Traditional culture and entertainments

For Japanese dancing, it is classified mainly with a dance by itself and a dance generally as an object for a theatrical playing a "NOU", "KABUKI. "

"KABUKI", as being prosperously done today called Japanese Musical. Since fifteen sixteenth centuries, dancing as being widely done among commons as a folk dance created the "KABUKI" culture with that background.

In the process of the development, an element of a dance, also was harvested, seem to say that I show it as drawing a shape of Fuji Mountain, for example and an element called forcing and shaking it of a theatrical expression also was included.

As prohibited female kabuki, afterward it was only for the special dancer boy. Since eighteenth century it began spreading among geisha, gradually a lover of commons also increased.

Twentieth century again at the beginning since for a category of a dance, many objects such as Nishikawa Hanayagi Wakayagi Toma are born as being influenced by Western dance, a new dance exercise occurred.

At present, woman learns Japanese dancing as a hobby.
KABUKI to have been born in the Edo Period generally, is called "JYOUHOUMAI", SHINBODOU " as typical Japanese dancing"

Traditional music instruments

GAGAKU" to be heritated from Japanese ancient tradition in more than 1200 is the music that came into fashion in the Heian Period. A denotation of a word called "GAGAKU", which belongs to Japanese ancient court music has the meaning of "Elegant music." Such music first appeared in Japan as an import from korean and established court tradition by the 8th century. It is a culture of noble which differs from a culture of commons.

Wind instrument
"SHYO"
Three around-4-cm bamboo pipes around seventeen, are inserted into so called "head" made with cypress and cherry blossoms and the bowl type made with a corner of a buffalo. It can say that a pronuncing principle is similar as the harmonica like this. It is thought that the sound expresses a light from Heaven.

"HICHIRIKI"
Dimension : ( pipe ) length eighteen cm
diameter : 1 ( tail diameter ) 1.5( caliber ) cm
Lead length 5.5 cm
With bamboo made pipe table seven holes, back two holes, it is elliptic and made.

Though "HICHIRIKI" receive and have a main melody of "GAGAKU",a gorgeous style of playing develops in order to cover for the only one octave for a register.

A representative object is a style of playing named a salt
apricot "ENBAI". Because "HICHIRIKI" has a large lead, there are three octaves with the different lead position using a similar finger. A play by keeping this characteristic alive, it is called a "ENBAI" with a technique as portamento-like

Again, a sound of "HICHIRIKI" is reported with an ancient times, if I express a voice of a human being who lives on earth.
Flute
( dragon pipe : RYUUTEKI )
( Koma pipe : KOMABUE )
Dimension : ( dragon pipe ) length forty cm inside diameter 1.3 cm
( Koma pipe ) length thirty-six cm inside diameter 0.9 cm >
( kagura pipe ) length forty-five cm inside diameter 1.8 cm

Winding a birch is considered as the material, in the same way as "HICHIRIKI" with bamboo made for both ends. Seven hole Koma pipes and kagura pipes are made with six holes for a dragon pipe.

Compared with "HICHIRIKI" to receive and have a main melody, a flute to have a far wide register moves arround to add a coloring to a melody, and an ornamental style of playing also is greatly seen. However, it is in case of an orchestral music and dance music, generally it was
played with songs, HICHIRIKI in unison in the other fields of music. Koma pipe sound highly in comparison with a dragon pipe. Contrarily the sound of kagura pipe gets lower.

A dragon pipe expresses a sky, as being said to that it is a cry of a dragon dancing in the air.as it is said that Performing an ensemble with "HICHIRIKI"(person) and Dragon Pipe(land) expressed one universe.