•Modern Folk Music

Looking generally at Okinawan folk music, it can be classified into Kamiuta and Koyo music that have a deep relationship with the festivals and ceremonial rites of the village communities, music related to household functions, children’s songs and lullabies, music about activities, entertainment and play songs, classical music, and modern folk music. The content of the music is diverse; songs of worship, abundant harvest, hunting, prayers for rain, shipbuilding, maritime travel safety, prosperity in oxen and horses, housewarming, marriage celebrations, birth celebrations, prosperous households, funerals, journeys, island and village pride, love, satire on the times, lessons, climate, pacifism, and sightseeing dance songs. It would not be an exaggeration to say that all aspects of life are expressed in Okinawan folk music.
Okinawan folk music has its origins from the Kwena, Umuii and other sacred songs. These evolved into classical music such as Kagiyadefu and Unnabushi and into folk songs such as Nakuni and Kaisare. Songs such as Iminkouta, Wakare no Kemuri, Bashofu, Hana and other modern folk music have inherited those traditions.
The number of folk and modern folk songs is truly tremendous. “How many folk songs are there in Okinawa?” is a query one sometimes hears. The reply is “Well, thousands or tens of thousands some say.” That may not be a very kind answer to a visitor’s question, but they have never been counted so perhaps it is impossible.
On each island and in each village there are many folk songs passed down. “As many songs as there are words” some would say, and that perhaps is the best way to express Okinawan folk music.
The origins of the folk music, the names of the lyricists and song composers may be unknown and who created what are all obscure. However, with modern folk music lyricists and composers are clear. Okinawan modern folk music began around the start of the Showa era (1926-1989). It began around the same time on mainland Japan. Composers Minoru Nakamoto and Choho Miyara’s Ashimijibushi and composer and lyricist Choki Fukuhara’s Imin Kouta are some of the songs in this modern trend.
Looking at the circumstances surrounding post-war Okinawan modern folk music compared with the pre-war situation, one sees that post-war recording of folk music flourished, many folk music pubs also started business, and the number of lyricists and composers increased. Folk music circles saw the first post-war golden era in the late 1950’s.
Ryuka lyrics, which traditionally keep to the 30 syllable 8-8-8-6 fixed meter, also made way for prose lyrics as well. Some pieces incorporated the scales of pop music and the rhythms of reggae, attracting attention. Each folk song was created and sung to reflect that era’s social conditions. In this, one can experience the real feeling that folk music is indeed alive. At present, Okinawa’s folk music has spread outside of the prefecture to mainland Japan and overseas.
The radio and television folk music programs have helped achieve a great popularity for folk music. In particular, radio folk music programs are broadcast more hours a day than anywhere else in the country. This, as was mentioned before, is because Okinawan people love folk music. It is marvelous that every day new lyrics and songs are transmitted over the radio waves. Folk songs are also popular at karaoke houses as well. At present, as many as 300 Okinawan folk songs are carried in karaoke houses, leading the prefectures in the number of folk songs used in karaoke.
Those that create folk music, the composers and lyricists, the performers, and the media that carries the music to the public, in other words the infrastructure of those that love the folk music, has been perfectly formed in Okinawa.
The people of Okinawa have entrusted their feelings and sentiments to their folk music. The music, while picking up the feeling for the times, continues to accurately pass on Okinawa’s tradition, heart, and soul. In the tapestry of Okinawan folk music, tradition and heart are the warp and the climate, sense and impressions of the times are the weft, perfectly woven as a piece of banana cloth. This is the reason why Okinawa has been called “land of song.”