
"
"
Aube, Wire Trap Part II
Boredoms,The, Turn TableBoredoms
Boredoms,The(2000) VisionCreationNewSun,Birdman,BMR028
DekobokoHajime (a.k.a. JohnZorn) & YamantakaEye, YogaDollar
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
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"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
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Waterbreakers
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Legend
Kiki PooRecords,
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Haino, Keiji & Conrad,Tony, Untitled
Kamiyama,floppy (1995)E.S.P., God Mountain
Kamiyama,floppy, (1993) Gesshoku:PsychedelicKabuki, Media Ring, MGCD-1002
Kamiyama,floppy (1993) VIsualWorks,God OceanRecords,gocd#001
Kamiyama,floppy (1994) VisualWorks2: nymphohassomegreat elements,God
Mountain
Maher ShalalHashBaz,Summer
Merzbow,Iron, Glass,Blocksand WhileLights
Merzbow & Koukei (2001),Split LP, Tigerheath,meow-041
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Nakamura,Toshimaruand SachikoM (2001)do, erstwhile013
Neumann,AndreaandNakamura,Toshimaru(2001),A11)N,Rossbin,RS001
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Oshima,Yasukatsu(20(0) Songsof My Islands,Victor Entertainment,VICG-60204
Oshima,Yasuktsu& OrquestaBor6 (1997)Now, 0 Now, I NeedMust Part,Disc
Akabana,SKA-3001
Otomo Yoshihide'sNew JazzQuintet(2001)Flutter, Tzadik, TZ 7232
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Saboten,The (1999) TheSaboten,God Mountain,GMCD-033
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Sakamoto,Ryuichi (1983)Merry Christmas,Mr Lawrence:Furyo, Milan, 7432122048-2
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Takayanagi,Masayuki,SmileI Love,JinyaDisc
Takemitsu, Toru (1996) `AFlock Descendsinto the PentagonalGander' and other
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Takemitsu,Toru (2001), 'BetweenTides' and other chambermusic,ASV Digital, CD
DCA 1120
147
Towards a Universal Language
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Takemitsu,Toru (1991) Film Music by Toru Takemitsu,NC, VICG-5 129
Various Artists (2001) DeluxeImp RovisationSeries Vol. 1, ASE, ASE 02
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Various Artists (1994) ExtremeMusic From Japan,SusanLawly, SLCDO08
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Various Artists, Slut, God Mountain, GMCD-007
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Yoshihide, Otomo and SachikoM (2000),Filament: 29092000,Amoebic, AMO-SAT-03
Yoshihide, Otomo, SachikoM andYoshimitsu, Ichiraku (1998), I. S.O., Alcohol Digital
Editions, AL/SOCD
Yoshihide, Otomo andTenko (1999) Micro Cosmos:Pilgrimage, Tzadik, TZ 7222
Yoshihide, Otomo & Marcay, Christian,Sliced &cDiced
148
Towards a Universal Language
149
Towards a Universal Language
APPENDICES
150
Towards a Universal Language
Appendix. 1
Glossary of Terms
A
Absolute Antenna
Live music event organisedby Atsuhiro Ito, owner of Tokyo's influential *Off Site
in
improvisational
Held
tandem
the
with
night
at
weekends
gallery/performance space.
*Meeting at Off Site, Absolute Antenna first took place in 1999 at the Kawaguchi
Contemporary Museum of Art - an event repeatedat the samevenue again in 2000. Its
residency at Off Site beganJune 2000.
Abstract Electronica
Term sometimesusedto describethe *Ambient-like music of groups such as Dowser.
Acceleration
Conceptconceivedby Keiji Haino,which assertsthat the Zen stateof *Ma canbe
Volume
(playing
both
intensity
by
through
with
extreme
of
pure
and
music,
way
attained
force) and complete Silence (i. e. allowing spaceto dominate a composition by not playing, in
the way associatedwith the *Silence John Cage).
The volumatic,*Noise-based
work of MasamiAkita (a.k.a. Merzbow)hasbeen
his
described
by
performances
such
and
qualities,
with
some critics as immersive,
ascribed
`noise
of
nirvana'.
evocative
a
experiences,
meditative-like
As Edwin Pounceyexplains,`... it is that feeling- after overcomingthe shockof the
listening,
takes
to allow a strangekind
over
after
prolonged
sheervolume- which gradually
of calmto descendasanothersounddimensionapertureslowly opensup.' (Pouncey,August
2000, p.28)
151
Towards a Universal Language
Acid Folk
The uneasypolitical situation that so arousedJapan's radical Left-wing during the
late 1960sand early 1970s,demandeda musical outlet that, unlike the politically-neutral pop
by
felt
Even
dire
the
the
the
the
many
of
county's
unease
youth.
era,
of
epitomised
music
failed
its
Protest
this
Folk
the
on
account,
with
many
often
of
members
of
movement
music
hollow
Dylan,
the
applying
and
political
rhetoric
as
an
acoustic style of
simply copying
few
figures,
Folk's
Protest
With
the
central
many within the movement
exception
aesthetic.
have been accusedof merely practising style over substance,lacking the conviction that
during
Left-wing
been
have
this time.
the
the
radical
of
at
core
should
Relating to artists like Kenji Endo, Masato Minami, and groups like Brast Burn,
*Acid Folk was more sharp and intensein its approach.This, in particular, was characterised
by the music's far more direct and abrasive lyrics which, according to writer Alan Cummings,
`becamemore personaland intensely introspective, and the music made a corresponding shift
towards the dark and hallucinatory.' (Cummings, The Wire, Issue 186, p.32)
Ajia ichi
First comingto the fore around1887,Ajia ichi (`Pan-Asianism')cangenerallybe
*Westernisation
backlash
Japan's
during
Nationalistic
to
the *Afey!
the
wholesale
as
seen
Restoration. In contrast to the previous era's subscription to *Datsu A ron, the concept that
had advocatedJapan's `disconnection from Asia', Ajia ichi promoted the pursuit of national
strength through traditional Japaneseculture, marking a significant shift in the Nation's
collective attitude.
Aketa-no Mise
RenownedTokyojazz club. In January1985,Aketa-noMise playedhostto a seriesof
eventsheld by the notable(andoftencontroversial)*freeJazzguitaristMasayukiTakayanagi.
152
Towards a Universal Language
During the workshops, Takayanagiexplained someof the methodsand processesunderlying
his improvisedworks.
Akushon
Active during the early 1920sin Japan,Akushon ('Group Action') was a visual-arts
formal
*Futurist,
*Dadaist
Cubist
for
its
largely
reflection
of
and
remembered
collective
its
Kanbara
Tai
Numbering
members
were
amongst
artists
such
and
as
aesthetic sensibilities.
YabeTomio.
Amae
Japaneseterm meaning `love' or to be `loved'. Its inclusion within this glossary
in
his
Wilkinson
Japanese
Economics,
Endymion
the
to
who,
study
of
of
observations
relates
discussesthe Nation's history of cultural mimicry and supposedpenchantfor the Western
Takeo
Dbi,
Wilkinson
Dr
life.
Citing
the
of
psychiatrist
arguesthat seeking the
work
of
way
love, approval, and respectof another culture or Nation (one, essentially, that it aspires in
Japanese
is
fundamental
the
to
of
characteristic
psyche. According to
a
certain ways emulate)
Wilkinson's interpretation of Dbi (in Japan Versusthe West:Image and Reality), this search
for Amae equatesto the searchfor approval and a `senseof belonging' to counteract an
inherent and historical senseof isolation. `... [T]he fundamental characteristic of the Japanese
is his desire, his need,to be loved (amae) by an understandingand respectedparental or big
brother figure on whom he can depend.' (Wilkinson, 1991, p.40)
Ambient
While Ambient music might not necessarilyconstitute a hugely influential chapter in
Japan'smusicalavant-gardehistory,therewerenonetheless
a numberof musicianswho,
towardsthe late 1970s,experimented
with the type of musicpioneeredby Brian Enoand
SteveReichin the West.
153
Towards a Universal Language
The term Ambient was first applied to describea specific approachto music, in which
in
to
complete sympathy with the everyday phonic
act
soundswere composedand created
life).
(i.
the
of
everyday
sounds
ongoing
environment e.
According to Brian Eno's famousanecdote,he first becameaware of the potential for
bed.
When
heavy
his
the
to
sound
of
sick
rain outside partially
ambient music when confined
drownedout the musicplayingon his stereo,Eno,unableto reachthe volumecontrol,hadno
listen
but
to
to both simultaneously.
option
This experience,the artist has claimed, fosteredhis interest in music as ambience,and
led him to consider the possibilities presentedby real life interaction between musical and
non-musicalsounds.
I realised that this was what I wanted music to be -a place, a
feeling, an all round tint to my sonic environment. (Eno, 1993,
p.295)
Unlike canned-musicor Muzak (with which it is now commonly confused) Ambient
music, by its original definition, interactedsympathetically with natural environmental sounds
rather than simply smother them. Eno's music For Airports (1978), for example, was not only
devised to encourageboth passiveand attentive modes of listening (just as environmental
soundsdo naturally), but also `to be able to accommodateall the noises that airports produce.'
(Eno, 1993, p.295)
While importantparallelscanbe drawnbetweenambientmusicin Europe/America
and Japan,particularly with some Japaneseartists taking the lead from Western forerunners,
did developasan Autonomous,independent
this approachto soundnevertheless
phenomenon
in Japanalso.InoueMakotoandYamashitaYasushi,for example,membersof the band
154
Towards a Universal Language
I ikashu, to this end formed the experimentalensembleInoyamaland in 1978, releasingwork
18).
Records'
Alpha
on the Yen label (a subsidiary of
Other Japaneseartists associatedwith ambient music include: Dowser, Maju,
Maticomi, Mon. Goose,Neina, and Tamaru.
Analogue-electronic
As the designationimplies,this streamof New musicis bom from a digital-age
While
for
technology.
analogue
some
outmoded
curiosity and, quite often, nostalgia
based
by
Nagata
themselves
Kazunao
music
wholly
producing
content
musicians such as
like
Utah
Kawasaki,
defective
synthesisers,
others,
upon the aural output of obsoleteand
include
to
boundaries
their
audio cassetteplayers and
analogueorchestras
of
extend the
portable radios.
Anode
Although fully realisedfor the first time in 2002duringa seriesof recordingsessions
by
ideas
developed
forms
Studio,
Anode
Sound
GOK
of
a
natural
progression
of
part
at
Otomo Yoshihide, which began firstly with Filament in 1998 (a collaboration with Sachiko
M) and Cathode in 1999.
Anoderepresents
an approachto musicthat,accordingto OtomoYoshihide,attempts
to eliminate time as the central factor of a composition or performance, focusing instead upon
a consideration for space. Fundamentalto Anode, is Otomo Yoshihide's attempt to
deconstructthe role of the musician, not only focusing upon spacerather than time but, in
doing so, confounding expectationsin terms of the musicians' physical and expressive
participation.
13 Alpha Records established
by HosonoIlaruomi, a memberYellowMagic Orchestrawith
was
Ryuichi Sakamoto.
155
Towards a Universal Language
Removing sound systemsand P.A. s was the first step to this. Rather being situatedon
in
large
circle around the chosenvenue, and any player
a
placed
were
stage,musicians
Otomo
In
individual
her
his
speaker
system.
addition,
own
or
needing amplification given
issuedevery musician a set of rules: -
1. Do not react to the soundsthat others make.
2. Do not usemusical vocabulary such asphrases or rhythm.
3. Do not create a "story. "
(Otomo Yoshihide in Improvised musicfrom Japan, 2003, p.E-16)
Essentially, theserules constitute Otomo's attempt to prevent participants from
The
habitual
time-based
their
to
arrangements.
removal of a
upon
reliance
resorting
designatedperformancespace(stage),or single sound source(PA system)also meant that
listeners would hear different versions of the sameperformance,depending upon where they
in
were the room.
theoryof
Froma certainperspective,this might be seenin relationto Roland13arthes'
19,
is
determined
by
Author'
the
the
`Death
the
each
of
performance
the
nature
since
of
individual
discovery
the
the
each
undertakeswhen
of
act
audience,and
experienceof
listening, rather than the intent of the performer or composer. Despite this however, Otomo is
keen to point out that he is not opposedto artistic self-expression(as many *Onkyo artists are
his
belief
it
is
in
fact
be),
that
to
a musician's responsibility to be
asserts
and
presumed
expressive.(Yoshihide, 2003, p. E-17)
119Published in Roland Barthes 1977 volume Image, Music, Text,the Death of the Author represents
Barthes' Post-Structuralist theory that the author is `dead'. According to Barthes, the author exists as a
being
than
the
text
text,
the
product of the author - or, in other words, the author's aims
rather
result of
upon writing are irrelevant when it comesto reading and interpreting a text. A piece of writing should
be unbound and unhindered by the intentions of the author, free to be interpreted by the reader, whose
own individual experiencesand understandingof language inform their personal perception of the text.
'To give a text an Author is to impose a limit on that text, to furnish it with a final signified, to close
the writing... Words, like music, have no set meaning, and are open to infinite interpretation and
ambiguity.
156
Towards a Universal Language
inhabit
between
be
to
the
Anode
grey area
In many ways,
perceived
might
by
likened
Otomo to the methodology
been
has
improvisation and composition, and
Filament
M
by
Sachiko
their
project.
on
employed
Anpo
during
in
Japan
the early
tensions
Amongst the many social and political
present
1960s,issuessurrounding the U. S.-Japan Security Treaty (Anpo) were perhapsparamount.
The renewal of Anpo in 1960 brought public frustrations to a climax, particularly amongst
membersof the New Left, and triggered a seriesof student-led protestsand riots of an
in
Japan.
ferociousness
unprecedentedscale and
For many Japanese,renewing Anpo was enough to quickly snub out any glimmer of
in
Nation's
during
fostered
been
had
the
the
course of
recuperation
hope, however slight, that
the 1950s.
For thoseopposedto its restoration,the continuingpresenceof Anpo underminedany
independent
Feelings
begun
had
Japan
social
to
of
country.
new,
as
a
make
progress
of
sense
frustration,
first
then
to
to
`impotency'
and
anger, as a growing number
gave
rise
and political
held
by
US
disillusioned
to
the
the
sway over
to
the
which
still
took
extent
streets,
of radicals
Japan120
Anti-music
Developed as a key principle of *Group Ongaku, the notion of Anti-music is clearly
from
John
in
the
western
avant-gardists,
ranging
of
pre-eminent
work of an array
mirrored
Cage to Brian Eno, the *Fluxus group to Sonic Youth. In broad terms, Anti-music represents
the frustrated convictions of certain artists to challenge the prevailing, unthinking acceptance
be
Why
ensnaredwithin the confines of scales
should
music
conventions.
of age-old musical
is
difference
What
between
the
real
practise?
sound and noise, or
and standardisednotational
120
Despitethe official withdrawalof OccupyingU.S. troopsin 1952.
157
Towards a Universal Language
be
Why
received as music, or music be apprehendedin the
noise
not
music?
should
noise and
sameway as everyday environmental sounds.
*Indeterminacy, *Chance Operations,*Automatic Systems,*Graphic Compositions,
Generativemusic, Short Form and Instructional Notation illustrate someof the approachesto
sound that might be regardedas part of the century-long history of anti-music. The concept of
Anti-music, is one that attemptsto raise questions,undermine academicand popular
complacency, and shift the boundariesand expectationsthat inhibit an understandingof
music, sound and noise.
Art-Punk
Contemporary Japanesemusic influenced by UK bands such as The Fall and The
SwellMaps.IncludesbandssuchasPukaPukaBrains.
Asakusa Opera
Generic term for popular Japaneseopera during the Taishö period.
Aural Iconography
Primarily,theconceptof Aural Iconographyrelatesto the useof (musical)sound
within a compositionto represent,symbolicallyor metaphorically,a physicalattributeor
object.
ModernistcomposerToru Takemitsu,for example,basedthe structureof his
compositionArcfor piano and orchestra12'
uponthe contentandlayoutof a traditional
Japanesegarden.
121Toni Takemitsu's Are cycle for
piano and orchestra (1963-76), in its final incarnation, consisted of
six movements:Pile (1963), Solitude (1966), Your Love and the Crossing (1963) (all of which formed
Arc Part 1], Textures(1964), Reflection (1966) and Coda...Shall beginfrom the
end (1966) [Arc Part
11].While Pile and Your Love and the Crossing were first played in 1963 by
pianist Yuji Takahashi (to
whom they were also dedicated),and Textures in 1964, it neverthelesstook until 1977 for Arc to be
performed in its entirety.
158
Towards a Universal Language
While the featuresof the gardenare representedby various elementswithin the
describes
Yuji
the
the
the
physical
piano
movement
of
of
pianist
central
sound
orchestra,
Takahashi as he strolls, metaphorically through the grounds.
Elementsof the gardensuch as rocks, trees, flowers, sand,and even the particular
manner in which Takahashiwalks122,are all representedaurally throughout the courseof the
piece by various tonal and compositional motifs.
Are is also is divided into two distinct sections,denoting the point at which `Mr
Takahashi' reachesone side of the garden,turns around, and comesback the other way. This
by
heard
is
fact
direction
features
the
that
turn
compositionally,
marked,
of
and
change
about
throughout the first section (elementsin the music that representa certain rock or tree, for
back.
in
Symbolically, the walking figure of
the
on
way
order
example), are revisited reverse
the pianist is now on his way back, going passedthings he saw on his way into the garden.
The concept of Aural Iconography might also be applied to the *Sadomasochistic
imagery employed by *Japanoise artists such as Merabow, Masonna and The
Gerogerigegege.Beyond simply constituting a sensationalistalbum-cover-aesthetic,it has
been argued by artists and critics alike that the link betweenNoise music and S&M or
bondage is much more profound - symbolic, perhaps,of the sadomasochisticrelationship
sharedbetween noise musicians and their audience.
Automatism
Improvisational method first practised in Japanby Takehisa Kosugi and other
members of *Group Ongaku during the early 1960s.Fundamentally the practise of
*Indeterminate methods in performanceand composition, Automatism has been identified
closely with *Surrealism (automatic writing), modernist art music (the *Chance Operations
of John Cage, for example) and Abstract Expressionist painting (e.g. Action Painting).
122
`Hehasa uniqueway of walkingthatresembleslimping, which is importantin this piece.' (Burt,
2001,p.103)
159
Towards a Universal Language
Avant-Folk
Artists: Yuji Katsui; Vita Nova
Avant-pop
Artists: Adi; After Dinner; Katra Turana; "a-Ha-Ha;
Haniwa Chan; Arepos;
Haco; HappinessProof, Hikasu; YukaMurakami; Mishio Ogawa; P-model
Avant-Rock
Artists: Dowser; Norman Yamada
Avant-Weirdness
Artists: Violent OnsenGeisha
160
Towards a Universal Language
B
Banjin
Translatedto mean`barbarians',Banjinwasa word usedto describeWesterners
duringthe nineteenthcentury.
Beat-Hippie
Proposedgenre from the NaganoMountain region of Japan.Includes artists: Nanao
Sakaki; Nipponia Nipon; Buzoku; Jiyu Minken; Freakout
Bishü-itchi
Arata Isozaki123describesthe concept of Bishü-itchi in relation to the art of Taro
Okamoto,andthe "bipolar oppositionalist"approachto paintinghe developedduringthe
early 1950s.Accordingly, Bishü-itchi is said to be, `... the simultaneity of beauty and ugliness
the traditional sensesof beauty.' (Arata in Monroe, 1994, p.28)
of
one
...
Biwa
Traditionalfour stringedlute-likeinstrumentplayedwith a largetriangularpick,
which provides a melodic line to musical performancesof the *Gagaku ensemble.Also
central to performancesof the *Heike Monogatari.
123
In AlexandraMonroe's(ed.) publicationScreamAt theSky:JapaneseArt Af er 1945.
161
Towards a Universal Language
Bugaku
Japaneseorchestralmusic which, void of any vocal melody, is used as a traditional
in
dance.
When
for
a solo context (i. e. as music in its own right,
performed
accompaniment
Kangen.
known
is
dance)
this
as
samemusic
without
Bunraku
Like Noh and Kabuki, Bunraku is a traditional form of Japanesedrama performed
with musical accompaniment.The predominant form of Bunraku is *Joruri.
It was, by the artist's own admission,his witnessing a Bunraku performancefor the
first time, that led composerToru Takemitsu to consider Japanesemusic in a favourable light.
Until then, as a young man, he had purposefully avoided any contact with his country's
traditional musical heritage.
Havingbeingcalledinto Nationalserviceat the ageof fourteen(servingin a military
mountain base),the composer's wartime experienceshad left him fiercely bitter about Japan's
wartime government, and his country's participation in the Pacific war. The aggressive
promotion of traditional Japaneseculture by the Nationalist regime, and its propagandistic
control of artistic production, meant that for a long time Takemitsu avoided any contact with
this musical heritage, looking longingly to the West instead,and defining his own expressive
languagethrough the music of Debussyand Messiaen.
124,
however,it wasat somepoint in the 1960sthat
Accordingto a numberof accounts
theyoungcomposercameacrossa Bunrakuperformance,andfoundhimself- in spiteof his
prejudices - attracted to its music: particularly the melodic and tonal qualities of thefutazao
shamisen- an instrument integral to the Bunraku orchestra.
13unraku-like
(or ningyo-joruri)performances
of the *HeikeMonogatarl,canbe
tracedbacka numberof centuriesto traditionsmaintainedby travellingminstrels.Justas
thesewanderingmusicianswould travel the countryrelatingold folk talesto *Biwa
124
For example,seeNoriko Ohtake'sCreativeSourcesfor themusicof ToruTakemitsu,1993.
162
Towards a Universal Language
in
land
did
tradition,
trek
the
too
similar
a
accompaniment,so
puppeteers,
performing their
dramas. While it is widely thought that the two traditions convergedat somepoint, just when
exactly isn't quite clear. What evidencethere is, suggeststhe first Bunraku theatrewas
establishedby Takemoto Gidayu in Osaka, 1684,and the centuriesthat followed, the tradition
has enjoyed a number of revivals - notably during the *Edo period.
In 1966 the National Theatre in Tokyo gave the genre its own dedicatedresidence
which, in 1985,was relocatedto Osakawith the opening of the National Bunraku Theatrer25.
Bunten
JapaneseMinistry of Education, responsiblefor the teaching of music and the arts in
Japan.By the 1920sBunten had establisheda moderate,traditionalist, and largely inflexible
European-styleSalon system for fine art.
Butoh
A number of popular ideasexist in relation to Butoh: -
"
That the imageryandemotionsconjuredup by Butoh,areredolentof an earlier,darker,
pre-moderntime in Japan.
"
That, in line with the ideasof *ObsessionalArt, the enigmatic nature and dark
characteristicsof Butoh performancereflect, to some extent, the loss and anxiety
experiencedby its founder, Tatsumi Hijikata. The death of his sister as a child in
particular, had a profound effect upon Iiijikata, and upon his approach to movement and
dance.As the artist himself explains: `I keep an older sister inside my body... When I
am
immersed in creating a dance, she scratchesaway the darkness inside me.' (1lijikata,
cited
in Monroe, 1994,p. 192)
'u UsefulResource:htm://www,sapecraft.
com/puppetry/4efinitionsil3unraku
his html
163
Towards a Universal Language
One of the key founding principles of Butoh, is to transcendthe constraintsof both
Japanesetraditional and Westernmodern dancealike.
The drive to enforce, establish,and reaffirm self-identity remains at the core of
Butoh, just as it doesthe other Japanese*ObsessionalArts - all of which focusedupon
the needto define and re-statea senseof personal autonomy.
Butoh, like other forms of undergroundand avant-gardeperformance,can be regardedas
levels:
development
of
on
a
number
a reactionary
1. As a reaction against Westerncultural and political hegemony,and the imposition of
foreign power in Japan.
2. In relation to the Cold war fears of nuclear war posedby the USSR and USA during this
feel
justification
key
had
The
Japanese
to
the
uneasy,
of
given
number
particular
period.
US military installations that were stationed in Japan.
3. The effectof Westerntechnologyand industrialisation,as it threatenedto disruptthe
traditional unity between nature and mankind that many felt existed in Japan.
Ina recentreviewof the ImprovisedmusicFromJapanbox set'26critic Biba Kopf
,
drew attentionto the work of KazuoImai -a musicianwhoseexemplarymusicalbackground
hasseenhim studyunderthe tutorshipof seminalimprovisersTakehisaKosugiandMasayuki
Takayanagi.The dark `primitive longings'inducedby Imai's useof foundmaterialswere,
accordingto Kopf, akin to the primordialemotionalandphysicalcharacteristics
of Butoh.
(Kopf, in TheWire,Issue216,February2002,p.50).
126
A limited editionten CD set,releasedin 2002on the `ImprovisedMusic FromJapan'label(IMJIOCD).Only 800wereissued.
164
Towards a Universal Language
165
Towards a Universal Language
C
Canterbury
Bands
British progressiverock genre, encompassingbands such as Caravan, Hatfield and
the North, and Soft Machine, who, along with other similar artists, came from the Canterbury
areaof England during the late 1960s.As with severalentries in this glossary, Western
commentators,in attempting to get to grips with certain facets of JapaneseNew music, have
found it necessaryto draw direct comparisonswith (outwardly similar) movementsfrom
Europe and America.
Whether basedupon aesthetic,formal, factual, or superficial assumptions,Japanese
bandsthat for one reasonor another have been associatedwith this British prog-rock subcategory, include Masque; Soft WeedFactor; Piranezi.
Cathode
Collaboration (1999-2000) betweenOtomo Yoshihide, Ko Ishikawa (player of the
traditional *Sho) and Sachiko M. Inspired by the latter's so-called *Subtraction Concept,
Cathode was also the springboard for later Otomo Yoshihide releases/projects,including
*Ensemble Cathode and *Anode.
Chamber Rock
Artists: Pou Fou; Lacrymosa; Zypressen
Ch'an
Religioussectthat developedin Chinaaroundthe early sixth-century,centredupon
the teachings of Indian Monk Bodhidharma. It was Bodhidharma who applied the name
Ch'an, which derivesetymologicallyfrom the Sanskritword for meditation:Dhyana.During
166
Towards a Universal Language
the late twelfth century, Chan was welcomed into Japaneseculture by the ruling military
Shogunate,renamed *Zen with referenceto both its Chan origins, and the principle of
*Zazen (a Japaneseterm for meditation).
Chance Operations
While studying music, things get a little confused.Soundsare
no longerjust sounds,but are letters: ABCDEFG. ' (Cage,
1973,p.165)
Highlightingwhat might be thoughtof asthe semanticdifferencesbetweensoundand
music, the quote above by John Cage outlines the very musical conventions he sought to
displace throughout his creative life: the structuring, restraining, and limiting of sound
through its confinement within a language-basedsystem.Emphasisedin particular, was his
dissatisfaction with the way in which dominant modes of listening to and making music
largely
Traditional
score was posited as a restrictive convention,
unchallenged.
remained
for
the blinkered, culturally conditioned ways of listening that result.
responsible
partly
In attempting to break down musical conventions in the mid-twentieth century, a
in
Europe
America
and
confronted traditional
of
experimental
composers
number
compositionalmethodsby removingintentionandcontrol from the processof makingmusic
andsound.
Christian Wolffe, for example, wrote score vertically down the page, while asking
musiciansthat theybe readandplayed(asconventiondictates)horizontally,while Cage
himself producedpiecesgovernedChance,*Indeterminacy,andhis viewson *experimental
music.
Chance Operations - developedthrough his experience of the *1-Ching and classeshe
attendedunder the tuition of Zen master Daisetz T. *Suzuki - removed the pre-determined
natureof musictraditionallyenforcedby songstructuresandmusicalnotation.Throughthis,
not only was soundlifted out of its musicalcontext,andthe semanticinfluenceof written
167
Towards a Universal Language
for
Chance
but
the
devalued,
potential
artistic
self-expression.
was
also
removed
music
Operations essentially cut off the influence of the author by removing the rules and principles
of authorship.
Chikuzenbiwa
Closelyrelatedcousinof the lute-like*Biwa instrument,designedduringthe *Meyi
era.
Chipangu
Nameby which Japanwasknownin Europeduringthe middleages-a period'27
isolation,
Nation
in
the
the
of
self-imposed
refusing any contact with the
was
midst
when
outside world savethe country's small community of Dutch settlers.
Fromthe time of its writing duringthe Renaissance,
until the latterpart of the
his
journeys
(1254-1324)
Oriental
Marco-Polo's
account
of
continued to
nineteenth-century,
have profound influence upon Western perceptionsof the East. Published and edited by
nineteenth-century Orientalist Henry Yule (1820-1880), The Book of Ser Marco Polo, the
Venetian,Concerning the Kingdoms and Marvels of the East, remained for many years one of
the few texts to offer any prolonged account of Asia, despite being written in the thirteenthcentury. Shapedby the author's wonderment at the material riches he finds, and mystical
it
is
lands
he
the
clear why the chronicle of Marco Polo was so
of
otherness
encounters,
popular amongstthe Orientalists and Exoticists of the nineteenth-century.
While the fundamental characteristicsof Chipangu are basedupon fantasy and
predominantly fetishistic, its ideals neverthelessstill mark an insidious presencein the
writings and perceptionsof Japanin the West. Chipangu, primarily, is a make-believe oriental
land of rich and fabulous wealth; mysterious, ancient and wise, yet naive and unacquainted
"' TheTokugawaera
168
Towards a Universal Language
The
Book
Sec
Marco
Polo,
Book
in
Third
the
Appearing
the
author's
of
of
with modern ways.
description of Chipangu appearsat the start of Chapter Two128:
Chipangu is an island towards the east in the high seas,fifteen hundred miles
distantfrom the continent; and a very great island it is.
Thepeople are white, civilised, and well favoured. They are idolaters, and are
dependenton nobody. And I can tell you the quantity of gold they have is
does
king
islands,
it
for
find
it
in
the
to
their
they
and
not
allow
own
endless;
be exported.Moreoverfew merchantsvisit the country becauseit is sofar
from the mainland, and thus it comesto pass that their gold is abundant
beyond all measure.
I will tell you a wonderful thing about the palace of the lord of that island.
You must know that he has a great palace which is entirely roofed with fine
lead,
insomuchthat it would
just
roofed
with
are
as our churches
gold,
Moreover,
its
be
to
value.
all the pavement of the
estimate
scarcely possible
like
in
floors
its
the
entirely
of
are
gold,
chambers,
plates
of
slabs
palace, and
of stone, a good two fingers thick; and the windows also are of gold, so that
altogether the richness of this palace is past all boundsand all belief'29
Christian Devotional music
From the rise to power of Japan's first sovereign in 1603, leyasu Tokugawa, until the
final demise of the Takugawa Shogunateover two hundred and fifty years later (the *Meiji
Restoration of 1867),Japan's self-enforced isolationism and military rule was coupled with
Christianity.
However,
stamping
out
of
with the revocation of anti-Christian
an aggressive
128Chapter II: Description Of The Island Of Chipangu[16], And The Great Khan's DespatchOf A Bost
Against It.
129
Go to: http://www.shsu.cdu/ his ncp/Polo.html.Excerptfrom Marco Polo, Thebookof SerMarco
Polo, the venetian,concerningthekingdomsandmarvelsof the East,HenryYule, tr. (London,J.
Murray, 1871.)
169
Towards a Universal Language
laws in 1873,Christian devotional songsbecameone of the key sourcesby which western
for
into
flooded
Japan,
time
enthusiasm
extreme
any manifestation of
a
when
at
music
occidental culture dominated.
Conservative Style
to refer to the later work of composerToru
A term used by Yoko Narazaki130
Takemitsu, dating from around the 1970s.In contrast to his more openly avant-gardeand
decade,
these conservativeworks tended,
the
of
previous
experimental compositions
13'
form
least,
favour
Peter
Burt
tendency
to
which
superficially at
a more melodic
-a
identifies in some of the composer'smuch earlier scoresfor film and TV (giving strengthto
the idea that for Takemitsu, film and TV commissionswere seenas an opportunity to
in
later
ideas
he
concert pieces). [See also *Eroticism and
use
would
experiment with
*Stoicisml
Co-Prosperity Sphere
See * Dai Töi Kyöeiken
Crystal Generation
Theterm CrystalGenerationwascoinedby writer YasuokaTanakain his 1981text,
SomewhatLike Crystal. It refers to a new generation of young Japanesethat emergedduring
the late 1970sand early 1980s.Unlike the young studentsof the previous decade,for
example, this generationhad no overt interest in politics, and no expressaffiliation to any one
causeor trend. It might be said that the idea of the Crystal Generation was one of a fickle,
primarily postmodern group: deftly consumerist and fashionably uncommitted.
130
SeeBurt, 2001,p.1
131
TheMusicof Toru Takemitsu,
2001
170
Towards a Universal Language
171
Towards a Universal Language
D
Dada
The formation of groups such as *Akushon, *Gekijö no Sanka, *Mirai-ka Byutsu
Kyökai, and *Jikken Kobo standsas evidenceat the extent to which Dada directly influenced
the early developmentof Japan'savant-garde.
Dai Töi Kybeiken
`The Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere'. From around the time of the 1920s,
Japanbeganto move significantly away from the Euro/American model it had previously
)
The
War
(*Ajia
ich,
World
Pan-Asian
to,
sensibilities.
events
of
and
embrace
more
aspired
One played somepart in this shift, as did growing concern and discomfort regarding the
previous *Meyi-era push for Westernisation.
In additionto this, Europeannationshadthemselvesbegunto recogniseanddiscuss
the problems of their weakening and degenerationon the World stage.Europe's resignation at
its self-diagnoseddecline contributed to the growth of Nationalism and Pan-Asianism in
Japan.It seemedunacceptablethat these *OuBei nations, now so weak, had essentially
long.
Asia
for
South
East
so
colonised
Although portrayed as `empire building' in many Western historical accounts,Dai
Töi Kyöeiken, or `The Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere', was regardedby the Japanese
during the late 1930sand early 1940sas the blueprint by which Japanwould achieve
autonomy for South East Asia, removing the ruling presenceof Europe and America.
During the 1930s,it seemedvital that Asia be reclaimed and Western Imperialist
influence displaced. The kind of equality Japan pledged to bring to the area, however, was in
reality only `equal' for the Japanese,who widely dismissed other East Asian Nations and
deemedthem too weak to merit peer status.
172
Towards a Universal Language
Ultimately, Japanregardedits Pacific conquestnot as a seriesof invasions, but as a
South
East
Asia
from
liberation
West.
for
It
the
the
of
would place
essential
of
action
course
itself at the centre of Dai Töi Kyöeiken, undertakingthe self-assignedrole of protector of East
Asian culture - the leader and pioneer of its future.
For countries such as The Philippines and Burma, however, (who, as membersof the
`Greater East Asia Co-prosperity Sphere', should have prospered)`liberation' simply equated
to their changing status from a Western colony to a Japaneseone. Needlessto say, the
less,
Kyöeiken
little,
Töi
details
Dal
explained
of
and
even
meant
extremely vague and woolly
by
be
Japan.
`Sphere'
the
that
the
simply
ruled
would
most
of
reality
given
Dantai
Japaneseterm meaning `Arts Association.'
Datsu-A ron
Term meaning `disconnectionfrom Asia'. Refers to the period in Japanduring the
*Me#i
Restoration),
for
(i.
the first time in centuries
the
when
e.
century
mid-late nineteenth
international
isolationism
borders
opened,
and
again
were
once
was replaced by a
national
period of fervent * Westernisation.
Debayashi
One of the two musical ensembles(together with *Gezabayashi) used to accompany
of *Kabuki theatre.Utilising a rangeof musicperformedon drums,*shamisen
performances
andflute instruments,Debayashiperformers,unlike thoseof theGezabayashi
group,actually
play on the stageand are visible to the audience.
