Gagaku

Gagaku (雅楽, literally "elegant music") is a type of Japanese classical music that has been performed at the Imperial Court in Kyoto for several centuries. It consists of three primary repertoires:

Gagaku, like shomyo, employs the yo scale, a pentatonic scale with ascending intervals of two, three, two, two, and three semitones between the five scale tones.

By the 7th century, the gakuso (a zither) and the gakubiwa (a short-necked lute) had been introduced in Japan from China. Various instruments including these two were the earliest used to play gagaku.

Gagaku, the oldest classical music in Japan, was introduced into Japan with Buddhism from the China. In 589, Japanese official diplomatic delegations were sent to China (during the Sui dynasty) to learn Chinese culture, including Chinese court music, Gagaku.

Komagaku and togaku arrived in South Japan during the Nara period (710-794), and settled into the basic modern divisions during the Heian period (794-1185). Gagaku performances were played by musicians who belonged to hereditary guilds. During the Kamakura period (1185-1333), military rule was imposed and gagaku was performed in the homes of the aristocracy, but rarely at court. At this time, there were three guilds based in Osaka, Nara and Kyoto.

North Korea 'fires submarine-launched ballistic missile'

Edit BBC News 23 Apr 2016

North Korea appears to have fired a ballistic missile from a submarine off its eastern coast, South Korea says. It is not clear whether the test was authentic, and if it was, whether it will be considered a success by the North. A successful test would be significant because submarine-launched ballistic missiles (SLBMs) are hard to detect. It comes as North Korea gears up for a rare and significant party congress next month ... ....

photo: AP

US President Barack Obama and Prince William while Catherine Duchess of Cambridge plays with Prince George at Kensington Palace during visit to Britain.

'Adorable' Prince George wows Obama in pyjamas

Edit Deccan Herald 23 Apr 2016

Barack Obama has described Prince George as "adorable" after the 2-year-old son of Prince William and Kate Middleton was allowed to stay up past his bed-time to meet the US President. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge hosted Obama and wife Michelle for an informal dinner at Kensington Palace in London last night, after which photographs were released of the guests kneeling down to shake hands with the young prince in his pyjamas ... ....

photo: AP / Carolyn Kaster

President Barack Obama and Saudi Arabia's King Salman stand together for the Leaders Photo at the Diriyah Palace during the Gulf Cooperation Council Summit in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Thursday, April 21, 2016.

Saudi Arabia may be in for a nasty shock when Obama steps down

Edit The Independent 22 Apr 2016

Foreign leaders visiting King Salman of Saudi Arabia have noticed that there is a large flower display just in front of the 80-year-old monarch ... Of course, King Salman is not the only world leader past or present whose inability to cope has been artfully concealed by aides and courtiers ... ....

photo: AP / John Minchillo

Authorities set up road blocks at the intersection of Union Hill Road and Route 32 at the perimeter of a crime scene, Friday, April 22, 2016, in Pike County, Ohio. Shootings with multiple fatalities were reported along a road in rural Ohio on Friday morning.

3 kids survive slaying of 8 family members in Ohio

Edit CNN 23 Apr 2016

(CNN)Eight family members found dead in a rural southern Ohio community were shot in the head "execution style," most while they slept, authorities said Friday. Officers are searching for the killer or killers, who are probably armed and a danger to surviving family members, Pike County Sheriff Charles Reader said ... "I've given the family precautionary measures to make. They know we're available." ... Read More ... 'Doesn't happen every day' ... ......

photo: UN / Rick Bajornas

Dilma Rousseff, President of Brazil, addresses the opening segment of the signature ceremony.

Brazil president vows trade bloc appeal if ousted

Edit Taipei Times 23 Apr 2016

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff on Friday said she would appeal to South American trade blocs if she is removed from office, blasting the push to impeach her as a coup and a naked attempt by Brazil’s elite to snatch power back from her Worker’s Party ... She told her opponents that her impeachment would have “serious consequences for the Brazilian political process.” ... “I can’t say today what is going to happen ... ....

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Traditional arts linked: An introduction to Japanese music

Edit The Japan News 05 Apr 2016

“Traditional Japanese Music at a Glance” will be sold in bookstores in the United States as early as April ... This should not be surprising considering that there were no such books published in Japanese. Prof ... Tanaka elaborated on the structures, as well as the development of genres of music and performance arts, such as gagaku and nohgaku, while explaining how melodies are produced by instruments such as shamisen and shakuhachi ... + - ... ....

New Selection Committee Member for TonenGeneral Music Awards - Japanese Traditional Music (86KB) (TonenGeneral Sekiyu KK)

Edit Public Technologies 17 Mar 2016

(Source. TonenGeneral Sekiyu KK) 581c1cc9-9124-4ced-84e1-5b823a6fdd9d.pdf. Announcement. March 17, 2016. TonenGeneral Sekiyu K.K. Contact. EMG Marketing Godo Kaisha Public and Government Affairs. Tel. 03-6713-4400. New Selection Committee Member for TonenGeneral Music Awards - Japanese Traditional Music ... Specializing in the history of Japanese music, she is engaged in research of gagaku, regional bugaku, nagauta, the erhu, and other fields....

