Japanese Music is from India

[Guest guest]

Indian music, Japanese artist

 

By K Kannan

It is believed that fushin in Buddhism is Hanuman's father ``Vayu''.

``Even today the strong influence of Indian music can be felt in

Japanese traditional music suggesting that it was originally

transmitted from India,'' says Mr. Hiroshi Hirobayashi, the Japanese

Ambassador to India.

 

 

The superior aesthetics of traditional music from the land of the

rising sun came alive at the Japanese Embassy premises in New Delhi

on Wednesday evening with solo performances on Tsugaru- Shamisen and

Shakuhachi, both instruments of yore that owe their origin to India.

 

Coming as it did with the fusion of Indian ragas on Sitar played by

famous Japanese musician Kenji Inoue, who has performed in India and

Japan since 1987, the audience were treated to an auditory feast for

more than an hour. With Ambika Prasad Mishra playing the Tabla and

Hiroki Miyano the Guitar, it was, indeed, a memorable evening.

 

Present on the occasion were members of the diplomatic corps and

senior bureaucrats and legal luminaries like Mr. Justice B. N.

Kirpal, Mr. K. C. Pant, Austrian ambassador, Mr. Herbert Traxl, and

danseuse Ms. Komala Vardan. The structure of the concert, dubbed

``Foojean'', reflected predominantly the deep contours of classical

music from Northern India.

 

Derived from two Japanese words, Foojean is the fusion of fushin (a

guardian deity in Buddhism) and idenshi (meaning gene). It is

believed that fushin in Buddhism is Hanuman's father ``Vayu''. ``Even

today the strong influence of Indian music can be felt in Japanese

traditional music suggesting that it was originally transmitted from

India,'' says Mr. Hiroshi Hirobayashi, the Japanese Ambassador to

India.

 

Consider other well-known facts. Veena came to Japan from China in

the 7th Century and came to be known as ``Biwa'' thanks to an

orchestra group ``Gagaku''. Veena's characteristic sound ``Juwari''

is still alive with Biwa as ``Sawari''. Another representative

Japanese instrument ``Shamisen'' (literally meaning three strings)

also has the sound ``Sawari'' and is one of the most widely played

instruments at Japanese concerts.

 

And, of course, there is the Japanese instrument ``Shakuhachi'',

earlier considered to be a unique bamboo-whistle, which resembles the

Indian ``Bansuri''. Its enchanting and sometimes haunting sound is a

pleasure to hear. Indeed, it goes to Mr. Inoue's credit that he has

been able to combine traditional and modern elements of Japanese

music on the one hand and Indian numbers, on the other as the concert

proved in no ample measure.

 

Reflecting the expression of Kenji's creative urge in the field of

music, the concert had him presenting musical numbers based

exclusively on Indian ragas. Others composed on the scale of those

Indian ragas present in Japanese traditional music were also included

in the concert.

 

The evening's programme began with Bristy, a traditional Japanese

number followed by ``Shika-No-Tone'', a solo number on Shakuhachi by

Dozan Fujiwara. This was followed by ``Jongarabushi- Kyokubiki'' -- a

solo performance by Satoshiro Tsuboi on the Shamisen. Both these

traditional instruments are played during Kabuki and Japanese dances.

 

It was then the turn of the leader of the sitar concert to present

``Yemeni Baglamis''. Kenji went on to play rag Malkauns --a classical

Hindustani raga -- along with Ambika Prasad Mishra on the tabla. The

programme was rounded off with ``Momoyama- Zakura'' based on rag

Bhairavi.

 

There were two enjoyable interludes, one in the form of Shakuhachi

and guitar duet and the other a fusion of Shakuhachi and Shamisen.

Top guitarist, Hiroki Miyano's performance had the audience savouring

the essence of Latin and Jazz. Towards the end of the programme,

Kenji, who has contributed his music and dance compositions to many

other programmes and films, expressed his gratitude to the organisers

in Hindi -- ``Bahut shukriya, Bahut Danyavad''.

 

By K Kannan