173
Towards a Universal Language
Detachment
Concept related to *Zen-Buddhism, and the attainment of enlightenment through a
*Mu,
See:
*Ma,
*Zazen,
*Zen
emptiness.
and
realisation of absence,space,
Diagetic music
Type of `on-scene' music, evident in performancesof traditional theatrical tales such
Diagetic
fulfils
be
*Heike
In
terms,
that
the
music
might
a
contemporary
role
monogatari.
as
*Incidental
in-between
the
of
realms
music and sound effects.
somewhere
regarded
WhereasDiagetic music is directly linked to events occurring within the performance
is
film,
(e.
that which exists
the
a
play),
non-diagetic
of
or
stage
music
g.
screen
of
a
space
from
is
(and
on-stage/on-screen
apart
entity,
set
more akin,
as
an
external
action
more-or-less
therefore,to incidentalmusic).
Distance
Within the contextof New music(in particular,live electronicandcomputermusic),
Distancedescribesthe supposed
psychologicalspacebetweenmusicandperformance:
involvement
from
the
any
personal
sound,
on the partof the artistseparating act of making
whether emotional or physical.
The lack of interaction, movement, or outward engagementon the part of the artist, is
common in performancesof laptop computer music (e.g. recent Merzbow work) just as it is in
*Onkyo (e.g. Sachiko M and Toshimaru Nakamura). It might be argued that this on-stage
non-performative stillness, parallels the senseof nullification generatedby the soundworks
themselves.It is a Distance between sound and expression; music and musician; performance
and performer.
174
Towards a Universal Language
Dualism
Speakingpurely in terms of post-war Japanesemusic (its reception, development,and
it
be
history
to
might
useful to simply define dualism as the
worldwide),
relationship music
between
division
things
of
east and west.
well-practised, all-too-easy
Therearecountlessexamplesof how this hasplayeditself out in practise,although,
in the main, Dualism is chiefly derived from decadesof Europeancolonialism: a residual
from
West,
divorced
far-off
land,
East
and
regarded
as
a
mystical
sees
which
mind-set
developed.
less
fundamentally
As Alexandra Monroe points out
well
civilised and ancient, yet
in her essay,ScreamAgainst the Sky, `Implied in this perception was that modern civilisation
(Monroe,
1995,
West,
'
21).
True
the
the
p.
modernity was something
of
sole
prerogative
was
be
level,
by
fundamental
Europe and America as
the
always
would
regarded
most
which, at
being beyond the reach of the Orient.
However, not only might it be said that that such perceptionsof `The East' remain
insidiously presentwithin contemporary Western society, but, also that the perceived
inseparability of Westernismand modernism continues to exist within the psyche of many
Japaneseartists.
According to Monroe, not only doesthe West have a long history of
discounting
Japanese
diminishing,
and
modernism, but, furthermore,
misunderstanding,
Japaneseartists themselveshave also demonstrateda very dualistic understandingof
modernity. It might be suggestedthat the feeling of many Japanesehas been that, since
modernism developed in Europe and America, it is only European and American artists that
are capableof actually being modem. From this perspective,modernity and The Westare
regardedto be one and the samething: `From the Japanesepoint of view, the problematic
issue is the ambiguity of the term "modern" in a non-Western context.' (Monroe, 1995, p.21)
The automaticdistinguishingof both culturalandgeographicboundariesby way of a
fact,
East/West
is,
in
dualistic
too readily andtoo easilydone,anddemonstrates
split
simple
an absenceof any real engagement
with the contextin which a pieceof musicor art was
produced.
175
Towards a Universal Language
Dutch Boom
Japaneseexoticist craze for imported Dutch products during the latter part of the
*nanban
boom
hundred
Analogous
the
to
three
so-called
nearly
years
eighteenth-century.
earlier.
176
Towards a Universal Language
E
Eastern Buddhist, The
English languagejournal first printed in 1921, which was edited and included a
significant number articles contributed by Daisetz T. *Suzuki. The Eastern Buddhist ceased
Two,
World
due
to
the
war
and returned once again in 1965 at a time of
eventsof
publication
heightened interest in *Zen Buddhism, particularly on the East and West coastsof America.
The EasternBuddhist journal is the twice-yearly journal published by The EasternBuddhist
Society, which was also establishedby Suzuki in 1921,and is now basedon the campusof
Otani University, Kyoto.
Electronic
Artists: Agencement;Animo Computer; Arow Tour; Asteroid Desert Songs;Bomb!
Synapse; Calculated; Ryoji Ikeda; SunaoInami; Chu Ishikawa; I. S.0.; Takashi Kokubo;
Microstar; Seei Nagai; <0> Blaat; Yasuhiro Otani; Pneuma; Minoru Sato; Shida
Electronic Improv.
Artists: Alma Fury/Otani/Otomo/Charles
(Franco-Japanese
electronicimprovisational
collaboration).
Electronic psychedelic
A genre which, according to writer Paul Collett, developed through the amalgamation
of Tokyo's *Noiseand *electronic/Techno
scenes,andincludesartistsandbandssuchas
`NagataKazunao,Dub Sonic,NerveNet Noise,[and]Hado"IIo.' (Collett, 2001,p.30)
177
Towards a Universal Language
Electro-Noise
Artists: Inoue Masa; Nerve Net Noise
Electro-pop
Artists: Shi Shonen; Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO)
Electro-Punk
Artists: Dousser; Peregrini
Eleki
Genre of Western-stylepopular music in Japan,fashionableprior to the *GS-boom
during the early-mid 1960s.Influenced by US band The Ventures' 1965 tour of Japan,eleki
driven,
instrumental
by
its
defined
copycat echo-guitar
surf sound, performed as closely
was
to The Ventures' model as possible. Many groups who begantheir careersperforming eleki
music, such as Sally and the Playboys (renamedThe Tigers), later evolved and changedtheir
style with the upsurgeof GS music.
Emptiness
See*Ma and*Onkyo
Enka
That Enkahasbeenreferredto asJapan'sanswerto CountryandWestern,probably
hasmuchto do with the fact that the songsarepredominantlyso melancholicin theme.Tales
of lost love,heartbreak,andemotionalturmoil run throughthe lyrics of mostEnkasongs,and
while melodicallythe musictakesits leadfrom Westernmusic,tonally the characteristic
folk.
vibratoof the vocalshasits origins in traditionalJapanese
178
Towards a Universal Language
While the origins of the genrecan be traced back to the late nineteenth-century,the
form
its
into
took place towards the end of the Taisho
Enka
recognisable
now
of
evolution
era, and into the 1930s.The palpable senseof loss and anguish that permeatedJapanafter
World war Two, perhapsgave the lamenting soundsof Enka heightenedappeal.Throughout
the 1950sand 1960s,and until the start of the country's convalescencethe following decade,
Enka was one of the most popular forms of mainstreammusic in Japan.
Ensemble Cathode
Extension of Otomo Yoshihide's 1999 *Cathode project which, in comparisonto its
had
improvisational
forerunner
Ensemble
Cathode
element.
was
a
also
predecessor, a stronger
to the innovative *Anode project of 2002.
Eroticism
A termusedby Jun-ichiKonumato describethe `secondperiod' of Toru Takemitsu.
According to a schemethat divides the creative careerof the composer into three identifiable
132,Eroticism refers to his most identifiably modernist and avant-garde
phaseduring
periods
the 1960s,when the work of contemporaneousWestern modernist composersinfluenced him
most greatly.
In more general terms, according to the `Words of Art' web site, Okanagan
University College, (http://www. arts.ouc.bc.ca/fiina/ lg
ossary/gloshome.html `erotic' in art
,
historicaltermsis definedas:-
Pertaining to sexual love or desire. Although one commonlyfinds
"erotic" distinguishedfundamentally from pornogranh
,
the dividing
line betweenthe two is by no meansas clear as etymology would
suggest (i. e., erotic from Eros [love], pornography from porne [sexual
12 An ideamostrecentlysupportedby PeterBurt in TheMusic Toru Takemitsu(2001)
of
179
Towards a Universal Language
is
debate
As
there
considerable
regarding the
a result,
servitude]).
definition and role of the erotic in such things as appetitive drive. the
fLMresentation
the erotics of engagementpeople who are
critique
libidinally driven, and so on.
Experimental music
In his seminal 1957essay,experimental music, John Cagedescribeshis initial
implied
his
felt,
`experimental'.
The
he
to
work
as
word,
objections at critics' early reference
that his music was somehow incomplete and unfinished, like the rough sketchesmade by
than
trials
complete compositions.
rather
preliminary
painters However, upon formulating his now-establisheddefinition of experimental music,
Cage embracedand reclaimed the phraseon his own terms. Removing the pre-determined
by
traditionally
enforced Western musical conventions (like song-structure
nature of music
he
`...
is
the
music
an
as
act
of
experimental
outcome
which
redefined
notation),
and
'
unknown.
Cage believed that, by reclaiming the phrasewith his own explicit definition, critics
(still suspiciousof his work) no longerownedor felt ableto usethe term `experimental',and
insteadresortedto wordssuchas `controversial'to questionits placeasmusicaltogether.
As Cage himself declared,`... in this new music nothing takes place but sounds:those
that are notated, and those that are not.' (Cage, 1973, p.7)
Experimental Workshop, The
See *Jikken Kobo.
180
Towards a Universal Language
Expo `70'
By 1970, JapanesecomposerToru Takemitsu had becomea well-recognised member
in
lannis
international
the
collaboration
with
contemporaries
and
such
as
avant-garde,
of
Xenakis and Yuji Takahashu,was closely involved with events at Japan's extravagantworld
fair, Expo `70 in Osaka.The festival provided the opportunity for all manner of collaborations
Japanese
of
proponents
avant-gardemusic getting the
and exchanges,with contemporary
Western
for
(amongst
their
them,
to
counterparts
acclaimed
with
work
chance meet and
example, Karlheinz Stockhausen).
The festival is often recountedas a seminal moment in modern Japanesehistory,
in
Japan,
but
in
it
its
influence
for
the
that
arts
upon
symbolised Japan's
noteworthy not only
post-war industrial and economic reconstruction, providing a showcaseto the rest of the
133
world.
133
Symbolisedby its famousFestivalPlaza.
181
Towards a Universal Language
F
FBI (Festival Beyond Innocence)
Taking place annually since 1996,the FBI is a two day avant-gardemusic festival,
which aims to bring together someof the world's most renowned cutting edgemusicians with
those from Japan,whether up-and-comingor internationally acclaimed. Organisedby
Kazuhisa Uchihashi, the festival is housedevery autumn at Port Island's Xebec Hall in Kobe.
In some respects,FBI can be seenas a responseto the attitude of distrust and suspicion
both
by
is
the artistic institutions of Japanand the
met
with,
experimental music generally
wider public at large (despite the fact that Japaneseavant-gardemusic has, in recent years,
enjoyed a vastly increasing international audience).FBI epitomises attempts now being made
to redressthis domestic imbalance,and develop channelsthrough which to introduce their
work to the public of Japan.
Feedback Loop
In Themusicof Toru Takemitsu(2001),historianPeterBurt drawsattentionto a
in
discussed
specifically
concept which - while
relation to the proposedinfluence of John
Cage upon Toru Takemitsu - applies to the wider historical relationship between avant-garde
art in Japanand the West. The basis of Burt's observationsconcerning the FeedbackLoop,
centre upon the argumentthat many of the stylistic featuressharedby Takemitsu and Cage,
were evident in the work of the former before their supposed`meeting of minds' (i. e. before
the working methodologiesof Takemitsu were radically altered by his discovery of Cage).
In this context, the FeedbackLoop refers to the re-importation of native cultural ideas
throughan interestin foreignimitationsof that culture,ratherthanthe direct revival of native
traditions.In Japan,for example,this might be seenin the work of post-warJapanese
182
Towards a Universal Language
Japanese
directly'34,
did
investigate
traditional
than
so
music
composerswho, rather
circuitously by studying the work of Orientalist composerslike Debussy(i. e. Western
looked
East
for
inspiration).
had
to
the
composerswho, a century earlier,
It seemsthat by aspiring to emulateWestern works which, in the first place, were
Asian
Japanese
found
influenced
by
Japanese
sensibilities,
and
composers
a way
essentially
to delve into their own cultural heritage,without directly being seento do so. Exploring
Japan's musical history via the works of the Western Orientalists ultimately relieved
knowingly
Takemitsu),
Toru
(such
the
or otherwise, of the Nationalistic
as
young
composers
baggagesuch traditions carried during the sensitive post-war period.
It betrayed a fundamentalfear of misrepresentationor misinterpretation on the part of
Japanesemusicians,who - through western Orientalism - saw a back door way to reference
their musical ancestry `legitimately', free from historical, political or nationalist-associated
stigma.
Cage's influence upon Takemitsu during the late 1950s/early 1960s,provides a prime
example of how this `loop' takes effect. The inspiration the former found in the Zen Buddhist
teachings of Daisetz Suzuki, (particularly in relation to *Indeterminacy) was emulated by
artists such as Toru Takemitsu, who rediscoveredand applied Zen-art principles to their work
principally as the result of this Western influence.
Folk
Artists: Kan Mikami; Masoto Minami
Folk-improv
Artists: Kazuki Tomokawa; Kumio Kurachi
"a Owingto the atmosphere anti-Nationalism Westernisation
of
and
thatprevailedafterworld war two.
183
Towards a Universal Language
Folklorism
Coming on the back of the early post-Meiji uncertainty that permeatedmuch
Japaneseculture at the turn of the nineteenth-century,a new musical outlook developedin
total contrast to the Meiji hunger for Westernisation.Becoming gradually more apparentas
World war Two loomed and the social climate of Japanperceptibly altered, the mandateof
theseNationalist composerswas primarily to shun western practicesand influences. Rather
in
Japanat that time - the
European
the
trend
to
predominant
than strive emulate
models intently
heritage,
indigenous
focused
their
the
these
upon
own
cultural
and
artists
was
gaze of
Japanesemusical.
It is with this in mind that nationalist composerssuch as Kishio Ilirao, Fumio
Hayasaka,and Yasuji Kiyose, amongstothers, have been comparedto the Folklorists of
Europe. Folklorism in the West, like the music of Hungarian Bela Bartok, was basedupon the
juxtaposition of various local, national, and international folk traditions, engenderingquite
broader,
its
for
in
to
traditional
create
a
attempt
universal
context
sensibilities
cosmopolitan
indigenous music.
Despite sharing a mutual concern for their respective national musical traditions
however, JapaneseFolkiorism differed most prominently in the insularity of its convictions.
As a new senseof isolationism insidiously crept into Japanat the fall of the Taisho Era,
composersbeganto produce music that reflected the nationalist sentimentsbeing expressed
throughout Japan, inverting their collective attention, and ceasingto study in Europe.
Folk-psych
Comparableto the work of WesternmusicianssuchasTim Buckley,Tim Hardin,and
Nick Drake: Ghost; Masuki Batoh; Che-Shizu; Chie Mukai; Nagisa Ni Te; Shogo Nart
184
Towards a Universal Language
Folk punk
Artists: Aoki Mari; Toshiyuki Takahashi
Folk Rock
Artists: Lucifer; Tombi
Free Improvisation
improvisation,
free
founders
Japanese
be
held
to
the
Ongaku
Group
of
are commonly
later
by
Takehisa
Kosugi
the
1962,
of
1958
member
between
and co-founded
and
active
distance
been
keen
has
Travellers.
While
Kosugi
to
Taj
Mahal
improvisational
free
ensemble
his music from what he regardsas the `illusional' and `psychological' realms of Japanese
Japanese
influenced
has
his
psych
a
number
of
notable
nevertheless
work
psychedelia,
bassist
Ozawa
Kazuo,
Fushitsusha
Imai
Chie,
Mukai
Amongst
these
were
musicians.
in
followed
Kosugi's
Symphonia
Bionic
East
who
example
Yasushi, and membersof
29)
2001,
improvisation.
'
(Collett,
favour
in
forms
Western
`standard
p.
of collective
rejecting
Artists associatedwith free Improvisation include: Exias-J; Takashi Kasamaki; Toshiori
Kondo; .4-Musik; ToshimaruMakihara; Taj Mahal Travellers; Koichi Watanabe
Free Jazz
Genre initially pioneered in the US during the late 1960sby musicians such as Albert
Ayler, Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, and Chick Corea.
is
While the influencefreejazz amongstmanyJapanese
avant-gardists
important
distinction
by
it
is
considering
an
worth
made
perhaps
unquestionable,
Yoshihide.
As
in
Otomo
whose
an
artist
own
grounding
personal
contemporary musician
between
differentiates
free
Yoshihide
jazz-proper, and the free
jazz,
free
to
music owes much
jazz-aesthetic. Commenting upon the genre's history in Japan,he suggeststhat one significant
185
Towards a Universal Language
free
imitate
jazz
is
that
superficially
as an aestheticor style, without
many artists
problem
intuition
level
the music demands.As is often the case
the
of
essence
or
capturing
ever really
difference
failure
in
improvised
be
the
the
world,
or
around
can
sometimes
music
seen
with
improvisatory
language,rather than an engagement
and
rehearsed
use
a
of prescribed
players'
improvisation:
the
of
unknown
actual
with
possibilities
-
Of course I like some of the music, but some of themjust don't
...
free
70
improvisation
is.
per cent ofJapanese
what
understand
free jazz musiciansjust play in a kind of 'imitation free jazz'
in
The
Wire
Issue
202,
(Yoshihide
August 2000, p.41)
style.
Artists - late 60s/early 70s: YamashitaYosuke(piano); Abe Kaoru (alto sax.); Togashi
Masahiko (drums); TakayanagiMasayuki (guitar) [Takayanagi's free-style guitar playing
influenced other younger notable musicians such as Haino Keiji and Otomo Yoshihide];
YoshizawaMotoharu (bass); Takagi Mototeru (tenor sax); Sato Masahiko (piano); Arakawa
Yasuo(bass);Abe Kaoru [alto sax, bassclarinet, harmonica - died 1978, drug overdose]
Other new music artists associablewith freejazz include: Aoki Tatsu;Actual music; COA;
Distoeation; Ground Zero; Shoji Hano; Dai So-on Gakudan; Yoriyuku Harada; Junji Hirose;
Kazuo 1mai; Keizo Inoue; Kunihiro Izumi; Hiroaki Katayama; Masahiko Kono; Kyoko
Kuroda; Live Under the Sky; Nonaka "Goku" & Nongenkokuko;Akira Sakata;Jyoji Sawada,
Kasuhisa Uchihashi; Motoharu Yoshuzawa
Free Rock
Artists: Chan Mami
Fükyoku Kyöhei
186
Towards a Universal Language
The aspiration to becomef-ukyokukyöhei (a wealthy, robust and formidable nation) is
largely what underpinnedJapan'sdrive for Westernisationduring the Meiji era, progressing
from mere military modernisation,to the adoption of wider social and cultural Western ways.
Funk-Thrash
TheJasons, describedas an energeticTokyo Funk-Thrash band, are a fine example of
the type of band able to develop through the underground *live housesceneof Japan-a
has
its
independent
through
enableda plethora of multidisciplinary,
nature,
scenewhich,
genre-defying music, to evolve.
Writing in Billboard magazine(June 15th,1996),journalist SteveMcClure describedFunkthrash band TheJasons as follows: -
A typical Jasonsshow seesdrumsticksflying out over the moshpit as
drummer Chatani works himself into a dervish-like fury, while Daisuke
attacks his upright acoustic basslike a manpossessed Guitarist
Hiroki cranks out killer riff after killer riff, and singer Hide climbs up
on a speaker and screamsout the song "Everybody WantsHis Hair"
as if it were his last messageto the world.
Fusion
Melding of rock, jazz and pop, influenced partly by the early 70's `electric'
ensemblesof Miles Davis, Return to Forever and WeatherReport. Tours by these bands
'shocked' jazz players in Japan,and led to artists such as SakataAkira, Chakra, and Mariah
with Shimizu Yasuaki to help `createa new direction for jazz music' in the late 70s and early
80s.
Prism has been cited as the first JapaneseFusion-style band [feat. WatanabeKen, Kume
Daisaku, Aoyama Jun and Morizono Katsutoshi].
187
Towards a Universal Language
Futurism
To those familiar with the work of Luigi Russolo, imagesof the infamous
Intonarumori ('noise intoners'), and the pioneering sentimentsexpressedin his Art of Noises
(1919) manifesto epitomise the considerablerole he and the Italian Futurists played in the
development of experimental music and soundart.
While perhapsnot inspired directly by TheArt of Noises, the Futurists' demandthat
people nurture within themselvesa more unconstrained,open awarenessof the everyday aural
environment, has been a repeatedconcern of sound artists since. Even on the most superficial
level, Russolo's call for artists to `break out!, ' look beyond `paltry acoustic results,' and
be
in
`infinite
from
*musique
the
can
of
noise-sound',
seen
variety
everything
conquer
concrete to *Japanoise; the 4'33" *Silence of John Cage,to the scratching and mixing of
turntablists.
It's no good objecting that noisesare exclusively loud and
disagreeable to the ear.
It seemspointless to enumerateall the graceful and delicate noises
that afford pleasant sensations.
(Russolo, TheArt of Noises, 1919,
http://www. unknown.nu/futurism/noi ses.htm1)
Future Pop
Artists: Demi Semi Quaver
188
Towards a Universal Language
189
Towards a Universal Language
G
Gadan
Art institution of Japanfounded during the *Meiji period. In its harbouring of
Gaden
became
focus
the
of opposition and
conformist, traditional and officious values,
byutsu
*zen-ei
*Taisho-era
for
artists.
abhorrence
Gagaku (Imperial Court music)
Translatedas `graceful' or `elegantmusic', the Imperial Gagaku ensemble,with its
flutes,
drums,
`flageolite-type'
(zither,
instruments
mouth-organs
and
unique range of
instruments), is visually as well as aurally unique. Over the last 1000years very little has
it
Gagaku
distinctive
the
the
the
ensemble,
or
of
music
make-up
changedabout either
Imperial
its
the
the
to
under
protective
watch
of
recent placement
performs, partly owing
Palace music Department's guild musicians.Much, however, also owes to the fact that
Gagaku has been preservedas an oral tradition, with conventions passeddown from
families,
For
the
the
to
same
of
most
members
group
of
centuries,
generation.
generation
have
family,
is
Togi
the
continued to populate the ensemble.
notable of which
Often cited for its influenceuponWesternavant-gardemusicians(e.g. New York
it
is
Gagaku
Japanese
Young),
La
Monte
today, evolved through the
as
music,
minimalist
culmination of three separatesources:ChineseTo-gaku (from the Tang Dynasty of the fiflheight centuries); Korean Komagaku music; and traditional Japanesesong from the Shinto
religion, occasionally performed outside of the Imperial Court at Shinto shrines and temples.
Gaihatsu-teki
Translatedto mean`outer-directed',gaihalsu-lekiwasa term first usedby Natsume
S6sekiin 1911to explainwhathe perceivedasthe differing natureof culturaldevelopmentin
Japanand the West. While in Europe and America `enlightenment' was, according to Söseki,
190
Towards a Universal Language
*naihatsu-teki (inner-directed), in Japanit had long been `outer-directed', and shapedby
observing the ways of other cultures: -
By 'outer-directed' (gaihatsu-teki)I mean the moulding of a shape
by meansof externalforces imposedfrom outside (Söseki, cited in
Wilkinson, 1991,p.40)
Gallery 8
Gallery 8 was one of the first ever Live Housesto be establishedin Tokyo, opening
in the Ginza district during 1964.
Garage (Tokyo)
Artists: Bidziliba; Broomdusters; Gaseneta;LuLu's Marble
Gekijö no Sanka
Dada-inspired avant-gardecollective founded during the mid-1920s. Gekijö no Sanka
by
intermittent
and
collaborations
performances
of
organised
several
a
number
existed as
independentavant-gardeartists and collectives. While the events of GekYüno Sankawere
challenging in the creative and formal sense,adopting many identifiably Dada-esque
by
there
concerns
raised some participants about the group's
were nevertheless
strategies,
lack of social/political engagement.
Gendai bijutsu
Japaneseterm meaning contemporary art.
191
Towards a Universal Language
George Kawaguchi's
Big Four
From around the mid-195Os,GeorgeKawaguchi's Big Four (est. 1954) was one of
the most popular native Japanesejazz ensembles.Adapting popular tunes of the time to sound
like jazz standards,their notoriety was aided by the approximate 170 performancesthey made
Japan's
(one
Hour
hbsö's
Torfis
Rhythm
jazz
Bunka
the
of
most
shows).
popular
on
at
radio
on NHK, as well as programmeson a number of private radio stations,were other sources
through which jazz music could be heard.
Gezabayashi
The secondof two ensemblestraditionally accompanying *Kabuki performances(see
also *Debayash,). Whereasthe Debayashi group performs *shamisen, flute, and drum music
itself
(i. e. the stage),the Gezabayashiensembleis hidden
the
actual
performance
space
within
be
described
from
might
as *diagetic music (music accompanying
sight, providing what
away
the on-stageaction) and sound effects. In relation to the latter, *Onomatopoeiaplays an
important function, with instrumentsand objects from the Gezabayashi'scollection used to
mimic natural ambient sounds(e.g. environmental elements like the falling of rain, or diagetic
soundssuch as the tolling of bells).
Gidayü
Traditional form of indigenousJapanesemusic
Gradual Direction
A style of play developedby freejazz pioneerMasayukiTakayanagi,Gradual
Direction is essentiallya quietandpensiveimprovisationalapproach,which standsin
complete contrast to the artist's alternative *Mass Projection style. According to Kazu
192
Towards a Universal Language
Yasutani ofJfnya Disc 135:`[Takayanagi] ... said that when one listened to a Gradual Direction
be
listener's
torn apart.'
time
the
would
and
space
of
sense
piece,
Contemporaryavant-gardistOtomo Yoshihide, a self-proclaimed admirer of
Takayanagi's, has offered his own thoughts on Gradual Direction, affirming the importance
of *Space: -
This was a methodthat shearedoff sounds,a spatial style which was at
timesperformed acoustically. And parallel to this, he had a Tristanofree
four-beatjazz
jazz guitar trio.
and
an
orthodox
combo,
guitar
style
This variety often threw his audiencesof Too extremefor jazz fans, and
too inconsistentforfans offree music.
Graphic Compositions
Pioneeredby modernist composerslike John Cage, Graphic Scoresrepresentanother
incorporating
Western
to
composition,
modes
of
conventional
notational
attempt evade
instructionswithin pictorialanddiagrammaticdesigns.
Many of the Graphic Compositions produced by John Cage were exhibited in
for
New
York,
their visual aestheticqualities. Similarly, the
throughout
purely
galleries
designs of Japanesemodernists such as TakahashiMayazumi, Toshi Ichiyanagi, and Toru
Takemitsu (e.g. Corona II for string(s), 1962136)
were also exhibited at a number of Tokyo
Museums, `exactly,' according to historian Peter Burt t37,`in accord with the Japanese
for
95)
imitation.
(Burt,
2001,
'
p.
penchant
Greater Co-Prosperity Sphere, The
See* Dal Töi Kyöeiken
135Jinya Disc, an independentrecord label dedicatedto the
music of jazz guitarist Masayuki
Takayanagi.
193
Towards a Universal Language
Greater Japan Industrial
Patriotic Association
The Japanesegovernment's concernfor leisure during the time of the Pacific war,
was driven by a concernthat workers were not receiving the necessary`cultural training. '
Ultimately, `leisure' itself was defined as non-working time during which statepolitics could
be enforced.
Through state-foundedorganisationslike the Greater Japan Industrial Patriotic
Association, the governmentsought to try and promote `cultural consciousness'by getting
factories,
to
theatre
visit
artists
and
groups
even encouragingfactory workers, etc,
musicians,
to start their own groups.
The use of `appropriatetheatrical scripts for factory use', related to the use of plays
that were contrived not only to carry an underlying Nationalistic message,but also inspire
in
growth productivity, helping to `nurture the consolidation of a work ethic.' (Robertson,
1998, p.294)
Grotesque, The
From *Edo period themesin *Kabuki drama,to those present in woodblock and
* Ukiyo-eimagery,imagesof TheGrotesquehavelong pervadedthe historyof Japanese
an.
There developedduring the 1960sa certain artistic fascination with subjects
consideredboth repulsive and disturbing by the public which, just as in the Edo period,
occurred at a time of perceivedsocial oppressionand political uneasein Japan.The
appearanceof The Grotesqueat momentswhen the nation was uneasyhas thus, perhaps
speculatively, led to it being evaluatedhistorically as a form of social protest.
136Corona II for
string(s) (1962): a seriesof overlaying coloured circular patterns on transparent
sheets.
194
Towards a Universal Language
Group Sounds (GS)
Following the excitement of The Beatles' 1966 performancesat Tokyo's Budo Kan
Hall, Japan'steenagers,like those in the US, beganto gleefully succumbto the soundsand
fashions of the British Invasion. Bands like The Rolling Stones,The Kinks, The Zombies and
The Small Facesbecamethe focus of new youth cultural trends in Japan,inspiring young
Japanesemusicians to abandonthe Ventures-like instrumental music of *eleki, in favour of
Beat and R&B-influenced pop. It is in this shift away from the surf-sound of solo performers
and instrumentalists,that the group sounds(GS) genre derived its name, as Japanesegroups
sought to emulate the vocally-led music of British and American bands.As a fundamental
in
it
helped
Beatlemania
to
particular to createa new template for teen-imageand
all,
catalyst
in
Japan,
but
throughout Europe and the America
only
which
simulated
not
culture,
was
youth
as well.
The GS era is generally thought to have lasted between 1966and 1969, during which
time the tastesand fashionsof fans and musicians alike were modelled as closely as possible
upon those of their Western peers.Bands such as The Tempters, The Carnabeats,and The
Jaguars,were idolised by Japaneseteenagerswith the same frenzied enthusiasmas many
famous visiting Western groups, owing in large part to their well-crafted image, and
faithfulness to Western musical models.
137The Music Toru Takemitsu(2001)
of
195
Towards a Universal Language
It is with GS bandssuch as The Dynamites, The Golden Cups, The Mops and Jacks
during the late-1960s,that the roots of psychedelicmusic in Japancan be traced, emulating
Western pioneersof psychedelicand Garage-Punkmusic like The Creation, The Thirteenth
Floor Elevators, The Pretty Things and JeffersonAirplane.
Unlike in the US and UK however, drug-culture was notable only by its absence,and
the mind-altering effects of LSD and other narcotics played no part in forming the
It
in
Japan.
the
was only with the passingof the GS-boom and the
sound
of
music
psychedelic
in
began
Japan
in
West,
to truly develop,
that
the
music
psychedelic
end of psychedelia
independent,
day
form.
to
to
the
an
as
avant-garde,
autonomous
art
present
continuing evolve
Gutai Group
Multidisciplinary art movement founded by Jiro Yoshihara in Osaka during the
1950s,featuring artists such as Akira Kanayama, SadamasaMotanaga, ShusoMukai, Saburo
Mirakami, Shozo Shimamoto, Kazuo Shiraga,Atsuko Tanaka, Kudo Tetsumi, Tsuruko
Yamasaki, and Minuro Yoshida.
In parallel with their New York Fluxus contemporaries,the Gutai Group can be
regardedas innovators of Happeningsand Intermedia-relatedperformancesin Japan.
Gyaku Yunyu
Gyaku Yunyu is a term used to define the cultural phenomenonof `reverse
importation', which proposesthat artists have to first achieve recognition or fame outside of
Japan,before gaining the respectof audiencesat home. As historian Endymion Wilkinson
138:
suggests
138
Japan Versusthe West:ImageandReality(1991)
196
Towards a Universal Language
it is not enoughfor individual Japaneseartists to win the esteem
...
and affection of the domesticaudience,but they must seekrecognition
and awardsfrom Europe and the USA. Thepursuit of fame beyond
one's own country is common,and in today's global markets almost
automatic, butfor a Japanese,unlessyou first gain recognition
harder
find
it
Japan,
to be acceptedat home (a
outside
you will
phenomenonknown as 'reverseimports, gyaku yunyu).
(Wilkinson, 1991, p.41)
197
Towards a Universal Language
H
Hakurai Hin
Meaning `merchandisebrought by boat', Hakurai Hin refers to goods imported to
Japanfrom Europe. The phrasereflects the idea that, while many Japaneseconsider America
to be the world's superpower(despiteoften surpassingit in terms of trade), Europe, on the
other hand, representslittle more than the remnantsof a once-powerful empire, long since
declined.
With this in mind, Hakurai Hin have come to be regardedas rich and lavish items
(depending, of course, on exactly what they are): -
In line with the view of Europe as a historic source of high culture,
European goods are consideredespecially modish... it is almost as
if European imports were regarded as a sort of expansivegarnish
to complementthe basicfare ofJapanese industrial products.
(Wilkinson, 1991,p. 85)
198
Towards a Universal Language
Han-gei j utsu
Japanese*Anti Art trend that emergedduring the first half of the 1960s.Historian
Alexandra Monroe has describedtheseartists as the "post-Hiroshima generation", brought up
amongstthe rubble and deathof the post-war, post-Atomic-Holocaust environment. She
describesthe lives of Hangeyutsu artists as being shapedby the societal turmoil that
pervadedJapanduring this time, and their position as anti-artists a first-hand responseto `this
189)
(Monroe,
1994,
'
p.
of
absolute
void.
state
Hard Core
Artists: Panicsmile; Paradise Alley; Screaming Pinch Hitter; 54-71; Cocobat
Hard-Funk Noise
Artists: Funhouse
Hard-Prog
Artists: Providence; Sillfeed; Terra Rosa
Hard-Psych
Artists: Sweet& Honey
Harsh Noise
Artists: Monde Bruits; Noise Ramones
Harshtronic
Artists:Astronics;Aube;Fumio Kosakai;Ikuro Takahashi;PainJerk
199
Towards a Universal Language
Heian Period
The Heian period in Japan(794 - 1185) is notable partly in that it marked the birth of
Corresponding
indigenous
Japan's
traditions.
with the repositioning of the
cultural
many of
in
Kyoto)
784,
influence
(now
Heian
Asian
from
Nagaoaka
the
to
of
other
capital city
countries, particularly China, beganprogressivelyto wane, and many previously imported
cultural ideas were `Japanised'.
for
This was seenin the gradual changesundergoneby JapaneseBuddhist sects139,
introduction
Kana
the
of
syllables, which marked the
milestones
such
as
example, or
foundation of Japaneseliterature. musically also, many of the styles and methods
appropriated from neighbouring cultures underwent similar processesof revision and
for
Gagaku
example, evolved predominantly through a
music,
court
customisation.
folk
Japanese
Chinese
traditions.
and
combination of
Heike Biwa
Lute-like string instrumentderivedfrom the traditional*biwa. The HeikeBiwa (also
heikyoku/heikeshikyoku) was developedduring the thirteenth-century for performancesof the
classic JapaneseTale of the Heike (Heike Monogatari), which tells of the great twelfthcentury war betweentwo mighty rival families - the Taira (or Heike) and the Hinamoto
(Genji).
Reisei Era
1989 to present.
139
Originally derivedfrom China
200
Towards a Universal Language
Herodianism
A notion developedby Alfred Toynbee in Civilisation On Trial (1952) which has
been used"° to describeJapan's initial reaction to the forcible arrival of Western travellers in
the 19d'Century. The `Herodian Principle' essentially describesa situation whereby a culture,
in
by
discards
its
faced
technically
traditions
superior
a
enemy,
or
with
challenged
own
when
its
learn
its
therefore
the
to
those
challenge
and
enemy
on
own terms.
of
adversaries,
order
[See also *Zealotism]. With this in mind, the appearanceof foreign war ships during the midinfluential
highly
factor
in instigating the *Meiji
be
as
a
seen
nineteenth century, can
Restoration. The defeat of a number of Japan'sPacific neighbours by the industrialised West,
leaders
Japanese
to
and academicscovet Western military, scientific
was enough make many
initially,
if
industrial
technology
as a matter of self-protection.
only,
and
-
Hibiki
jazz kissas.The Ifibiki wasclosed
Oneof Tokyo's seminalandmostdistinguished
down in December1993causingwidespreadpublic uproar.
