Tracing the Development of Japanese Choral Tradition, and the Influence of Buddhism and Western Music

This research deals with the origin and development of Japanese choral music emphasizing Japanese folk tunes. The process of how modern styles of Japanese choral music evolved is rather complicated, and has been greatly influenced by the paralleled development of society, tradition, culture, language, politics, and religion. In order to truly understand the essence and evolution of traditional Japanese music, it is crucial to recognize the cultural influences that make up Japanese history. In the late fifth century, Japan started to absorb new music from mainland Asia into its own culture. This led to the development of new musical ideas, laying the groundwork for musical traditions that defined Japanese culture for years to come. Both mainland Asia and Europe introduced strong religious influences (Buddhism and Christianity, respectively). However, it was not until the radical influence of European music in the 19th century merged with traditional Japanese folk song and created the modern synthesis of the form. This research aims to discuss how the different aspects of both Eastern and Western music, more specifically their unique rhythms, scales, chords and harmonies, evolved and now coexist within Japanese culture and music. Choral works based on Japanese folk tunes are used to assess specific developmental influences