Meiji shinkyoku: the beginnings of modern music for the koto

Abstract

This paper argues for the success of early Meiji compositions for the koto, or Meiji shinkyoku, by suggesting that the composers’ adherence to premodern compositional models allowed for their continued appreciation. At the same time, however, these same composers effected a fundamental change in the esthetics of sōkyoku jiuta as they attempted to popularise their music. This change led to a new understanding of music, and allowed Tateyama Noboru (1876–1926) to turn to popular culture and initiate the modernization of koto music. This he did by introducing themes taken from Western military music and keyboard music into his compositions for koto. Tateyama’s innovations were a crucial step in the process of Japanese musical modernization as they led to the westernisation of music under Miyagi Michio (1894–1956) and the Movement for New Japanese Music. However, their reliance upon popular bourgeois culture weakened their esthetic value, despite their immense popularity. Tateyama’s works thus serve to highlight the strengths of the earlier Meiji shinkyoku and what followed with Miyagi, who finally left behind Japanese compositional moulds for forms from Western music. This essay elucidates why most of the compositions in the present day repertoire of Meiji shinkyoku are either by earlier composers or those who continued to compose according to earlier models.

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