Hip-Hop/Trip-Hop
Derived
Artists:Audio Sports;D.J. Krash; Goddessin theMorning;
Hogaku
Word meaningor referringto traditionalJapanese
music.
Honne
The reverseof *Tatamae, Ilonne is a Japaneseconcept which representsa person's
innerthoughts,feelings,andintentions.Honnerepresents
the thingsusuallyconcealed
201
Towards a Universal Language
beneaththe facadeof *Tatamae, so as to avoid inadvertently appearingdiscourteous,
insult
or
causing
situations,
or offence.
affecting an uncomfortable social
Horogai
Conchshell-typewind instrument.
140
PeterBurt (2001)TheMusicof Toru Takemitsu.
202
Towards a Universal Language
I
I-Ching
The ChineseBook of Changeswas imported to the West from China early in the
twentieth century, and has had a notable impact upon the developmentavant-gardepractises
in music and the creative arts.
Evolvedoverthousandsof years,the ChineseBookof Changes- knownin the West
divination.
According
Steven
forms
I
Ching
to
the
system
of
writer
a
complicated
as
Ericsson Zenith'41,if given `... a set of correctly identified circumstancesit provides us with
the meansby which we may determine the likely outcome of any given situation.' (Ericsson
htmll
Zenith, www. TheTemple.com/TheBookofChange/Preamble.
During the mid-twentieth century, the I Ching was adoptedby modernist composer
John Cage, who sought through Indeterminacyto challenge the hegemonyof compositional
inhibited
in
the
conventions
peoplesperception and
way which musical
methods, and
of sound.
understanding
It wasCage'sintentionto propagatelessdiscriminatemodesof producingand
listening to music, rejecting the preconditioned values that unnecessarilyclassified sound as
either noise or music. Through his adoption of the I Ching, applying its system of foretelling
to the act of composing music, Cagewas able to use sound in a way that was not bound by the
traditional conventions and values of Western music.
Ikaten (Ikasu Band Tengoku)
Mainstream television programme in japan (during the 1960s/1970s7)which featured
new Japanesebands and acts. Contemporary sound artist Sachiko M appearedon the show
band.
high
with a
schoolcovers
203
Towards a Universal Language
Imperial Theatre
The Imperial Theatre was establishedin 1911 to promote the developmentof
Western-style music
Impressionism
The significance of French Impressionist music in this context, is that it illustrates
between
Japan
Loop
Europe
be
*Feedback
the
and
seen
as
what might
- the re-importation
into Japanof traditional Japaneseculture, through an interest in Japanese-inspiredWestern
art.
For example, while Debussywas influential to many Japanesecomposersaround the
turn of the nineteenth-century,he himself had sought inspiration in the art and music of Japan
ideas
Debussy,
in
importing
Japanese
By
Eastern
the
of
a
musicians
were,
nations.
and other
in
ideas
knowledge
Japanese
the
that such actions could
traditional
safe
sense,re-importing
be deemedneither nationalistic nor backwardslooking.
Improvisation
Whether in relation to jazz, psychedelia,electronic music, or modernist composition,
improvisationhasremaineda centralfactorthroughoutthe historicaldevelopmentof avantin
Japan.
music
garde
Describing an early collaboration he undertook with The ßoredoms' Yamatsuka Eye
during the late 1980s,avant-gardist Otomo Yoshihide looks upon improvised music is as a
kind of haphazard,chance-like operation. As a sound artist or musician, he believes
Improvisation provides an opportunity to take away the safety net, and enjoy mistakes and
awkward momentsjust as much as those that were planned or composedin the conventional
sense.
141
Author of TheTempleof theImmortalSpirit
204
Towards a Universal Language
I like this kind of mistakecombination together, this kind of
be
I
love
is
just
improvisation
to
going
safe.
risk, otherwise
improvisation, but I'm not interested in that sort of typical
improvising style. (Yoshihide in The Wire Issue 202, August
2000, p.41)
Improvised Music
Artists: Altered States; Taj Mahal Travellers; ChJ-Shizu; Shuichi Chino; Cobra;
SusumuCongo; Nao Takeuchi; Dai-SanmyakuX; Drop Pow.+; Exploded Toys; Gnu; Ground
Zero; Gyaatees;Keiji Haino; Poly Breath PercussionBand; Takeharuh ayakawa; Akira
IYima; Jutoku Kaneko; Yuriko Mukojima, OAD, Pa-Pa; Samadhi; Michihiro Sato; Seikazoku
`Improvisation' (Derek Bailey)
Seminalbookwritten by improviserandfreejazz guitaristDerekBailey, first
published in Japanaround the time of the author's secondperformancethere in 1980. See
also: *freejazz
Incidental Music
Generallyspeaking,incidentalmusicrefersto thosecompositionsproduced
specifically to accompanyfilms, television productions, theatrical performancesand plays,
etc.
Independent Rock (early 1970s)
Early 1970sWestern-styleJapanese
rock musicto Japan,influencedby the likes of Led
Zeppelin,DeepPurple,Yes,etc.Artists: Flower TravellingBand;BluesCreation;Fried Ems,
YanagidaHim; TheFolk Crusaders;Jacks;HappyEnd;Zuno Keisatsu
205
Towards a Universal Language
Indeterminacy
An indeterminatepiece...eventhough it might sound like a
intention
is
determined
essentially
without
made
totally
one,
so that, in opposition to music of results, two performances
in
1988
Goldberg,
(Cage
different.
be
it
p124)
of will
By first adopting Indeterminateproceduresduring the 1950sand 1960s,Minimalist
degrees
flexibility,
to
of
explore
new
not
only
sought
composers,artists and choreographers
fluency and changewithin the creative process,but also to remove the influence - and
in
West
Oriental
is
It
the
to
philosophy,
often
related
the
method
a
therefore control - of
artist.
have
been
by
be
to
as
such
Zen
Buddhism,
re-imported
composers
seen
and
can
particularly
Zeninfluenced
by
largely
John
Cage's
1961),
in
Ring,
(e.
Takemitsu
Toru
who were
g.
inspired works.
Indie-Rock
Artists: ShonenKnife; Tennis Coats
Influence
Deriving from the4th centuryLatin term influxus(stallanum),which refersto matters
light
from
influence
(the
the
the
of
and
exhalation
power
word
stars),
nature
astrological
of an
becameattributable to people also from around the thirteenth century onwards. In relation to
in
it
is
the
general,
creative
arts
often quite easy to say that one artist
and
performance,music,
was influenced by the work of another, or that a particular style was strongly basedupon other
Oxford
English
According
Dictionary, influence can be:
influences.
to
the
cultural
extraneous
206
Towards a Universal Language
The inflowing, immission,or infusion (into a person or thing) of
immaterial,
divine,
kind
moral,
or secretpower or
spiritual,
of
any
flows
is
infused.
thus
or
that
of which
principle;
Influence can imply anything from mere aestheticappropriation, to the holistic
the
and
spiritual
resulting
outlook,
of
which
philosophical
cultural,
of
a
new
whole
adoption
Beyond
is
using the word as merely a convenient, yet vague,
artwork merely a consequence.
(i.
how
however
to
disparate
link
two
things
to
e.
avoiding
any
attention
as
or why),
real
way
be
insightful
both
influence
form
to
the
can
an
exercise
of
extent
or
actual
considering
audiencesof art, and artists themselves.
In her study entitled Zen in the Fies:
Interaction in art betweenEast and West
(1997), Helen Westgeestoutlines a number of significant issuesto be faced when examining
the history of cross-cultural exchangesbetweenJapanand the Occident. Outlining in the
introductory chapter some of the problems she herself confronted in her own research,
Westgeestalso succeedsin underlining the ambiguousnature of influence: -
The Scant enthusiasmto study the scopeand nature of modem artists' interests
in the Far East is probably due to the fact that influences from the East are hard
to prove. (Westgeest,1997,p. 8)
Influence is, when imposed in any context, a potentially misleading and reductive
notion, particularly since it is a term so commonly used as a woolly and vague substitute for
In
insight/explanation.
this sense,attempting to explain-away specific historical
genuine
instanceswhere East and West have influenced eachother is, as with anything else, far from
defining
Even
music and culture as products of East or West should be
straightforward.
something now called into question. At a time when global communication technology and the
easeof international travel has made the globalised world a much smaller place, there is
207
Towards a Universal Language
determined
boundaries
by
that
to
exist,
are
more
still
cultural
what
certainly a case suggest
thanjust geographicallocationdetermined.
Innere Klang
A Germanterm meaning`innersound',the conceptof InnereKlang wasconceived
by artist Wassily Kandinsky, featuring strongly in his study Über das Geistige in der Kunst
Asian
in
began
Munich,
1910,
Kandinsky
in
to
1912.
Following
of
art
an
exhibition
published
be profoundly interestedby what he saw as the underlying `inner' life possessedby these
in
his
Western
believed
he
the
of
present
art
was
not
contemporaries.
essence
works - an
Innere Klang is an attempt to sum up this infusion of spirituality in art (its importance of over
Kandinsky's
to
closely
and
relates
seriesof Improvisations,
mere aestheticconsiderations),
between
1909
35
and 1914. In the spirit of musical
produced
paintings
which consistedof
improvisation, or even later surrealist automatic writing, Kandinsky attempted to paint
`automatically', without any assertionof forethought or consciousness:a pursuit of spiritual
expressionthrough nothingness,essentially striving towards the *Zen-Buddhist stateof
*Satori.
Inside Piano
Self-madeinstrumentplayedby AndreaNeumann,a frequentcollaboratorwith
Sachiko M. Neumann's Inside Piano is made from the extracted innards (the strings, and
frameholdingthemtaught)of a realpiano.
Intermedia
Introducedin Dick Higgins' 1966essay,Intermediafocusesuponthe ideathatjust as
there are no boundariesbetween art and life, neither should there be between art form and art
form.
208
Towards a Universal Language
I find 1 neverfeel quite complete unlessI'm doing all the arts-visual,
developed
I
literary.
I
that's
the term 'intermedia,'
why
guess
musical and
to cover my works thatfall conceptually betweenthese.(Dick Higgins in
Hoffberg 1998)
According to various musicologistsand historians, there exists a traditional, almost
inseparablehistorical relationship betweenmusic and theatre in Japan.In Bunraku, Gagaku,
and Noh Theatre (to name but three examples),sound plays a pivotal role - far exceedingthat
of mere *Incidental music - and provides cues for both audienceand actor, as well as a range
of other symbolic and narrative functions.
In this senseIntermedia has long beena part of Japaneseculture, even if only because
the hierarchies placed in the west betweenvarious art forms, are traditionally alien in Japan.
As a consciouslyemployedavant-garde
strategyhowever,the introductionof
Intermedia in Japancame almost directly from Higgins and the New York Fluxus collective.
Takehisa Kosugi, a pivotal figure in the history of avant-gardeJapanesemusic (and an artist
1960s),
international
from
the
early
was a founder member of both *Ili Red
renowned
of
Centre and *Group Ongaku. Linked closely to Kosugi's own friendship with artists related to
the New York Fluxus movement (such as David Tudor and John Cage), *Hi Red Centre and
*Group Ongaku both explored the possibilities of Intermedia, simultaneously combining
music, performance, visual arts and improvisation within single performances.
Internationalism
Internationalismrelatescloselyto theFlurus ideaof Globalism the breakingdown
of NationalandGlobalculturalboundaries.As Dick Higgins explains:-
209
Towards a Universal Language
It is not simply the realization that boundaries don't count, but
boundaries.
issues
important
there
in
are
no
the
that
most
(Higgins, Dick in Munroe 2000 p19)
Illustrated by the emergenceof avant-gardecomposerslike Toru Takemitsu and
how
be
late
1940s
1950s
it
the
Kobo,
the
*Jikken
saw
seen
and
early
can
collectives such as
Japanese
radical artists.
of
generation
emergenceof a new
For centuries,Japaneseculture had beencaught up in a cycle, characterisedby
dramatic fluctuations between Westernisation(and the mimicry of Western culture) on the
its
folk
heritage
(i.
Nationalism)
the
hand,
on
the
of
e.
own
re-absorption
and
reactionary
one
Post-war
Particularly
the
generation
of
avant-gardists,was
emerging
amongst
notable
other.
in
dominant
this
to
culture
they
cycle
of
mainstream
the urgency with which
sought reject
Japan.
The principleaim wasto developan approachto musicandart (andthereforea body
Japanese
independent,
that
and
of
contemporary
representative
was autonomous,
of work)
life. In relation to the early compositional approachof Takemitsu, for example, this did not so
but
Western
Japanese
binding
together
and
musical
conventions,
of
much representan overt
independence
kind
the
that
than
of
music
production
escaped,
rather
of
cultural
a
rather
him
Japanese
Identifying
disparate
traditions.
these
as
a
composerworking within
reconciled,
the `realm of Western modernist art music,' Peter Burt has characterisedthe music of
Takemitsu as adopting a distinctly `international musical vocabulary to expressan indigenous
aestheticgoal.' (Burt, 2001)
210
Towards a Universal Language
J
Japan Bashing
Name generically given to a perceivedtendency within certain factions of Western
USA
during
1970s
1980s)
(particularly
the
the
to convey
and
economic and political media
Japan.
distrust
feelings
towards
of
misgivings and
Many Japanesehave interpretedthis as a kind of institutional racism on the part of
America who, during Japan's economic boom of the 1980s,frequently rounded accusationsof
her
international
For
behaviour
to
the
trade
explain
success
on
market.
and
unethical
unfair
both parties concerned,the tensionsunderlying accusationsof Japan Bashing (whether
founded or otherwise) are deeply rooted within the history of the two nations.
Japaneseness
How often is a painting or composition or song from Japandiscussedpurely in terms
Japanese
it's
`cultural
its
Japaneseness
to
the
the
a
artist,
of
or
as
product
relation
of
tensions142'that are presumedto underpin contemporary Japaneselife? While not denying
that thesetensions exist, (just as they do in most free-market, capitalist societies) what I am
suspicious of is the extent to which they are so widely and readily applied to any
contemporary artistic product leaving Japan,no matter what the motive or medium.
A vastnumberof curatorsandcritics,etc,seemsatisfiedto makeTheJapaneseness
of a particular thing the central focus of critical engagement,although one gets the impression
that there are some contemporary artists from Japanquite happy to field this kind of
conjecture: content to be perceived as the `other'; regardedwith intrigue; misunderstood;
speculatedover; perceived as mysterious and unfathomable.
142
E.g. conflictsbetweenprogressionandthepreservationof tradition;the ancientandthe futuristic;
spiritualityandconsumerism?
211
Towards a Universal Language
The West, it seems,often projects an idea of contemporaryJapaneseculture onto
Japanthat matchesall the stereotypesand satisfies its own historically loaded preconceived
ideas of Japan(i. e. the perception of it as a confusing and paradoxical nation, both defined
and split by thesetensions).
However, a number of contemporaryJapaneseartists have now becomequite adept at
holding the mirror up to such projections, and reflecting them back to the West - happy to
maintain, and even capitalise upon, the mystique that such speculation and misunderstanding
breeds.
in theunderlyingmotivesor
Onesuchexampleof this might be foundsomewhere
ideas
LK
U.,
(2001)
movie
released
underpinning
of recently
a kind of soft-porn-sciencefiction-parody, for which Hoppy Kamiyama143
provided the soundtrackand score.Takashi
Asai, who co-wrote and producedthe film, implies that somewherewithin I. K. U. there dwells
how
of
some Japanesefeel they are perceived in
a certain understandingor acknowledgement
the West. The film, in this sense,self reflexively picks up on popular Occidental notions of
Japan,caricatured as an ultramodern futuristic playground, paradoxically built upon the
austerefoundations of its history and tradition.
As Sugawarato someextent clarifies: -
In the West these days it seemsthere is a lot of interest in Japanimation
Tokyo is viewed as a futuristic city, abroadyou seeall these flashy imagesof
...
Shibuya or hyper-technological scenesquite frequently. Thus I thought I'd give
people around the world what they were looking for with this sci-fi porn film
that incorporatesdigital effects, animation, and an obsessionwith technology.
Accordingto the producer,the film takeson andgoesalongwith thesepopular
misrepresentations
of Japan,amplifyingandreflectingbackthe West'slong-standing,
143
Workingwith his Sabotenensemble.
212
Towards a Universal Language
is
It
Japaneseness.
not so much the acknowledgement,as
already-distorted understandingof
the calculating parody of how Japanand Japaneseidentity is perceived in the West.
Japanoise
Artists: Merzbow; Masonna; Incapacitants; Niku-Zidousha; H#o Kaidan;
Hentaitenno; GovernmentAlpha; The Gerogerigegege;C.C.C.C.; Aube; Omoide Hatoba;
Violent OnsenGeisha; Hanatarash; Jurajium; Umbilico Eppure
While much noise music, according to Michel Henritzi, can be regardedas `extreme
Merzbow),
Masami
Japanoise
bands
Akita
(e.
and
of
psychedelia'
g.
such as
versions
Hanadenshaand the Boredomsproportedly `took their cue from Techno and Krautrock. '
(Henritzi, 2001)
Japonisme
Term credited in its origins to French art critic Philippe Burty around the time of the
World Exhibition in Paris, 1867.Japonismewas used in referenceto a style of European
painting that was inspired, aesthetically,by Japanesewood blocks and prints. Katsushika
Hokusai's (1760-1849) *Manga series,for example, is thought to have profoundly interested
a number of artists as diverse and high profile as Whistler, Manet, and Tolouse-Lautrec.
Jazz at the Torfis
During the 1950s,BunkaIlösö'sjazz at the Torfiswasoneof the mostpopularradio
programmesin Japan.
Jazz Cafe Circle
Associationwhosehistory is closelyboundwith that of thejazzu kissasandJapanese
jazz-boom of the 1950sand 1960s.In 1970, the organisation banned dissidentjazz
guitarist
213
Towards a Universal Language
Takayanagi `Jojo' Masayuki after he made a number of controversial comments in jazz
Magazine (e. g. `It's my obligation to play requiems for a bunch of losers').
Jazz-Core
Artists: Korekyojin; PuzzlePunks; UFO or Die
Jazz Fusion
A Paragon of Beauty; Toshimaru Nakamura; Kaneko Aska; Motor Humming; Wappa
Gappa
During the 1970s,Japan's *jazz kissas underwent a notable period of change.As a
began
listening
heavily
to jazz Fusion, owners of the
attendees
and
generation
of
new
students
old jazz Cafes were faced with a choice; either reinvent their establishmentsto meet the tastes
face
dominant
demands
the
or
possible extinction. The price of not
audience,
of
new
and
catering to this change in trends and fashionswas clear, for example, in the media, as newly
fell
jazzland
jazz
free
jazz
journals
and
as
swiftly by the wayside.
such
established
Consequently,
with the fashionablerise of Fusion,cameradicalchangesto thejazz
longer
kissas
in
jazz
Tokyo.
the strict, austereplacesof musicalcontemplation
no
were
scene
theyhadbeenduringthe 1950s;nor werethey dark,meditativetemple-likespaces,aslate1960s*freejazz trendshaddeterminedtheybe.
By the early-1970s, buying music in Japanhad not only becamemore affordable, but
there were also an increasingnumber of music festivals, *Live Houses,and foreign musicians
available for Japanesejazz fans to hear and indulge in.
Some (but only some)jazz kissasof Tokyo quickly adaptedto thesenew tastesand
find
began
its way onto the coffeemenu;the blacked-outwalls
in
habit.
Alcohol
to
changes
wereun-blackened
andgivena coatof colour;jazz Fusionmusicfounda placeon the
turntable;andthe heavyvolumelevels(previouslya featureof freejazz jazz kissas)were
substantiallyreduced.
214
Towards a Universal Language
Jazz King Series
During the first half of the 1950s, jazz records were particularly scarce. In 1956, King
Records established the jazz King Series: a succession of releases dedicated entirely to
Japanesejazz bands.
Jazz Rock
11Berlione; Kehell; Kenso; Mull House; Side Steps; Tipographia.
Tipographica, a six-piece band featuring lead guitarist Tsuneo Imahori, have beendescribed
follows:
as
The band is entertaining, yet rhythmically the music is like a kaleidoscope
of constantly shifting patterns, with somefine drumming by Akira
Sotoyama Tipographica is as complicated or asfun as you want it to be,
taking you through mazesofjazz and heavy rock at times reminiscent of
the Henry Kaiser band, Hendrix or Fred Frith. (Mark Robinson, `The
God Squad', TokyoJournal, 06/93, p.52).
Jazz kissa
The extortionate price of collecting jazz records meant that, in the main, only
radio stations andjazz kissascould really afford to indulge.
Thejazz kissaswereofficially coffeeshops,althoughin the main,coffeedrinking wasvery
mucha secondaryconcern- an excuseto immerseoneselfin musicandManga.During the
1960s,personalaudiotechnologyhadnot yet mademusicandpopularentertainmentas
accessibleasit would becomea decadelater.In thejazzu kissasof Tokyo, not only werethe
recordsof westernartistslike Eric Dolphy andOrnetteColemanplayed,but -due to limited
fundsandspace- Japanese
Improviserswould alsooften play solo,yielding performances
215
Towards a Universal Language
that, according to contemporarysoundartist Otomo Yoshihide, were `more abstractand
185,
Iss.
(Yoshihide,
band.
than
those
p.34)
of a
extreme'
jazz cafes during the 1950swere frequentedby enthusiastsas placesof knowledge
and learning, and, as Eckhart Derschmidt explains, patrons were expectedto `be able to tell
be
jazz
`real
fan[s].
if
' (Derschmidt,
from
black
'
to
thought
they
of
as
wished
white
players,
1998, p.308)
These early jazz kissaswere seriousplacesof learning. Due to the high cost of importing
jazz
from
US,
the
the
they
took
of
on
ambience
appreciation classes,even to the
records
extent where customerswould take notes and addressthe owner as sensei.The serious,
by
jazz
the tone of popularjazz publications,
the
was
paralleled
cafes
academic-like nature of
such as Swing Journal. This kind of authoritarian disseminating and dedicatedappreciation of
jazz, while perhapscontradictory to the nature of the music itself (particularly in its popular
Western context), reflects the studied seriousnessit demandedas an almost sacred,highbrow
product.
By the 1960s,although records had becomea little easierto get hold of, they were
jazz
kissas
to
ensure
rare
and
expensive
still
sufficiently
nevertheless
maintainedtheir
indispensable
culturalrole. Late night radioshowsstill remainedoneof the bestwaysa
listenercouldget to hearjazz at home,althoughin 1969the first dedicatedjazz programalso
appearedon television,hostedby WatanabeSadao.
The developmentof Live Housesin the Shinjuku district of Tokyo from around 1965,
correspondedwith a notable change in the collective attitudes of the student population. It
was around this time that studentsbeganto turn away from the consumerist rewards and
trappings of economic growth, and develop an empathy with freejazz musicians in America
who, in ways to which they could relate, had also suffered at the hands of state repression.
216
Towards a Universal Language
betweenthe 1950sand
jazz kissas,or jazz Cafesl'4,werea popularphenomenon
1970sin Japan.At a time when personalaudio technology had not yet made music and
decade
later,
jazzu
kissas
become
it
a
createdan
entertainment as accessibleas would
in
immersed
be
music and Manga.
environment where one could
Virtually all jazz kissasboasteda vast collection of jazz records (often imported from
America) which would be listed for proprietors to choosefrom. Not only were the recordsof
Coleman
but
Ornette
favourites
like
Eric
Dolphy
played,
and
many cafesalso put on
western
limited
funds
Due
however,
by
Western
to
the
and
availability
acts.
performances visiting
kissas
jazz
featured Japaneseartists who, owing to the
jazz
live
the
performed at
majority of
lack of space,would often perform solo.
Jikken Kobo
The experimental Workshop,formed in 1951,was an interdisciplinary collective of
artists, musicians and performers whose predominant aim, set out in manifesto-style
declarations, was to see `the experimental domain of new art infinitely expanded.' (cited in
...
Burt, p.40). Despite being unawareof their existence,such declarations invite inevitable
parallels to be drawn betweenJikken Kobo and their Western Dada, Surrealist, and Fluxus
counterparts.
Membersof the groupincludedcomposersToru Takemitsu,l liroyoshi Suzuki,Joji
Yuasa, Kazuo Fukushima and Keijiro Sato, writer Kuniharu Akiyami, stage producer
Takahiro Sonada,artists Shozo Kitajiro, Katsuhiro Yamaguchi, Iiideo Fukushima and pianist
Noaji Ima.
Jiko hon'I
Translatedto mean"Autonomy",Jiko hon'I is a fundamcntallycrucial ideain terms
of the development of avant-gardemusic Japan.Written about at length by turn-of-the-
144
KissatenbeingtheJapanese
word for cafe.
217
Towards a Universal Language
(1867-1916),
is
Sbseki
Natsume
Meiji
this
notion
centred around the
century
commentator
realisation that what are taken to be universal cultural values (which, for Söseki, were those
belonging to the nineteenth-century), were actually values enforced by a patriarchal west, and
in
Japan.
Japanese
be
artists should reject the unquestioned
not
or
accepted
recognised
should
imposition of Western genres and classifications, seeking to create and apprehend works
within an autonomous context - assessing each piece in terms of its own individual qualities
and characteristics (rather than within the confines of a `universalised' Western classification
system).
Joruri
Principletype or styleof musicusedto accompanyBunrakupuppettheatre.
Junk music
Artists: Our Hour; Pugtus; Super Nudist; Theremin Orchestra; Violent OnsenGeisha
218
Towards a Universal Language
K
Kabuki
A traditional form of theatrical performancein Japan,Kabuki is notable partly for the
fact that, in 1629 (during its relative infancy), women were bannedfrom taking part. The
it
for
by
the
too
the
them
of
audience
was,
seemed,
much
members
male
attention afforded
figures.
lasted
ban,
Japan's
The
authority
seventeenth-century
which
of
refined sensibilities
development
(men
female
led
250
to
the
to
the
of
onnagata
cast
play
roles),
years,
around
fundamental
be
has
to
a
characteristic of Kabuki.
come
subsequently,
now
which,
Onesetof importantfactorsin the developmentof theart form, werethe social
tensions that shapedand underpinnedmany of the 300 traditional plays in existence.Despite
possessingconsiderablewealth and economic power, merchant classesduring the Edo period
were neverthelessregardedas subordinateto the warrior classes.The stringent enforcement
and oppressivepresenceof such feudalistic values was often addressedin the content of
Kabuki plays, most of which were unsurprisingly the product of these mercantile peoples.
The formal elementsof Kabuki draw heavily upon the characteristicsof other
traditional Japaneseperformancetypes, particularly 13unraku,Kyogen, and Noh plays (for
example, the waggish intervals often sandwichedbetweenNoh performances).
Amongstinstrumentsmostcommonlyassociated
with Kabuki, is the Shamisen,with
`Shamisenmusic' often usedto describethe musical accompanimentof Kabuki
performances.Taking the form of several recognisablecategories,including naguata,
kiyonoto and tokiwazu, music is essentialto Kabuki, although sound also (e.g., effects like
those supplied by wooden clappers) contributes significantly, providing cues for both actor
and audience(the example above being used to signal the beginning and end of a play).
Two separatemusicalensembles
are usedto accompanyKabuki performances,
each
performinga distinctly differentfunction:*Debayashiand *Gezabayashl.
219
Towards a Universal Language
Kagura
Collective name for the musical styles and conventions derived directly from the
Shinto religion, originating from the mid-late eighth-century in Japan.
Kakko
Double-headedbarrel-shapeddrum belonging to the Gakaku ensemble.
Kakushin-shugi
Summedup not only as an avant-gardeand liberal way of thinking, but also one that
during
learning,
Kakushin-shugi
Western
targeted
the Showa period as
was
was centred upon
lead
is
fluke
Japan
It
dangerous
the
that
ultimately
youth
of
would
astray.
no
phenomenon
a
Kakushin-shugi,
identifying
history
the
that
of
out
stamping
correspondedwith the
and
of
Nationalism
leading
*kokutai,
of
rise
and
up to World war Two.
subsequentpromotion of
Kansai Underground
independent
Importantmovementin Japanese
musicwhich owesits nameto the
District of Osaka from which it arose.Includes bandsand artists including Idiot O'Clock,
ZushiNaoki.
Karöshi
Deathcausedby excessiveoverwork,often associated
with working bec/salarymentypesin the Megalopolisesof Tokyo andOsaka.
Kayökyoku
PopularmusicgenredevelopedduringtheTaishoperiod.
220
Towards a Universal Language
Ke
Term usedto define ordinary working time in Japan.
Kimi ga yo
Japanesenational anthemcomposedshortly after the *Meyi Restoration, which, to a
large extent, explains it's recognisablywestern character- despite being co-composedby
Japanesemusicians.
Kindai Hihan
Intellectual movement in Japanmost notable for its activities during the 1970s.One
in
their
notable concerns,expressed member Karatani Kbjin's analysis The Origin's of
of
modern JapaneseLiterature, was in striving to establish a senseof modernism in Japanthat
was detached- critically, theoretically, and in practice - from associationswith that of Europe
and the US. According to Karatani, there is/was a tendency in Asia to associate
despite
fact
it
Westernism,
from
derived
the
that
which
with
was
modernitylmodernism
there - neverthelessleads to fundamentalmisapprehensions(the primary being that, because
Japan is obviously not Western, it therefore cannot subsequentlybe truly modernist).
Many of the principlesof Kindai Hihan reflecta desireto seea perceptionof, and
approachto, creative art that is fundamentally autonomous: not regressivein the Nationalistic
sense,enforcing traditional folk culture as popular culture; nor always assessedin terms of its
adherencewith, or departurefrom, dominant western artistic models. Parallels Natsume
Söseki's concept of *Jiko lion 'l(autonomy) several decadesearlier.
Kindai no chökoku
Translatedroughlyas `overcomingmodernity',Kindai no Chökokuwasthe title of a
significantacademicconferenceheld in Kyoto, 1942.Essentially,the centralaim of the forum
wasto evaluatethe nature,andfuturedevelopment,of modernityin Japan-- lookingto
221
Towards a Universal Language
lead
West,
followed
blindly
the
future
the
that
of
nor simply resisted
establish a
neither
indigenous
(in
favour
folk
danger
the
tradition).
of
restoration
of
modernisation as a western
Attendeesat the conferencesought to pioneer a future for Japanthat was both forward
looking and modern, yet autonomousin its independencefrom Western development:
future
life
in
Japan.
and
contemporary
representativeonly of
As Alexandra Monroe explains in her opening chapter to Scream at the Sky: -
The Kyoto debate was the culmination of decadesof intellectual
protest against Westernpolitical, economic,and cultural influence in
Asia. On one hand, this movementgrieved the passing of traditional
Japanesevalues in the wake of industrialisation on another hand, it
...
ideals
defended
leftist
to
which
revolutionary
a
was related
modernisationprocess that relied neither on Westernmodelsnor
1994,
forms.
(Monroe,
traditional
p.23)
reified
In relationto this, seealso*Autonomyand*Jiko hon'i.
Kitsch pop
Artists:00100
Koan
An important facet of Zen is in learning how to rise above perceptionsof every day
logic and reasonand, ultimately, realise that the only way to truly understandthe world is
through illogical, enlightened means- by realising that the world cannot be understood.
Koan, the illogical or paradoxical question, is an essentialway of learning how to attain this
outlook.
222
Towards a Universal Language
Kbba (köjo) Engeki
Köba (käjo) Engeki (Industrial Drama). The `industrial drama' genre of theatre
emergedduring the early 1940sas a way to try and inspire a `communal work ethic', and
increaseproductivity levels towards Japan'swar effort -a further example of the Stateusing
art to fulfil its own ends.
Kokufu Kabu
Also known as `Pure Japanesemusic' and `JapaneseSong Dance', Kokufu Kabu is
linked traditionallywith both ShrineandCourtceremonies,
andis musicfeatureingboth
vocal and instrumental elements.
Kokugaku
Term meaning `National music'.
Kokumindötoku to Naru Tehon
During World war Two, the theatrewaschargedwith the responsibilityof helpingto
turn citizens away from the West and towards the tenetsof JapaneseNationalism, becoming
to nanutenon-a shiningexampleof public
what hasbeenidentifiedaskokumindötoku
honour.
probity and
Kokusaika
Japanese
termtranslatedinto Englishto mean`Internationalisation'.
Kokutai
This idea,meaningNationalPolity, becameincreasinglyimportantduringthe
*Showaperiod,whenthe fearof foreigninfluenceandprogressiveness
(*kakushin"shugi)
223
Towards a Universal Language
becamea causefor panic and deepconcernamongstthe ruling stateauthorities in Japan.
Kokutai centredupon the centrality of state,and led to the imposition of the strict Nationalist
regime dominant throughout Japan'sWorld war Two campaign.
Kokyu
Bowed string instrument
Koto
Derived from the ChineseCheng,a zither-like instrument imported into Japanaround
the time of the eighth-century, the Koto was first commonly played by blind musicians in the
courts of the Edo Period (1603 - 1868). It was during this time that Yatsuhashi Kengyo (1614
it
for
first
1685),
Koto,
instrument,
by
the
the
time
a
master
utilised
of
as
a
solo
and the end
of the *Edo period two major schoolsof Sokyoku(Koto music) had been established:the
Ikuta and the Yamadaschools.The Koto, which has thirteen strings and thirteen movable
bridges to alter pitch and tone, also becamerequired learning for women of the Samuraiclass.
Ko-tsuzumi
Type of drum.Oneof the four instrumentsthat makeup the musicalensembleusedin
Noh theatre.
Krautrock
As if the application and legacy of the Krautrock designation was not stretchedfar
beyond all usefulnessanyway, commentators,writers, and other's in the know' have
also
found it necessaryto tar Japaneseartists with this already over-used brush (when,
perhaps,the
effort to find both a new brush and whole new variety of tar should have been made). As it
stands,the term Krautrock, familiar as it is, is already traditionally applied with referenceto a
range of bandsand musicians whose pioneering work, across a hugely diverse spectrum,
224
Towards a Universal Language
defies such bland and easycategorisation.To look at Japanesebandssuch as Bambi Synapse
and SunaoInami, as being Krautrock inspired, therefore, gives way to more questionsand
issuesthan it usefully resolves- evidenceprimarily not only of the unimaginative lazinessof
those wielding such easy, all-encompassingclassifications, but also that the Eurocentric
tendency to assessproducts of its cultural `other' according to it's own conventions,practices,
and traditions (a long practisedWesternmodernist tendency).
22$
Towards a Universal Language
L
Language
There's very little to dispute about the fact that, if one were to make a number of
history
fifty-year
they
the
of
popular
music,
would almost
approximate
about
assertions
certainlyincludethe following: -
"
pop music is predominantly song-based.
"
language-based
(i.
have
e.
words/lyrics)
pop-songsare predominantly
"
The languagepredominantin themostpopularpop-songsis English(or, for
quibblers,American-English).
For non-English speakingmusicians wanting to emulate English/American rock and
lyrical-dialect
be
how
it's
difficult
their
to
trends,
significant
chosen
see
might
not
pop
-
for
especially thosewith onean eyeon globalsuccess.
Theseissueswereparticularlywell debatedin Japanduringthe late 1960sandearly
language
1970s.Themain questionbeingaskedwas,essentially,whetheror not the Japanese
it
being
fit
Euro-American
to
was
capable
pop:
of
squeezed
moulded
and
could accommodate
the standardmelodicrequirements,
andeight-beatstructures,that hadevolvedfrom the
English-speaking
dissimilar
linguistic
of
sensibilities
completely
pop?
Predictably, the answer to this was, and still is, no answer at all. Whereasa number of
1960s*GS bands(e.g. HappyEnd),for example,stuckby their nativelanguage(modifying
only by way of an addedEnglish-stylelilt), the majorityof othersoptedto write andsing
wholly in - sometimesquite awkward - English.
