Japanese traditional dance describes a number of Japanese dance styles with a long history and prescribed method of performance. Some of the oldest forms of traditional Japanese dance may be among those transmitted through the kagura tradition, or folk dances relating to food producing activities such as planting rice and fishing, including rain dances. There are large number of these traditional dances, which are often subfixed -odori, -asobi, and -mai, and may be specific to a region or village. Mai and odori are the two main groups of Japanese dances, and the term buyō (舞踊) was coined in modern times as a general term for dance, by combining mai (舞) and odori (踊).
In Japan, music includes a wide array of distinct genres, both traditional and modern. The word for "music" in Japanese is 音楽 (ongaku), combining the kanji 音 on (sound) with the kanji 楽 gaku. Japan is the world's largest market for music on physical media and the second-largest overall music market, with a retail value of US$2.7 billion in 2017.
The shamisen, also known as sangen or samisen (all meaning "three strings"), is a three-stringed traditional Japanese musical instrument derived from the Chinese instrument sanxian. It is played with a plectrum called a bachi.
Obon or just Bon is a fusion of the ancient Japanese belief in ancestral spirits and a Japanese Buddhist custom to honor the spirits of one's ancestors. This Buddhist–Confucian custom has evolved into a family reunion holiday during which people return to ancestral family places and visit and clean their ancestors' graves when the spirits of ancestors are supposed to revisit the household altars. It has been celebrated in Japan for more than 500 years and traditionally includes a dance, known as Bon Odori.
Okinawan music is the music associated with the Okinawa Islands of southwestern Japan. In modern Japan, it may also refer to the musical traditions of Okinawa Prefecture, which covers the Miyako and Yaeyama Islands in addition to the Okinawa Islands. It has its roots in the larger musical traditions of the Southern Islands.
Yao is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. As of 31 January 2022, the city had an estimated population of 263,436 in 126509 households and a population density of 6300 persons per km². The total area of the city is 41.72 square kilometres (16.11 sq mi). The city is the birthplace of the Kawachi ondo style of folk singing.
The Awa Dance Festival is held from 12 to 15 August as part of the Obon festival in Tokushima Prefecture on Shikoku in Japan. Awa Odori is the largest dance festival in Japan, attracting over 1.3 million tourists every year.
Kawachiya Kikusuimaru is a Japanese musician and singer. He is a singer of Kawachi ondo folk music from Yao, Osaka.
Ondo (音頭) is a type of Japanese folk music genre.
Tsugaru-jamisen or Tsugaru-shamisen (つがるしゃみせん) refers to both the Japanese genre of shamisen music originating from Tsugaru Peninsula in present-day Aomori Prefecture and the instrument it is performed with. It is performed throughout Japan, though associations with the Tsugaru remain strong. Tsugaru-jamisen is considered the most recognized genre of shamisen music, and has enjoyed multiple periods of popularity in Japan.
Kakegoe (掛け声) usually refers to shouts and calls used in performances of traditional Japanese music, Kabuki theatre, and in martial arts such as kendo.
The Gōshū ondo (江州音頭 is a type of ondo, a traditional Japanese dance song. It originated in Shiga Prefecture which was formerly known as Gōshū. It is believed to have been perfected around the Meiji Era.
Traditional Japanese music is the folk or traditional music of Japan. Japan's Ministry of Education classifies hōgaku as a category separate from other traditional forms of music, such as gagaku or shōmyō, but most ethnomusicologists view hōgaku, in a broad sense, as the form from which the others were derived. Outside of ethnomusicology, however, hōgaku usually refers to Japanese music from around the 17th to the mid-19th century. Within this framework, there are three types of traditional music in Japan: theatrical, court music, and instrumental.
Hanagasa Ondo (花笠音頭) is a folk song from Yamagata Prefecture, Japan. The name literally means "flower straw-hat song." It accompanies a local community dance called the "Hanagasa Odori." (花笠踊り)
Tankō Bushi (炭坑節) is a Japanese folk song. Despite the term "fushi/bushi" found in its name, the rhythm is in swung, ondo style. It is a song about coal mining, and it refers to old Miike Mine in Kyūshū. It is a common song used in Bon dances during the Bon Festival, and the dance that accompanies it depicts actions in mines such as shoveling coal, throwing a bag of coal over the shoulders, wiping sweat from the brow or pushing a cart of coal.
Heike ondo (平家音頭) is a Japanese folk song that originates from Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture in Japan. The song is basically a narrative of the Battle of Dan-no-ura, which was a major sea battle of the Genpei War, occurring at Dan-no-ura, in the Shimonoseki Strait. It is played during the summer to accompany the Heike Odori, which is the bon dance of the area.
The Shinjō Matsuri (新庄まつりの山車行事) is a Japanese festival celebrated from 24–26 August in Shinjō, Yamagata Prefecture. Mikoshi and approximately twenty floats are drawn through the streets, accompanied by odori, drums, and other performers. It has a two hundred and fifty-year history and was designated as an Important Intangible Folk Cultural Property in 2009.
Geta Dance Art is a performing style that combines traditional Japanese dance with modern dance, singing, and live painting. It was created and developed by Japanese performance artist Miyuki Matsunaga, with music by Cirque Du Soleil adapter and musician Pierre Dubé.
In the Tenrikyo religion, the Service is the most important prayer ritual, along with the Sazuke. The Service comes in fundamental forms and several variant forms. The text to the Service is the Mikagura-uta, one of the three scriptures of Tenrikyo.
Tsuda Kōji is a Japanese singer-songwriter known for his involvement in modern enka. His first name is sometimes spelled Kōji (耕次).
