Festival Music and Dance

Kyoto During Gion Matsuri

All images can be enlarged; click on image.

To become a geisha requires an enormous amount of dicipline. A geisha works every day to perfect her skills, and this dicipline permeates every aspect of her existence. A geisha's movements and voice, her way of walking, sitting, and talking will show this. A true geisha lives by her art; she is a geisha all the time, not just when she puts on her makeup and kimono and steps out to her evening's entertainment. The older the geisha, the better, because older geisha are the best conversationalists, and repartee is their most important skill. It is the primary art, even before music and dance.

Geisha are artists who use themselves as the canvas. The first geisha appeared on the scene about four hundred years ago. The first geisha were men. They came to banquets to entertain guests who were spending time with the courtesans, who were the highest ranking prostitutes. They were sophisticated, wore the nicest clothes, but were still prostitutes. The story of the first female geisha is an odd one. A failing courtesan, Okuni, made herself a geisha in desperation, and became an instant hit. After awhile the female geisha outnumbered the men, and eventually, it became the woman's profession it is today. (read about Okuni )

Maiko are trainee geisha. It usually takes about five years of training for them to "graduate" to full geisha status. Maiko are adopted by a teahouse, specifically by an older geisha "sister" who teaches them the nuances of being a geisha; how to hold your fan, how to walk in kimono, etc. An older geisha sister is responsible for introducing her charge to prominent teahouses. A maiko doesn't speak much at banquets, but mainly learns by observing the older, more experienced geisha.

Kabuki

Hanamikoji dori is where you can view all the Giesha on their way to their appointments. It is also the street where the Kabuki theater is located.

Kabuki actors are now all male, even the women's parts are acted by men. This was not the case in the beginning, when women were also performers.

Kaguara - music of the gods

The word, kagura, means "place of the gods" but it is written with characters which mean "music of the gods". Kagura, whether it is performed in the sacred prencints of the Imperial Palace in Tokyo or in some small village shrine, always signifies a musical performance intended as an offering and an entertainment to the ancient gods of Japan.

Sound Recording (real audio) from http://aris.ss.uci.edu/rgarfias/gagaku/kagura.html
Kagura music performed at the break of dawn, "Ake". RealAudio

Taiko - drums

Taiko" in general is often used to mean the relatively modern art of Japanese drum performances (kumi-daiko), but the word actually refers to the taiko drums themselves. Literally, taiko means "big/fat drum," although there are many shapes and sizes of taiko. Japanese drum clubs are organized all around Japan.

Japanese drums came into existence in the Jyoumon era and were very important as part of daily and religious life.

It was only after World War II that bands made up of just drums were formed and their performances were given anywhere and anytime. Before the war, they didn’t play Japanese drums in public performances except at festivals.

Many people were impressed by the force of the beat of the Japanese drums, which summons up something deep from inside them.

Here are some types of Japanese drums:
Nagado drums
Hira drums
Okedo drums
Shime drums

The stick which beats Japanese drums is made of wood and has various lengths and thicknesses. The basic choice of the stick depends on the tune and dynamics of the song. A tune has a story, and it is expressed with the drum and body. Drummers tell the story to people who watch. It seems simple, but in fact, it’s very difficult.

Enjoy a QuickTime clip,
or go to the home page and read all about the Taiko Drum CD
http://www.parcwave.co.jp/taiko/aboutCD.htm