The fact that this adoptionof the Englishlanguageis highlightedherefor its
however,is by no meansan attemptat derision,or the productof
occasionalawkwardness,
someEurocentric,Westemistconceit.Conversely,what it seeksmoreusefullyto draw
226
Towards a Universal Language
from
is
frequently
to
the
argument
within Japan,concerning the negative
attention
voiced
impact of Occidental culture, and its mass-importation,upon indigenous Japanesemodernism.
While the scopeof this issueis exceptionally broad, and the argumentsdeep-rooted,
perhapsthe criticism most relevant here concernsthe perceived incompatibility of certain
uniquely Japanesesensibilities, with those of the foreign culture it imports. Again, this idea
can be applied on a number of different levels, but in the least abstract sense,the proposed
insensitivity of modem hi-fi technology (with the focus upon optimising Western sounds,
supposedlyrendering it deaf to the tonal subtletiestraditional Japanesemusic) offers one
example.
With this in mind, the influence of the English languagehas been regardedas a
similarly invasive presence,partly responsiblefor preventing Japanesepop music from
following its own independentcourse- developing, instead, after Western models. Notorious
sound artist Keiji Haino is one notable proponent of this critique, stating in an interview for
music journal The Wire: -
If they sang in Japanesejust once, they'd soon realise that rock
'n' roll won't fit into eight-beat rhythms. And if they'd realised
that then I believe that all they could do would be to develop
new rhythms. That would have created Japaneserock (I laino,
in Cummings, July 2002, p.36)
In the non-pop realms of the avant-garde,however, the centrality
of spoken language
and linguistics is not so much an issue for concern, as it is the subject of exploitation,
subversionand evasion.
As canbe paralleledelsewherein the world of experimentalsound,Japanese
New
musicianshaveemployeda plethoraof strategiesandtechniquesto nullify languageasa
restrictiveconvention,andcreatenew modesof personal,independent
andautomatic
227
Towards a Universal Language
*Dada-inspired
*noise
Akita's
Masimo
in
for
the
(whether,
music
of
example,
expression
Merzbow, or the physicality of Keiji Haino's vocal and instrumental exploits).
Leisure (Etymology of Leisure in Japan)
While yoka comesfrom China, anotherJapaneseword for leisure (rejä) is derived
from English, leading some academicsto claim that the Japanesepossessno inherent senseof
leisure.
For older generationsin Japan,historian Sepp Linhart identifies what is describedas
leisure'
is
leisure
(Linhart,
1998,
fiere,
2),
of
p.
rejä mondai or yokesmondai -'the problem
`disease'
Japan
Occident
infect
Western
the
that
to
wants
construct
a
somehowpositedas
-a
lazy
in
to
them
as they are.
as
with, order make
Conversely, it is suggestedhere that Western nations are of a mind that Japanis not
because
do
its
society
should,
post-industrial
not
people
modern,
actingasa propercivilised,
demands
the
time
of work through the pursuit of pleasure.
counter-balancing
spendenough
(i.e. the *working-beeanalogy).
Live Houses
Small,broom-cupboard-sized
venues,at the centreof muchof Japan'scontemporary
be
drawnbetweenthesehivesof diversity,
Certain
might
parallels
undergroundscene.
experimentation, and alternative musical activity, and the popular wja:xu kissas(jazz Cafes)
of the 1960sand 1970s.
The developmentof Live Housesin the Shinjukudistrict from around1965
corresponded
with a notablechangein the collectiveattitudesof the studentpopulation.
It was around this time that studentsbeganto turn away from the consumerist
(e.
`...
trappings
the threeC's - car,cooler,colourTV... ),
growth
of
g.
economic
rewardsand
anddiscoverthat they felt an empathywith freejazz musicianswho, in waysto which they
'
couldrelate,hadalsosufferedat the handsof `oppression'andaloneness.
228
Towards a Universal Language
As the author explains, in freejazz they saw kindred spirits expressingcomparative
experiencesto their own: -
In the musicians of the freejazz movement-John Coltrane, Albert Ayler, Cecil
Taylor - they found powerful allies expressingtheir common experienceof
1992:
212;
(Steinhert
Nakano 1984:86). There are
oppressionand solitude
severalaccountsof how closely the studentmovement and the intellectuals
related the musical expressionof freejazz to their own situation (e.g. ... a short
citation from a small literary magazinein 1970: "The New Left is New jazz.
And we are Ayler. ")
(Derschmidt, 1998,p. 307)
Whetherfreejazz musiciansthemselveshadpolitical motivesis describedhereas
less important than the fact that this, nevertheless,is how the studentschoseto relate to this
work.
Lo-Fi
Artists: PukapukaBrains; 2M
Lydian Chromatic
Involving use of the Lydian Diminished scale, the Lydian Chromatic concept
was
pioneeredbyjazz musicianGeorgeRussellin the publicationLydianChromaticConceptof
TonalOrganisationfor Improvisation.Readingthe book in 1961,Toru Takemitsu's
useof
Lydian in compositionssuchas Coral Island for sopranoandorchestra(1962),furtherimplies
the importanceanddepthof jazz andimprovisationinfluencesin both westernavant-garde
practice,andthe legacyof Japanese
newmusic.
229
Towards a Universal Language
230
Towards a Universal Language
M
Ma
Translatedliterally to mean `gap' or 'pause', the concept of Ma engendersa
is
*space
*Zen
Buddhist philosophy. For the
that
to
central
with
perception and relationship
traditional arts of Zen, Ma can be the spiritual, psychological, and physical spacebetween
musical notes, paint strokesor (as in the horizon-less imagesof *Sum!-e) the evocation of
boundless,illimitable, space.
In focusingspecificallyuponmusic,however,Ma is quiteoftenregardedasan
it
difficult
define
has been proposedthat perhapsthe writing
to
term,
although
and
ambiguous
of Kenjiro Miyamoto offers the most lucid and useful explanation. In discussingthe work of
Toru Takemitsu, Miyamoto suggeststhat the presenceof Ma can be interpreted in two distinct
ways: firstly to describethe `simultaneity of tempi' his compositions engender,creating
parallels with the music of nj drama; and secondly - and most usefully - to define the cross
pollination Easternand Western sourcesin the composer's work. In this latter sense,Ma
refers to the silence that exists betweennotes in traditional Japanesemusic: silence, that is, in
the specific senseof that explored by John Cage - not a moment empty of sound, but rather
one in which all other ongoing soundsand aural possibilities become palpable. These are not
musical voids, but rather instantswithin a composition `... filled with the numberlesstones or
noises of space.' (Miyamoto, 2001, p.237).
The musicof alto saxophoneplayerMasayoshiUrabeillustratesperfectlythe
enormityandpresencespacecanpossess
within a composition.For Urabe,the balance
betweennot-playingandplayingis often equal,evokingcomparisonsto be made
with the
Zen-derivedtraditionalillustrativegenreof *Ukiyo-e,wherethe areasof the canvas
untouchedby the artists' brusharethe most important.Without emptinessandspace,there
would be no balance;no harmony.
231
Towards a Universal Language
is multiAnothernotablefigureto haveconsciouslyengagedwith Ma-as-sound,
disciplinary musician and sound-artistKeiji Haino (who, coincidentally, as a young man had
himself worked with Takemitsu on a film scorecommission). On one hand, his awarenessof
Ma can be seenin his perceptionof, and sensitivity to, the balanceand spacepresentduring
moments when no musical notes are played.
Haino, however, also believesthat the realisation of Ma can also be achievedby
but
(not
through
space
absence
rather
towards
the
not
playing),
opposite extreme:
striving
intensity (extreme playing). As he explains in an interview with Alan Cummings, Ilaino
describesthis inversion of silence as *Acceleration: -
Whenyou really want to communicatesomething, talking turns
to screaming, and if that desire becomesevenstronger then you
by
in
I
(Haino,
That's
mean
acceleration.
what
end up praying.
Cummings, July 2002, p.32)
The occurrenceof Ma in this context,offersan interestingrelationshipto be
developedbetweentrends in New music that, superficially at least, appearodds. While
*Onkyo and *Noise, for example, remain formally at opposite ends of the aural spectrum,
there is neverthelessjustifiable causeto speculatethat they share,through their possession(of
bond.
Whether
by
fundamental
Ma,
meansof abstinenceor overload,
a much more
sorts) of
factors
in
both,
is
key
their
underlying
crucial
and
are
as
space
reliance upon
nullification
improvisation (which, without being contrived, also has foundation in Zen Buddhist thought).
Major Underground
This term,coinedby floppy Kamiyama,founderof independentlabel God Mountain,
and
both
to
off
shake
challengethe negative,connotative,baggagethat
reflectsan attempt
232
Towards a Universal Language
like
`underground'
`alternative.
in
'
Suggesting
headings
too-easily-used
a
and
accompany
1993 interview for Tokyo Journal that much of the apparent,so-called undergroundwas
distinctly average(not so much `underground' as `not good enough'), Hoppy underlined his
intent at the time in trying to provide an outlet for the vast number who, nevertheless,were
truly radical, defiant, and boundary breaking - hitting a rich vein of new and avant-garde
in
musicality, residing somewhere the middle ground betweendominant hypercommerciality, and the `ghetto' of the underground: -
I think we've got the best bandsand units in Japan right now alternative and radical-style bands ... There are so many musicians here,
but I think only 10percent of them are artistic, and they are all poor. We
have to change the spirit and the stance of the audience. Wehave to
change a way of life ...Maybe our policy is Major underground
Manga
In Japanese,
the word Mangaroughlytranslatesas`art'. However,historically
first
the
term
speaking,
was
applied with specific connotations with the publication of
Katsushika Hokusai's (1760-1849) fifteen volume sketchbook seriesknown as The Ilokusat
Manga.
Mass Direction
Takayanagi,
in the 50s to early 60s was a well-known cool ja z
...
became
by
70s
the
the guitarist who played the loudest
guitarist,
volume and noisiestfeedback in Japan. I doubt that he had heard of
AMM or Derek Bailey then, and he did notfollow any rock style in
his performance.... [T]his method he hinxvelftermed "Mass
...
Direction". (Otomo Yoshihide)
233
Towards a Universal Language
The theory of Mass Projection, developedexclusively by freejazz guitarist Masayuki
Takayanagi, off set his altogethermore restrained*Gradual Direction approachwith its loud,
Jinya
Yasutani,
Disc's
Kazu
Takayanagi
According
dynamics.
to
aggressive,and chaotic
his
imaginary
`Mass'
he
to
the
that
piece,
aim
was
project
sound of
a
played
once said
when
blood bursting and flowing from a suddenlycut artery - in an abstractsense,attempting to
itself.
life
of
expresssome perception
Matsuri
Traditional Japaneseterm for festival.
Meeting at Bar Aoyama
Original name for the regular improvisational night now held at the
gallery/performance space*Off Site (re-namedaccordingly *Meeting at OffSite). Established
by Tetuzi Akiyama, Taku Sugimoto, and Toshimaru Nakamura in the late 1990s,the decision
to move away from Bar Aoyama seemingly came as the result of the musicians' desire to
move away from traditional bar-like performance spaces,and into something more closely
approximating a gallery.
Meeting at Off Site
Meeting at Off Site is the monthly improvisational night held at Atsuhiro Ito's *Off
Site Gallery, organised by Tetuzi Akiyama, Toshimaru Nakamura, and Taku Sugimoto,
although the latter's involvement lessenedafter 2000.
While the importanceof Off Siteasa venuecannotbe underlinedquite strongly
enough,Meetingat Off Sitehascometo epitomisemanyof the reasonsfor this. Confined
234
Towards a Universal Language
by
is
flanked
the
on either side residential
venue,which
within the necessarilyquite spaceof
Otomo
Nakamura,
Yoshihide,
Sugimoto,
it
here
and
that
as
artists such
neighbours, was
be
kept
demanded
levels
into
that
volume
an environment
amongst others, consciously moved
low. Self-limitation, constraint, and the exploration of minimal meanshave, of course,long
been a key focus of exploration for successivegenerationsof experimental and
improvisational musicians.As much as anything else, however, it could neverthelessbe
keep
down
to
it
the
the
this,
and appease
necessity
noise
that
as
was not so much
argued
(and
Internationally
the
to
that
of
most
significant
one
rise
ultimately gave
neighbours,
New
Japanese
music.
recognised)areasof contemporary
Frequentlyreferredto asOnkyo(muchto the chagrinof artistslike SachikoM) the
is
likes
Taku
Sugimoto
Toshimaru
Nakamura
by
the
one
to
of
and
approach sound pioneered
However,
while space,silence and reduction might
of minimal means,and minimal volume.
be regardedas key aestheticcharacteristicsof such work, this constant searchfor less is
something that pervadesevery aspectof the music: the mindset of the artist; the
methodologies usedto produce sound; and the resulting nature of the compositions.
Megalopolis
Termusedby artistFurudateTetsuo(in Art ZeroMaga:ine, October1998)to not
Japanese
Osaka
Tokyo,
describe
the
of
growth
cities
such
as
and
vast and unprecedented
only
but also connote certain negative features.One criticism Tetsuo strongly propounds is that as
increasingly
has
have
developed
its citizens' penchant
too
accelerated
at
an
rate, so
such cities
for, and acceptanceof, `standardised'and `reproduced' models. In other words, the great
JapaneseMegalopolis in this rather bleak and despairing sensebecomesa place where both
the individual, and individuality itself, is lost and replaced by bland homogeny and
commercial/corporatecollectivity: -
235
Towards a Universal Language
Tokyo, with its 10 million inhabitantsprovides a dull and monotone
life, where one rejoices at small pleasures without glory. (Furudate
Tetsuo, cited in IndependentJapanesemusic, p. 17)
Meiji Period (1868-1912)
`Heavy political pressure' eventually led to the end of the Tokugawa era in the years
1867-68, restoring the Emporer Meiji to power. While the Meiji Restoration saw power
Japan
from
Kyoto
Tokyo,
to
the
to
the
of
capital
shift
actual political
and
emperor,
returned
former
'
`a
to
and
samurai.
of
nobles
group
small
was
given
power
The dawnof the Meiji restorationwasmarkedby a determinationin Japanto catchup
for
for
Western
the
that,
the
and
strive
countries,
a
more
equal
status
powerful
more
with
(along
Nations)
by
`one-sided'
Eastern
treaties
they
with
other
was
undermined
moment,
Together
forced
by
their
to
neighbours.
with other radical reforms, the
occidental
sign
were
Japan
the
as
new administration sought to establish an
was
restructured,
canon
of
social
whole
democratic
state - with the samurai, perhaps more than any other social group,
and
equal
(basic)
human
freedom
losers.
The
of
establishment
of
new
rights,
such
as
sore
off
coming
religion in 1873; the introduction of compulsory education; and the return to the emperor of
lands belonging to former daimyo (feudal lords), were all amongst some of the big changes
implemented during the initial stagesof the Meiji Restoration.
Westernisation seems to have been the by-word of the Meiji period, with Japan's
Prussian
forces
British
to
according
and
re-built
military
models, and a period of intellectual
cross-pollination with the West. Many of Japan's brightest scholars travelled to Europe in
order to develop a greater understanding of its languages and sciences,just as outstanding
in
invited
The
large
Japan.
teach
to
were
academics
western
costs such drastic and wholesale
reforms inevitably incurred, led to great financial problems throughout the mid-l 880s, and the
Bank of Japan was also now forced into an act of modernisation, this time of the country's
currency system.
236
Towards a Universal Language
After the first 10-20 years of such a fervent embracing of Western ideas however,
hold.
began
The educational system of Japan began
insidious
to
take
a
an
counter-reaction
Confucianism,
in
Shinto
to
to
and
as
more
well
as
emperor
worship,
gradually pay
attention
their curriculum, as feelings of a conservativeand predominantly nationalist sentiment grew
in reaction to the processof Westernisation.
1889: Japan's first 'European-style' parliament established (The Diet), although the
emperor retained sovereignty and headed'the army, navy, executive and legislative power.'
This, plainly, is something that would not have been allowed in the traditional political set-up
of Great Britain - too much power, over too many crucial areas,to be safe in the handsof just
one person.
1894-5: The Sino-Japanesewar over interests in Korea, in which Japan defeated
China to win Taiwan - which, subsequently, it was forced by the West to return. Intense
rearmamentensued.
1904-5: The Russo-Japanesewar over interests in Korea and Manchuria, in which
Japan defeated Russia, `gaining territory and finally some international respect.' By 1910, as
Japaneseconfidence grew together with its intensifying nationalistic outlook, it seizedcontrol
of Korea altogether.
1912: Death of emperor Meiji.
Military music
Togetherwith the legalisationof Christiandevotionalmusicandthe returnof music
classesto schools,the introductionof military musicmarkedanotherimportantstepin the
westernisation
cultureduringthe Meiji Restoration.The first marchingbandwas
of Japanese
JohnFentonWilliams around1970,and,
establishedunderthe guidanceof Irish bandmaster
throughthe gradualevolutionof Western-ledmilitary music in Japan,not only did public
becamepopular.Anothernotableby-productof this
concertsandperformances
wasthe
compositionof a newJapanese
nationalanthem,Kimi ga yo which, accordingto PeterBurt,
237
Towards a Universal Language
"Western-style"
involve
least
`one
to
the
of
composition
a
examples
at
earliest
of
represents
partial Japaneseinput.' (Burt, 2001, p.9)
Minimalist
AmmakasieNoka; Koji Asano; Kikuchi Asao; Rata Aki; Kozo Ikeno; Kazuhiro
Nishiwaki; Toshiya Tsunoda
In addition to theseartists, you could also argue that artists associatedwith Onkyo,
formal
bear
if
in
terms,
resemblanceto the Minimalist drone music
even only aesthetic,
loft-scene
by
1960s
the
throughout
multimedia shamanslike La Monte Young,
pioneered
Tony Conrad and CharlemagnePalestine.Despite whether or not, in real terms, these
Japaneseno-inputters have actually looked at all to the drone-basedwork of theseminimalist
interesting
there
very
points of confluence - and sharedinterest- between
are
still
pioneers,
the two, as well as obvious disparities. On one level, both are formerly focusedupon
somehow harnessingor utilising sine waves. However, while the early down-town
Minimalism of the 1960sreflected a genuine preoccupationwith Easternphilosophy and
religion, JapaneseOnkyo does anything but.
Minimalist
electronic
Artists:YokoNexus6
Mimesis
Accordingto the Oxford EnglishDictionary,mimesiscanbe interpretedasoneof the
following:.
1. A figure ofspeech, whereby the supposedwords or actions of another are imitated
2. Mimicry
3. Thedeliberateimitationof the behaviourof onegroup of peopleby another
as afactor in
social change.
238
Towards a Universal Language
It is maybe in this latter sensethat Mimesis most poignantly applies to Japanese
beginning
American
Restoration
both
during
Meiji
the
and
post
war
years
with
society,
level,
Of
specific
mimesis occurred culturally also, no
occupation. course,on a much more
Japanese
in
in
traditional
traditions
than
rejected
many postwith
music,
more notably
favour
in
of occident-derivedmusics.
nationalist circles
Minzokugushi
Strongly nationalist school of composersthat emergedagainst the occidental trends
Including
Meiji
the
throughout
composer's such as Akira Ifukube, Fumio
period.
embraced
Hayasakaand Yasuji Kiyose, this brand of music was popular throughout the pre-war and
has
it
in
Japan,
since - particularly in the West - received ruthless
although
wartime periods
brash
for
the
way traditional Japanesefolk material was used.
overpowering and
criticism
Minaokugushi literally translatesas `nationalism', deriving from the word minzoku meaning
"folk" or "race". (Burt. P. 15)
Mirai-ha Bijutsu Kybkai
Formed in 1920 fuelled, in part, by the arrival of RussianFuturist David Burluik in
Kyökai(`TheFuturistArt Association')includedamongstits
Japan.Mirai-ha 13yutsu
numberspoetYasuyoshiHirado,togetherwith a groupof visual artistssuchasSeiji Tögö,
who had broken away from *Nika-kai. Dispanded after two years in 1922.
Mono-ha
Japanese
avant-gardeart movementwhosework soughtto opposethe tendencyof the
largenumberof artistsworking contemporaneously,
whosework merelyimitated,on a most
superficiallevel, Westernanti-artmethods,
239
Towards a Universal Language
Mu
A Zen Buddhist term relating to spaceand absence- the freedom it's possible to
idea
[like
This
true
the
through
nothingness.
of
space
and
can
of
reduction
realisation
attain
find
be
in
formation
*Z=en)
*Ma
to
said
of
a range
some
sort
or
other similar notions - e.g.
from
Japan.
*Onkyo,
for
music
example, through
avant-garde
modem
contemporary
and
of
it's preoccupationwith the removal of sources,sounds,principles and expressivecontent of
*detachment.
its
finds
definition
through
absence
and
music,
Mu no basho
Phraseaccreditedto JapaneseNihonga (Japanese-style)painter Kakuzb (Tenshin)
Okakura (1862-1913), which describesJapanas a "place of Nothingness" - an attempt to
in
for
long
its
Japan
change,
a
vacuous
space,
of
constant
accounting
as
place
a
explain
tradition of masscultural importation.
Music
I haveno ideawhatyou term 'music'and 'noise' it's dirent
...
dependingon eachperson.If noisemeansuncomfortablesound,
thenpop musicis noiseto me.
(Masimo Akita, in Pouncey,August 2000, p.26)
Seealso *Noise.
Musique Concrete
With theadventof audiomagnetictapefrom around1947,FrcnchartistsPierre
SchaefferandPierreHenryworkedexperimentallywith what cameto be knownasmusic
Concrete. Essentially, music Concrete was primarily concerned with exploiting the
possibilitiesofferedby the tape,which enabledsoundnot only to be recorded,but
240
Towards a Universal Language
furthermore for the recordingsthemselvesto be manipulated.With its artists cutting,
found
from
juxtaposing
of
range
sounds
a
various sources,and
multifarious
rejoining, and
Etc.,
Concrete
both
different
back
tape
to
the raw
them
audio
was
music
speeds,
at
playing
for
first
these
technological
the
creating
means
ever works of audio collage.
material and
While the legacy of Schaefferand Henry can be traced through a lineage in the West ranging
from John Cageto John Lennon, a number of modernist-inspired Japanesecomposers
including Toshiro Mayazumi and Toru Takemitsu were also to experiment. However, unlike
Schaeffer, Takemitsu's preoccupationwith this method focused upon his attemptsto utilise
the imagery associatedwith a particular found sound, rather than `abstract [it] from its
...
dramatic context' as the Frenchmanhad, treating sound as a `quantitive', mathematical
substance.(Burt, 2001, p.43)
ReliefStatique (1955) was Takemitsu's first musique concretepiece, first produced
to provide incidental music for the 1955 radio production Ilono (`Flames'), and premiered at
a Jikken Kobo concert in 1956.
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Towards a Universal Language
N
Nagauta
Traditional form of Japanesemusic
Naihatsu-teki
Term coined by writer Natsume Söseki in 1911 which, translated into English as
`inner-directed',refersto the ideathat unlikeJapan(see*gaihatsu-tekr),the Westis more
self-determined in inspiring its own cultural development: -
1 mean spontaneousgrowth like the process by which af ower
blossomswith its bud opening and its petals growing outward
(Söseki, cited in Wilkinson, 1991, p.40)
[N. B. Wilkinson referencesSöseki as follows: Natsume, Söseki, `The Enlightenment of
in
Kaika),
1911, quoted in Yamanouchi, 1978,
Japan
(Gendai
Nihon
talk
a
given
modern
no
for
Authenticity in modern JapaneseLiterature,
77;
Yamanouchi,
Search
Hisaki,
The
p.
Cambridge, 1978]
Nanban Boom
Namegivento the fetishisticor exoticistcollectingof Westernculturalproductsin
Japanduring the sixteenth century.
Nanbanjin
Translatedinto Englishas `SouthernBarbarians',this Chinese-derived
tcnn wasfirst
duringthe sixteenthand seventeenth
usedin Japanto describeWesterners
centuries.
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Towards a Universal Language
Naniwabushi
Traditionalfor of Japanese
music
Nationalism
While politically Japanesenationalism was a much more seriousbusinesswith
it
best
is
by
far
musically
represented
musicians of the
reaching repercussions,
obvious
*Minzokugushi school (a term which literally translatesas nationalism). Nationalist music
importation,
intense
Western
the
adoption
and
veneration
of
representeda reaction against
Meiji
Very
idioms
the
that
era.
much in keeping with Toynbee's tenet
so epitomised
musical
looked
Japan
for their sources,adopting and
*Zealotism,
to
strictly
composers
nationalist
of
from
folk,
highto
popular
styles,
current
and
rural
ancient
range
of
materials
a
mixing
both
*Gagaku
forms
(i.
treating
the
often
same
e. not acknowledging the
such
as
cultural
form,
but
in
terms of
them
musical
of
each
rather
seeing
cultural
significance
purely
varied
their Japaneseness).
Neo-Dada Organisers
Japanese
groupestablishedby Ushio Shinoharain 1960,stronglyinspiredby the later
Dada trend of New York.
Neo-Traditional
Artists: Ayuo Takahashi
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Towards a Universal Language
New Age
Artists: Gontiti; Ichiko Hashimoto
New Artist Organisation
RenamedRenJuku in 1975,this school or workshop serieswas establishedin 1968 in
jazz
table-top
guitarist, social activist and writer, Takaynagi `Jojo'
associationwith renowned
Masayuki, `to teach and inspire young musicians.'
New Japan
The ideaof New Japanwasdevelopedultra-nationalistpre-warandwartimeTaisho
`*Greater
South-East
devising
In
Asian Coprosperity Sphere'
the
of
a
concept
vague
period.
to justify its territorial conquestthroughout the Pacific, Japanalso theoretically re-invented
itself. The concept of `New Japan' was devisedto validate its role at the centre of the
`Sphere', (which, in any case,it would impose through force), although this new national
On
hand,
in
it choseto use, and was perhaps
the
contradictory.
one
personawas many ways
reliant upon, certain facets of Westernculture, particularly in terms of things it would need in
the battle againstthe US and Allied forces. However, `New Japan' considered itself as the
both
force
Asian
to the preservation of its ancient past,
culture:
crucial
superior
within
central
and creation of its future legacy.
New Music
It is no great revelation that, throughout the last filly years or so, cutting-edge
Japanese
the needto rejectthe impositionof foreigngenresand
artistshaveexpressed
classification-types
upontheir work. To my mind, the importanceof this lies not only in the
moveactuallymadeby thesemusiciansto creatework within an autonomouscontext,but
alsopromotethe wider developmentof an appropriatecritical language-a methodology
wherebyeachpiece canbe assessed
accordingto its own individual qualitiesand
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Towards a Universal Language
`universalised'
Western
(rather
the
than
of
a
confines
classification
within
characteristics
Western
through
culture).
system, evolved principally
Whether in terms of the `Internationalist' aspirationsof Ryuichi Sakamoto,the antiMasayuki
Takayanagi,
Takemitsu,
Toru
the
activism
of
political
or multiof
nationalism
faceted genre-defiantoutlook of Hoppy Kamiyama, an underlying feature remains, in one
impulse
to achievesome aspectof cultural, personal,political or
the
senseor another,
historical autonomy. Loosely speaking,I have adoptedthe term New music as a (rough)
in
Japanese
to
the
to
avant-garde
musicians
are
allied,
one way
of
who
work
way
generic
refer
or another, by this common characteristic.
The musical range to be discussedunder the New music banner,therefore, focuses
from
late
indicative
longdiverse
1950s
line
the
to
art
a
sound
of
and
present,
music
a
of
upon
issues
independence
Japanese
with
underground
of
and
engagement
amongst
standing
identity. Something, fundamentally, which is far removed from the prevailing social and
cultural mainstream,both nationally and globally.
New Rock
One band most notably associatedwith the idea of New Rock, and which perhaps
best incorporate every facet of what this rather ambiguous category might relate to (with their
diverse blend of Hoppy Kamiyama-induced miscellany and unpredictable, cross-genre,
guitar-basedmusic) is all-female trio eX-Girl. Formed in 1997,the group define what New
Rock might mean: an essentially conventional `rock band' format, working exclusively with
tools of the trade most commonly associatedwith `rock' (guitar, drums, bassand
lead/backing/harmonisingvocals).
The `new' in `newrock' then,comesnot from the 'what', but ratherfrom the `how'
in other words, from how the conventions, tools, instruments and methods of `rock'
music are
appropriated and subverted,made to incorporatejuxtapositions of tongue-in-check opera,
jazz, lo-tech 80s-style analogue-pop,and high brow avant-gardeexperimentalism (not to
mention the frog masks, fluffy toys, and dada-esquesound-lyrics). The scope for all of this to
245
Towards a Universal Language
be contained from song-to-song,bar-to-bar,all within the vague but recognisableconventions
lays
inclusive
foundation
for
distortion-pedal-driven
the potential meaning
an
music,
guitar
of
of New Rock.
New Wave
Artists: TotsuzenDanball
NHK (Nippon Hoso Kyokai)
National broadcastingservice of Japanwho, since its establishment,has been
by
for
works
some of Japan's up-coming and leading
numerous
commissioning
responsible
musicians and composers(e.g. two early commissionsto a young Toru Takemitsu - Tableau
Noir and Solitude Sonore - aired in the July and November of 1958 respectively).
Nichi-Bei
Contemporarymusicfestivalat which, in 1948,nationalistcomposerandonly
recognisedtutor of Toru Takemitsu, introduced his young student to two more composersof a
Fumio
bent:
Matsudaira
Hayasaka.
Yoritsune
and
nationalistic
Nihonga
Traditional conservativearts associationof Japan
Nika-kai
Translatedinto Englishas`SecondSectionAssociation',this dantal(Japanese
arts
association) was founded by Ishii Ilakutei and Yamasita in 1914, as protest against the rigid
conservatism*Bunten.Criticisedduringthe mid-1920sby TomoyoshiMurayama(founderof
246
Towards a Universal Language
*Sanka Z5kei Byutsu Kyökai') for its imitation of Europeanavant-gardestyles, Nika-kai
form
in
today.
some
neverthelessstill exists
Nihon-teki naru mono
Translated literally as `Japaneseor Japan-like things', Nihon-teki naru mono refers to
an architectural inclination of the 1930s,which applied modem Western principles to redefine age-old Japaneseconventions.In broader terms however, the rise of this concept
fundamental
tensionsassociatedwith the developmentof Japanese
the
of
more
reflects some
Showa
during
the
period. As statedelsewhere,it is often said
pre-war
modernism, particularly
by critics the extent to which the early Japaneseavant-gardewere unable to perceive
modernism and Westernismas two separateentities - since both, presumably, had come to
Japantogether as an interrelatedwhole. This, to some extent, has been said to account for the
frantic assimilation of Westernculture commonly regardedas a feature of Japanesesociety,
particularly during specific historical periods of acceleratedmodernisation (e.g. Meiji Era;
immediate post-war/Showaera, etc).
As in the caseof Nihon-teki naru mono, the attempted searchfor a modem Japanese
format
has
followed
the
often
of applying Western-derived modernist ideasto
self-identity,
conventional Japanesepractices.
Nitten
Official JapanArt Exhibition - traditionally academic and salon-based.As a bastion
of conservatism,becameone target of intenseopposition from the *Taisho era *zen'ei byutsu.
NMA (New music Action)
`Workshop for improvisers that was begun following the Kobe earthquakeand
[including]
musicians such as Inada Makoto, Ezaki Masafumi,
continues at present ...
Kinoshita Kazushige, and Iwasaki Tetsuji. ' (Uchihashi, 2001, p.41-2).
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Towards a Universal Language
Setup by organiserof the FestivalBeyondInnocence(FBI), KazuhisaUchihashi,the
NMA involves severalyoung musiciansparticipating in monthly improvisational workshops,
driving
its
hundred
One
behind
the
time
participants.
of
motives
several
and over
attracted
establishmenthas beenthe current apathyand lack of interest in new music by the Japanese
public.
Members of the NMA have also been influential in helping to organisethe annual
Festival Beyond Innocence(FBI) held at Port Island, Kobe. (see p.44)
Noh (Nö) Drama
Combiningits own elementsof dance(Shin! ) andmusic(Nohgaku),Nah dramais
by
its
by
the
all-male performers, the style of which
masksworn
characterisedcommonly
often reflects the nature of each characterbeing portrayed. The origins of Noh theatre,which
by towards the end of the Muromachi Period (1338 --1573) had becomea more distinctly
in
dances
have
been
the
to
thought
performed both by peasantricepractise,
are
artistic
planters, and at certain Shinto shrine rituals.
(B.P.45)
Noh gaku
Nohgaku, the musical accompanimentto Noh theatre, is divisible into two distinct
parts, the first of which is Utai: the vocal section. Developing out of traditional Buddhist
Shomyo chants, Utai provides the narrative, and is often sung or spoken without musical
accompanimentby the actors, as well as a small male chorus. Ilayashl, the instrumental
element of Nohgaku, is predominantly made up of percussion instruments with the three
drums ko-tsuzumi, o-tsuzumi, and taiko. The nohkan, a traditional Japanesebamboo flute, is
the only instrument in the ensembleto provide melody, although kakegoe the shouts made
by drummers - also contributes significantly to the music.
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Towards a Universal Language
Noise
I have no idea what you term 'music' and 'noise'... it's different
depending on eachperson. If noise meansuncomfortablesound,
thenpop music is noise to me.
(MasimoAkita, in Pouncey,August2000,p.26)
Etymologically, Noise derives from the Latin terms nausea and noxia, implying a
in
While,
harmful
general social terms, musical sound is usually
and unpleasant.
repellent,
(evidence
that
an
something
of
advanced
cultural
as
product
appreciated
and
apprehended
humankind is, indeed,superior to the beastiebrethren with which it sharesthe planet), noiseits
hand,
has
to
the
represent
unbridled and uncultivated antithesiscome
other
sound, on
culturally undesirableand void of any expressive,communicative or consonantvalue.
Artists: Akaten; Astro Satori; Astronics; Aube; Boris; Bustmonsters;Chaos of the Night,
Contagious Orgasm; Dislocation; Dissecting Table; TetsuoFerudate; flair Stylistics;
Hatohan; Hyokaidan; lncapacitants; Kazuya Ishigami; Jelly; Jojo Iliroshige; K2-Kusafoka
Kimihide; Mainliner; Melt Banana; Ryosai Solo; Shizuka; Solmania
Noise Ambient
Artists: Guilt Connector
Noise Rock
Artists: Spear Men
Noise Terrorism
Artists: Filament
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Towards a Universal Language
Nothingness
Nothingness,as a principle, permeatesmany facets of the Japaneseart, on a number
for
(which,
have
levels.
Japanese
different
example
gardens,
notably,
much to do with the
of
work of Takemitsu), are built around spaces,and according to Japanesepainter lkeno Taigado
(1723-1776) the parts of a painting where nothing exists to paint, are the most difficult parts
to do.
See *Ma and *Onkyo
No Wave
Artists: Harpy; Reiko Kudo; Melt Banana
Now Music
Now music is a long standing music festival which, first appearing in the early 1990s,
takes place annually in Sapporo,Hokkaido.
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Towards a Universal Language
0
Objectivity
Perhapsa strangetermto include,but asa British writer examiningthe musicof
Japan,I have been confronted by the samedilemma faced by all those seeking to engagewith
deciding
how
difficulties
to approachsuch a subject,
the
of
a non-native culture: namely,
from the perspectiveof a writer, researcher,or commentator.
