The sounds ofMyūjikku.An exploration of concepts and classifications in Japanese Sound Aesthetics

Abstract

The parameters of Japanese concepts and classifications of music are examined to show how a variety of sounds are classified and understood through aesthetic experience in the Japanese soundscape. In particular, the discussion is concerned with concepts of sound aesthetics inside and outside conventional music contexts. It is here that the need for further parameters in the ethnomusicological study of the anthropology of sound is reinforced. The first section surveys some key terms used in the classification of Japanese music. Included is a discussion of general and specific terms that reveal different parameters of music structures on social, cultural and historical levels. Moreover, some indigenous concepts of music have actually been devised in response to non‐Japanese concepts, especially since the latter half of the nineteenth century. The second part looks inward at concepts of sound and noise within music, particularly at some types of sound effects, or sounds that are added to music and have extra‐musical meaning. The final section investigates the breadth of some concepts and objects that are understood in terms of sound aesthetics. This includes a survey of environmental sounds referred to in songs, literature and other arts, and the sounds of environmental instruments.

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