Travel with Ataka

            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 4^th 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.