Historian Helen Westgeest,in her introductory chapterto the book Zen in the Fies:
Interaction in art betweenEast and West(1997), makes a number of notable remarks here
that acknowledge(although by no meansresolve) some of the problems issuesof objectivity,
kind
to
this
of study.
context and perspectiveposed
Japaneseart has been studied, as has Western Art, from a Western viewpoint,
historian
for
from
it
is
impossible
to
the
art
consider
western
a
a
works
since
Japaneseviewpoint. (Westgeest,1997,p. 8)
However, while it is undoubtedly true that westerner's can't necessarily seewith
Japaneseeyes,the question is whether this would necessarilyprovide the ticket to objectivity
in any case.Perhapsin terms of critical writing, *autonomy and objectivity cross-over, since
the importance lies not in the cultural prejudices one can claim to be informed by, but rather
the individual's ability to escapeprejudice, and exchangeprejudice for independence.This is
be
is
it
to
that
to
simply
rid of the social/cultural influences that
possible
not suggest
fundamentally shapedus (as Otomo Yoshihide observes,`... I'm Japaneseand it's difficult to
seeJapaneseculture from a distance' [Yoshihide, The Wire, Issue 202, December2000,
be
but
42]),
these
things
that
can
used and contextualised as an initial reference, or
rather
p.
point of departure, from which some measureof objectivity can ultimately be sought.
251
Towards a Universal Language
Obsessional Art
Term itself credited to Yayoi Kusama,which, referring partly to a long history of
her
`expressionof personalneurosis' through art.
describe
illness,
to
mental
she used
ObsessionalArt, however, relatesmore widely to a specific artistic tendencyduring
the 1960s,which can be said to include the work not only of Kusama, but also Toshio Miki,
Tetsumi Kudö, Yukio Mishima, Eikö Hosoe, and the Ankoku Butoh of Tatsumi I lijikata.
Seealso: *Butoh
Occidental
(Oxford English Dictionary)
A. adj.
1.Belongingto, situatedin, or directedtowards,that partor regionof the heavensin
which the sunsets;of or in the west,western,westerly;spec.in Astrol. saidos a planetwhen
seenafter sunset,or when in the western part of the sky.
2. Belongingto, foundin, or characteristicof, westerncountriesor regionsof the
formerly,
Asia;
(i.
WesternEuropeor Christendom;occas.,
those
of
also
west
earth e. usually,
Americaor the WesternHemisphere);belongingor situatedin the West;Western.Also, of,
belonging to, or characteristicof the United States,
3. Applied to precious stonesof inferior value and brilliancy, as opposedto oriental.
B. n.
1. a. A western country or region
b. A native or inhabitant of the West
2. An artificial language,basedchiefly on the Romancelanguages,inventedby C. J.
de Wahl (1867-1948),an Estonian,in 1922.
252
Towards a Universal Language
Occupation
Historically,socially,politicallyandculturally,theyearsof occupationby Allied
forces in Japan(1945-52,although Okinawa wasn't returned by the US until 1972),were, as
defeated
during
dominated
by
the
the needto
the
war,
countries
major
other
with many of
look
hand,
building
future
to
the
one
and
on
a
new
on the
past
recover and reconcile with
food
industry
The
transportation,
as
severe
well
as
shortages,all
and
of
collapse
other.
highlighted the absolutedevastationof Japan.
Overseenpredominantly by MacArthur's US forces, the first half of the occupation
be
deemed
by
highlighted
to
which
censorship,
outlawed
any
materials
media
strict
was
feelings.
As
US
the
the
cold
received
war
ensued,
of
anti-Allied
controversial or evocative
in
for
its
from
primarily
own self-interest.
acting
certain quarters
criticism
To many budding musicians and composersgrowing up in Japanat this time, there
inherently
Japanese-by-definition
be
feeling
that
should
rejected, and
anything
was a general
any product of the western world embraced.America's occupation of Japanprovided plenty
large
libraries
(e.
in
Tokyo)
Occidental
to
with
g.
culture,
enabling artists such as
of exposure
the young Toru Takemitsu to study the scoresof US composers- explaining why he gained
Europeans
long
before
that
their
to
of
pre-eminent
work
such as Schoenbergor
exposure
Webern, etc.
It wasalsothroughajob obtainedat a US armycampin Yokohama,that Takemitsu,
in exchangefor D.J.ing jazz 78s for he G.Ls at night, was able to gain daytime accessto an
old unusedpiano in the recreation hall. Giving him the chance for the first time to regularly
test any new compositions, such an opportunistic, yet seemingly innocuous event, is
widely regardedasconstitutingsomethingof a life-shapinglandmarkeventon
nevertheless
his roadto composerhood.
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Towards a Universal Language
Octatonic Scales
Associated commonly with the scoresof Olivier Messiaen(e.g. 8 preludes),
Octatonic scales- perhapsas a result of his exposureto the French composer's music becamea lifelong feature in the work of Toru Takemitsu, evident in such early piecesas
Lento in Due Movimento (1950), and its 1990re-scoreLitany.
Off Site
A converted wooden housesandwichedbetweendomestic residencies,
fifty.
By
description,
Site
limited
Off
to
this
around
capacity
of
a
might
unsoundproofed,and
seeman unlikely place to have birthed one of the most significant approachesto
contemporary New music in Japan.Yet, as the testimonies of key artists continue to attest,
its
burgeoning
folklore,
begin
is
to
this
and
weave
craft
exactly the
contemporary
critics
and
be
for
this
credited.
notably
most
will
venue
which
role
A venuedefinedby understatement,
the uniqueconditionsthat characterise
Off Site
have significantly contributed to the developmentof what is commonly (although
because
`*Onkyo'
it
to
essentially
as
provided a spacewherein artists
referred
questionably)
had no choice but to engagewith the possibilities of reduction, silence and space.In
particular, this refers to eventssuch as `*Meeting at Off Site', a monthly improvisational
night first organisedby Toshimaru Nakamura, Taku Sugimoto and Tetuzi Akiyama.
Situated in the Yoyogi quarter of Tokyo, Off Site was establishedby visual artist
Atsuhiro Ito and openedto the public in June 2000, one of a new generation of Art Gallery in
Tokyo which seeksto sidestepboth the conventions of more traditional Gallery types, as well
institutions
financial
the
such
now apparently face.
many
as
problems
While it maynot seemparticularlygroundbreaking
that Off Sitewassetup to
functionbothasan exhibitionspacefor visualart, anda performancespacefor radical,
improvisational,andexperimentalmusic,it is for very uniqueandspecificreasonsthat in
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Towards a Universal Language
this latter role - it is regardedas so important. Prior to its conversion in 2000, the building
detached,
known
Off
Site
small,
a
residential wooden house,flanked
simply
was
now
as
domestic
by
distance
touching
other
residences.The very fact that these
almost within
neighbours remain, coupled with the unsoundproofed,thin wooden walls of the building,
made it necessarythat any music played or performed at off Site had to be done at the utmost
minimal volume.
Such practical and geographicaleveryday restrictions are, however, exactly what are
Taku
Sugimoto,
Toshimaru Nakamura and Sachiko
have
helped
to
as
such
artists
set
regarded
M on the path they now follow. Playing in such a small, intimate space,where the sound of
breathing
intimate,
life
the
tightly packedaudiencewithin can
of
small,
everyday
outside, and
impact
both
had
be
heard,
times
a
substantial
clearly
upon such artists, whose work has
at
come to explore and exploit the possibilities of space,silence, and reduction - external
restriction married with self-restriction.
Ongaku Torishirabe Gakari
The music Study Committee establishedin 1879 by Shuji Izawa of Japan's ministry
of Education, to formulate a plan for the future of musical education in Japan.The three point
had
been
by
Izawa,
sent to America for a number of years to study their
who
schemeapplied
musical education system,exists as perhapsone of the first outright, identifiable attempts to
actively blend traditional Japanesemusic with that of Europe and the USA. Ilis decision to
centre this plan around a number of songsprimary school children, however, had predictably
limited success.
Ongaku
Upon being askedto identify how Japanesenew music differs from the
avant-garde
practices of the West, TanabeTomohiro answers:
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Towards a Universal Language
Wemust create a newpersonal style of music. Of course, it turns out
to be a new sound that has no equivalentsin other countries. Wecall
it "ONGAKU". (Tanabecited in De Lauretis, 2001, p.48)
Ongaku Torishirabe Gakari
Another initiative put in place during the Meiji era. Following a Western model,
Japan's Ministry of education(1872) ruled that primary school children should all partake in
followed
by
instrumental
tuition at middle-school
their
curriculum,
singing classesa part of
level. A distinct lack of resources,it has since beenrecognisedhowever, proved to be the
essential flaw of this ambitious and pretty optimistic plan. Responsibility was placed in the
hands of Ministry member Shoji Izawa, who spent 1875 in America studyng their musical
Ongaku
Torishirabe
he
Gakari (music Study
In
1879
established
system.
education
Committee), and formulated a plan for the future of musical education in Japanwhich would
indigenous
heritage
blend
the
to
own
country's
musical
seek
with that of other
pioneeringly
(primarily Western) countries, creating a music representativeof contemporaneousJapan.
In trying to put thesetheories into practise, however, Izawa took what writer Peter
Burt has describedas an `embarrassinglynaive' approach.(Burt, 2001, p. 11). Believing that
Eastern and Western music only differs the more sophisticatedthe formal qualities become,
he regarded the children's music of both traditions to be extraordinarily alike. Thus, his plan
involved developing three separatesetsof young children's songs: the first drawing upon
Gagaku tradition; the secondbeing wholly new and progressive songs; the third containing
in
Japanese.While this final set of songs should have
Western
sung
melodies
well-known
epitomised the notion of new music - drawing upon both international and traditional
Japanesesources- the naive execution of Izawa's admirable, yet fundamentally crude
concept, left most succeedingcritics and commentatorslaughing up their retrospective
sleeves.
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Towards a Universal Language
Onkyo
Aube; I. S.O.; Filament; Kiyoharu Kuwayama; Taku Sugimoto; Toshimaru
Nakamura; Otomo Yoshihide;SachikoM," Utah Kawasaki
Although it has recently beensaid that the interest of listenershas begun to wane
somewhat, in terms of artistic production and engagement,Onkyo has becomethe focus of
increasing developmentand experimentation.
Quite appropriately, the word Onkyo has been said to translate closely as `sound'
`echo', or `reverberation', and it is with the texture, absenceand isolation of sound rather
than in expressivenoise or music - that that artists associatedwith Onkyo can be said to find
preoccupation with. Primarily, it relatesto the `no-input' concept- removing alt but the most
minimal, residual, fundamentalelementsof the sound sourceat hand: i. e. a sampler without
samples(Sachiko M); a self-containedmixing desk using its own output as input (Toshimaru
Nakamura); A turntable without records(Otomo Yoshihide); or aural spacesbetweenthe
striking of guitar notes (Taku Sugimoto).
In many instances,Onkyo-related work is often discussedwithin the sphereof three
main notions: 1. As an oppositional gestureto the `information overload' many artists feel they are
forced to suffer as subjectsof contemporary urban life, rejecting and cutting out aural
stimuli (the kind of stimuli-saturation summed up by the overcrowding and noise of
cities like Tokyo). In some ways this approachbears some relation to the Cagean
notion of Silence, and, in turn therefore, the Zen Buddhist philosophies to which he
looked. Here, Onkyo (or `music Without Memory') draws parallels
with architecture
and traditional Japaneseinteriors, where the lack of d6cor is not regarded as
emptiness,but rather its opposite: the wealth of unboundedpossibilities. Just as
modern Japanesearchitects such as Katsuo Shimoharaand Tadao Ando have
respondedto the problems of overcrowding, spaceand disorganisation by building
`their own private vision (a silence, pause,or inward looking gesture', detachedfrom
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Towards a Universal Language
the encroachingtumult), so too have theseno-input sound artists beensaid to createa
music `of denial': `a responseto a world overloadedwith trivial forms and chaotic
'
Otomo
Yoshihide
has
that
out.
each
other
cancel
also supportedthe idea of
shapes
Onkyo as some kind of reaction againstthis saturationof stimuli, suffered by many
inhabitantsof the great Japanese*Megalopolis. The idea that this multi-faceted
be
the
can
somehow
combatedby finding a single point of focus
senses,
assaultupon
- counter-balancingchaoswith concentratedsingularity.
2. As `non-music' -a rejection of self-expressionthrough music, and attempt to remove
it from associationswith music, and the processesof music making. This is explained
Toshimaru
Nakamura
himself, who rejects almost
by
the
of
account
most usefully
wholly the relevanceof the `politics of technology', artistic intentionality, or music as
how
feel?
just
I
I
`Who
think
or
cares
want to play an instrument that
self-expression:
has no connection to inner emotion.'
(www. avantofestival.com/2001 live/lp otomo.html)
3. From a purely aestheticpoint of view, Onkyo has also born comparison to the work
history
from
key
figures
the
of sound art and experimental music: from the
many
of
compositions of Xennakis, to the drone inspired lower east side minimalism of La
Monte Young, Tony Conrad, or CharlamagnePalestine.Formerly, this no-input has
been defined according to its specific treatment of tone, sonic-texture, and spatiality,
deriving from a legacy somewherebetweenthat of improvisation and electronic
music.
However,aswith any suchdesignation,thereareinherentandpredictableproblems
surrounding the invention of a term such as Onkyo: problems which, primarily, relate to the
word being overusedand misunderstoodby `outsiders' (i. e. critics, artists, historians And
listeners not directly part of the group to which it is applied). This kind of problem is,
of
course, a familiar point of contention within any stream of art history or criticism.
While designationssuchasFluxesor Minimalism(to namebut two examples)arehandy
to everyoneelse-a kind of historicalabbreviation they
asa matterof convenience
258
Towards a Universal Language
frequently wrangle with artists unwittingly brandedthus. musicians and artists alike have
kind
to
this
their
of critical/historical typecasting,not only in that it
aversion
often expressed
reducestheir work to simply a specimenof some larger (more vague) `movement', but also
that the connotationsand characteristicsinvestedin such labels are often misleading and
inaccurate- essentially becausethey acquire a 'meaning' outside of the spherewithin which
theseartists worked.
With this in mind, Sachiko M hasbeenone notable artist to reject her branding as Onkyo,
arguing not only that she has never wanted to be part of any one movement or school, but also
that those in Europe now using the word Onkyo, are doing so in a somewhat misguided and
inaccurateway. In a recent interview with Takashi Azumaya, published in Improvised music
from Japan, the self-appointed`queenof the sine wave kingdom' assertsherself accordingly:
`Lately in Europe hey talk about "Tokyo Onkyo " and "Japan Onkyo," but
I think the people who refer to the word and the people who actually made
up the word are different. After Otomo used it to simply things, it became
a catchword. I never thought of myself as Onkyo, and 1 didn't get my start
in that scene.I don't think I'm in the Onkyo school or that I'm an Onkyo
musician... ' (Sachiko M, 2003, p.E-14)
Onomatopoeia
Onetraditionalexample
in Japanese
of thelonghistoryof onomatopoeia
music,is in
the diagetic music and soundsprovided by the gezabayashiensembles,hidden away fron the
stageto provide on-scenemusic and diagetic soundsin Kabuki theatre. The instrumentsthat
make up the gezabayashiproduce diagetic noisesand sound effects, whether natural or manmade, that accompanyand enliven the events being portrayed on the stage.
259
Towards a Universal Language
Open Court Publishing Company, The
Publishingcompanyin Chicagowho,on the recommendation
Zen Master
of Japanese
Soen Shaku (1859-1919), employedthe servicesof Daisetz T. *Suzuki to translateinto
English traditional Zen Buddhist texts. It was through this initial work for Open Court that
Suzuki began his own prolific writing career,subsequentlyinfluencing a great number of
West.
in
the
and
artists
musicians
Osaka Contemporary Music Festival
In 1961,ToshiIchyanagi'sreturnto Japanwasmarkedby an appearance
at the
Fourth Osaka Contemorary music Festival, held in the August of that year. Having spent the
past nine years in the US working and studying, and, for a time, attending the Compositional
classesof John Cage at the New School, Ichiyanagi performed Cage's Concert for Piano and
Orchestra to the widespreadapproval of Jikken Kobo memberssuch Shuzo Takiguchi and
Toru Takemtsu. For the latter, in fact, attending Ichiyanagi's performanceconstituted
something of a seminal moment in the young composer's career,with the `shock' he felt upon
hearing the work of Cage somethinghe would still recall over thirty years later.
Otb suraido
Devisedby ShüzoTakiguchi,pioneerofJikken Kvbä (the `experimentalWorkshop')
the bto suraido,or `autoslide',waspremieredandfeaturedin numerousrecitalsandactivities
undertaken by the group throughout the 1950s.The machine basically aimed to bring together
sound and image through the use of metal strips attachedto the underside of normal magnetic
tape. The metal would servethe function of a switch, allowing recorded audio and visual
elements,in quite a simple way, to be brought together.
260
Towards a Universal Language
O-tsuzumi
Type of drum conventionally part of the Noh theatre musical ensemble
OuBei
Term used in Japanto collectively refer to Europeansand Americans - `EucAm'.
261
Towards a Universal Language
P
Pitt Inn, The
RenownedTokyo Live Houseestablishedin 1965 and located in the Shinjuku district.
Despite being re-located, ThePitt Inn still open and active.
Pop-New Age
Artists: Yoko Ueno;
Pop-Noise
Artists: Ex-Girl; Machine Gun TV
Pop-Psych
Artists: Vegapop
Post-Bop Jazz
Artists: FishermenTitlot
Post-Classical
Artists: Happy Family; Yoshiaki Ikeda
Post-Garage (seePsycho-Rock)
Post-Hippie
Artists: Acid Mothers Temple;Antique Folklore
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Towards a Universal Language
Post-Industrial
Artists: KK NO
Post-Meiji
In the twilight years of the Meiji Era (late nineteenth/earlytwentieth-century), and
have
followed,
that
of
commentators
pointed to a prevailing senseof
number
those
a
closely
be
in
has
Burt
Peter
In
this
in
Japan.
can
seen
what
referred to as
many ways,
cultural anxiety
French
`impressionistic'
The
Loop'.
`Feedback
composers,for example,that
the
work of
itself
born
Western
Post-Meiji
to
Japanese
this
sought
emulate,
was
of
of
artists
many
Orientalist preoccupations(E.g. the work of Debussy,who had found himself profoundly
Paris
Exposition
he
The
to
1889).
the
by
Asiatic
at
exposed
the
of
was
music
awakened
importation of this western Orientalism amountsto, essentially, a re-importing of Japan's
becomes
free
heritage
seal
of
occidental
approval,
an
given
of the
which,
cultural
own
trappings and associationsof the country's past. It is through this that Post-Meiji Japanis
lack
in
terms,
by
a
cultural
of self-confidence.
characterised uncertainty and,
Postmodernist Revisionism
There is a certain school of thought which exists to suggestthat interest in Japanese
decade,
increased
has
the
past
over
partly as a result of post-modern revisionist
art and culture
trends born from a fundamental dissatisfactionwith 'modernism's Eurocentric assumptions.'
However, isn't turning to Japaneseart as an answer to Western modernism's shortcomings,
itself another symptom of Eurocentric behaviour?
Japan'sfashionableprojectedidentityasa centreof `transculturalism',is saidby historian
Western
AlexandraMonroeto be anotherreasonfor the recentinterestin re-assessing
historicalperceptionsof Japan'sart andculturalhistory.This, sheproposes,goeshandin
handwith the decentralisation
of the world economy(within which Japanis a major world
263
Towards a Universal Language
force), and the generalchangein perceptionof global borders through the burgeoningof the
information age (i. e. distance/"geography"no longer a boundary). (Monroe, 1994,p. 19)
Post-Rock
Artists: Tortoise; Gaji
Post-war Nationalism
Just as the Meiji era in Japan,ending centuries of military rule and global
isolationism, was characterisedby wholesale attemptsat radical westernisation,so too did the
fall
Two,
World
of nationalism, render the cultural practices
with another
war
conclusion of
of Japan's past yet again undesirable.
By the early 1950s,it becamepossiblefor the nationto againafford serioustime and
effort to the study of music, with composersonce again casting an academiceye over to
Germany (e.g. Yoshiro Iniro, Makoto Moroi, and Minao Shabata- pupils of SaburoMoroi)
latest
Ikenouchi),
Yashiro
(e.
Akio
France
the
to
seeking
of
assimilate
pupils
and
g.
developments in Europeanmusic. However, since Europeanmusic had long since departed
from Impressionistic and Romanticist trends from the turn of the century, Japanesemusicians
began
imitating
1950s)
Twelve
Shibata
(e.
the
troughout
this
practices
such
as
of
period g.
Tone Composition, musique concreteand electronic music. By the early 1970s,musicians
such as Irino (e.g. Wandlungen, 1973) and Shibata (e.g. Leap Days Vigil, 1972) had begun to
experiment, combining these modernist avant-gardemethods, devices and systems,with
traditional Japaneseinstruments.
despitethesewidely prevailingOccidentaltendencies,
Nevertheless,
a minority of
post-warnationalistcomposersstill resistedthe temptationto wholly disregardthe folk
heritageof Japan.Unlike pre-warnationalistshowever,who Jokedno furtherthanto basicreorchestrations
workingsandunsophisticated
of traditionalJapanese
songs,this post-war
generation- like their academiccounterparts- alsosoughtto exploremorewidely new
264
Towards a Universal Language
disposal.
Groups
Yogi
/`Goat
Kai
their
such
as
no
at
now
sourcesof musical production
Group' (featuring Hikaru Hayashi, Yuzo Toyama and Michio Mamiya) and Sanin no
Kai/'Group of Three' (Yasushi Akutagawa, Ikuma Dan, and - most famously - Toshiro
Mayazumi), both formed in 1953,respectedthe work and ethos of Bartok and, to one degree
or another, employed avant-gardestrategieswhite stilt seeking to createa predominantly
nationalist music.
Prepared Piano
Pioneeredby modernist composerJohn Cage, `preparation' of a piano seesits
transformation from being a piano into something else altogether- an entirely new instrument
body,
familiar
internal
the
and
containing
of
all
components
a
while
encased
within
which,
and gubbings one would expect to find within a piano, neverthelessbehavesin a most unpiano like way. Used famously by Cage in a countlessnumber of compositions and
performances,the alterations madeto the instrument by the artist result in its subsequent
keys.
to
array
of
sounds
and
an
unpredictable
capacity produce
In 1961Toshi Ichiyanagireturnedto Japanfrom America,wherehe hadstudied
composition for a time at the New School under Cage. Although preparation time and cost
made it difficult at that time in terms of live performance, Ichiyanagi, along with artists such
as Toru Takemitsu, neverthelesscontinued to work intermittently with preparedpianos during
the throughout the early 1960s.Two featured in the latter's 1962score for the film Otoshlancr
('The PitfalVGheap,Sweetand a Kid') played, in accompanimentto Takemitsu's own
Harpsichord part, by Yuji Takahashiand Ichiyanagi himself, as well as later films including
Ansatsu/'The Assasin' (1964), and Kwaidan/'Ghost Story' (1964).
Pretty Noise
Artists: Billy
265
Towards a Universal Language
Progressive
Family;
Happy
Gerard;
Fairy;
Concerto
Moon;
Stage;
Black
Ran;
Kyo
Artists: Bi
Scope,
Atotoi
Sakwaba;
Rosalia;
Immigrato;
Nuovo
Novels;
Sirius;
Harpy; Mongol; Mr
Social Tension; Starless; Surgery
Progressive Rock (Mid-1970s)
lla!;
Serenade;
Soft
Machine,
Artists:
Dream,
Tangerine
Zappa,
by
etc.
Frank
Inspired
Mandrake; Bikyoran; Kenso; TenchiSozo;Dalenryu; Kigadomei.
Progressive Rock (1980s)
Little innovationhere,but merelyre-workingsof, or left-ovcrsfrom,Japan'sprogin
little
bands
in
80s
the
Most
the
decade.
of
these
way
ideas
produced
of
the
of
previous
rock
to the moreavant-gardefactionsof Independent
innovation,andwereof little consequence
Japanesemusic.
It's alsoworth notingthat,throughoutthis glossary,a numberof entrieshavebeen
British
European,
headings
or
progressiverock
the
predominantly
of western,
madeunder
*Zeuhl
in
Opposition;
*Space
*Rock
Rock;
*Krautrock;
*Canterbury;
(e.
sub-categories g.
is
how
be
defined
heading
brief
the
In
might
suggestionof
music,etc). mostof thesecases,a
first
bands
(western)
to
lists:
the
by
applied;
whom
was
classification
two
short
accompanied
likened
for
bands,
to them.
Japanese
since
or
another,
onereason
and
Projections
I haveusedthe termProjectionherewith very specificconnotationsin mind.
Principally,its applicationin this contextis intendedto help establisha discourseby which
Japanese
of
music- evidentin manyWestern
commonpresumptionsandpreconceptions
drawn
be
described,
thus
attentionto,
and
critiques- can
266
Towards a Universal Language
Patent in any analysisof thesecultural projections, is the cxtcnt to which dominant
Euro-centric and Americanised narrativeshave, in one way or another, widely subscribedto
beyond
Western understanding:
idea
Japan
and
spiritually
an
of
as somewherementally
unfathomable, mystical and quirky. Maintaining and supporting a kind of abstractand
typecast perception of *Japaneseness,these ideasrepresenta tendency in the West to project
the image of Japanesesociety onto Japanthat it believesexists.
As has regularly beenthe casewith other avant-gardearts, it is not uncommon to
come across Western critics seekingpurely to engagewith Japanese New music, in terms of
its Japaneseness.Largely speaking,such critiques focus primarily upon the Nationality of the
artist, and the assumptionthat as a cultural product of Japan,such work must be born of the
Western
(according
Projections) contemporary Japaneselife
to
tensions,
cultural
same
which
is built.
Without question,mechanicallysubscribingto suchpreconceptions
only ever
inventive
critical interaction from taking place. In the
or
prevents any useful, appropriate,
absenceof such, projected ideasof contemporary Japaneseculture arc simply renewed,and a
perception of Japancommonly maintained that satisfies foreign expectationsand curiosity.
SubsequentlyJapan,by popular definition, continues to be held up as a confusing and
paradoxical nation; a society both defined and divided by its inability to reconcile past and
present,history and modernity.
One of the aims in first highlighting the concept and nature of theseProojections,is to
encouragea newtype of critical languageto be developed,centreduponfinding moreuseful
andstimulatingcriteriato engagewith Japanese
soundart, otherthanthe projectedideasof
Japaneseness
(evenif this,as for eighteenth-century
Orientalists,is its attractionfor manyin
Europeandthe US).
Protest Singers (late 1960s)
OkabayashiNobayasu;TakadaWataru;Takahhi Tomoya
267
Towards a Universal Language
Psychadelic (Overview)
Japanesebandsin the 1960sthat sought to assimilate, not only the musical styles of
UK and US-basedbands,but also the fashionsand image. It is with GS bandssuch as the
Dynamites, the Golden Cups, the Mops and TheJacks that the roots of Japanesepsychedelic
late
Western
from
be
the
time
the
the
traced,
sixties
of
onwards,
original
can
emulating
music
form of the genre. Unlike US and UK psychedelic music however, LSD and other mind
altering drugs were not intrinsically a part of this music and, as a matter of fact, many
musicians involved in Japan's latter day and contemporary psychedelic scene,such as Nanjo
Asahito of Nigh Rise, have taken a very clear and public anti-drugs stance.
Psychedelic (late 1960s)
Followingon from earlyGS psychedelicbands,groupssuchasLes RallizesDanudes
be
Aaraaff
Haino
Keiji's
Lost
can perhaps regardedas the real pioneersof the genre as it
and
exists in Japan(and, in the caseof Haino for example, have beenquite scathing about GS
in
Not
a purely musical sense,these bandschangedthe
edge
only
cutting
psychedelic music).
face of the genre, moving beyond simple mimicry of its Western namesake,to engaging with
radical socio-political content, and elementsof avant-gardetheatre and performance(e.g. Les
Rallizes Danudes' associationwith the underground Gendal Gekj/o theatre group).
Psychedelic (1970s)
While bandssuchasLesRanizesDenudesandLoutAaraa! (i 1AinoKciji`s first
professional band) were prominent throughout this decadeso too were other, more Western
influenced groups (e.g. by The Byrds, Jefferson Airplane, The Fugs, I lawkwind, etc) such
as
Murahachibu, TakayanagiMasayuki, DEWY,and Zuno Keisatsu. Other notable psychedelic
bands of the 1970sincludeStomu Yamash'ta and the horizon, TaJAfahal Travellers, Acid
Seven,Minami Masato, Food Brain, SpeedGlue, and Shinki and the Flower T
rand lin ` Band
268
Towards a Universal Language
(Collett, P.27). A number of bandsreleasedon the PSF label were synonymouswith the
Minpr - 41jyc performancespace[in Tokyo?] - and would continue from the 1970sonwards
Japanese
Amongst
in
development
important
the
of
psychedelic
music.
such
role
play an
Kudo
Tori,
Shiraishi
["early
Tamio
Haino,
`Keiji
included:
member of
proponents are
Fushitsusha"], Nanjo and Narita from Nigh Riselmusica Transonic/Mainliner etc... '.
Psychedelic (Contemporary)
While bothinitially pioneersof Japanese
psychedelicmusic,LesRallizesDanudes
different
it
directions,
Lost
to
Aaraaff
undertake
musical
although
and
were eventually
Keiji
Haino,
in
they neverthelessremained united in their
the
that,
of
case
appears
particularly
disregard for GS bands.With this in mind, Paul Collett, in his essaySpacious Paradise:
Psychedelismin Japanesemusic, cites an interview with the owner of modem music/PSF
label (after which psychedelic SpeedFreaks named themselves)who propoundsthat groups
from the 1960swere not truly psychedelic in the Japanesesenseof the genre (Collett, P.27).
Listing an array of bandsmostly active during the 1990s,Ikeezumi I lideo insteadextendsthis
title in its truest senseto the likes of High Rise, Key! Ilaino, Fushitsusha, White Heaven,
Takayanagi Masayuki, musica Transonic, Kosokuya, MaherShalal hash lIaz/Kudo Toýrl,
Urabe Masayoshi, and Ishihara Yu.
Psychedelic Funk
Artists:Optical*8
Psycho-Rock
Seealso *Post Garage*. Artists: high-Rise; Overhang Party; psychedelic Speed
Freaks
Punk
269
Towards a Universal Language
Punk music in Japanhasplayed a vibrant and significant role in the history of avantdefinitive
West,
in
As
the
Japanese
the
moment
of
moment of JapanesePunk
garde
music.
bands
leading
Tokyo's
Friction, as others of
during
late
1970s,
the
such
as
with
occurred
equal influence in Osakaand other areas,inspiring a number of artists of later notability (e.g.
Otomo Yoshihide) to form bands,pick up guitars, or simply expressthemselvesthrough
*Noise.
There is also, it has beenargued,a second-waveof Japanesepunk to have emerged
during the late '80s and early'90s. Involving bands such as The ßorcdoms, while possessinga
its
`70s
to
the
of
archetypes,this next generationof punk (if
music
similar energy and angst
describe
it)
is
is,
indeed,
to
the
way
altogether more transcultural, eclectic,
appropriate
punk
its
in
its
influences
sound.
and
and postmodern
Artists: AAA; Abnormals; Boredoms; Cibo Matto; Droop; Friction; The renbaku Onanies;
Zuno Keisatsu; Leningrad Blues Machine; Lifeball; Na/it; Rise From the Dead; Tamio
Shiraishi
Punk and New-Wave: Pass Label
Signingsto the Passlabel,a subsidiaryof Trio Records,werecommonlyclassifiedas
punkandnew-wave,and includedbandssuchasFriction, TaistuenDanboll, Phew,and
Gunjogacrayon.Ilikashu andP-model,groupsof a comparablenature,wereableto
apparently`concealtheir truenatures'andfind releaseon larger,moremainstreamlabels.
Punk, New Wave and Techno-pop
Reflectingtrendsin the Westwhich saw'dinosuur'-brandedpräg-rockexponents
ousted out by an injection of the fresh and raw by punk and new wave bands,Japan's version
of this genre, like many of those preceding it, evolved on the whole as one purely imitative of
its western model, although the bands listed, it is suggested,were amongst the
most original.
Included artists and bandssuch as: -
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Towards a Universal Language
Artists: Lizard; Stalin; Inu; Hikasu; P-model; TotsuzenDanball; Aunt Sally, (featuring Phew);
Friction.
Pure Existence
Unlike most other religions (especially those popular in the West), Zen is primarily
concernedwith focusing upon the hereand now - the present-, rather than the future or past.
With regard to this, there are two key principles mentioned here, the first of which
being the realisation of `Pure Existence': living purely in the present,and experiencing every
moment as a moment in itself-without thinking about anything else at the sametime: -
Whenthey eat, they do not eat, but are thinking of various
other things, thereby allowing themselvesto be disturbed;
when they sleep, they do not sleep, but dream of a thousand
like
This
is
they
things.
why
are
not
myself. (Suzuki,
and one
in Westgeest,p.22)
This conceptof `PureExistence'couldbe seenin relationto the approachto *Onkyo
adoptedby SachikoM: i.e.just wantingto makesound- nothingmore,nothingless.
The secondis the ideaof `Purposelessness':
-
In a well-known anecdotefrom Zen literature, the story is told of
three men who ask someonewhy he was standing on top of a
mountain. Thatperson replied: "I amjust standing here.
(Westgeest,p.22)
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Towards a Universal Language
R
Rangaku
`Dutch Studies'. See *Rangakushabelow.
Rangakusha
`Dutch scholars' during the reign of Shogun Yoshimune - Japaneseucadcmicswho,
during Japan's isolationism, beganduring the 1700sto translate Dutch writings into Japanese.
The first Western book fully translatedinto Japanesewas a medical/anatomytext, in 1774,
Westernisation
be
during
towards
that
trend
would
a
concern
central
of
growing
symbolic a
the Meiji era.
Reaction
As with the productionof anyavant-garde,
cuttingedgeart throughouthistory,the
developmentof the manyvariousformsof New musicover the pastfilly years,hasto one
extentor anotherbeenbornof a reactionarygestureto someelementof dominantmainstream
culture.
In relationto Newmusic,a startingpoint in this areaof the investigationmight be
identifiedin the earlywork of Toru Takemitsu,producedin a spirit of anti-nationalismduring
a period of political despondencyand post-war social unrest in Japan.
The developmentof Newmusichas,throughouthistory,beendriven by multiplicity
of responses
andreactionsto prevailingmainstreamcultural factors.
"
Reactionto dominantsocial/poliin
eventa(m ý,
,
-Blu
ri-
272
Towards a Universal Language
1950s,
be
have
been
New
to
the
early
implied
music
can
said
As
above,the origin of
their
through
the
of
nature
avant-garde
expressing,
with a number of artists and musicians
feelings.
work, strong anti-Nationalist/anti-Japanese
One notable symptom of Postmodernismhas often been seenas the distinct move
it
in
With
that,
this
come
no
surprise
from
mind
should
as
art.
the
of
politicisation
away
by
the
enjoyed
economic
phenomenal
growth
according to a number of recent observations,
demeanour
by
been
has
the
1980s,
of
during
like
Tokyo
oppositional
the
paralleled
cities
Japan's Independentmusic greatly diminishing.
Examining,for example,thecorrelationbetweenthe studentriots of the 1960s,and
jazz
free-improvisation
both
development
of which
and
scene
avant
the
of an underground
key
figure
Tokyo
in
District
Shinjuku
the
upon
during
one
the
of
took place
sameperiod
is
Overtly
focus
Masayuki
Takayanagi.
engaged
upon
this
well
areaof researchmight
which
his
his
both
in
issues
and,
most
career as a
writing
significantly,
with social and political
directly
Takayanagi's
jazz
free
the
guitarist,
work
epitomises
controversial and pioneering
boom.
The
New
Japan's
development
to
music,
prior
economic
of
political and reactionary
be
Zen'ei
J3
jutsu-KaJ,
also
can
movements,
such
as
work of other politically active artists and
consideredin a similar regard.
It is also important,too, thatthe work of contemporarysoundartistsbe examinedin this
in
for
the
Much
examining
social
which theseartists
climate
scopecertainly exists
context.
for
identifying
which some evidence of social/political
works
currently work, and thus
hero
is
just
One
be
found.
that,
point
of
emphasis
as specific political and
engagementcan
dramatically
have
over the past half-century, so too has the
changed
economic conditions
in
in
loss
ism
them
to
so
much
resulting
not
an outright
afoppositional
nature of any reaction
New music, but rather a seriesof strategy changesrelative to the subject of opposition (i. e. the
thing being reactedagainst).
