Folk music: from local to national to global

Hughes, David W.

Abstract

This chapter traces the shifting situation and nature of Japanese folk music from ‘traditional’ times to the present day. Topics covered include: importation of the European concept of ‘the folk’; distinction between folk song (min’yō) and folk performing arts (minzoku geinō); folk music in the traditional community; music and local identity, past and present (e.g. local vs national identity; folk music’s role in ‘community building’ in modern Japan); professionalization, commodification, folklorization, secularization and the emergence of stage performances; musical change and the Western impact (e.g. fusion); the rise in popularity of wadaiko, Tsugaru-jamisen and Okinawan music; research history and trends.

Citation

Hughes, D. W. (2007). Folk music: from local to national to global. In D. W. Hughes, & A. M. Tokita (Eds.), The Ashgate research companion to Japanese music (281-302). Ashgate Publishing Limited

• Publication Date: Sep 1, 2007
• Deposit Date: Nov 16, 2007
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 22, 2025
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Pages: 281-302
• Series Title: SOAS Musicology Series
• Series ISSN: 0965-1829
• Book Title: The Ashgate research companion to Japanese music
• ISBN: 9780754656999
• Keywords: music, Japan, folk music