To
travel the world and experience unfamiliar cultures is to many people an
exciting dream. For many countries,
tourism is a main means through which the country gains financial income. In his blog Sustainable Music, Jeff Todd Titon discusses the importance of
tourism in efforts to preserve the musical traditions of many cultures which
would otherwise become extinct. In the
book Music in Japan Bonnie Wade
discusses the origins of Japanese nō theatre, and
specifically the play Ataka. Through reflecting on the importance of
tourism, and the history of the nō play Ataka, one can discover the importance
of the sustainability of Japanese music, and the intertextuality found among
aspects of Japanese culture.
Wade discusses tourism in her book, the annual spring
festival held in Tokyo, which millions of people from around Japan travel to
attend. Walking the path of Hokoten, the
pedestrian area where aspiring musicians perform during the festival, one can
imagine hearing all kinds of different sounds, from modern popular music, to
more traditional music. This great variety of music is welcome in Hokoten. Further
into Music in Japan, Wade describes the
Japanese colonization of Korea in the early twentieth century, following the
colonization model of England. Modeling England brought Japan to appreciate and
promote English music and education within Japan, as well as in Korea. While
beginning to allow Japanese culture to be influenced by the English, the
Japanese still took great care in preserving their cultural traditions.
Traveling to China, Titon
experienced a live performance of traditional Chinese music which he discusses
in his blog. Had he not traveled to China, he would not have attended such a
performance, and would not have been able to then discuss the preservation of
traditional Chinese music,
as exemplified by this performance, in his blog. Because of the interest and financial
generosity of music scholars who traveled to China to hear this particular
music of the Qujiaying village, and because of a government intent
of preserving ancient cultural practices, the musicians of the village are now able
to continue playing their music and teaching it to future generations. In the
blog post Titon describes the music performed by the percussion ensemble which
has been preserved since ancient times.
This reminded me of the tradition of the Japanese guilds or ryū which carry on the practice of learning particular instruments and
characters for nō theatre. For centuries, the ryū passed this
knowledge on only by physical and verbal example.
The Japanese people and their music
culture would not have grown and transformed as it has without the ability to
travel to China, England, and Korea. Travel is not only important in the sense
of growing in connection with other nations, but is also important culturally
in Japan as for hundreds of years people traveled through changing terrain to
reach different parts of the country. The nō play Ataka is based on the epic poem The
Tales of the Heike which Wade describes in the 4th chapter of
her book. The story is about a man named Yoshitsune who after having a falling
out with his brother, begins a journey of escape disguised with a group of
followers. Just as with epic poems from the ancient Greeks, or any other
culture, the story of The Tales of the Heike has been passed down from
generation to generation. The tradition of nō is very much the same. The
practice of performing certain characters of nō is kept within families
and passed on to new generations. Each ryū practices the performance of
certain characters of the collection of nō plays. For example, one ryū
might learn to perform the shite (main character) character of each nō,
while another ryū learns the waki (counterpart to the shite)
character of each. The same is true of the musicians of nō. Someone who
plays the nōkan (nō flute) or taiko (stick drum) learned
these instruments from a previous generation. As each generation passes and a new
generation arises, the tradition of nō theatre continues. Through the
continuation of this tradition the Japanese are contributing to sustaining the
music and performance of nō theatre.
Figure 1: Performing nō Musicians
Ataka
exemplifies
intertextuality in that it is influenced by many works stories, and traditions,
and how influenced many since. Based on The Tales of the Heike, this
play developed from oral tradition which was told for many generations. As oral traditions of other cultures, it
changes over time, with new people telling the story, adding and changing
detail, but still carrying on the tradition. Since its first production during
the Muromachi, or Ashikaga Period (1336-1573), Ataka has continually
been performed. Ataka’s success
and plot, was admired by composers of other art forms, who appreciated to
telling of the story of the Heike-Genji Civil Wars. Thus were created the Kabuki
play Kanjincho and the film Men who Stepped on the Tiger’s Tale.
Each of these productions is related to and influenced by the other.
Efforts
to learn about cultures through tourism, and learning of their history, aid in
sustaining music and other parts of cultural traditions. Without interest in tourism and learning of
different cultures, sustaining music of Japan, England, China, or any other
country would not be possible. Without the intertextuality found among art
pieces, music, and stories found in cultures, these art forms would not be sustained.
Though the world is filled with many differing cultures each with its own
history and traditions, there are many connections among them.
Bibliography
"Ataka." In Japanese Noh Drama, vol. 3, translated
by Nippon Gakujutsu Shinkōkai, 149-72. Tokyo: Nippon Gakujutsu Shinkōkai, 1960.
Global Performing Arts Database. Accessed October 28, 2012. www.glopad.org
Titon, Jeff Todd. Sustainable Music: A Research Blog on the Subject of Sustainability and
Music. Accessed October 28, 2012. http://sustainablemusic.blogspot.com.
