Sei (TE) A single stroke with the right stick, which is allowed to bounce lightly against the head.
(The bouncing is difficult to hear an recordings.)
Katarai ( pronounced "rai") A slow accelerating roll played with the left stick alone. Usually
followed by a sei stroke. If the musical part calls for more than one katarai in succession, right
and left hand alter
Morotai (* *, left and right "rai") A slow roll executed by the al- temptation of both sticks. While
it might be heard to accelerate slightly right at the beginning, it is mostly steady.
Long ago, sequences of these strokes were established, to be played in various musical
circumstances. Netori in banshiki mode will always have the sequence of kakko strokes shown in
figure 2.12.
Medium speed: haya yo hyoshi haya ya hyöshi
4 (yo) measures of 4 beats (haya) each
8 (ya) measures of 4 beats (haya) each
Slow speed:nobe yo hyoshi nobe ya hyöshi
4 (yo) measures of 8 beats (nobe) each 8 (ya) measures of 8 beats (nobe) each
Aerophone Instruments whose primary sound-producing medium is vibrating air Aragoto
Exxagerated male acting style in kabuki Au "Matched," congruent rhythm between vocal part
and drumsin no
Ageuta: high pitched song (uta) usually about 10 lines within repetition of first and last lines. In
this ageuta there are 11 lines each formatted as two lines in figure 4.3; the first line is repeated
but not the last. Such textual flexibility in the shōdan is typical of nō. Congruent rythm
Ataka no mai: aversion peculiar to this play of otoko no mai, a fairly fast, energetic, masculine
dance that emphasizes the beat. Broad movements with angled stance and sharp placement
Awazu: "Nonmatched," incongruent rhythm between vocal and drums in no part
Bandoya Band: for hire
Banshiki-cho: One of six melodic modes in imperial court music
Biwa; Short-necked, ovoid-shaped plucked lute
Bugaku: Dances and dance pieces of the imperial court music repertoire
Bunraku Puppet theater
Chang-gu: Double-headed, hourglass-shaped drum in Korean music
Chirashi: Section of a nagauta piece Cho (choshi) Melodic mode
Chōshi: Long prelude in imperial court music
Chordophone: Instrument whose primary sound-producing medium is a vibrating string grouping
by one or more instruments in a Southeast Asian ensemble
Colotomic structure: Articulation of the metric
Dan: Section of a play or musical composition
Dangire: Section of a nagauta piece
Enka: Nostalgic popular song genre
Fue: Generically, flute
Fushi; Melody in no drama style
Gagaku; Music of the Imperial court and Buddhist temples
Taikyoku: Pieces in the syakuhati repertoire other than honkyoku
Geidai: Abbreviation for Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music
Geza: Side-stage instrument room for kabuki plays
Hanamichi: Visible walkway onto the stage in kabuki. It is on the left and about 5 feet wide.
Hayashi: Instrumental ensemble
Hyöshi: Beat, or metric structure
Haya yo hyoshi: Metric structure of four measures of four beats each
Heterophony: One melody performed in slightly different versions simultaneously
Högaku: Traditional music, or "traditional” music for Japaneseinstruments
Honkyoku: Fundamental pieces in a repertoire
Hyõjo: One of six melodic modes in imperial court music
Idiophone: Instrument whose vibrating body is the primary sound- producing medium
Iemoto: Head of a group of practitioners in the iemoto seito
Iemoto seito: Traditional system for transmission of knowledge
Jiuta: Pieces by blind syamisen players of the Kansai region
Jo-ha-kyu: Aesthetic structure
J-pop: Popular music by Japanese musicians
Kabuki: Seventeenth-century theatrical form. It was originally a sensual kind of theatre. it was
also a place where homosexuality was accepted if not praised. Kabuki was so sensual that the
government tried to control it. Eventually however, even higher status people started to come,
not just commoners and it became more accepted and started to shift to have more nō
characteristics.
Kakegoe: Cueing calls of drummers and syamisen players
Kakko: Double-headed barrel drum in tögaku ensemble
Kangen: Instrumental ensemble music of imperial court music
Kansai: Western region of Honshu Island
Kanto: Eastern region of Honshu Island
Katakana: Japanese script for writing foreign words
Kokata: Role of a child played by a child in a no play
Komabue: Transverse flute used in komagaku ensemble
Komagaku: Pieces of imperial court music that were imported
Komuso: Syakuhati-playing Fuke Zen sect priests in Tokugawa from Korea and Manchuria era
Koto: Plucked long zither (in gagaku, sð no koto)
Kotoba: "Words," heightened speech style in no
Ko-tsuzumi: Waisted-shaped shoulder drum in no ensemble
Kumi daiko: Any collection of drums and other percussion instruments for an ensemble
Kuri: Type of subsection in no performance style
Kyögen: Comedic relief; character type in no plays
Ma: A perception of space and time, a "between"
Matsuri bayashi: Ensemble music for festivals
Membranophone: Instrument whose primary sound producing medium is a vibrating membrane
Mie: Striking pose held for dramatic effect by kabuki actor
Mondō: dialogue in stylized speech, without accompaniment
Nagauta: Syamisen-accompanied musical genre for kabuki and concert
Netori: Short prelude in imperial court music
NHK Nihon Hoso Kyokai: Japan Broadcasting Company
No: Fifteenth-century music drama of the samurai class
Nõkan: Horizontal bamboo flute in no
Noriji: Type of subsection in no performance style
Nukui-bayashi: One style of Matsuri bayashi of Meguro distrit
Taiko: generic term for drum
Tokyo Ongaku: Generically, "music"
Tsure: supporting roles, usually a group allied with either shite or walk characters. They are
performed by ryū actors in training for the main roles
O-mikoshi: Portable shrine
Onnagata: Actor playing female role in kabuki
Õ-tsuzumi: Waisted-shaped hip drum in no ensemble
Ronin: Masterless samurai
Ryű: Traditional teaching group: school
Sageuta: Type of subsection in no performance style premodern Japan
Sake: Rice wine
Samurai Warrior;military class in Chinese predecessor of syamisen
San-hsien Sankyoku: Three instruments playing a piece together
San no tsuzumi: Double-headed hourglass shaped drum in komagaku ensemble
Sashi: recitative in yowagin. Lines usually 7 + 5 syllables with variations but rhythm unmatched
to drums
Sensei: Teacher
Seiyo: Western style
Shidai: Instrumental entry music and initial song in no plays
Shite: Principle character role in a no play
Sho: Mouth organ in imperial court music ensemble
Shodan: Subsection of a no play
Shogun: Head of the military samurai government
Shoko: Gong in imperial court music ensemble
So no koto: Long zither in imperial court music ensemble Syamisen (shamisen) Plucked
long-necked lute
Syakuhati (shakuhachi): Vertical bamboo flute
Taiko "Drum"; frame drum in gagaku; barrel-shaped drum in ensemble
Tatami: Straw-mat flooring
Tögaku: Pieces of imperial court music from in and south and west of China
Tokiwazu: Syamisen-accompanied musical genre for kabuki and concert
Tokonoma: Niche in Japanese room for display of treasured items
Tsugaru jamisen (syamisen): Style of music for voice and syamisen from northern Honshu Island
Tsure: Supporting character role in a no play
Tsuyogin: Chantlike dynamic singing style in no
Ukiyo-e: Woodblock prints depicting the "floating world" of pleasure in Tokugawa-period Japan
(1600–1868)
Waki: Second principle character role in a no play
Wayd: Indigenous (Japanese) style
Yowagin: Truly melodic singing in no