"
Reaction to dominant musical/artistic trcnds (mrýcicnc k rý tlýýtýstry
3 aýýttýý:
LIVERPOOL
JOHNMOORES
UNIVERSITY
AldhamRob wL.R.C.
273
TEL.01512313701/3634
Towards a Universal Language
While the objective of the section abovewill be to examine the reactionary natureof New
music in a social and political capacity, this parallel areaof investigation focusesinsteadupon
the factors underlying its history of resistanceto dominant trends in Japanesemusic.
One key contemporaryexample are those artists and groups, sometimesreferred to
dramatically
jumpers',
flits
between
`Japanese
whose
work
genre-typesand
playfully as
genre
diverse
influences
as
as opera, heavy metal, hip-hop, Japanese
styles, mixing and matching
folk, etc. With this in mind, what is of importance here goes beyond simply the way in which
this New music exists as a reactionary force to mainstreammusic in Japan.The most
interesting line of investigation relates,more specifically, to its ability to evadeand frustrate
Western critical discourses,where the assignmentand designation of styles, schools,
classifications and genre-typesis a much relied upon convention.
There have been attemptsto categorisethe work of a number of theseartists, applying
designations like New Rock to the projects of `genrejumpers' including, for example, I taco
(After Dinner) and Hoppy Kamiyama (The Saboten,eX-Girls, and others associatedwith his
God Mountain label). In the caseof such music, however, the fact is that foreign culture is
often borrowed from and recycled without any concern for the specific cultural connotations
these things possessin their native context.
The specific dresscodesand musical, political and social conditions related to any style
of Western music, whether it be punk, garage,protest-folk or krautrock, for example, have
often have little relevanceto the appropriator (just as the cultural context of objects looted
from African and Asian communities in the eighteenth-century,was of little consequenceto
Europeancolonial collectors).
Much of the Westernmusicimportedby Japanese
artists,therefore,is doneso purelyas
`Westernmusic' in thebroadestsense,andnot in relationto a specificstyleor fashion.lt is
partly throughthis, thatthecross-genre
work of manyNew muck artistshasfrustratedthe
effortsof commentators
andcritics in the West,attemptingto applyadequateWestern.
derivedheadingsandtitles, familiar to Western-bredunderstanding.
274
Towards a Universal Language
Reception
The reception of new music in its native country of Japanhas, from the 1950sup until
the presentday, continued to be largely reliant upon the nature of its reception abroad.Just as
the critical perception of composerssuchas Toru Takemitsu for a number of years differed
have
bands
in
West,
in
Japan
too
the
than
contemporary
so
such as The Doredoms
greatly
home
at
after cracking the US and Europe. There are a
only gained widespreadrecognition
be
it
the
this
case:
might
could, for example, indicate that the
why
number of possible reasons
Japan
diminished,
leaving the work of
insecurities
never
really
of
post-Meiji
cultural
dependent
on successabroad; or maybe becausemuch of
much
contemporary artists still very
this music has its roots so firmly establishedin Western cultural history, it is somehow felt
that it is primarily by western culture that it should bejudged. Either way, the underlying fact
of the matter is that - as in Europe and America - widespreadpopularity belongs to popular
music, and artists functioning in opposition on the edgeof this should, really, expect no more
than their rightful (and, perhaps,select) place on the periphery.
Rejä
' See*Yoka
Japanese
wordfor `leisure.
Rejä mondai
Termmeaning`theleisureproblem'.See'"Yoka
Religious music
Both dominantreligionsof Japan,ShintoandBuddhism,possesstheir own musical
forms,traditionsandhistories.While Kagura(Shintomusic)hasbeendatedto the
secondhalf
of the eighth-century,the chantsandmusicalformsbelongingto Buddhismhavebeen
accountedfor severaldecadescar]ier,in the early 700s.
275
Towards a Universal Language
Ren Juku
SeeNew music Organisation.
Rhythm Hour
NIUKduring themid-1950s:
Radioprogrammetransmittedby NationalBroadcasters
jazz
in
by
be
heard
Japan.
first
few
music
could
the
which
widely
oneof
sources
Rinkogun
Tokyo-basedtheatrecompanywhich, inadvertently, was responsiblenot only for
Otomo Yoshihide meeting Sachiko Matsubara(a.k.a. Sachiko M), but also for the latter ever
buying a sampler.
At broadcastingschool, the a tutor responsiblefor Sachiko M noticed the young
invited
her
help
for
interest
in
to
tape,
and
audio
out
with
student's
using
soundeffects a
theatre production she was involved in.
OtomoYoshihidehadprovidedthe musicfor a numberof Rinkogunproductions,and
in this way met with SachikoM, finally convincingher in the summermonthsof 1993to buy
a samplerandjoin with his radicalGroundZeroensemble.
Rinzai
Oneof the mainsectsof Zen Buddhismin Japan,Rin:ai Zen derivesfrom the
teachings of ChineseCh'an Master Iluai Jang (677-744), and his school or Lin C1,117,
Associated strongly with the teachingsof Daisetz T. *Suzuki (*SuzuAi Zen), Rinzai departs
from other notable Zen Buddhist practices(e.g.
in the importance it places in the
practice of the arts.
276
Towards a Universal Language
Rock
Rock. one of those words that has enjoyed reinvention and renewedcredibility thanks
to a line of notable avant-gardeartists in Japan- renewed,that is, when comparedto the
laboured, somewhatcliched connotations,the idea of Rock conjures up for contemporary
gurus of Euro-American mainstreamyouth culture.
For artistssuchasKeiji Haino(Fushilsusha)andMakotoKawabata(AcidAtothers
Temple), Rock extendsbeyond its conventional application as a mainstreamgenre: a type of
be
incarnations,
have
followed
its
despite
to
can
always
said
certain
many
music which,
identified
by
(e.
Chris
formats
control
structures
g.
rhythmic
and
predictable melodic
Cummings as `the 12 tone, eight beat and 12 bar structures.' (Cummings, July 2002, p.34).)
Apart from the influencemanyWestern`Rock' actshaduponthe developmentof
Kawabata,
Masimo
for
Akita,
in
(Haino,
Japan
and
example, have all recalled
young artists
their high-school impact of Hendrix and The Doors), it is perhapsthe more abstractelements
New
become
have
been
Rock
the focus of its re-invention
that
music,
and
retained within
of
The
this
noise and confrontationalism that co-existed
context.
within
specific avant-garde
here
Rock,
become
in
focus
detached
the
mainstream
structure
primary
with regular musical
and unrestrainedby musical convention.
Bands: The British Bulldogs; Corrupted; Danse Macabre; D ermue; Doosy Cockle;
Joichiza, Libido; Mad 3; Margelilch; Matilda Rodriguez; Phew; Yß02
Rock in Opposition
According to, Fred Frith former member of '70s ensemblehenry Cow, the concept or
category of Rock in Opposition grew directly as the result of the brief, underground,
influential
Rock in Opposition movement.
momentarily coherent,and
By Frith's account,by 1977Henry Cow,owing to their past,recent,andpresent
positions,werein a uniquesituation:while havinghadrecentsuccesson the Virgin label,they
277
Towards a Universal Language
be
Of
to
longer
to,
a
note
major
corporation.
enough
or associatedwith,
were no
signed up
invited to tour and play venuesthroughout Europe,they were neverthelessfree of the
trappings, associations,and ensuingbaggageof commercialism.
The bottom line is that, in coming into contact with a wealth of unsigned, ignored,
largely unrecognisedcreative artists, they were exposedto a wholly original and creative
fraction
directed
the
a
even
of
exposure
at
commercial
afforded
rarely
musicalunderground
British andAmericanartists.
On March 28`x',1978,the first Rock in Opposition event was staged-a evening-long
festivalat theNew LondonTheatre(billed aspresenting`Themusicthe recordcompanies
didn't want you to hear'), featuring performancesby Belgium's Univers Zero, Stormy Six of
bandsfrom Europe.
Italy, aswell asa numberof otherunderground
Following the disbandmentof Henry Cow, Rock in Opposition (RIO) becamea
tangiblecooperative,completewith its own manifesto-stylelist of objectives,andprinciples
for the acceptanceof new members:-
1. That of musical excellence.This depending on our collective evaluation of same-a
discussion
fruitful
sourceof much
2. Thatof workingactivelyoutsideof the musicbusiness
3. That of having 'asocial commitmentto rock'
(Chris Cutler,btttp:&www.ccutler.com/bands/grnupO3.
shmtWW
Despiteit's presence
asa coherentandconsciouslydefinedcollcctivowasonly shortlived (whenargumentsaroseover social,ratherthanmusical,commitments),Rockin
beenmaintainedasan idea,a genre,a proposedoutlookor
Oppositionhasnevertheless
approachto the productionof music,with variousconnotationsandusages.In relationto new
Japanese
andindependent
music,artistsandgroupssuchasA Paragonof Beauty,Toshimaru
278
Towards a Universal Language
Nakamura; Soh Band; Djamra; Fornoflo; King Joe; Lacrymosa, have, at one time or another,
beenassociatedwith the conceptof Rock in Opposition.
Romanticism
Towards the turn of the century during Meiji Restoration,almost all of the tutors at
Tokyo's music School (the music Study Committee until 1887) were from Germany. German
German
late
Romanticism
least,
during
time
this
were,
particularly
at
musicalconventionsbeyond
in
Japan
foremost
influence
any other, whether native or Western.
of
Ryüteki
Similarto theshinobueusedin the musicof Kabukidrama,the ryüteki is a slanting
bambooflute used,this time, aspartof the Gagakuensemble.
279
Towards a Universal Language
S
S20
Type of sampler usedby contemporarysound artist Sachiko M, who manipulatesthe
it
produceswhen used without recovering memory.
waves
sine
particularly clear
Sadomasochism
The links betweensadomasochismand Japanesenoise music are, to one extent or
listening
individual),
fairly straightforward,
(depending
the
the
preferences
of
upon
another
both aurally and visually.
In sonic terms, this relationship plays itself out in the enforced player-listener
dynamics, where the musician role-plays as the dominitrix, doling out excessesof aural
be
bullied,
to
to
audience,
submissive
all
of
whom
attend
so
a
willingly
as
punishment
dominated and forced into a position of passivity by the overwhelming barrageof noise.
The ideaof this supposed
passive/aggressive
relationshipbetweenaudienceand
by
further
has
been
exploited
affiliates of the noise scene,by way of relative
sound performer,
bruised,
bound
imagery.
bondaged,
Battered,
and fetishised, pictures of compromised
visual
young Japanesewomen adorn the covers of countless noise-relatedalbums and compilations acting both to enforce the sadomasochisticnature of the music, and, by doing this, attract a bit
in
[Although,
of sensationalistpublic attention.
relation to this last point, Masami Akita a.k.a. Merzbow - has sought to defend his use of S&M imagery as surmounting to more than
mere superficial shock tactics. A self-proclaimed serious scholar, as well as frequently
published writer, of matterspertaining to sadomasochism,Akita arguesthat his deep
knowledge of the subject qualifies his use of such imagery as being indicative
ofsomething
much more profound, informed and meaningful.]
280
Towards a Universal Language
Sakoku
Term used to define the closing of international borders in Japanwhich, as during the
centuries prior to the *Meiji Restoration,as well as under the ultranationalist regime
dominant during the Pacific war. Sakokuequatesto almost complete international isolation,
foreign
importation
both
the
people and culture, as well as exportation of anything
of
with
Japanese,outlawed.
Sampling Virus Project
Instigated by Otomo Yoshihide in 1998 (?), the Sampling Virus Project existed
bacteria
bug,
kind
it
literally
musical
or
of
mutating
a
and
as
spreadingas made
almost quite
its way from one host to another.
Beginning as a seriesof sampledmusical works, the project was given life as it was
from
by
Otomo
one artist to another, each of whom would add to, or transmute
passedaround
the soundsreceived in one way or another,The piece thus took on the living guise of a
constantly evolving phonic virus, metamorphosingas it in turn infected -and was infected by
Ostertag,
Kato
Bob
I
lideki,
Kamiyama,
floppy
Yamatsuka
Eye,
such
and
artists
as
-
Sanka Zökei Bijutsu Kyökai
`Third PlasticArts Association'.Constructivist-styled
visual artsgroupformedin
1925, involving the work of membersTöki Okamoto and Tomoyoshi Murayama-- the latter
of whom is notable for his widespreadcriticism of groups like +Nika-kai (Second Section
Association), whom he rebuked for their aping of Europeanmodernism. With this in mind,
Sanka Zökei Byutsu Kyökai was perceived to be more forward thinking and independentin its
searchfor an autonomous,intrinsically Japanese,avant-garde identity.
281
Towards a Universal Language
Sannin noKai
SeePost-warNationalism. Like Yagi no Kai, this group of nationalist musicianswere
founded in 1953 at a time when nationalist tendencieswere, to say the least,out of fashion.
Sannin no Kai translatesas `Group of Three'.
Satori
The stateof enlightenmentreachedthrough the practiseof *Zazen, and has beencited
by a number of musicologists and art historians as one of the key *Zen Buddhist ideals to
have influenced, and been interpretedby, post-war artists around the world. As a philosophy,
Satori epitomisesthe Zen maxim that the `here and now' is what is important, focus the
concrete and the real - the actual experienceof every moment.
For examplesandsuggestions
regardinglinks betweenSatoriandthe arts/music,see
*Zen and *SuzukiZen.
Sawari
Derivesfrom the Japanese
word sawaru,meaning`to touch', andrelatesto the style
Biwa
instruments
Combined
the
to
such
as
and
shamisen.
with the actual
play
or method used
design of the instrument itself, this mode of playing is said to produce a complex sound that
(as
is
than
usually the case in Western music) pronounced
reduce
seeks
encompasses,rather
David
Toop
is
in
It
to
this
that
reference
cites Toru Takcmitsu, in his
noise elements.
referenceto `beautiful noise'.
Scum music Scene
Artists: Shincho 2M; Ultra Fuckers
282
Towards a Universal Language
Seiyö
Term used to refer to the West/theOccident - translatesinto English as `Western
Ocean.' Opposite to *töyö.
Self
Accordingto theteachingsof ZenMasterDaisetzT. Suzuki,in Zenpersonaldangers
be
is
deemed
the
to
of mistaking self-experiencewith selfalthough
vital,
experience
latter
being
fail
the
to
against
sure
way
on thepath
warned
a
clearly
are
as-a-place-of-refuge
to Enlightenment.
Not only a key principle in the attainment of *Zen enlightenment,Self is also a useful
in
it
Japansought to
that
to
avant-garde
many
artists
and
was
musicians
way sum up what
following
Second
World
immediately
in
the
the
war.
years
represent
Self,in this sense,couldmeanthe very personalself (the artist,andhis/her
or, indeed,couldreferto their senseof theNationalself in the contemporary
experiences)
Japan
the
of
at that single moment in time.
representationor expression
senseAnalogous, then, with notions such as autonomy and music Without Memory, what
the representationof self in this senserefers to, is the attempt made by artists (e.g. ''Gutaa
Group, *Zen'ei Byutsu-kai, *Group Ongaku) to find a new alternative as membersof
depart
from
Japanese
the two dominant historical modes of artistic
contemporary
society, and
production: i. e. the recycling of old folk traditions, and imitation of Western styles. Not so
much an endeavourto opposethe West per say, but rather to opposethose Japaneseartists
content to settle for such mindless mimicking of foreign or conventional trends.
Serialism
Althoughusuallyassociated
Twelve-Tonesystem,
with Arnold Schoenberg's
whereinthe composerbasicallychoosesnotesaccordingto a pre-formulatednumerical
structure(involving the twelvetonesof thechromaticscale,eachof which canonly be
283
Towards a Universal Language
been
heard),
have
the
already
serialism also applies more widely
other eleven
repeatedafter
to composition. A radical departurefrom conventional compositional techniques,music is
not arrangedin relation to the traditionally prevailing conceptsof rhythm, harmony, and
scale-basedmelodic ascention,but by mathematical numerical series.This serialisation can
determine how any elementof the music is formed, such as pitch, duration, tone, etc,
although despite the often-scientific precision such systemsoffer the composer,the results
(when comparedto conventionally written pieces) might give the impression of being
somewhat disorganisedand haphazardto anyoneengaging casually. Fundamentally,serial
music defied the conventional expectationsof the listener,just as it eluded traditional
techniquesof composition.
It is the predominantlymathematical
natureof serialisttechniquethat preventedit
from being a wholly desirablemethod for artists such as Takemitsu. Despite a number of
Webernian influenced piecescomposedat the start of the 1960s,it is widely felt that this
quantitative approachto sound wasn't really in keeping with Takemitsu's more romantic
sensitivity to the unique tonal and timbral qualities of individual sounds-a penchantfor
aestheticsover mathematicsin music.
Shakuhachi
Deriving from the servicesandtraditionsof Zen Buddhism,the Shakuhachistill has
Shakuhachi,
very meaningfulreligiousassociations.
alsosinceassimilatedinto popularand
folk music, evolved during the Azuchi-Momoyama period (1573 1603) from the basis
of
-
traditionalancientrecorders.
284
Towards a Universal Language
Shamisen
during
its
Shamisen
to
the
Shakuhachi,
the
Like the Koto and
rose
peak of
popularity
Juila
Naguata)
(e.
to
1868),
and
(1603
styles
g.
of
melodic
Period
accompany
the Edo
used
Shin
'na:
)
Gidayu-Bushi
(e.
music.
and
and story-telling g.
Sankyoku
Traditional genre of Japanesechambermusic, named literally to refer to the
it
instruments
shamisen
of which is consisted- the shakuhachi,
`collectionof three' musical
and koto.
Sannö-Yöi
When, in the mid nineteenthcentury, foreign ships first begansteamingtheir way to
Japaneseshores,there were two schoolsof thought within Japanas to how the nation should
Sannö-Yöi
*Wakon
Yösai.
Those
the
they
and
aligned
with
threat
posed:
to
the
potential
react
Sannö-Yöi mentality, believed the best hope for the nation was for the Japanesepeople to
behind
the
the
emperor,
and
wholly
resist
newly arrived
their
strength
and
support
concentrate
Western *banjin ('barbarians') with all resolve.
Shakuhachi
flute-like instrument,Usedto interestingeffect in Toru Takemitsu's
Japanese
landmark composition NovemberSteps,and by New musician Akikazu Nakamura. The latter,
has
traditional
of
shakuhachi
master
music,
also pushedout the
contemporary
only
a
not
boundariesof the instrument, applying it acrossa range of jazz, rock and experimental
performances.
285
Towards a Universal Language
Shimedaiko
Form of traditional drum, played alongside the *Tsuzumi
Shingakugekiron
.
In 1904 future artistic director of the *Tsubouchi theatre company, Shikö Tsubouchi,
Theatre')
('Theory
development
New
that
in
his
Shingakugekiron
the
of
a
text
music
argued
if
have
Japan
`civilised
Theatre
to
National
New
essential
was
ever
what
other
was
music
of a
both
belief
theatre
his
had.
to pleaseand enlighten
that
It
should
seek
such
was
nations'
people.
Tsubouchi outlined that that the music used in New National music Theatre should
but
Western
Japanese
traditional
conventions,
simply
nor
copy
styles,
neither rely upon
develop as an appropriate `National music' for Japan(although Western music could be used
in
dramatic
the
the production).
to
pints
stress
e.
g.
at certain specific points -
Shingeki
Form of JapaneseTheatredevelopedduring the Taisho period, notable for its
Western
facets
theatreandmusicconventionsto achievedistinctly
of
adoptionof certain
Japanesesensibilities.
Shinjuku
A district of Tokyo,the characterof Shinjukucan bestbe definedby a kind of
both
its
history
in
duality
and its appearance.The West of Shinjuku
schizophrenic
present
largely dominatesthe skyline of Tokyo, with its extensive complex of towers housing a mass
of offices, apartment blocks and departmentstores.While thousandsof salarymen, shoppers
Shuto
Expressway,
daily
the
travel
over
commuters
and
paying the obligatory nine hundred
yen toll to accessthe western side, the east of Shinjuku is a place of primarily nocturnal
vibrancy. Here, below and away from the high-rise architecture of the neighbouring
286
Towards a Universal Language
bar
buildings
districts
Eastern
dense
the
low,
constitute
sizeable
of
of
network
metropolis, a
Shinjuku.
Far from the bustling cosmopolitanismof latter day Shinjuku however, throughout
Bikyoran; Kenso [both describedas `King Crimson-styled', (Shigetoshi, p.20)]; Novela;
Vienna; Teru's Symphonia;Starless;Gerard; Pagent, Outer Limits.
the 1960sthe areawas synonymouswith what were the first ever scenesof Western-style
both
in
by
Vietnam and the prolonged
in
Angered
the
Japan.
situation
public protest
in
in
Japan
(particularly
forces
American
places such as Okinawa), the students,
occupation of
district,
demonstrated
in
its streetsand squares,
dissidents
the
not
only
of
radicals, and social
but famously set out from Shinjuku to overrun Tokyo's Parliament building.
By the 1970showever, plans to redevelop the areabeganto take dramatic effect. The
district's bohemian countenancewas gradually diminished by the emergenceof skyscrapers
displacing
business
the non-conformist, revolutionary
and
complexes,consequently
contingent it had for a decadesheltered.
Shinobu
Slanting flute-like instrument, the origins of which lie with Kabuki drama
performances.
Shinpa
Japanese
Theatregenrewhich,like *Shinjeki,developed
duringtheTaishöperiod,
using a number of carefully adaptedWestern music theatre principles to createa performance
type that was characteristically Japanese.
Shinsakkyokuha
Includingmembers
suchasFumioilayasaka,YasujiKiyose,and(between1950and
1952)Toru Takemitsu,Shinsakkyokuha
('New CompositionGroup') werea collective
287
Towards a Universal Language
dedicated
the
to
academic pursuit of music - particularly
exclusively and conservatively
nationalist music.
Shirakaba
Shirakaba (`White Birch'), a periodical literary text, was first circulated in Japan
free
it
1910.
Promoting
creative
of
expression,
correspondedwith the
principles
around
first
in
Japan's
flourishing
development
community
of
avant-garde
artists
of
underground
Emperor
Hirohito's
fall
Nationalist
following
the
and
of
military regime after
earnestonly
1945.
Shizo Music
Artists: Kangaroo Paw; Pirami
Shö
Mouth organ-typeinstrumentconstitutingpartof the ImperialGagakuensemble,used
to produce chords containing of five or six notes through its seventeenbamboo pipes.
Has beenjuxtaposed againstdiffering western instruments and contexts in modernist
for
Distance
Takemitsu's
Toru
oboeandshä(1972)
compositionssuchas
Shomyo
Like Gagaku, Shomyois a traditional form of Japanesemusic pioneered during the
I`Ieian period although, unlike the Imperial Court music, the origins of this vocal genre are in
chantsandmusicintonedduringBuddhistservices.
Showa Period
1926-1989
288
Towards a Universal Language
Silence
If phrasesand titles were to be taken at their absolutely most literal, then John Cage's
be
perhaps
seenas the most minimal gestureof them
popular associationwith silence would
(his
433"
four
Cage's
fact
is
however,
The
that
piece),
silent
which
consisted
of
minutes
all.
fundamentally
the
thirty-three
playing
not
piano,
was
someone
a gesture
and
secondsof
intended to denouncethe idea that silence- as it is popularly conceived - exists at all. By
Cage
did
433"
them
music,
piano
no
not subject his audienceto a moment
of
presenting
with
listen
in
but
they
the
to
to the sounds
were
given
opportunity
of silence,
rather one which
around them - their ongoing aural-ambientenvironment - and realise that silence in a piece of
in
in
fact, did not and could not ever
different
terms
to
real
silence
which,
music was wholly
really exist.
With this said, the links that can be drawn betweenCage and early minimalist music
his
With
be
obvious notoriety, and classestaught at
are, as might
expected,many and varied.
the New School. John Cage and New York in the early 1960swere as synonymouswith each
for
Teaching
they
a time at the Black Mountain College, Cage'swork as a
other as
are now.
key
figures
with
such as Merce Cunningham and the
solo musician, as well as collaborations
Fluxus group, had fundamentalbearing upon the early development of artists such as
.a
Monte Young and John Cale (with his presencein New York, and the active group of artists
of which he was a part, largely fuelling their move to the city). Just as the former studied the
compositions of Cage at Stockhausen'ssummer school, so too did Cale's early notericty in
New York come from an eighteenhour performanceof John Cage's Vexations(by Erik Satie),
in September1963.
Throughhis adoptionof methodsevolvingfrom the j Cam,?G(TheChinesebookof
Changes),John Cage developeda system of composition that marked a complete departure
from Arnold Schoenberg'shighly mathematical S ri lis technique. Using chance
operations
and indeterminacy, experimental musicians such as Cage, Carl Ruggles and Christian Wolffe,
sought to challenge the restrictive way in which music was createdand received: the
289
Towards a Universal Language
boundariescommonly drawn betweensound,music and noise; the rigidity and limitations
maintained through the conventionalrole of the composer,and traditional values of Western
composition.
However,it is importantin this contextthat oneshouldlook to a numberof ageold
Japaneseprinciples, particularly those derived from Zen Buddhism (E.g. *Ma, *Mu, *Satori,
*Zazen, etc) to seejust how influential the teachings of Daisetz T. Suzuki were to John Cage.
This application of essentiallyZen-derivedprinciples takes on even further significance,
when one considersjust how they were re-imported (see *Feedback-Loop) by Japaneseartists
like Toru Takemitsu, via an interest in Zen-inspired Western artists (e.g. John Cage).
Another notable New musician to engagewith the notion of spaceand silence was
Takehisa Kosugi, founder memberof Taj Mahal Travellers during the 1970s.Emanating a
distinct kind of philosophical, Japanesebeat-hippie persona,Kosugi also explored the
in
leading
Silence
between
*Noise
music,
and
relationship
- albeit through alternative means
both
Cage-associated
in
that
the
the same.
to
conclusion
are
now
one
popularly
Another interesting feature of Kosugi's music is his removal, in a sense,of *Self. In a
way that is analogous,perhaps,to the non-expressionismnow practised by *Onkyo sound
improvisation
Takehisa
Kosugi
through
create a boundary betweenmusic and
artists,
sought
self, removing any trace of personalidentity.
S-Mail
First devised for the 1998 FBI (Festival Beyond Innocence),the S-Mail (Sound Mail)
involved
project
a number of artists performing what might be describedas indirect duos. In a
seriesof musical `blind dates', foreign (occidental) artists were each invited to produce a
piece of music recorded onto audio tape, and send it in to the festival. Each recording was
made in the knowledge that, on the night of the festival, it would be used in a duct with
another artist - who, for his or her part, would perform a live improvisation to one of the
respective recordings, having never heard it until then. The only details given to the live
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Towards a Universal Language
collaborators of eachduet was the length and instrument used in the piece to which they
would be improvising, and the nameof the artist who produced it. In contrast with the
dismissive Cageanattitude towards recordedmusic (i. e. once a piece of music is recorded,it
is fundamentally dead), S-Mail bearssomecomparison with the multi-tape ambient
installations of Brian Eno such as Discreet music (1975). Just as the `Automatic Systems'
employed here allowed multiple tape recordings, in combination, to constantly evolve and
become something new, so too doesthe addition of live improvisation enablerecorded music
to becomemore than ajust an infinitely repeatable,single moment in time. As Kae Uchihashi
explains:
Thesewill be incompleteimprovisational duosfor which some kind
of disparity in time and spaceexisted..., jS Mail] will prove that
there are still ways to breath new life into recorded works.
(Uchihashi, 2001, p.42-3) (Seealso p.44-5)
Sötö
One of the central schoolsof *Zen Buddhism, Soto developed as the Japanese
interpretation of China's Ts'ao Tung Zen sect, associatedwith the Master Using Szeduring
the mid eighth-century. Unlike *Rinzai Zen, the direct importance of art and music is
overshadowedby almost complete devotion to, and focus upon, *Zazen.
Sound Sculpture
Artists: Aube
Space
See*Ma and*Onkyo
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Towards a Universal Language
Space Rock
Another example of Japaneseundergroundbandsbeing applied with the tag of a
traditionally European,progressiverock sub-category(e.g. bandslike Amon Duul and
Hawkwind). The appropriatenessof it's employment to describethe music of new Japanese
be
Kosokuya
left
discretion
Kadura
the
and
must
purely
at
of the
as
music exponentssuch
individual listener.
Spatial Notation
There are perhapstwo ways in which JapanesecomposerToru Takemitsu has
his
In
in
Distance
for
the
compositions.
oboe and shb (1972),
explored
notion of space
how
in
instrument-types
terms
the
the
two
of
musicians
of
spatiality was explored physically
distance,
Exploring
title
the oboist and shö player face each
the
motif
of
were positioned.
instruments
distance
the
two
fair
one
of
as
stops playing a certain phrase,
apart, and
other, a
the other continues it. The idea of Distance, however, is also referred to in relation to the
between
instruments,
distance
historical
the
that
two
exists
with Takcmitsu
culturaland
between
binary
the traditional conventions of Eastand West.
opposition
similar
setting up a
In common with Distance, the composer's later piece Wavesfor clarinet, two
trombones, horns and bass-drum(1976) also incorporateselementsof a spatial nature by
arranging the instruments at various points around the stage.Despite other such similarities
however, perhapsone of the most notable differences between the two piecesrelatesto the
varying levels of determinacy and prescription in the notation of each. In contrast to the
painstakingly precise music of Distance, Wavesincorporates a seriesof notated and verbal
instructions of a much freer, almost improvisational, sort, exploring spatiality in terms of the
creative freedom and spacethe notation affords each musician.
292
Towards a UniversalLanguage
Stoicism
Applied by Jun-Ichi Konuma [seeBurt, p. 11,this term refers to the work composed
by Takemitsu during what, accordingto the popular tripartite division of his musical career, is
Proposedly
dating
from
final
his
the early 1970s,Takemitsu's
third
period.
and
regardedas
by
described
Yoko
Narazaki
been
during
has
also
as constituting a *Conservative
work
phase
style. Seealso *Eroticism.
Subtraction Concept
Principle developedby soundartist Sachiko M during her participation on projects
such as Filament (1998) and *Cathode (1999), which essentially worked towards
deconstructingthe habitual musical and compositional baggagecarried by her collaborator
Otomo Yoshihide. According to the latter, it was Sachiko M's Subtraction Concept that
development
his
lead
to
of projects such as *Cathode and *Anode.
ultimately
own
Sumi-e
A style of traditionalmonochromeink paintingthat arrivedin Japanduring the
twelfth-century,evolvingfrom the Chan monksof China,andsincereferredto primarily asa
form of art relatedto Zen Buddhism.
The key reasonfor its inclusionhereis the fact that a numberof its principles,asa
Zenart, canbe likenedto fundamentalcharacteristics
of Newmusicthat haverecurred,
independently,throughout the twentieth-century.
Oneof the mostnotableexamplesof this is the importanceof *Improvisationto
Sumi-e,explained,for example,in the observations
of DaisetzT. '"Suzuki:-
The inspiration is to be transferred on to the paper in the quickestpossible
time. Thelinesare to bedrawnas swiftly aspossibleand thefewestin
number, only the absolutely necessaryones being indicated No
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Towards a Universal Language
deliberation is allowed, no erasing, no repetition, no retouching, no
remodelling.
(Suzuki, 1970 (1934), p.351, in Westgeest,1997, p. 12)
A concern for spaceand spatial characteristicsis also important to Sumi-e artists,
be
to
formal
begging
both
theoretical
comparisons
made with a range of new music
and
again
from Japan's post-war undergroundand avant-garde.ComposerToru Takemitsu's Arc for
Japanese
for
to
(1963),
through
makes
allusion
musical
a
walk
a
example,
piano and orchestra
for
the
concern
spatiality, absence,and the spaces
same
garden and, as such, observes
between objects, as do thesecarefully constructedtraditional miniature landscapes.
Seealso: *Mobile Compositions;*improvisation; *A1a; *Mu; *Onkyo; *Zen
Suzuki Zen
Following the conclusion of World war 11,Suzuki returned to America in 1949,
...
feelings
US
the
Japanese
to
towards
the
war's
though
the
time
end
close
so
were
at
even
University
Colombia
Taught
at
as a visiting lecturer between 1952
still not altogether warm.
by
likes
Ad
Reinhardt,
Abram
Lassow, Philip
1957.
His
the
of
attended
were
classes
and
Guston and John Cage, as well as other's who, according to historian fielen Westgeest:-
`arty' (artists and devoteesof art) and psychologists, in
were
...
particular psychoanalysts.(Westgeest, 1997, p.52)
Both the personaltuition and many writings of the Zen master enabled him to
successfully passon the difficult ideasof Zen. Even though many pupils at the Columbia
University classesdidn't subsequentlybecomeextremely knowledgeable about Zen, even a
small amount of contact with Suzuki's teachingswas often enough to prove a great stimulant.
[Westgeest,p.52]
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Towards a Universal Language
Swing Journal
Influential Tokyo-basedjazz journal establishedduring the 1960s.
Symphonic
Artists: Hikyo String; Asturias; Cinderella Search; Sakoto Fujit; Natsuki Tamura;
Masahiko Hosokawa; Makoto Kitayama; Midas; Sirius
Symphonic Rock
Artists: Ars Nova; Damian Hamada; Pageant; Ikko Nakajima; Mugen; Katsuhiko
Hayashi; le Rai Shan; Outer Limits; Teru's Symphonia; Vienna; Wuthering
295
Towards a Universal Language
T
Taiko
Taiko drumming has a place in the ancient history of Japan,originally usedcenturies
ago as a meansof communication- to tell the time, etc - before it was eventually adoptedby
the Samuri as a war drum, similar to those used by Westernarmies. Certain commentators
have noted, however, that a `specialrespect' exists for in Japanfor Taiko, due to the drum's
place in Shinto tradition where they are usedto summon and return Kami (deities) in certain
ceremonies.While many Taiko piecesstill played can be traced back over 400 years, there
has also developed in recentyears a new genre of so-called Creative Taiko. This
contemporary style of Taiko playing assimilatesand 'updates' traditional rhythms, adapting
them, according to one commentator,to reflect and in reaction to the `fast pace' of modernday life.
Taiko drums sometimesappearin Nohgaku, the musical accompanimentof Noh
theatre, although while these are played using two sticks, the other drums in the ensemble
ko-tsuzumi and o-tsuzumi- are performed with bare hands.
Taisho Era
Following immediately the death of the Emporer Meiji, the Taisho Period (1912-26)
saw political power drift increasingly into the hands of the Diet and its democratic parties,
and away from the `weak' emperor Taisho.
After playinga cameorole in WWI on the sideof the allies,Japanese
authoritieswere
infuriatedat havinga "racial equalityclause"rejectedby nations
suchas USA, UK and
Australia at the ParisPeaceConferenceof 1919.This, aswell asother
policiessuchasthe
US 1924ExclusionAct, passedto preventfurtherimmigrationfrom Japan(anddescribed
as
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Towards a Universal Language
illustrating a long-standing `racist arroganceand discrimination towards the Japanese'),
contributed heavily to the deteriorationof Japan's relationship with Western powers.
Takarazuka
All-female theatretroupe foundedby Ichizö Kobayashi in July 1913. In 1918 Shikö
Tsubouchi was employed as artistic director of the group, which proved an important step in
determining the future growth and developmentof the group. (1873-1957).
Of notable consequencewas Tsubouchi's belief that the two most important
functionsof theatrewereto entertain(gorakukikan),andto be a conduitfor moralteaching
(fukyökikan).Evenmorenotable,however,wasthat it wasnot merelytheatrealoneto which
Tsubouchi assignedthe role of `organ of social management,' but art in general:
-
Tsubouchiperceived theatre, or art as a whole, as an organ (kikan) of
keiei),
(shakai
social management
which, like religion or education,
causesa powerful spiritual as well as material response.For him theatre
fulfilled two importantfunctions, namely amusement(goraku kikan) to
entertain, comfort and console the people - and improvementand
propagation ofpublic morals (fukyö kikan). (Domenig, 1998,p.269)
Kobayashipromotedhis all-femaleTakarazukarevue,by presentingit asa form of
theatrethat fully embodiedthe ideologiesof *NewJapan.WhereasKabuki waswritten off as
being `antique',Takarazukawasseento epitomisea morecomplete'social
reality.'
