When you saw this title, what did you think this article would be about? Is there a legend about dragons and sou-no-koto? （In the following text, “sou-no-koto” will be referred to as “Koto”.） No, it is a little different. In this article, we will explain the names of each part of the koto. As you may have guessed with all…
Have you ever been to an orchestra performance? It is truly an impressive performance by many string, wind, and percussion instruments playing in perfect order. As you know, in most orchestras, the conductor gives instructions to the musicians. However, there is no conductor in Gagaku in Japan, which is called “the world’s oldest orchestra. Then, how does Gagaku proceed in…
In Japan, there are seven gods called the Seven Gods of Good Fortune who have been familiar to people since ancient times. To be precise, “Shichifukujin” is the collective name for seven gods. The names of the seven gods are Ebisu, Daikokuten, Bishamonten, Benzaiten, Hotei, Fukurokuju, and Jurojin. The seven gods are famous for their appearance on a treasure ship…
Have you ever wondered how your country’s music was born? Although the exact origin of Japanese music and performing arts is not known, the famous Japanese myth “Ama-no-Iwato Myth” also describes song and dance. Let’s take a look at the “Ama-no-Iwato Myth” for a moment. Ama-no-Iwato” is a cave made of rocks. One day, the Sun Goddess, unable to bear…
In your country, what kind of particles are used to count things? In Japan, a wide variety of particles are used to count things. There are so many different types of particles that even Japanese people sometimes make mistakes. In this article, I would like to introduce how to count Japanese musical instruments. First, let’s start with the shamisen. The…
