By the time foreign music and dance were brought to Japan, there was already a well-developed indigenous tradition associated with specific rituals performed at Shinto shrines, at the imperial court, and in other solemn rituals sponsored by the court (figure 1). In each of these indigenous genres, the vocal part is primary; the instruments follow melismatic vocal melodies heterophonically. The songs, which may be either metric or nonmetric, are generally sung in a slow, dignified tempo.
Songs from...