Detractorsof therevuehowever,still pledgedtheir supportto kabuki,dismissing
Kobayashi'sall-femaletroupeasa `superficialfad.'
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Towards a Universal Language
Tatamae
According to a vast number of writers and experts commenting upon life in Japan,the
is
dominates
facade
that
something
everyday social behaviour.
ritual of public pretenceand
Tatamae is the word usedto describethis supposedinherent public-face or play-acting, and
the very thing which successivelines of avant-gardeartists and musicians have, through their
work and their way of life, stood in vehementopposition to.
The very presenceof Tatamaewithin Japaneseculture is accountedfor as the product
of a unique, historical, and unspokensocietal pressure.Born of an obligation towards social
duty, one explanation placesthe roots of the concept back centuries to Japan's military
Shogun era, as a safeguardagainstanyonecausing offence by saying the wrong thing, and
thereby provoking societal disharmony.
In terms of contemporaryavant-gardeculture in Japan,this notion of Tatamaeattracts
hidden
knowing
`playing-up'
Western
to
yet
of
artists'
projections
a
number
parallels with
be.
Japanese
to
they
culture
of what
assume
For the counter-principle of Tatamae,see *Nonne.
It is alsoworthy of mentionthat, in his featurearticleon MasimoAkita datedAugust
2000, Edwin Pounceyproposesthat the artist's stanceagainst such `public play acting', is
evidenced in his long-standingMerzbow project. In a statementthat could easily apply to the
historical line of avant-gardeNew musicians in Japan,Pouncey places Akita's rejection of
dominant musical practice as a direct rejection of Tatamae- an outright refusal to don the
expectedpublic facade.
What is particularly significant about this, is that it draws what might be describedas
a direct `causallink' between,not only the rejection of mainstreamsociety, but a specific
historically-embedded code of behaviour, and the creation of a culturally-autonomous
creative identity: -
By unshacklinghimselffrom the restrictionsof Japanese
society,Akita set out on a questto createa newmusicthat
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Towards a Universal Language
ignored
instrumentation,
the
regulatory
conventional
shunned
banished
(Pouncey,
barrier
and
melody.
three-minutesound
The Wire 198, August 2000, p.29).
[see also *Japanesenessand Japan Todaydiscussion on `Leaving Japan' book review].
Technoid (electronic Experimentation)
Artists: MatsumaeKimitaka
Techno/Jungle
Artists: Boredoms;Dot; Dub Sonic; Jigen; Ryuta Kawabata; Nasca Car; O Afask
00
Teigeki
See *Teikoku gekyö
Teikoku gekijö
ImperialTheatrefoundedin 1911with the purposeof aidingthe developmentof
forms
The
theatrical
Japanese
theatre.
upon
placed
emphasis
such as Opera,
modern
however,illustrateshow thetheory/process
of 'modemisation'wasquiteoftenconfusedfor
one of `westernisation'.
Teiten
The ImperialFineArts Academyof Japan.
299
Towards a Universal Language
Theosophical Society
Founded in 1875Henry SteelOlcott and Helena Blavatsky, a Russian living in
America, the society demonstratesan early example of Western interests in the Eastand
Easternphilosophy, that burgeonedthrough modernist pursuits, particularly in the USA, after
the SecondWorld war.
Tokyo Bijutsu Gakkö
Tokyo Bijutsu Gakkd (the "Tokyo School of Fine Arts"), differed from many other
in
by
its
1889,
its
importance
institutions
the
time
the
establishment
virtue
of
of
such
at
Japan.
later
Although
Westernized,
the
traditional
the
of
arts
curriculum placed upon
traditional content of the institution's initial teaching programme is particularly surprising,
frantic
Meiji
Era
the
historical
its
midst
of
early
modernising
within
placing
considering
(Westernising) reforms.
Tokyo electronic/Techno Scene
Labels: TheSonic Plate; Meme; Zero Gravity.
Tokyo Ongaku Gakkö
Formerlyknownas *OngakuTorishirabeGakarl (musicStudyCommittee),
establishedin 1879, Tokyo Ongaku Gakkö (or `Tokyo music School') was symptomatic in its
by
duringthe
the
so-called*IVesternisationists
position
maintained
curriculumof
strong
*Meyi Era.
After centuriesdeprivedof contactwith the outsideinternationalworld, the
terminationof the EdoPeriodbroughtwith it a hungerin Japanfor foreignculture aswell
asan equalnegationof its indigenousculturalheritage.
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Towards a Universal Language
Following a consciously Western-like model, Japan's Ministry of Education began,
from around 1872, to in ushera numberof radical reforms, that enforced the exclusive
teaching of European-stylemusic in schools.From Primary School age, youngsterswere
compelled to partake in singing lessonsas part of their weekly curriculum, followed by the
introduction of instrumental tuition at Middle School level.
Renamedin 1887, Tokyo Ongaku Gakkö was unswervingly zealous in its promotion
German
Romanticism
in
late
because,
(mainly
European
particular
conventions,
as
of
musical
historian Peter Burt points out, `all but one of the teachers were of German extraction.').
...
French composition was also shown to be of some influence to a number of Tokyo Ongaku
Gakkö attendees,with the popularity of Debussy,for example,proving somewhat ironic:
derived
from
largely
interpretation
because
some
was
such work
of tradition
namely
`Oriental' music (in the caseof Debussy,the Asiatic music he was exposedto in the Paris
Exposition of 1889). See*FeedbackLoop.
Tokyo Underground
Artists: 4-Musik; Brast Burn; Karuna Khyal; Tori Kudo; Viddkazz;(also Nakano
recordshopin Tokyo)
Töyö
Translatedto mean`EasternOcean',töyö is the Japanese
term for the `East'or the
`orient'. Opposite to *seiyö (the West).
Trad-Derived music
Artists: Yukihiro Isso; Masashi Kikuchi; Reiko Kikuchi; Miya Masaoka Tctsu
Saitoh;KazueSawai;ShirazuShibusa;KazutokiUmezo;KazuhideYomaji
301
Towards a Universal Language
Trance Rock
Another loosely defined genre-typethat encompassesbandssuch as Acid Mothers
Temple,Demi Semi Quaver, Rovo, Boredomsand Omoide Ilatoba. Like a number of other
brand
it
to
of contemporaryJapaneseNew music that
certain
a
similar classifications, refers
combines spatial improvisations with Western SpaceRock, Prog Rock, and psychedelic
influences. When reading about any of the groups or artists related to this areaof music, more
drawn,
be
from
than
or
some
reference
usually
will
made,
often
amongsta
not some parallel
Hawkwind,
King
Crimson
Amon Duul, Frank
Western
such
as
antecedents
range of supposed
Zappa, Tangerine Dream, Soft Machine, Gong, etc.)
Tsugaru
One-hundred
yearold styleof shamisenplayingnamedafter the regionof Japan
whereit developedfirstly asa folk tradition.The emphasisplacedupon*Improvisation,
however,meantthat Tsugarusoondevelopedinto somethingunlike folk-basedshamisen
Tsugaru
by
professional
musicians,ratherthaneverydaypeople.
styles,playedpredominantly
As a renownedcontemporary
musician,Michihiro Satohasattainedhis positionof
notorietythe only way a Tsugarushamisenplayercan- by beingdifferent.To tnily gain
respect,Tsugarudemandsthatmusicianspushout existingboundariesthroughimprovisation
individual
As
Sato
himself
develop
style.
an
andexploration,and
explains:-
Tsugaro shamisenis not regarded as an established
a
...
he
long
as or sheplays like someoneelse Wehave
musician as
to acquire a unique style unlike any other.,. You can do
like
long
so
as you playgood music. (Sato, in
you
whatever
linear notes to IndependentJapanesemusic box set, 2002)
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Towards a Universal Language
It can clearly be seen,therefore,that although the meansof the music itself (the
defining
in
folk
is
the
tradition,
century-old
ethic of Tsugaru nevertheless
shamisen) grounded
in
*New
Japanese
the
music
many ways: primarily, through the focus
of
epitomises
concept
upon progression,independencefrom tradition or convention, and the constantemphasisupon
each musician to find an individual, representative,expressivelanguage.
Tsuzuki
instrument,this pair of drumsbelongto the smallmusical
A traditionalJapanese
ensembleused to accompanythe maskedperformancesof Noh theatre.
Tsuzumi
Anothertraditionaldrum,playedalongtogetherwith the Shimedaiko
303
Towards a Universal Language
U
Ukiyo-e
A traditionalform of genrepainting,vkyo-e wasoneof the first indigenousJapanese
interested
in
Specifically
Ukiyo-e
by
Western
the
be
convention
to
artists.
of
styles
studied
Hanga (Ukiyo-e genre-basedprints) as opposedto Nihuhitsu Ukiyo-e (hand-paintedimages),
American artist JamesMcNeill Whistler was amongstthe first on the Occident to study and
international
isolation
Japanese
traditional
culture,
as
centuries
of
appropriate aspectsof
ended in 1868with the Meiji Restoration.
Undefined
Artists: Ground Zero; Heretic; Keiji Haino; IIi-Speed; Hoahio; Yoshimitsuichiraku;
Furudate Tetsuo; floppy Kamiyama; Killing Time; Magic Power Mako; Asahito Naºjo; Aki
Onda; Optical*8; OtomoYoshihide;Pugs:Ruins; TheSaboten;TakuSugimoto;Tairikuoioko
Vajra;SatoruWono;Eye Yamatsuka
Ys.Sanmyakuonna;
304
Towards a Universal Language
V
Vinyl records
In the early days of the *jaza kissa, perhapsdue to their rarity and difficulty to obtain,
in the sameway as live performances.
vinyl recordswerewidely acceptedandapprehended
It has beensuggestedthat the contemporaryjazzu-kissa that remain have taken on
something of the air of relics or museums:remnantsof a bygone era, to which LPs now add
an aura of authenticity.
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Towards a Universal Language
W
Wakon Kansai
Old slogan that sumsup the penchantthroughout Japanesehistory to seekto baseits
learned
from
in
during
lessons
development
this
abroad
case
a period
upon
own national
Kansai
Wakon
literally
China
looked
Japan
to
a
model.
as
means`JapaneseSpirit,
when
Chinese Techniques.'
Wakon Yosai
Translatedto mean `JapaneseSpirit, Western Techniques', this slogan illustrates how
the Japanesemoved away from the ideals of *Wakon Kansas(see above), replacing its
America.
It
Europe
China
that
and
representedthe opposite to the hostile
of
reverenceof
with
Japanese
Sannö-Yäi,
the
isolationist
encouraging
not to resist and distrust
and
policy of
Western ways, but learn and benefit from these new military and industrial methods.
Westernisationists
Termappliedretrospectively
to accountlooselyfor thoseartists,politicians,critics,
etc, who - particularlyduringthe Meiji era- soughtwidely to exile almostall elementsof
traditionalculturefrom everydaylife in Japan,embarkinginsteadupona gameof 'follow my
leader' with Europe and America.
After centuriesof *Edo Periodisolationism,manyin Japanduring this time greatly
coveted the kind of modernism they saw evident in the military, arts, and industrial
technology, newly arriving from the Occident. As a number of historians have ob erved,
however,this freneticurgeto play culturalcatch-upwasfundamentallymarked and flawed
in its infancy,by a supposedinability to see`TheWest' and'The modern'astwo separate
entities.In otherwords,Westernisation
andmodernisationwereseento be one in the same
thing, sinceit was in the Westthat the latterhadbeencreated.
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Towards a Universal Language
For Japan's so-calledWesternisationists,therefore, it stood to reasonthat if Japan
benefits
`modem',
the
this would
the
and
reap
to
newly
realised
statusof
were ever attain
bring, the Nation must first fashion its new Post-Edosociety upon that of the West. This, for
the duration of Meiji Westernisation,would naturally also mean the abandonmentof
traditional Japaneseculture - the isolatedenforcement of which, it was felt for a time, had
in
by
first
be
the
the
Japan
modern
world
to
place.
overlooked
allowed
Poignantly,however,it wasin reactionto this ferventassimilationof Westernculture,
that growing concern for the preservationof Japan's indigenousculture beganto cultivate.
With the dawn of the Pre-war ShowaEra in 1926,a new and deeply intenseNationalism
derivation
West
in
(Military
Japan,
life
cultural
of
all
products
and
over
would preside
marching music excepted)be proscribedas property of the enemy.
White Noise
In scientificterms,white noiserefersto a phonicsituationwhereinall perceptible
in
frequencies
time,
the
the
and
which
same
are dispersedevenly and
sound waves occur at
however,
has
describe
been
As
term
to
the
white
noise
often
used
general
randomly.
a more
forceful and almost sado-masochisticmusic of bandssuch as Aferzbow, Afasonna,and
Gerogerigegege- practitioners of so-calledJapanoise music. In this context, white noise
described
be
as a wall of sound: music which, through its
might
generically representswhat
volume and intensity, is forceful, concentratedand - to some listeners - often extreme.
Worker-Bee
Commonmetaphorusedto illustratestereotypicalWesternperceptionsof the
Japanese
`salaryman'- city office workerscaricaturedfor working long hours,having
disregardfor leisuretime, andan almostfanaticaldedicationto work.
is ill at easewith theemergence
TheUSA,it seems,
of thisburgeoning
economic
superpower,with the addedsalt in the woundbeingthat Japanseemsto havebeatenAmcrica
307
Towards a Universal Language
levels.
While,
includes
different
its
this
specifically
speaking,
of
at own game on a number
the successof the Japanesemotor industry, in more general terms it appearsthat the Japanese
have come to more successfullyembodyvalues and ethics (such as the rewards of hard grail)
Way'.
integral
`American
to
the
held
up as
which were traditionally
At timeswhencompetitionon the internationalmarketswashigh, it is in the direction
Americans
*Japan
Dashing
Japanese
that
to
the
these
megalopolis
prone
of
of
working-bees
how
US
businesses
After
finger,
all,
could
possibly compete
often pointed an accusatorial
with the Japanese,while ever they continued to trade so unscrupulously?(i. e. employing staff
hours,
long
for
little
improbably
comparatively
to
money.)
who were willing
work
It goes without saying that the Japanesefound such claims of foul play increasingly
tiresome, particularly as national self-confidence grew with economic successthroughout the
1970sand 1980s.
Much of what constitutesthis office employee working bee stereotype,owes its origin
to more subversivetypecastingof the Japanese:namely, stock imagesderived from both the
14d'century and secondWorld war eras,which portray Japanas a nation populated by
domination.
bent
world
on
ruthless and efficient warriors,
Such rhetoric, dating back to the US during the 1980s,has recurrently found its way
into accountsand perceptionsof Japanesebusinesspeople,depicting Japan's economic
successas a continuation of its war against the rest of the world: a trade, rather than military,
war.
World Parliament of Religions
Symposiumorganisedaspartof the World'sColumbianExpositionin Chicago,
Illinois, May-October1893.As hasbeenwell documented,interestin Easternphilosophywas
prominentamongsta numberof artistsandacademicsthroughoutthe first half of the
twentieth-century.The WorldParliamentof Religionsmarksoneof the first occasionswhere
*Zen Buddhismwas introducedformerly (althoughbriefly) to the US, by a Zen Master
SoenShaku(1859-1919).
308
Towards a Universal Language
Y
Yobikö
Japanese'cramming schools' commonto large cities such as Tokyo.
Yagi no Kai
formed
Sce
in
1953.
Group',
collective
`Goat
nationalist
Translatedas
a musical
Post-war Nationalism.
Yoga
Conservativearts associationin Japan
Yogaku
Japanese
(in
Japanese
`Occidentalised
describes
music'
Japanese
termwhich
Independentmusic,p.9)
Yoka
the conceptof Yoka(leisure)is a strange
Accordingto someWesterncommentators,
'
left
in
Japan,
time
over.
one
and means
Yoka mondai
Term meaning`theleisureproblem'.See*Yoka
309
Towards a Universal Language
Yomiuri Independant
Japanese
Post-waravant-garde
art movementwhich, far from beinganti-western,
hon?
*jiko
in
its
tenets
the
of
opposition to the Japanese
central
neverthelessrepresented
basis,
formal
to
on
a
superficial
elementsassociated
replicate,
cultural propensity passively
with specific Western art movements.While a number of similar underground movements
have appearedthroughout Japaneseart history (motivated by the samedrive for cultural
autonomy), Yomiuri Independantwas specifically opposedto the dominant painterly trend of
the late `50s, which centredaroundthe blind assimilation of French Art Informel techniques.
310
Towards a Universal Language
Z
Zazen
Zazen,an ancientJapanese
term,refersto the practiseof meditationcentralto the
forming of Zen Buddhism. See*Zen definition below for examples,not only of how Zen
Buddhism in general, but meditative conceptshave beenapplied to certain forms of Japanese
New music (whether the application of theseterms was bound directly with the production of
the music itself, or installed as a retrospectiveafterthought by critics).
Zealotism
Devised by Alfred Toynbee in Civilisation on Trial (I952), this term sits in polar
opposition to his Herodian principle, and in someway explains the fervent nationalism that
followed on from the Meiji Restorationof 1867.Beyond the initial Iferodian reaction
(appropriating western ideas- particularly medical and military - in order to play the west at
their own game), Japan's more widespreadand long-term responseto the threat of occidental
its
influence
the
upon
own culture, was to turn more closely to
powers, and
of occidentalism
its own heritage and traditions with, as Toynbee explains, "... abnormally scrupulous
exactitude." (Toynbee cited in Burt, 2000, p.7)
Zen
Twelfth Century:importedby ChineseMonks dedicatedto the Ch'an sect(derived
from the teachingsof sixth-centuryIndianmonk Bodhidharma,who namedthe sectCh'an
with referenceto the Sanskritword for meditation,Dhyana).NameZen applieduponits
by the military Shogunregime:Zen itself beingsomething
arrival to Japan,andacceptance
of
a combinationof the wordsCh'anandZazen(theJapanese
verb for meditation).
The extentof Zen's influencein Japanese
cultureand society,is describedhereas
beinga subjectover which opinionsaredivided.While AlexandraMonroein. Screar,:
at tlae
311
Towards a Universal Language
Sky, for example, condemnsthe superficial Westerntendency to seeZen as a central aspectof
here
Ohashi
Ryosuke
to presentan alternative
Japanese
are
posited
the
opinions of
much
art,
`the
Japanese
Discussing
this
philosopher,
research
examines
role of
whose
the
of
work
view.
Zen in Japaneseculture, Westgeestexplains: -
Ohashi believesthat manyJapaneseunderestimateits influence,
f
the
inclined
to
owers and not the roots.
see
since they are
Moreover, he comparesZen with an explosion which sets things
in motion, but is not itself visible. (Westgeest,1997, p. 11)
There seemsto be a notabledifference here betweentendenciesin the West attribute
Zen-influence too readily, and those in Japanto dismiss, with comparablehaste,any trace of
its presence.
Contemporary musicians/bandsassociateddirectly as having some Zen-like attributes:
Cinorama; Mekong Zoo; Hiroki Okano with Tenkoo Orchestra; Pocopen; Toho Sara
Zen Aesthetics
7Aspectsof ZenArt. Thesepointsformulatedas `ZenAesthetics'by Shin'ichi
Hisamatsu in the text Zen and the Fine Arts: 1. Asymmetry
2. Simplicity
3. Naturalness
4. Tranquility
5. freedomof Attachment
6. Subtle Profoundity
7. Austere Sublimity
312
Towards a Universal Language
The crucial element here is seento be a favouring of the `irregular and seemingly unfinished',
which Hisamatsuhimself saw paralleledin Westernmodem abstractart (e.g. in the removal
of form and figurative representation).
(Westgeest,p. 16)
Zenboom
Phrasecoined by academicRick Fields in 1981 to account for the mid-century
explosion of interest in Zen Buddhism, no-matter how superficial, throughout the USA.
While, according to Fields, Suzuki's lecturesduring the 1950sgreatly acceleratedthe
Zenboom spread,a number of artists including Mark Tobey were highly sceptical about the
superficiality of Zen's mainstreampopularity.
in herbookZenin theFifties: Interactionin art betweenEastand West,
Westgeest,
citesthe threeunderlyingfactorsidentifiedby F. Vos for therise to popularityof Zen:1. The fact that, as a result of America's *occupation in Japan,many young men
familiar
to
the
with manyfacetsof Japanese
states
returned
culture.
2. Zen provided an as-before-unknownalternative to Western cultural practices, with
which many artists and intellects had becomeprofoundly dissatisfied.
3. That it's moregeneralappealcamefrom the simplefact that it was `newand
unknown.' (Westgeest,1997,note49, p.89).
The Zenboomera,however,wasalsomarkedin its popularcontextby widespread
superficiality.Throughoutthecourseof fifties America,Zen Buddhism,and its tcrminology,
waswidely appropriatedby theUS public withoutany real understanding
of its specirc
cultural and philosophical implications. According to Westgccst: -
Zenhad becomean adjectivefor everything,varyingfrom
...
...
painting stylesto personalitytypes,fron: verseforms to statesof
313
Towards a Universal Language
Satori
being
Koan
like
Words
were
and
apparently
awareness.
banded about everywhere.(Westgeest,1997, p.53)
She goes on to cite a commentmadeby artist Philip Guston, which seemsto
the
Zen,
terms
to
insensitive
which
and
philosophies
use
of
the
were
underline
casualand
being assimilated often even without the pretenceof understanding:-
SometimesI think of the Zen Koan. I know very little about Zen,
but I think somehowI am undergoing the Koan. (Guston cited in
Westgeest,1997,p.53)
Zen'ei bijutsu
Japaneseword for avant-gardewhich, likes it's Europeancorrespondent,is derived
from the military term meaning forward or advancedguard. Came into popular use between
1912 and 1926, during the Taisho period.
Zen'ei bijutsu-kai
The avant-gardeAssociation, founded by muralist Maruki Iri and painter Yamashita
Kikuji in 1947. Renownednot only through an approachwhich, in formal and aestheticterms,
because
but
of the contentious and intensely political
also
was regarded as avant-garde,
images
directly
broached
to
the atomic genocide at
related
particularly
subject matter
Hiroshima, and subsequentoccupation by American forces.
Significantasa groupof earlynewartists,whosegoal it wasto representtheir own
impressionsof, and feelings towards, contemporary Japan- to portray their own individual
experiences,in their own unique, individual way, and break away from both Japanese
tradition and the mimicking of Westernstyles. In other words, to project and express
autonomy.
314
Towards a Universal Language
Zeuhl
Originally another Europeanprog-rock-relatedgenre,Zeuhl music (pronounced
`tsoil'), has been mentioned in relation to the work of Japanesebandsand artists including
Bondage Fruit; Coil; J.A. Caeser;PochakaiteMalko; Rinnesya;Rovo; Yuki Saga. In terms of
its original, proper, application, zeuhl referred anjazz/fusion-related approachto music that
both derived from and centredaround,the eccentric, innovative, and highly influential French
band Magma.
315
Towards a Universal Language
1900
"
"
"
"
1903
Art
Life
Year
1901
1902
I
Appendix. 2: TIMELINE
"
"
Startof the BoxerRebellion.aseight
China
North
on
assault
countriesmount
Conflict eventuallyresolved,but Russia
Manchuria
Occupy
to
continue
Protestsheldoverpollutionat theAshio
coppermine
The word]= is supposedlyfirst used
by the pianistJelly Roll Morton.
Japanese
governmentcontroversially
seizescontrolovertheproductionof text
booksfor schools,in orderto 'rid
corruption'.
literarytrendof
Startof the Japanese
naturalism,whichcontinuesuntil around
1911
Alliancesigned
Anglo-Japanese
Tle I*ak of theFiu(publisbedagainst
Ta"hin ms's
remonstration
F1rst Major Opa a Po bction
performedin Japan:Orro it Euriaf w
by Gluck.
ShaysTsubouchiformulateshis
Shingakugekiron
('Theory of a New
Music Theatre'),in which he postulates
thatto bring Japaninto line with other
'civilised nations',a new national
theatrehadto befoundod,basedon
principlesof'dancc drama'.
Western
culturalhegemony.
1904
1905
1906
"
Conflict of interestsover Korea and
Manchuria sparkswar betweenRussia
and Japan.
.
JAW deter Russia4gaining tWitY
Korea and M
uria.
in
"
Callscomefrom certainfactionsin
Japanfor the overthrowof China's
Ch'ing Dynasty
"
Japanseizesßill controlof Koreaasboth
it,
Nationalism
with
and,
political
Nationalconfidencerise.
Literary Boardostabiishodby the
Japes aMinistry of Education,its mk
the politicis ion if
to ootcMarsct
literature.
Writer Kot*olm SbuuShiaa*sed of
theFanpanrin
plotting to assue
what cameto be latown asthe'Great
Team Incident'
Ko>e deemedto be u Jape o colony
by the gmemmentof Japan
Kootoku Shuushihangedafter the 'Great
TreasonIncident' of the previousyear
"
ShöyöTsuboucwi.hitherof future
artistic directorof the Takara ka,
ShizOTsuöouchi,foundsthe pionocring
moderntheatregroupBunn!Kyökal.
1907
1908
1909
1910
"
"
"
1911
"
Kbtatä Takamurspublisheshis way
1Ntda!-fro no SWA("ThaOmenS+un"X
which imdaiina the ucativc
impoRancc `sct[' ovwrimposed
nation k Uity.Tand"pears in
Subawjournal
Tcikoku Gckij&Tcigcki (`impcrial
Thntrc) foundedin otdcr to pronwto
316
Towards a Universal Language
1912
.
"
"
"
Death of Empanr Meiji (age61). Wife
Nogi
Maresuke
l
Gene
comply
and
day
the
of the
tradition
on
and,
with
funeral. commit ritual suicide.
Taisho Era begins
that
Statt of economicpw'oblems
dominateJapanuntil around1925
Revolution in China leadsto the
Dynasty,
Ch'ing
and
the
of
overthrow
Republic.
Chinese
the
of
establishment
1913
"
11
"
"
1914
"
Outbreakof theFirstWorldWar
1915
1916
1917
191$
1919
"
1920
hhi1HakutciandYamaskafoundthe
Nika,kal
Japan= ails association
(`SecondSectionAssociaton)
"
Kbsaku Yamadafounds Japan'sfirst
(albeit short-lived) Symphony
Orchestra.
IchizöKobayashimxkrmkcsa number
of mamma to raisetheprofileand
sundardsof the Takararukafemale
theatreoollociive.Theseinclude
faundingthe Tr wa¢xkaYAwlkad
(traininga
tionk buildinga new
frig
the
and cignificaMly,
ShizOT muchiasartisticdirector,
After beingro ogniscdasanofficial
Education
schoolby theJapanese
Ministry,the Takarazuka
Yöselkat
('Takarv.ukaTrainingAssociation')is
renamedTakarazuka
ongakuLageki
MusicAcademy')
gaAka('Takarazuka
Madeillegalfor Japanese
currencyto be
takenoutof thecountry
"
"
Widespread
riotstakeplacethroughout
Tokyo,whichcometo beknownasthe
TokyoRiceRiots
"
"
"
Zen Master SoenShakudies
Rejection of a racial equality article at
the Pairs PeaceConferenceangers
Japaneseauthorities
Japanforcefully suppressesantiJapaneseprotestsin Korea, which called
for independence
"
Strikes held by both the Iron and Ship
industries,as economicrecessiontakes
hold
"
.
9
The wordjazz sccn for the first time in
a printed text.
The all-female Takara2u a theatre
troupefounded by Ichizö Kobayashi
"
Kawakami Hajime's bestselling text
Talesof Poverty published.Outlines the
in
travel
experiences
author's own
Europe,and the surprisinglywidespread
poverty he witnessedin so-called
'civilised countries' suchasthe UK,
USA and Germany
"
the dcvelopmcntof a new
Japanese
modernisedhvestemised
music theatre.
First aver native JapaneseSymphony
conductedby Kösaku Yamada(19861963)
Formationof theLeagueof Nations
"
Foundation
of tftra! -ha Ilijutsu KWkat
(`TLcFuturistArt Association)
Japanese
FuturistTat Kanbara
proclaimshis fu-9manifesto
Towards a Universal Language
1921
"
Asssination of JapenesePrime
? thu a Hara Kai
"
deemed
TaishoEhr
to bementally
mil, resultingin Hirohitoundertaking
role asRegent
1922
Mirai-ha Bijutsu lj 3kai (Ilia Futurist
"
Art Association)disbands
aftcrtwo
1923
.
1924
.
Gent Kanto Eanhqualmcauses
devastation
US passthe Oriental ExclusionAct,
which actively bansnotjust Japanese,
but all Asian immigrantsfrom entering
the country. Inevitably resultsin
indignation and claims of racismfrom
Japan.
1925
1926
"
"
End of TaishoEra as the Emperordies
ShowaPeriodbeginswith the
"
ChiangKai. Shek,leaderof the Chinese
National Party (Kuomintang).instigates
actionsto try and establisha solid
political foothold in the YangsteValley.
Kuomintang(ChineseNational Party)
under ChiangKai-Shck, makesNanking
the centreof his operation
Japaneseforcesgo into China.
1927
"
1928
"
bestBiographyof Mussolinibecomes
sellerin Japan
1929
.
Globaldepression
sparksfeatof a new
economic'YellowPeril', with Japanese
tradethoughttobe cable of
thatof theWest(through
overshadowing
whatwassoonin Europeand,
particulady,theUSasunfairadvantage)
1930
"
1931
"
JapaneseMilitary hold control over most
seatsof govctnma* during what has
beenseenas a period of political
oppression
Japanreactsto challengeof Chinese
Nationalists(protestingagainstunfair
treatiesimposedby Japan)by invading
Manchuria and mountingaerial attacks
on Shanghai
Leagueof Nations calls for Japanesse
troops to withdraw. though Japan
refuses.
1932
"
"
"
KbsakuYamadafounds Japan'ssecond
SymphonyOrchestra,alter the first
disbandedshortly after its formation.
"S
nka Zakri Bij wKy3kat ('Thins
PlasticAm Anocistic ') founded:a
unstnuctivist inspired antsassociation.
"
SeminalfxxionistRyürawko
Aiwa
commitssuici&.
instatement
of EmperorHirohito
"
"
`yam.
Globaldepression
newheights
reaches
Aerial
come overShanghai
Compaeer
TiaraTakcmuitsu
bornin ihr
Hongodistrictof To&ya
Doccmber22:MasayukiTakayanagi
bornin die Shibadistractof Tokyo
Towards a Universal Language
"
"
1933
"
"
1934
1935
1936
1937
1938
Japanesegm
t officially outlaws
the Oomotosect-a cult religion whose
beliefs foresawthe coming of a `new
world order'
" And-CaminternPad resultsin Germany
and Japanjoining forces
" Chaing Kai-shek,kaier of the Chinese
Nationalists(KuonvinAng),forms
settlementwith the country's Communist
party toformcommon allegianceagainst
the threat of Japan.
" Outbreakof the secondSino-Japanese
war resultsin China concedingdefeat
" Rapeof Nanking
" Aerial attackscarried out over Canton
" Japanseizescontrol of Guangjou,
Shanghai,and Beijing.
" Incident nearPeking,at the Marco Polo
Bridge, sparksa major conflict between
Japaneseforcesand the Chinese.Japan
forms a specialcorpse,the North China
Army, in direct responseto this.
Prime Ministet ftimimain
"J
Konoe makespublic speechdiscussing
`New Order in East Asia'
"
"
"
1940
nation of Japan'shoffe actions
Rebelcivilian factiousin Japan,angemd
by the vast declineof mint ooauno
,
instigatea seriesof a
vo actionsin
level, these
pt!otea At the most one
were cappedby a string of murdersand
asawkiatiow carriedout upon
govermncotminimeraand stateOfficials
by the blood brotherhoodof Inane
Nissho.
Rise of National Socialistparty resultsin
Adolph Hitler becomingGerman
Chancellor.Shortly afterwards,jazz
music outlawedby radio stationsin
Berlin.
Japanwalks out of the Leagueof
Nations, after it condemnsJapan's
actions in China and Manchuria
"
"
1939
Leagueof Nationsawfiodin its
.
join
Japans troopson theYangste
forceswith its NorthChinaArmyto
invadeCantonand8ankow,
Outbreakof WorldWar11in Europe.
GermanyforcesinvadePoland
Japanese
occupation
of Itainan
JapanOccupiesFrenchIndonesia
(Vietnam).PromptingtheUSAandUK
Japanese
to imposeoil sanctions.
Towards a Universal Language
"
"
"
1941
"
1942
"
Japanand
Non-agg sionpactbetween
Russia
"
SurrealistsShöxaTakigochi and Ichi tO
Fukuzawaarrestedundersuspicionof
Ultrathe
of
vicdms
political seditionNatiooatistregimeruing Japan
"
Japanesewar campaignextendsto
Malaya, the BastIndies wages,and
Burma.
Turning point in the conflict comeswith
the Battle of Midway, after which Allied
forcesbegin to regainterritory captured
by Japaneseforces.
"
1943
"
1944
"
1945
by
fuel
its
crisis
governmentremedies
invading the oil-rich DutchEast Indies
(Indonesia)
AgreementmadebetweenJapan,
Germanyand Italy, The Tripartite Pact,
Asia
East
in
that
results agreement
Japan
be
the
of
province
should
2,600 anniversaryof Japancelebrated
Translationof Hitler's Mein Kampftops
best-seller'slist.
the Japanese
Japaneseattacksupon Allied forcesin
the Pacific arc markedby the bombing
of Pearl 1Yarbour.While Japan's
territorial expansioncontinues(reaching
from the Indian borderto New Guinea)
Allied forcesofficially do lare war on
Japan.
"
AgreementmadebetweenBritain, the
haw
US and C biangKai-A& wing
territory, takenby Japanduring the War
will be re-distcibutodatýt'aratd
Japanesemilitary employ policy of
national `Mobilisation'
"
Japanesegovcrnmerdmakeplans to drop "
`Dirty Hoots' on US (babonio-plague
infestedwarheadsdesignedby Isht
Shiro)
"
"
"
RyukyuIslands
US takeJapanese
Russia,USandBritainsigntheYalu
ConfennoeAgncerr$ da dinghow
invadedterritorieswill bedividedand
distributedafterthewar
"
Air Raid over Tokyo takes
appcoximately125,000lives.
"
issuethe
On July27 Allied powvers
Polsur Declaration,orderingJan to
offer its immediateanduwonditional
surrender,'or mat
would
oontimm,
August6. TheUnitedStatesmakesthe
civilian populationof Hiroshimathefirst
"
Academicconfercnccentitled Kin dal
(`Overcoming Modernity)
no Chö oYku
held in Kyoto, which looked to assess
the nature/problemof modernity in
Japan.
Tau Takemitsuhasto icavc school
early to work at a military mountain
provisionsbase,asMn of thewar
drort
ModernistComposcrAntonWcbcm
kkd inus mmW
dwfi sby
military
p(A
. BelaBartok
Foudoristcompoccr
dks
also
Towards a Universal Language
"
over targetof a Nuckv as ault.
August 8: USSRjoins War against
Japan.
"
thetargetof the
August9: Nam
secondAtomicbomb.
"
"
"
"
"
"
1946
"
1947
1948
August 14:Emperor Showaaunoun
the unconditionalsurrenderof Japan.
Germanarmy surrendersas Russia
stormsBotha
USPresident
HarryTrumanbecomes
Commencement
of UnitedStates'
by the
Occupatfon
of Japan,overseen
Commander.
appointedSupreme
Genara!Mac rthur.
