A Brief Introduction to Shinto Music

By Emilio Cross-Songui

Music has played an important part in religion all over the world. From the indigenous people of South America to the grand cathedrals of West Europe, we can thank many of our initial music advancements to the religious ceremony and Japan is no exception. Even though today religious music still does not play an as important role, it still could appear in important events in life such as Birthdays, Festivals and Funerals. Shinto, meaning “the way of the gods” is an indigenous form of religious expression in Japan and dates back many thousands of years, thus it holds a strong cultural significance to the people of Japan. It is one of the two main religions with the close second being Buddhism.

While the religion has been embedded into everyday Japanese life, such as having Shinto shrines in your house, Shinto music will often keep to important days of the year. This is mainly due to the fact that there is not a regular service. Unlike Muslims or Christians where you are required to turn up to your place of worship at least once a week, a Shintoists might turn up to a shine every so often for some good luck, with mass gatherings only happening during special events like weddings or festivals as well as not having full-time priests. While on the topic of religion, it's hard not to mention the other significant religion mentioned earlier, Buddhism. This is because both religions have co-existed together since their introduction from mainland china in the 6th century. Both religions line up quite nicely with their theological beliefs thus The Buddhist Church does not have any problem with the people of Japan following both. This had a unique effect on their ritual music as there was no difficulty differentiating musical texts for Shinto or Buddhist purposes. Their music was now intertwined; sometimes the same music would even be used for both religions with only the texts being changed.

Shinto music has different styles within the genre. One of those styles is called Kagura – Traditional Court Music. Kagura translates to “good music” but it is normally used as an umbrella turn to describe Shinto music. Kagura contains two subdivisions, the first is also called Kagura and the second is called Sato-Kagura. The Kagura style is used for imperial Shinto functions, and formal ceremonies at local shrines while Sato-Kagura music was Shinto folk and festival music. To go along with such an occasion, dance is also included and is said to be instrumental to the mythical creation of Shinto music. It is believed that the dance of the goddess Ame no Uzeme was the origin of Shinto music, therefore, sealing it as a sacred form of Japanese indigenous art.

Like the various styles of Western European classical music i.e. “Baroque” or “romanticism,” it was not just only music and prayer that Shintoism affected. The aforementioned dance is one example but is more like two sides of the same coin rather than one being reliant on the other. The next example is sculptures. as many sculptures would have been created to decorate temples and celebrate their deities. Finally, Poems also played an important part in Shinto music as many that survived from the ancient text could end up as lyrics in kagura songs. Those same documents may also provide lists of compositions, composers and particularly noteworthy performances.

There are two basic types of Kagura Songs: The first is “Torimono” songs, which are used to praise and seek aid from gods, and the second is called “Saibari” songs which are sung to praise the gods. Torimono and saibari western equivalence would be sacred and secular (earthly) music sung in the times of Bach and Vivaldi. But in the case of Shinto music, the accompaniment would basically be the same. Here are some examples of Torimono and Saibari poems translated to English:

A Torimono poem:

“As darkness falls on perilous slope of the mountain,

I cut a staff of sakaki wood.

This wood is from the mountain of god,

And with this sacred staff in my hands

I pray for the safety of this poor mountaineer.”

A Saibari Poem:

“Flying away, flying away,

The cranes head for Tamino Island,

As the tide flings the waves

On the beach of Naniwa.”

The saibari poems are part of a genre of art that was quite popular in the courts of Japan, but it was amongst the same type of poems that would have originated from the common folk music at the time.

Unique music calls for unique instruments so here are some examples of the instruments used to play kagura music:

This is called a Wagon but is also known as a Yamatogoto. It has six strings and is part of the Zither family. (other notable members of this family are the Koto and the Ichigenkin) but can be found across many cultures. The Wagon is tuned to a pentatonic scale (a five-note scale) but is arpeggiated rather than going down in note order like a western harp. So if you were to strum across the instrument, you would not hear a descending or ascending scale. This is also the precursor to the modern Japanese Koto.

The next instrument is called a Kagurabue:

This is a six holed bamboo flute also used in Kagura performances. If you wanted a different set of pitches for this instrument, you would adjust the length of the flute accordingly. The Kagurabue and Wagon would be used in conjunction with a nine-holed and double-reeded instrument called the Hichiriki as seen below:

Some percussion was also used during such performances and may also be held in the hands of a chorus of singers. They are the:

Shakubyoshi, which are used in a similar fashion to castanets. 

Suzu, This was traditionally carried and played by dancers who used them in their performances.

I have just scratched the surface of Shinto music as the instruments shown to you are used during the imperial or formal functions. Shinto has a rich history covering millennia and therefore had rough patches along the way. For example, it was used as an instrument of nationalism during the 1930s and consequently fell out of popularity after World War II. However, as mentioned earlier, it is still the leading religion in Japan today. Shinto and the music it has produced is embedded into the fundamental culture of Japan with it even appearing in pop culture like the 1995 film, Ghost in the shell. So from its mythical roots with a dancing goddess to being used to help fuel Japans cause during World War II and inspiring the opening music to a 90s classic, the religion and music it helps create still manages to capture the thoughts and feelings of the people that follow and listen to it.