Millennium-old water-drawing ritual held at Todaiji in Nara

Edit Asahi News 14 Mar 2016

NARA--Amid torchlight and “gagaku” ......

JUSFC40 Meet our Grantees Series: Paul Kikuchi: Composer, Percussionist, Sound Artist (JUSFC - Japan-United States ...

Edit Public Technologies 17 Feb 2016

He traveled to Japan for several months in 2015 to conduct in-depth research into Japanese history, music (gagaku and enka), and papermaking (washi) to inform a new musical composition as well as 're-imaginations.' ... in - and love for - traditional Japanese music such as Gagaku as well as the lesser known Shinto ritualistic music called Azuma Asobi....

Festival / Festival of performing arts passed down since 12th century in Nara

Edit The Japan News 18 Nov 2015

ContributorThe On-Matsuri is a festival held at Wakamiya Shrine, which stands in the precincts of Kasuga Taisha Grand Shrine ... This historic festival continues to be one of the largest annual events of Nara Prefecture, attracting a great many tourists ... It is also important to note that the music and dance of gagaku and bugaku of Kasuga Taisha Grand Shrine are designated as important intangible folk cultural properties of Japan ... Place ... ....

Violinist Furusawa finds new wave of sound beyond borders

Edit The Japan News 08 Nov 2015

By Eriko Fuchigami / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff WriterViolinist Iwao Furusawa, who pursues original sounds by combining elements of pop music with classical music, has been playing with a string quintet made up of members of the Berlin Philharmonic since last year ... He has also performed with Hideki Togi, who plays gagaku ancient court music ... Slide 1 of 1. The Philharmonic Virtuosi Berlin ... 2 will be a major attraction at the concert ... + - ... ....

NASA, Honeywell Bring Hip-Hop Education Show to 10 Midwest States (NASA - The National Aeronautics ...

Edit Public Technologies 14 Sep 2015

(Source. NASA - The National Aeronautics and Space Administration) NASA, Honeywell Bring Hip-Hop Education Show to 10 Midwest States . NASA ... The name of the show comes from Newton's second law of motion. force = mass x acceleration ... Donald James, associate administrator for NASA's Office of Education ... -end- ... Sep ... Sep ... From the space station, Wakata will perform a piece of the ancient Gagaku music with a Japanese reed instrument called a sho....

NASA Awards Grants for STEM Education at Minority Serving Institutions (NASA - The National Aeronautics ...

Edit Public Technologies 18 Aug 2015

(Source. NASA - The National Aeronautics and Space Administration) ... Four universities were selected to receive MUREP Community College Curriculum Improvement (MC3I) grants, which provide up to $250,000 per year for a maximum of three years ... The universities selected for MC3I grants are ... -end-. Sarah Ramsey ... Aug ... dime ... From the space station, Wakata will perform a piece of the ancient Gagaku music with a Japanese reed instrument called a sho....

Asian American Orchestra presents 1945 A year of Infamy at Asian Art Museum

Edit The Examiner 05 Aug 2015

On August 6, 2015 the Asian American Orchestra (AAO) will present a far reaching new composition called "1945. A Year of Infamy" ... “1945” is an extended work of 30 minutes in length composed for the Grammy nominated AAO ... 1945. A Year of Infamy will also be informed by Gagaku, the ancient court music of Japan dating back to the 8th century, the oldest continuous tradition of orchestral music on the planet ... In 1995 AAO band leader Dr ... 1945 ... ....

NASA Book Shows Space Station Research "Benefits for Humanity" (NASA - The National Aeronautics and Space Administration)

Edit Public Technologies 07 Jul 2015

(Source. NASA - The National Aeronautics and Space Administration) NASA Book Shows Space Station Research "Benefits for Humanity" ... "Since 2012, this research has been carried to orbit by our U.S. commercial cargo providers Orbital ATK and SpaceX ... Visit the website at. ... http.//www.nasa.gov/station ... From the space station, Wakata will perform a piece of the ancient Gagaku music with a Japanese reed instrument called a sho ... 6....

The Corridor / The Cure, Aldeburgh, review: Birtwistle's opera makes chilly debut

Edit The Independent 14 Jun 2015

As always with this composer, the vocal lines are alternately lyrical and jagged, while the instrumental writing – at moments reminiscent of Japanese gagaku - is ornate and intricate, with the harp performing a percussive function ... -->. Arts + Ents News in Pictures . ....

In bloom: 2015 Cherry Blossom Festivals

Edit Stars and Stripes 05 Mar 2015

For art of the bloom, check out pinterest.com/stripesnews/cherry-blossoms ... Photographs may be used in print and on the web ... three days after the cherry blossom trees bloom in mid-April; includes night illumination, koto and gagaku (traditional Japanese music instruments) and flute performance along with open-air tea services and free admission to the castle; 15-minute walk from JR Matsumoto Station or 15-minute ride from Matsumoto I.C....

An evening of Japanese classical music with Hideki Togi at a restaurant in Delhi

Edit The Times of India 30 Jan 2015

Delhiites enjoyed an evening of Japanese classical music when gagaku player Hideki ......