All territorygainedby Japanafter1894
lost:theUSSRtakepossession
of the
Kurile Islands,andtheUSAof the
(whichinclude
RyukyuWands,
Okinawa)
300 Japanese
commit suicide
immediatelyfollowing Japan'ssurrender
Emperor makesdeclarationannouncing
hisexistence,
notasa God,butasa
human
"
New constitutionin Japanreducesthe
Emperorme* to a symbol of the stale,
with no military or political power.
"
"
Strictmediacensorship
enforced,with
anymaterialdeemedto beanti-Allied
outlawed
"
"
Establishmentof an educationsystem
basedupon the US model
Korean People'sDemocraticRepublicof
North Korea established
"
"
"
1949
1950
"
.
"
"
Outbreakof KoreanWar.
Tibetinvadedby China.
Accusationsregarding`pornographic'
translationof Lady Chatlerly's Lover by
D. H. Lawrenceresultsin scrics of court
casesacd appeals.Final verdict of the
SupremeCourt rules that both the
translatorand publisherare held guilty
"
"
"
PJ$ ,ay reps MacArthuras
SuprcmcCommander
Attcalas from aroundtheworldat the
Ntch!-&I fcstivalof contemporary
music,
Firstmeetingbetweenestablished
Nationalistcomposer
YasujiKiyosc
andtheyoungTau Takcmitsu
ZenBuddhistMasterDaisetzT. Suzuki
withnrsto Mmaica,
Sh/raLaha('White Binh') first
circulated:periodicaljournalpromoting
principlesof freecreativeexpression
"
KBsakuYamadafounds Japan'sfirst
(albeit tart-lived) Symphony
Orchestra.Eliroyoshi Suzuki and Toni
Takemitsujoin MIAS41 Qvhr, ('N
"
CompositionGroup')
"
Toto Takemitsu'spranicrctales place
in Tokyo,with thedebutpcrfantcanc
of"Lento in DueMovimcnti'. Also
producescomposition'Distancedc
He'
Akiro Kurosawa'sGtmKasMmo,
released,
with accompanying
score
producedby ToruTakemitxu,
JiJ.ten Kobo(`Thee
Expalmeow
Worikshop")
four"
"
1951
MuralistMatuhihi andptider
Yamashita
iü'kuji foundZen'ei 4Ua1wkai ('Ttic Avant-GankAssiaciatlon')
Swig Jo moi bcgmspobltahing,
"
Towards a Universal Language
1952
"
"
"
killedin theMayDay
Two participants
protestsat imperialPark,afterarmed
policeintervene.
"
"
"
KoreanWarceasefre
"
"
Trend of acceleratedeconomicgrowth
begins in Japer.pertly as a resultOf its
marginal contribution to America'swar
in Vietnam. Growth continuesuntil
around 1975
Sannln
Xi
('Group
Three')
no
of
,
founded:Nationalistcollectiveof
"
AnotherNationalist-style
musicgroup
Yggrno Kai ('GoatGroup')also
founded.
Japan'sfirst musiqueconcretepiece
piodunodby compoerToshiro
Mayauani:Ocavmpout Musiquc
Concretex. y, z.
LorisAnnsm gAllrtars perform
concertsin Jaen.
"
Surveycarriedout showsthataround
80%of thoseJapanese
asked,believed
that Western'c uturewasskor to
their own
"
"
1954
"
"
Establishmentof Japan'sSelf Defence
Force illustratesthe so-called`reverse
course' of the Occupation,wherepoints
mappedout in the antiwar article of the
constitution wereoverruled
At the conclusionof the KoreanWar
Japanbeginsto flourish both
economicallyand,throughthe stability
of its ruling liberal DemocratParty,
politically.
"
Releaseof the popular movie The
GlennMiller Story
"
Inoshiro'sfilm (J j1ra ('God2illa)
release!
Release
of TheSevenSamuraiby Akira
Kurosawa.Film scoreby Toni
Takcmitsu
MasayukiTakayanagl
formsNew
DirectionQuartet,featuringTakimoto
Tatsuro,IiaradaKanji andSugiura
Ryorou
Highlypopularradioprogramme
Jau
Tors
beginsbroadcasting.
the
at
"
"
"
1955
"
Composer
Tau Takcmitsuproduces
hisfirst musiqum
CMCMopiece,"RdId
Staiquc' (1955),asincidouta!music
for the 1933radio j oduct1on
tkm,
('`)
"
Toshiro Mayxzuml produce
"
"
1956
"
"
Daisctz T. Suzuki begins teachingparttime classesat Columbia Uni,.vxxity.
USA. Continuesuntil 1957.
Hiroyoshi Sun,W and Toru Takemitsu
leaveShinsaUJ* ha, two yearsafter
joining
GeneKruper Trio becomethe first US
jazz musiciansto play in front of
Japaneseaudiences.
Oriental Exclusion Act in the USA
evoked
"
1953
Venice Film Festivalreportedlywowed
by Akira Kmosawa'smotion picture
Rizthoman.
U.S. Occupationof Japanbroughtto an
end.
UN
Japanaccepted
the
of
asmember
UK asworld'sleadingship
Overtakes
manufacturer
"
"
"
`Shuustu',thoughtto beoneof the first
dektrunischcMM& compositions
pioduccdby a Japanm"t
ShowTakigudhirehrot marütcsto.
styledeclaration,,
outliningtheaimsof
Jir o Lobo.
Deathof composerandShin jrguM
memberFwnio tiayasaka
TomTakcmitsumusiqucconcrete
composition,Rclicf Statique(1955),
prcinicrcdat 7lkkcnKooba
conceit.
MasamiAkitabornin Tokyo
King Recordsstartto release
tuconiüq;s
Ofcontemporaneous
Japan= Jazz
Towards a Universal Language
1957
"
"
r of
Japanbecomesbiggestm ufixt
steel
PresidentEisenho%
U of the US
VFA4
Japan
to
to
agree
- an
dominoes
limit
Jaffe
d
to
and
ooaw
bp
textile exports
1958
"
"
"
"
"
1959
1960
"
"
1961 "
"
Anpo (`U.S.-JapanSecurityTreaty'
controversiallyrenewed,causing
demonstrations
and
eruption of student
protests
Controversialargumentsbreakout
National
Japanese
the
concerning
language
Completion of the Berlin Wall
JohnF. Kmody voted in as US
PMWML
USundertakes
war in Vietnam,through
by
financially
Japan
profits
which
depository
for
to
a
as
mve
agreeing
Americanmilitary.
0
Cubanmissile crisis
Official contmis placedover the
by
dcvcloping
textiles
of
exportation
countriesunder the UFA ('Multi-Fibre
Agreement'), to which Japannever
signsup.
Group Ongaku founded- arguablythe
first fi c-improvisational collective in
Japan
MasayukiTakayanagitorus Shins'ILJ
OngakuAenkyuJo('New Century
Music Laboratory')
"
Rockabillymusicbecomes
popular
public
with Japancsc
"
Kinjiki ('Forbidden Colours.')
performedon 24 May by Tatsums
Hijikata. Recognisedas the first
pcrfornuncc ofAnkthu J3utohby its
founder (1932-1986).
"
Igor StravinskyvisitstheNHK in
Tokyo.andis impressed
Toru
Takcmitau'tcomposition'Rooem'
OtomoYoshihidoborn
OrncttcColeman-influencer
jars album
'Avant Oarde'recorderby
JohnColtraneand
Saxophonist
trumpeterDonCry
"
"
"
"
+
'
1962
artistson theKingJ=Set! es.
by Jazz
BlucTrain albumrecorded
Saxophonist
JohnOobrano
Jazzpianistand&rTw crToahiko
Akiyosldawardedprizeby theIGtky
Collegeof Music
Toni Takccmitsu
productscomposition
by the
'Requiem',commissioned
TokyoSymphonyOjxJhestra
"
"
Toehilchlysaagireturn from America
afterstudyingcompositionat theNew
SchoolIn NewYoit und JohnCage,
OsakaConte
ry MusicFaaival
Toni Takmuitsuproducesthe gmphic
sc m'Itiag'
Seriesof avant-pnie concerts
orb nizad is Tokyo by Todd
Ichryanngiux! Yoko OnosInvolving
theparticipationat nobblecrusts
includingYsuuraaToneandTskchlse
Qngaksr,
Kosugiof Cmaap
Palbram"X=by USt. wstaiin Jain
becameauor+c
Concertseriesof Toshitchiyanagland
YokoOno,begunthe
"ious)tar,
continues,
Yatiunao
Tanaundcntakcs
first solo
performance,
whichlamsoversix
twurs,andaxe ddvt of his piece
'Anagramfor Strings.Ills
compositionwasalsoperformedof the
Copenhagen
F7wusI-cxtivralof the
samcyear.
Tonealsocxh bits soundiratbtion at
Towards a Universal Language
the annual Yomiurl Independent an
show
"
"
1963
"
JohnF. Kennedyas
acted.
"
"
1964
1965
"
"
"
"
"
Tokyo Olympics
Japanbecomesmemberof the OECD
`Bullet Train' put into operation
Malcolm X assassinated
Nationalsurveyin Japanindicates
its
highest
in
Japan
USA
at
popularityof
point
`Mc Twist' dominatespopular
mainstreamtastesin hp an
"
Yasujini&zudies
Filmmaker
"
"
'Ghosts'albumrecordedby avantgardejazz saxophonistAlbert Aylcr
SapporoContemporaryMusic Festiggal,
at which JohnCagemadehis second
evervisit to Japanto perform 'Atlas
&lipticalis' (1961)
"
TomTakcmitsu
moatsJohnCage
"
Ill RedCentreundertakea numberof
subversive(althoughplayful) avantgardeperformancepied in the public
spacesof Tokyo to correspondwith the
Olympics.Taking placerespectivelyon
a commutertrain, the streetsof Ginza,
anda Tokyo gallery space,theseevents
included:'Yaratc Loop Train Cvcnt',
'CleaningPiece';and 'Closing Event'.
"
KosugileavesTokyofor New
Takchisa
York
"
Gallery 8 Live E{oust opensin the
Ginzadistrict of Tokyo
free-jazzalbum
+ Experimental
by JohnCoftranc
'Ascension'
recorded
again,by Ornttc
records(influenced,
Coleman)
born
" MakotoKawaäata
"
"
"
1967
"
"
Chicago,
USRaceriotsin Cleveland,
andNewYork.
ChineseCulturalRevolution
RobertKennedyassassinated
Martin Luther Icing assassinated
ToroTakemitsn'tgmphicsoar for
'CommW exhibitedasa workof
visualartattheTokyoGallery,
"
"
1966
Group Ongakueffectivelydisband.
Torn Takcmitsuwrites Nature and
Music, a collectionof thirteenessays,
and composesscorefor Masaki
Kobayashi'sfilm h ara-Kitt, which
featuresthe biwa. Underthe influence
of JohnCage,alsowrites the two
graphiccompositions'Coronaand
Crossing'
ComposerTofu Takernitsuproduces
`Arc for pianoand orchestra'
"
"
Yasur w Tone organise*Tokyo's irrst
F7wcusweek
riºa I'llInn live Houseopensin the
Shinjukuareaof Tokyo
FurtherLive l lousesbeginto develop
NationalTheatrein Tokyogives
to [lunraiu
permanent
residence
"
Essaydiscussingtntcrmodiapublished
by Dick Higgins
"
Formation
of theGS('GroupSonn ')
popgroupJacis
"
LesP4lIzes Denv&a form while
studentsat Unhusüy in Kyoto
Towards a Universal Language
1968
0
lau artistJohnColtranedies "
Renowned
"
October:violent studentprotestriots
"
take placeon the streetsof Shinjuku,
Tokyo.
In the midst of public protestsagainstthe
"
renewalofAnpo, studentsseizecontrol
Tokyo
halt
lecture
at
the
main
of
University in July. It was not until
January1969that riot police managedto "
force them out
Beheiren('Vietnam PeaceCoalition')
formed by writers and studentsin protest
in
Vietnam
US
action
military
against
"
1969
"
TakdhisaKosugi (Group Ummalta
member)returnsto Japanfrom New
York, going onto form Taj Mahal
Travellers.
"
Masayuki Takayanagi forms New
Direction, marking a new musical
dir ction in the prolific artists cart
"
"
"
1970
"
"
Influential JazzmusicianAlbert Ayier
dies
"
`Yodo- 10Hijacking':.Stgun
RedArmy') hijackaircraft
('Japanese
boundfor NorthKorea
"
So-called'Koza Incident' occursin
American-controitedOkinawa.Mass
US
during
break
which
out,
riots
Military Police are issuedwith the illegal
order to shootany citizens who enter
military complex. Incident sparkedby
military vehicle sting a civilian
"
r
"
1971
kills JimiHendrix
Drugoverdose
"
"
evaluated.
MurraySchafer,Canadian
composer,
formulateshis Sowed peconcept,
"
"
lau Caf4circle bARMSMyuUU
Tatcnyana.,
gi, abetcontroversial
macein JazzM azint,
comments
"
Atonal jazz experimentThe Songof
Singing rccrßod by Pianist Chick
Cores
"
"
Keiji Hainsco-foundsLastAastef
Renowned
(andequallycontroversial)
frco-jszzPlayasMasayukiT111ayanu$i
(guitar)andAbeKaocu(saxophone)
undertake
seriesof perf"muxxs
109011"
114ppy
Endlbrm, featuringlater
mir
of YellowMaxi O heran,
Ilsniomi Hosono
lei Rodlizes
Ams ks moveto Tokyo,
"
RolandBartboainfluentialtextEmpireof "
Signspublished
First so-called`Yen Shock'. which saw
"
currencyof Japandramatically re-
awayfrom stacdsrdjazz, to intenselive
improvisation.
YosukcYamashitafoundsfins jacx
joined by Know Abc.
trio, occasionally
FirstTelevisionprogramme
dedicated
to Jagthomedby SadaoWatanabe
by student
Protestconcertorganised
dissidents
at KyotoUniversity:
`Barricades
A-G".
Participants
includeLesRadizesA»wdes.
world Exposition. Rrpo '70, held in
Osaka
WorldExposition,Expo'70, takesplace
in Osaka
.
by HermanKhan. the
Text
written
Superstate,manes
EmergingJapanesse
USA
in
Europe
and
recognition
growing
international
Japan's
profile
growing
of
Toni Takcmitsucomposes`November
Steps'
NewArtist Organisation,a workshopto
bring youngstersinto improvisation,
foundedby free-jazzguitarist Masayuki
Takayanagi
Avant-gardejazz collective, TheArt
Ensembleof Chicago,founded by
TrumpeterLesterBowie
Peakof popularity for so-calledGS
('Group Sounds')bandsin Japan
(groupssuchasJacks and TheMops,
who soughtprimarily to mimic the
soundsand stylesof psychcdcliain the
UK and US)
Govcmmcntabandonthcir pinnto
enforvcthe oom}Wdsogr
(cachingof
instnunctnts
traditionalJapanese
in
Towards a Universal Language
"
"
"
"
"
"
1972
OccupyingU.S.fol= finally withdraw
fromm
Okinawa
Relationship
with Chinanormalised
"
"
"
EmperorHirohito visits sevencountries
th ougboutEurope
"
"
Startof a two yearspate,whichsaw
hundred
three
over
studentriotsoccuron
involving
usually
occasions
separate
japanese
the
with
conflicts
violent
police.
"
"
"
1973
"
"
"
"
1974
.
Suicideraid undertakenby the Japanese
Red Army againstIsraeli Airport in Tel
Aviv
End of Vietnam War. US maintains
financial aid to SouthernVietnamese.
but pulls out troops.
JapaneseOil Crisis sparkedby war in
Israel, and its subsequenteffect upon the
US economy.Rapid inflation ensues.
Economyof Japanrecoversquicker than
that of any other nation, including Japan.
Visit to China of US PresidentNixon
stirs feelingsof distrust amongst
Japaneseofficials, who express
dissatisfactionat not first being
consulted
Contraryto the poll of 1965,National
US
implies
of
and
popularity
now
survey
US culture now at its lowest ebb since
the conclusionof World War II.
"
"
NobelPeacePrizeawardedto Prime
Miniger SatoMOW
"
"
schools,due to the lack of teacher
expertise.
TakayanagiMasayukiNew Direction
formed.
Gen ;msai Festival involves
participationof JapaneseNew Music
artists including Keiji i-laino's Lost
Aaraaf, Masayuki Takayanagi,and
DEW. Event organisedto correspond
with protestsaboutthe new Narita
Airport.
Love Live Life +I releaseclassic
psychedelicalbum `Love Will Make a
Better You' - their only ever release.
The All Japan Folk Jamboreeheld
Les RallizesDenudesform.
YasunaoTone undertakesyear-long
project to chronicle the history of the
Japaneseavant-gardefrom 1916to
1968.Publishedover twelve
instalmentsof the journal ftyustu
Techno
TayMahd T awllers mleasealbum
KazuoImaicommaouslcasona
under
MasayukiTakayanagi
YasunaoTonemovesto NewYork
from Tokyo
"
Headhuntersalbum recordedby
fusion/jau-cock Kcyboardist llcrbic
Hancockto popular acclaim
"
FirstcvcrMusicTodayfestival
by ToruTakcmitaiat the
organised
ScibuTheatrein Tokyo
"
tfagical PowerAfako releasesfirst solo
album.
"
Japanese
free-jazzscenethoughtto
havepeakedwith theInspirationand
Power14Festival.Mic event,Hbich
tookplacein theShinjukudistrictof
Tokyo,featuredpcrformanors
by the
likesof YoshitawaMotohrruand
MasayukiTakayanagi
Nijikata'sfinal 13utoh
performance
Fusion-style
Jau gainsan increasingly
notablefollowing.signallingthe
beginningof theendof ftee-jars;
dominance
within theJarru-Kissn.
TajM bal 7 uwlkrs releasealbum
TakemitsuFestivalheldat theNissci
Towards a Universal Language
1975
"
Iapan c Pinne Min'ister'stout of South
FastAsia markedby antiJapanese
anddisttubances
pis
"
Saigonoccupiedby North Vietnamese
troops
Many EuropeanandAmerican
commentatorsbeginto hold Japanup as
a modelfor their own societiesand
socialstructures.
"
"
"
Theatrein Tokyo
First of nunam collaborations
beten YasunaoTone (now living in
New York) and Mace CQnningham
resultsin video piece'Clockwork
Video'
MasayukiTakayanagi'sworkshopfor
young musicians,theNewArtist
Organisation,renamedRenJade.
"
Kazuo 1mai studies under Takchisa
Kosugi, before featuring with Tal
Mahal Travellers and Masayuki
Takayanagi'sAction Direct the
following year.
"
Toru Takemitsubeginsvisiting
professorshipat Yale University
"
Masayuki TakayanagI undertakes his
only ever performance outside of Japan
at the Moers J= Festival. Plays with
his New Direction Unit, which included
Akira Ijima.
1976
"
1977
"
"
TheEast}3ionkcS)mpIionIa releaselive
album
Ami Yoshidaborn
TakchisaKosugi replacesDavid
Rehimanas musicaldirectorof Mcrca
Cunninghamdancecompany.
1978
"
Elvis Presleydies
.
"
Earthquakein Fukushima
treatyof
Signingof the Japan-China
peaceandfriendship,which saesthe
normalisationof relationsbetweenthe
two countries
"
"
"
"
1979
"
First edition of Edward Said's text
Orientalism published.
"
"
Launchof the first SonyWalkman
"
Leadingeconomicpowersof the world
suffer second'Oil Shock'.Japan's
"
relativelyspeedyeconomicrecovery
contributesto Nationalself confidence.
Mounting frustrationamongstJapanese "
commentatorsand intellectualsat why
'the West' hasbeenconsideredsuperior
for so long (notably,sincethe Mciji
Restoration).
Second'Oil-Shock' occurs,from which.
from
Japan
with
recovers
again,
comparablesmoothness.
"
"
1980
.
"
JohnLennonmurdered
Japanese
translationof JamesClavell's
Shogun(1975)reachesnumbereight in
the country'sbest sclkr's list.
"
InoueMakotoaM YamashitaYasushi
form Jnoyr mak. d
Deathof freejau saxophonistKw u
Abe from drug overdose,ago29
HarnomiHonono,Yikihim Takahashi,
and Ryuichl Si icamotoform Yellow
Magic O,abesba(YMO)
Tamio Shiraishiand Keiji Remo form
FlablawAa
Junji Ni rosefoundsFree Ixpanslom,a
freeimprovisationaltrio
Toru Takemitsupublishescollection of
lettersentitled014 KotrabatA7n to
('Sound,Word, Man')
(homo Yoshihidcmovesto Tokyo
from Fukustumain NorthernJapan
First performanceof Mcrce
Cunningbam'sdanceRmwdnnuwrs,
featuringthe composition'Geography
and Music' by YasunaoTonc
Dcmk Dailey's book Pies Jazz
publishedwoundthe sametime as his
secondvisit to Japan
"
MasamiAkitabcgmsMerzbow
pralcp.
Towards a Universal Language
"
"
"
198I
"
"
1982
.
"
"
"
1983
.
"
TanakaYasuoka'snovel SomewhatLike
Crystal published,describinghis
hypothesisof what he sawas Japan's
oontempo y wnsumaist and
`crystal
indifferent
politically
generation'.
Akira Kumsawa'sfilm Kagemusha
enjoys enthusiasticreceptionand critical
USA
Europe
the
throughout
and
acclaim
Moviereleased
entitledTheGnat
JapaneseEmpire,which portraysJapan's
treatmentof China during World War
Two in an unproblematiclight.
Plansmadeby the JapaneseMinister of
Educationto amendthe Nation's text
t
books, in a way that would re-presýºs
Japan'swartime aggressionagainst
China in a lessproblematicalway (its
South
East
the
of
whole
assaultupon
Asia, for example,was describedmerely
'invasion').
than
`advance'
rather
as an
Theserevisionsto the National teaching
following
later
scrapped,
programme
increasingprotestsfrom within China.
Best-sellingbook in Japan,Kenji
Suzuki's Advice on Being Considerate,
advocatesthat a woman's placeis in the
family home as obedientwife and
mother.
CDs arrive on the market
Four SouthKorean politicians killed
after bomb explodesin Rangoon
Surveyin Japanshowsincising return
to whatwereseenastraditionalJapanese
values,like honourfor thefamily,
aooocdance
with nature,and social
Interestin
lýty.
oompllanoýJ!
thesethought to be at their highestlevels
since the I9SOs.
"
in Japanindicatesthat
Poll conducted
53%of thoseaskedfelt thatJapanese
citizensweregenerallybetterthantheir
in EuropeandtheUS
counterparts
(comparethis to 1953sur ey).
9
"
"
"
"
and launcheshis makeshift cassettc
mail order label, Lower Arts and Alus!c.
Masayuki Takayanagiappearsat the
Moers JazzFestival
Otomo Yoshihide meetsMasayuki
Takayanagifor the Tusttime.
undertakinglessonsaspart of the
celebratedjazz guitarist's clique
Ryuichi Sakamotoreleasesearly solo
album, '132Unit'
Keiji Rainofirst solorelease
IncvpMtantsbeginastheSoloproject
of ToshijiMikawa
After Dinnerform with Ham as
singed dblUledwriter
OtomoYosbiibide
beganplayingfree.
improvisation
basis.
on a profcssional
ToroTakemitsutakesupvisiting
in SanDiegoat the
professorship
Unity city of California. Also publialus
Lionof essaysKotoba to SekaW
aOUec
(`Word and Wodd)"
Music surveyundcrtakcn by the NI iK
indicatesthat Japaneseyouths between
the agesof fifteen and twenty-nineare
the biggestconsumersand usersof
music.
MasamiAkita (menbow)cmamishcs
moordIAbcl,2SF(takenfrom the
Japanese
for'MAgnctic',pronounced
Zu Sufu), for thetfckaeeof bothhin
own malmal,andthatof othermlla
.
Firstnon-ca cttc vinyl releaseby
Mertbow(MmamiAkita) ontic
C.bamvEo$lern
WO,
'*S l el,cmidcxl
MaterialAction2 (NAM)'
RyuichiSakamoto
of YellowMmjlc
Orcl es&m(YMO) Stanalongside
Davie!BowieIn Oslima s film Merry
Cktor orsMr. Laiwre e, providingthe
film a
andsoundtrack
Towards a Universal Language
1984
"
"
First Apple MacintoshComputer
introduced.
According to questionnairecarriedout
by Le Monde andAsahi Shimbun
newspapers,only 60% of thoseasked
could locateJapanon a world map.
"
"
"
"
1985
.
"
"
prime Ministar Name
controversially
bis
Shrine,
Yasukuni
offering
the
visits
blessingsto thoselives therelost during
World War Two - including characters
sincebiaaded War C iminals
Second'Yen Shock', as in the cm of
the first in 1971,resultsin notableshift
in the currency'svalue.Japan'sswift
recoverysignifies its escalatingseif.
confidenceas a marketeconomy.
Japanbecomesthe wmrld'smain creditor
nation.
Centralixa of Bamakorelocated
from theNationalTheatrein Tokyoto
thenewNationalBunrakuTheatrein
Osaka
"
"
Re-launchedof the Blue Note Jazzlabel
Kazuo Imal successfullygraduates
from the guitar schoolof Masayuki
Takayanagi
"
Formerpupilof MasayukiTakayanagi,
Akira Ijima,contributesto thethird of
FredFrith's'Guitar Solos'
compilations
Yasw= Toneproducesmusicfor
Teebne-Eden,
by
a danceperformance
KayNislukacwa.
This marksTone's
fast notablework using`prepared
CD'
mcti
Exhibition:Reconstrrrfons:Avant.
gableArt In Japan1945-1965,
Museumof ModernArt, Oxford
"
"
0
40
Surveyindicatesaroundonlyhalf of
thoseschoolcMdrenquestioned
could
find thepositionof Japanon a mapof
theworld.
1987
1988
Ongoing argumentto havethe Yasukuni
shrinedeclaredkokkagoji (underthe
National Protectorate)begins.
Nakasone,the JapanesePrime Minister
of the day, publicly rubbishesthe
achievementsand statusof the US on
racially discriminategrounds(namely
becauseAmerica is madeup of such
multicultural elementsand
communities).Nakasonecelebrated
Japan'saccomplishmentson the
Nationalistic groundsthat they were the
product of a more 'racially pure' society.
JapaneseGovernmentpresentWhite
Paper on Youth
"
it
Japanese
that
concede
government
trialsand
undertookwidespread
experimentsinto meansof chemical
warfare
Illustrated Music Encyclopedia
Chi-Shizu releasedebut L. P.
'Yakusoku wa Dckinai' on Zero
Records
Multimedia collective Dumb 7»e form
at City Art Collegein Kyoto
"
"
1986
AsukaKanekoformsAskaStrings.
RyuichiSakamoto
releases
album
"
"
NoiseaLsembleThe Gerogerigrgege
form, releasingtwo notablealbumson
two labels:the self-titled
`Ccrogedgegege'(ZSF) and 'This is
ShakingBox Music/You An Noise
Maker' (Shitake)
TheBoredomsofficially foundedas a
band, featuring YamatsukaEye. Mara
Tabata,Taketaniand I Iosoff.Release
first album 'Onanie Bomb'
Rainsreleasefirst album
"
Adi formed by Asuka Kaneko,
MasahazuSato,Hitoshi Watanabeand
SatoruShionoya
"
KazuhisaUchihashibeginsundertaking
collaborative
work with Ishinha,tlic
theatregroup,
avant-garde
"
Exhibition: Japan ckrAvant-garden
1910-1970,CentreGconjcs Pompidou,
Paris
"
Otow Yosbihidc'giniercstin live
pcrfarmsnaindensifxe,andhe
bocomes
moreactivein this resport,
Tduzi Akiy*m* fermi impmvisiticnal
JNa&w
ensemble
YoshimiP-Wejoins TheBoredom as
newdrummer
"
"
"
TheBoredom support Sonic Youth in
Japan
Towards a Universal Language
1989
"
SouthKoreanOlympicGames
"
commence,
Commentsof CabinetMinisterO&uno
"
"
"
"
"
"
"
Scisukegive rise to controversyand
severepublic response.Accusationsof
residualmilitarismandNationalismare
launched,afterhe defendsJapansWorld
War Two offensivesthroughoutSouth
EastAsia, not asan act of aggression,
but ratherasa War of liberationagainst
oppressivewhite colonisers.
End of ShowsPeriodasEng cror
"
Hirohito dies.
Startof HeiseiEra markedby the
inaugurationof EmperorAtihito
AUM sectundertakeSarinGasattackon
Tokyo Underground
Kobesuffersthe GreatHaushin
earthquake
Fall of the Berlin Wall
Military violently quashprotestsheld in
Tien An Men, China,to widespread
tiara.
Internatiaml
In termsof assets,nine of the world's ten
biggestbanksareJapai
1990
'Nakai City' album rrlcasodby John
7"n
FirstFustitsushaalbumreleased
on
PSF
forma
otomoY"hldc
c
"" Nsco
ndZe,
(thenofAJler Dinner) app
in
the FredFrith documentary'Stcp
Acrossthe Aordct'
FirstAkrzbowCD ndc c'Cloud Cock
00 Grand',onZSKProdukt
"
Exhibition:Jc RlsdieKano der
littet
tzhl erJa ire,
Kunstverein
"
Aki 0ud$.Yaamtsuka
Eyeand
Takamurs
NobakuarfarmAwko
Iýwu
"
1991
"
"
0
Gulf War ends.
Japanhit by minor recession,the effects
of which areprimarily felt until around
1994
Startof economicrecession.
"
"
Foravtioa of
lkd impwww 't cub!'
band.Bonehe Eibit
Masayuki'Jojo' Tnkayatutgidies,age
5K
8rp After Dinner d bend
Aki O ula beginsworking underdw
title Audio Spoils continuingthe project
unail 1996.
"
Exhibition: GsIal. Japanlsth Aºmigarde I954-1965. Math*lcknhölie
Darmstadt
"
Exhibition A Cabinetof gns:
ContempoWyArt from Poitmadkm
Japan,Tate Liv pool
"
"
Fýztubition:
Zonesaji rne:
Contem yArt1 omJapan,
Museumof Contemporary
Art, Sidney
TheAN NiPPonCuntcmpvraryArf
Fair (NICAF)established
in
Yokoluuna.
to promotecoutcmpumy
Towards a Universal Language
"
"
1992
"
"
1993
.
by
"
YMO fleetingly re-form, performing
two showsin Tokyo, and releasingan
album
Closureof the ! libilti, a small but
renownedJazzuKissa in the Jinbo-ch3
district of Tokyo, causesuproar
amongstcertain sectionsof the public.
"
"
"
"
1995
"
Controversyin Washingtonover 1~noia
Gay exhibition at the Air and Space
Museum,organisedto commemorate
fifty year anniversaryof Hiroshima
NuclearHolocaust.SmithsonianInstitute
cancel exhibition after curatorsportray
America's role in the Pacific War as
problematic:posesseriousquestions
motivesbehind US military action, and
the supposedjustification for i liroshima
and Nagasakibombings.
'Music For BondagePerformanod
releasedby Merrbow on Australian
label Extreme
Audio Stets releasedebutalbum 'Cm
of Glittering Glass'
"
"
Appro dmttly 5,000 dohs cam
Kobe e thumlae"
noisescenein Kyoto,producingwork
Aube
underthepseudonym
GroundZero'sfirst album,'Ground
Zero',released
on GodMountain
labetfoundedby Iloppy
(indepeadad
Kamiyama).Thegroupalsotourin
supportof JohnZorn
CCCC
So-called`noise'ensemble
ControlCentre)
(`CosmicCoincidence
releasesclrAhW debutalbumon the
EndorphinsFactorylabel
"
1994
JapaneseArt on an Internationallevel
Akifumi Nakajima emergeson the
"
"
TheBoredoms
supportNirvanain the
US
TetuziAkiyamaandTakuSugimoto
form I ikyo String
TakuSugimotoradicallychanges
from
to
guitar
playing
approach
to style,to that
previousraise-based
with Onkyo
nowcommonlyassociated
(baseduponspaceandsilence)
Nationalbroadcasting
Japanese
corporationNI IK hostMko [bra, a
live performance
eventwhichthe
networkintendedto televise.Despite
featuringperform cesby artists
includingNamJux Paik.Takthis
Kosugi,andThe13orecicmres,
however,
therecordedeventwasultimatelynever
bm d.
AudioS}Awualbumrelc i,
Seewind
entitled`StrangeFruits'
film released
independent
basedupon
theGfestoriesof Abc Kaoruandunter
Suzukilzumi (his wife), directedby
Kohji.
Wakamatsu
first soloalbum.
ilaco releases
"t
azuhisaUchihashiestablishesthe
NewMuricAction workshop, which
evolved into the Festival tkybnd
Innocence
"
OtomoYoshihidcmakeshis London
debutwith Yamada Cyr;at New
Aurasconcertseries,organised
by
LMC (LondonMusiciansCol ec11%,
e)
Towards a Universal Language
1996
.
Outdoor technomusic cven1Rainbow
2000 Festival,held nearTokyo
"
Ground Zero featuringOtomo
Yoshihide,releasealbum `Null and
Void' on Tzadik (labcl foundedby
John Zorn)
"
FirstFBI (FestivalBeforeInnocence)
heldat XcbocHall, Kobe.
"
JapaneseFee Improvisers web site
launched(later re-namodImprovised
Music From Japan)
"
'Musicfor BondagePerformance
11'
by Merzbowon theExtreme
released
Label
Composer
Tont Takcinitsudiesof
Canoes
Yasunao
Toneundertakes
epic
Mmevvs*u CD ROM project
ARSNOVAreleasethird album,`tiro
Goddess
of Darkness'
"
"
"
1997
"
"
"
"
"
1998
"
"
"
1999
2000
Controversialsex trial involving chargcs
againstthe ]Mayorof Osakawho, as a
result,resigns.
Vastly declining birth into leads
Japanesegovernmentto concludethat, in
order to maintain the population,
approximately600,000immigrantsmust
be acceptedinto Japanannually.
Seriesof controversialstatementsmade
by JapanesePrime Minister, Yoshiro
Mori, result in his having the lowest
popularity ratingsof any post-war
leader.
Japanesse
In a string of verbal public speeches,
Mori betraysboth anti-Americanand
Japanese-Nationalist
tendencies
(resurrectingthe LerntKokutai which,
World
U,
War
atteststo
since
not used
the divinity and political centrality of the
Emperor in Japan)
, Mail projcct instigatedat the second
FBI (FestivalBeyond Innocence)
Toshimaiu Nakamuradiscontinueshis
guitar playing career,pursuing work on
the so-called`no-input' mixing desk.
Otomo Yoshihidc's group Ground Zero
disbanded
Formationof femaletrio PT-Gtr!
samprmgtmrusProjectInitiatedby
OtomoYosbihide
MaitotoKawabataofficially leaves
Mainlner, despiteplayingguitaron
tourthefollowingyear
Thetwelvemembers
of GroundZero
re-unitebriefly for a final performance
on 8"'March
Keiji Hain formsAA"
"
Otomo Yoshitude forms his NewJazt
Quintet
"
TetsuraYasunaga
beginsperforming
electronicmusic,age23.
"
Phcw and iiiroyuld Nagashimaform
Big Piclure
"
Merzbow(MasamiAkita) releases
album'DoorOpen'at gainasa
personaltributeto freejazz music.
+
Masami Akita (Afenbow) rclenscs
Afenbox lin itcd edition SOCDbox set,
"
MichiyoYogi and}iaoocollaboruoon
thc'Ohayol Itonhiof' release.
Towards a Universal Language
Acknowledgments
My very special thanks are due to the supervisoryteam of Prof. Colin Fallows und Dr Julio
Sheldon,whose continuing help, support,and friendship madethis researchproject both
possible and enjoyable.
Thanksarealsodueto KazuYasutani,YasunoriSaitoh,andI loppy Kamiyama;plus Kat
Tipps, Christine Gregory, Andy Gregory, and my other close friends and family for all of
their considerableand pricelesssupport.
333