JF newsletter

Whether it be the sound from wooden clappers used to ward off fire or a wind chime in summer, Japan has always abounded with a multitude of interesting and colorful sounds, with Japanese musical instruments also being rich in their variety of shapes and timbres. These qualities, and a rich sensibility for sound, have led to a unique musical culture in Japan .

In the culmination of our Japanese Music and Composers series, the Japan Foundation has invitedKiyoko Motegi, Musicological Professor of Ariake College of Education and the Arts, to take part in two special events. Prof. Motegi is an expert in Japanese traditional music and instruments with a particular interest in those sounds which are often neglected or no longer form a part of everyday life. Over two evenings, Prof Motegi will give what promise to be two erudite lectures about the unique world of Japanese sound culture, highlighting some elements which have already fallen to modernisation.

Japanese musical instruments have often been included in Ukiyo-e prints, some of which have come to serve as very valuable and interesting sources documenting Japanese sound and some lost aspects of its culture. In this lecture, Prof Motegi will guide us through the world of sound as experienced by Japanese people of the Edo period and unearthed by looking at Ukiyo-e.

Introduced by Prof. Timon Screech, Department of Art and Archaeology, SOAS

In this event, Prof Motegi will discuss the sounds which form the roots of Japanese music and Japan ’s versatile sound culture, with special attention to sound sources such as toys and other everyday objects. She will also touch upon the accounts of everyday sounds and musical instruments collected by Edward S. Morse during the 19th century in Japan . Prof Motegi will bring some examples from her collection for the audience to see and try.

Introduced by Dr David Hughes, Research Associate, Department of Music and Japan Research Centre, SOAS

� Ukiyo-e Image: Children Playing at a Festival by Kikukawa Eizan, from the exhibition catalogue Musical Instruments in Ukiyo-e, organised by Ota Memorial Museum of Art, Tokyo . All rights reserved.

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