Kabuki,noh, and Rakugo led me to restoring and learning nagauta shamisen; unfortunately I lack the time and discipline to practice. I wish I could become a Geza and become fully immersed in traditional culture and arts like I desire so I can be an ambassador for them.
Fantastic video! This channel is a blessing. Would you consider making a video about what goes into the design and construction of Kabuki scenery and costumes? They are some of the most spectacular elements of the tradition, and I would love to learn more about them!
I have been playing shamisen for over 25 years. And nagauta for 15 of those. Also I was a student of the Katada School of Hayashi/Narimono. Founded by the Late Katada Kisaku Sensei. He wrote narimono accompaniments for Yamato-gaku music.
How wonderful! I'm somewhat familiar with the work of Kisaku Katada III, who sadly passed away a couple of years ago. His accompaniment for the final exit of Tomomori in dance-drama Funa Benkei, particularly when Nakamura Tomijūrō V was in the leading role, was legendary. Such an endlessly complex and beautiful world!
Would you consider doing a full video on Narimono? One of my favorite videos is A Nagauta recital of Ninin Wankyu with Kineya Hiromitsu as the Tate shamisen and Katada Kisaku III sensei on the kotsumi and his protégé Katada Shinjuro sensei on the okawa.
Excellent video brother. I've always been curious about how these songs in Kabuki theater work (especially in plays like Momijigari). Here I have a different question than I usually have: I'm thinking about signing up for a paid subscription to Kabuki in Depth on Patreon, but I don't know how it works. Can you explain to me how the paid subscription to Kabuki in Depth works? How much per month will I have to pay to watch the channel's exclusive videos on Patreon?
I recommend you to try the lowest tier for one month (around 1€ or 1$). You will have access to most things, and then you can decide if it is worth staying, or upgrading in the future.
@@KabukiInDepthAnother question: besides watching exclusive videos and commenting without being censored (unlike what is happening on RU-vid), what other benefits can I get with this paid subscription on Patreon?
I have a question, and I am hoping you can clarify it. I have read many times that there is "narrative styles" of music (takemoto, tokiwazu), and then lyrical music (like nagauta). But no one has ever explained the difference, and I don't think "narrative vs lyrical" works as a good descriptor for someone to grasp the difference. Can you please explain it? ^^
Great question! I think it is a bit unintuitive from the point of western music. Basically, traditional Japanese music is divided into narrative (katarimono) and "singing" or lyrical (utaimono). The former makes an emphasis on storytelling, and in theatre it is usually rooted on noh chanting or the jōruri style adapted by the puppet theatre, while the latter gives more importance to melody and rhythm. The lyrics of narrative music are generally more concrete and descriptive, while lyrical styles such as Nagauta are more obscure and poetical, often having little to do with the action on stage. The roots for utaimono are folk songs, and before that, religious music such as gagaku and kagura. In the case of kabuki, Kiyomoto and Tokiwazu are considered narrative because they evolved from jōruri, although to my ears they can sometimes be extremely "lyrical". On the other hand, Nagauta is utaimono because it is based on folk music, typically sung by itinerant performers.
@@KabukiInDepth Thank you! I appreciate your in-depth answer! I'm reading a fantastically detailed book right now called "The Traditional Theatre of Japan" by Yoshinobu Inoura and Toshio Kawatake, so I'm really deep-diving into the history. Hearing your explanation of katarimono vs utaimono is very helpful; words I've seen many times but always kinda scratched my head over. Thank you!
